Haven't had the roadster out on studded tires, but have had
"fun" on snow and ice in a roadster. Odd thing about "swinging"
the front end around is that you are sitting so far back...
almost to the rear axle. So it is on odd feeling of letting
the car slide sideways on the curves. Ahem, kids do not try this
at home...
While I drove Rally's, we had gotten some of the Hakkapletta
Snow & Ice tires. No studs, but with the small suction cup on
the bottom of the block. As long as you stayed on snow & ice
the tires would last, hit some pavement and they would wear
away very quickly. I used to carry FOUR spare tires, and the
large floor jack with me. Heading up to Tahoe, I would stop
and swap tires. Back two with chains on them to get past
a highway patrol checkpoint. Once past, remove the chains
and those tires were fantastic. One of my more stupid things
was to PASS a snow plow. About 8" of snow on the ground, and
I got tired of staying behind him and passed. Tires worked
wonders, as did the extra weight in the rear & trunk!
Not so funny... hitting a snow bank, my nice set of CIBIE
headlight and driving lights... the crystal lenses were cracked
by the snow hitting them when hot... and if you fill your
grill full of snow, and it refreezes you can overheat in
the winter!
I did attend the 1000 Lakes Rallye in '86. Last year of the
Group B cars, and had fun. Joined in with one of the film
crews shuttling them about, but never got into the helicopter.
Darn!
Getting older...
Cheers,
Tom Walter
Austin, TX.
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