dcouncil@imt.net wrote:
><< I had heard narrow was better in snow and ice >>
Jay Donoghue replied:
>Oh, yeah, that's right. It is best to decrease your footprint for better
>tractions in all situations.
>
Not all situations, but certainly in wet snow and very heavy rain.
The question is really whether you want the footprint to be large on the
surface of the road, or on the surface of the water. This phenomenon is
known on the left side of the puddle as hydroplaning and is called
aquaplaning over here.
It is quite fun on european motorways in such situations watching the
Citroen 2CV's with their 500cc engines (and skinny cart tires) motoring
past the Beemers and Verandahs. They have contact with the road -- they
can steer and brake, so they don't have to go slow -- unlike the guys
in the "fast" cars.
In ice and other sorts of snow (I got to know many when I lived in Canada
for 5 years) the principal attributes of tires that relate to traction
are the rubber compound and the tread design. In relation to other
discussions here, old rubber will be hard rubber, and aggressive tread
(good in loose snow and mud) will have less contact with the road (for
a given tire size) than summer tires.
Douglas McKinnie (in Guildford UK)
'72 MGB-GT (in Ohio)
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