Testimonials
Newsletter - November 2005
THE MOST IMPORTANT CAR PART
The only thing between you and the road are your tires. Snow tires, snow tires, snow tires! Nothing works better for tracking through snow than a good set of snow tires. But, do you need to buy snow tires and if so what types would be best for you?
If you spend most of the winter in the city, you probably don't need snow tires. For as few times as the roads in town get snow packed, snow tires may not be worth the investment. Snow tires can provide an added layer of safety to younger drivers or those with little experience in winter driving conditions.
However if you go to the mountains a couple times a month or are a regular skier, snow tires would be a good investment.
There are four variations of snow tires; all season tires, snow tires, studded snow tires and ice tires. All have advantages and disadvantages.
ALL SEASON TIRES
The advantages of all season tires are they can be left on the car year round. They are better in snow than highway tires but not a whole lot better. The disadvantages are they aren't as good on dry pavement as a highway tires and aren't as good in snow as snow tires. They are, however, the best single tire you can have for all seasons. Most of today's tires are of the all-season variety.
SNOW TIRES
The advantages of snow tires are they grip very well in fresh snow and better than all season tires in packed snow. They last longer than ice tires. The disadvantages are they should be changed out in the summer, they don't do well on ice and if you sell your car you usually can't use them on your next car.
STUDDED TIRES
Studded tires do very well on snow, packed snow and ice. When the pavement is dry they are noisy and they damage the streets. In some states they are illegal or can only be used in certain months. The cost of studding adds about $15 per tire. These tires also require the twice yearly changeover from summer to winter tires.
ICE TIRES
Ice tires give even better traction than studded snow tires in all conditions. Each tread block has about 12 sipes (cuts) in it, in effect giving each tread 12 edges to grip with. Ice tires aren't noisy like studded snow tires but they should be taken off after the snow season. Part of the reason they have such good traction is they are made of a soft rubber compound but this also causes them to wear out significantly sooner. When used only during the winter months, most ice tires will provide two to three seasons of use, depending on your driving habits and mileage. Brands of ice or studless snow tires are the Bridgestone Blizzak, Michelin Arctic Ice and Toyo Observe.
Some tire stores will sipe (cut) regular tires, but if you are going to spend extra for that why not just get the ones that were engineered for ice to begin with ?
As always, make sure your tires are properly inflated as this will have a significant impact on traction, handling and durability.
DRIVING IN SNOW
Unless you've been trained in how to respond to a snow or ice induced skid, you will invariably succumb to what the experts call “target fixation.” That is, focusing on your impending doom instead of taking proper evasive action.
Most winter driving errors are caused by excessive speed . Everything happens faster on slippery roads. Nothing will save you, not ABS, all-wheel drive, traction control or stability control.
* Be prepared: Properly equip your vehicle – install the right tires for the condition you're driving in or carry chains for extreme weather, good winter wiper blades, full wiper fluid reservoir and perform recommended servicing.
* Slow down: Driving too fast is the number 1 driving error. It's simple, if you're going too fast, there's a good possibility you're going to get into trouble.
* Look ahead: Double the distance between you and the car in front of you (four car lengths for every 10 mph). Be extra attentive, look ahead and anticipate problems.
* Brake before you enter a corner: Smoothly apply your brakes before you reach a corner and then release the brakes and use all the grip of the car to corner. Then, once you are through the turn, accelerate out. When the wheels are braking, their surface becomes static and they can behave like four hockey pucks and can move multidirectional (that is, spin).
* Practice smooth and effective use of the vehicle's controls: The steering wheel gives us the most trouble. People tend to be too rough and imprecise when steering. The result of bad steering wheel control is that your vehicle will become imbalanced. Once that happens, you'll probably skid.
* Be informed: We need to understand where the bulk of our vehicle's weight resides and how our engine power can affect that weight. Practice in an empty parking lot (free of light poles and cars) on snow to experience your vehicles responsiveness.
* Learn how to control a skid: Controlling a skid goes against our natural tendencies. Turn into the skid. Many over steer skids can be controlled by releasing the brake. The main point to remember is to turn into the skid. If the back end is sliding towards the right, turn right. Release the brakes and try not to overcorrect and cause a skid in the other direction.
Christmas is coming; why not give a lasting gift to yourself and the other drivers in your family…….a day at a certified driving school. What could be better, an overnight winter stay in a beautiful mountain town and learning how to stay in control on snow and ice.
http://www.winterdrive.com
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Addison Auto Repair & Body Shop
2005 South Holly Street • Denver, CO 80222 • 303-691-9484