Hi Bud,
Went out today on a parts run and the roads were a lot better, all but the
neighborhood ones! They have the wonderful "Polished" white icy stuff.
Portland uses only magnesium chloride and sort of a pea gravel sand on the
roads. If this was Boston, all the salt would have softened up everything!
I grew up in Massachusetts and loved winter driving. Of course, my first
car was a 4 cyl 1928 Chev. 2 dr sedan. The 4.25 X 21 inch tires worked
great on snow. No wide footprint on those babies!!
But with the near freezing point temps and no plowing or salting of streets,
3 to 5 inches of white stuff is a real challenge to drive on in this area.
Lots of "Turtle" cars, mostly SUV's on the sides of the freeway. Was a
mess.
Paul A
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bud Osbourne" <abcoz@hky.com>
To: "'Paul Asgeirsson'" <PAsgeirsson@worldnet.att.net>; "'David Lieb'"
<dbl@chicagolandmgclub.com>; "'Spridget List'" <spridgets@autox.team.net>
Sent: Wednesday, January 17, 2007 1:06 PM
Subject: RE: Bumper cars in Portland Oregon!
> Paul,
> You seem to be one of the enlightened few (out of the general, driving
> public) who've been able to grasp the concept that there is a wide range
> of traction/lack of traction available on snow, depending on an equally
> wide range of snow/ice conditions. A wet, "greasy" (from salt applied
> over several inches of snow, w/o benefit of plowing) 2 or 3 inches of
> snow, for example, is far more treacherous than an equal amount of dry
> (cold), "crisp" snow of 1" to 6". Unfortunately, the typical driver
> hasn't figured out that there is a difference.
> In my part of the "snow belt" (near Pittsburgh, PA), we get everything
> from freezing rain (but, not nearly as often as, say, the St. Louis
> area), to heavy, blizzard-like white-outs. Usually, it doesn't stay
> cold enough, long enough to really make it too difficult for road crews
> to melt it off with a mixture of corrosives and super-corrosives.
> Of course, since salt tends to HOLD moisture on the road, the moisture
> often re-freezes as temps drop below 20F, after dark. Of course, since
> most drivers aren't aware of this, there are certain periods of the
> day/night, during any winter weather event, where, suddenly, there is a
> "rash" of skidding accidents. The type of vehicle most likely to be
> involved (personal observation): big, fat yuppie-driven SUVs.
> People seem to think that, if they have 4 wheel drive, they are immune
> from winter driving hazards. They fail to realize, until it's too late,
> that correct tires, good balance, low center of gravity and good
> car-control skills will win out over technology/"yuppie-ness" most every
> time.
> BTW, there seems to be a trend, by manufacturers, toward better handling
> SUVs. But, without the experience & ability to "read the road/snow",
> they're still gonna have trouble.
> Bud Osbourne
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-spridgets@Autox.Team.Net
> [mailto:owner-spridgets@Autox.Team.Net] On Behalf Of Paul Asgeirsson
> Sent: Tuesday, January 16, 2007 4:59 PM
> To: David Lieb; Spridget List
> Subject: Re: Bumper cars in Portland Oregon!
>
> Hi David,
>
> Not very steep, maybe 3 percent grade. The problem is this is packed
> snow
> at close to the melt point, and when you put the extra weight of a
> vehicle
> tire on it, that area liquifies. It becomes extremely slippery.
>
> If this snow was at about 15 or 20 degrees, you'd have fairly decent
> traction.
>
> Paul A
|