Boxster on Winter Tires... RainyDayGarage - 8 years ago |
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Laz
Way back when I had a 912, it was fitted with Semperit snows on the rear for wintertime. There was a tight, steep road known unofficially as "Snake Hill," that was basically all hairpins. Once, going up when its surface was essentially hard-packed snow and ice, I came upon a Jeep that was initially moving ok, but then reached a point where all it could do was spin its wheels, and I had to stop. Fortunately, there was a decent amount of forward visiibility, so I backed down a little, and then with absolutely no trouble gingerly passed around and continued on my merry way.
Years later, one snowy night I was going up a mile-long, steep grade in upstate NY with my CRX equipped with Blizzaks. (It looked like I was driving through a long white tunnel.) I was moving fairly close to the speed limit, but being prudent and not wanting to be a hero. Then some sort of SUV came up behind me and pretty much began tail-gating, so knowing I still had traction in reserve, slowly accelerated, and eventually left it behind.
The point of all this is for all the 4 wheel drive and various traction-control systems, the kind of rubber meeting the road is what counts. All else is merely compensating, if possible, for the loss of traction.
My generalizations: Laz - 8 years ago |
16" rims, WinterForce tires... RainyDayGarage - 8 years ago |
Found a picture of the Semperit Laz - 8 years ago |
Re: Found a picture of the Semperit Wayne K - 8 years ago |
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Laz
At this link; second from left. Funny; the Saab fitment was exactly the size for the 912: 165-15.
[s175.photobucket.com]
(Being Photobucket, you might have to allow cookies, and/or reload the linked page.)
Re: Found a picture of the Semperit MikenOH - 8 years ago |
Re: Boxster on Winter Tires... dennisafrompa - 8 years ago |
Re: Boxster on Winter Tires... Laz - 8 years ago |
PA4 addendum Laz - 8 years ago |
Wintertime at the winery: Laz - 8 years ago |
Wintertime at the winery: question Guenter in Ontario - 8 years ago |
Ground's prematurely readied for St. Patrick's Day. Plus, the winery is in Sunny Mid-Hudson Valley. Laz - 8 years ago |
My conspiracy theory... jlegelis - 8 years ago |
I like the math. Laz - 8 years ago |
Re: My conspiracy theory...from another point of view and experience Guenter in Ontario - 8 years ago |
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Guenter in Ontario
Our "other vehicle" is also a BMW 328xi - in this case the wagon. Although I'm sure traction would be better on winter tires, I've never had a problem driving with the all season tires. (I did get rid of the OE run flats. Handling was terrible and they couldn't be repaired if you got a flat.) Granted, I don't run them to the wear bars like some people do.
On a recent trip to Florida, we ran into a 150 mile stretch of blizzard conditions with quite a bit of snow accumulating on the mountain roads in WV. There were lots of cars off the road or in collisions bad enough to cause a couple hours of delays. Yes, most of them where SUV's because the drivers think 4WD allows the car to handle / stop in snow just like on dry roads. I had no problem getting through it. I just gave myself plenty of space to avoid getting hit by people who don't know how to drive in those conditions.
If I'd been on winter tires, I'd have been driving in Florida's 80 degree winter weather on very soft squishy tires and probably wearing them out at a pretty quick rate.
My wife doesn't have any problem driving the car on snow covered roads either.
Back when our A4 was totalled, the roads where snow covered, my wife was driving. An oncoming truck (on winter tires) lost control and hit an SUV (on winter tires), sending the SUV directly into our path. My wife had nowhere to go with a 4' snow bank running along the side of the road. Shows just what's really important.
I'm not knocking winter tires. I just don't think they're necessary if you have a set of good all season tires and adjust your driving to the road conditions.
With a sports car like a Porsche, it's a different story. I you're going to make use of the high performance tires' capability, you won't want to run it on all season tires. So if you normally drive it with high performance tires and you're planning on driving it in winter, you certainly want to drive it with winter tires.
Re: Boxster on Winter Tires... grc0456 - 8 years ago |
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RainyDayGarage
We took the Boxster out to go to an all-day Aikido event in Somerville and was heading home around 8PM. There was about 5" of snow on the ground. That amount is nothing for New England, but the plows have not had time to clear all the roads at that time.
With all the storm warnings, there weren't many vehicles on the road.
So the going, while slow, was pretty non-eventful... until we got to the bridge that takes one over from the Cambridge side to the Boston University side (the BU Bridge).
For some reason, there was a large backup at the spot. As I waited my turn to get up to the bridge, I realized what the problem was...like many bridges, there is an incline leading up to the actual bridge and some cars were have problems managing the incline!
I had snow tires on the Boxster and knew that getting up onto the bridge would not be a problem, but as we all merged, the SUV next to me was already slipping around a little. I figured I had better get ahead of it or it is going to be a crap shoot at the incline.
As we merged to get onto the turn for the bridge, I pulled in front as I had the better grip, got ahead of the SUV, and made it up the incline.
Looking back, I could see the SUV sliding sideways, cutting off everyone else. Even by the time I had crossed the entire bridge, no other car came up behind me.
So... snow tires...they are not the same as All-season tires...even for those who don't drive their Boxster in the Winter.
Re: Boxster on Winter Tires... Ed B - 8 years ago |