Date: Mon, 23 Mar 1998 10:49:41 -0800
Reply-To: "Steven X. Schwenk" <sxs@CONCENTRIC.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: "Steven X. Schwenk" <sxs@CONCENTRIC.NET>
Subject: Re: Poor Traction
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I have a syncro and find it to be about the most stable vehicle i've
ever driven in snow (in part because of the weight of the vehicle, I
believe). This suggests to me that the non-syncro should also be a
snow-worthy vehicle once you solve the traction problem. If you do not
want to go with snow tires or chains, then you should try lowering the
air pressure in all four tires (lower pressure in the front tires will
increase steering traction).
How low you go depends on the condition of the street and how much
traction you need. On new snow...or streets/roads where the pavement is
covered with snow and you need a lot of traction for hills, etc., I
would go down to about 20-25 lbs. (if you get stuck, you can go down to
10-15lbs ok as long as the road is not rough and you do not drive too
far b/f reinflating). This will, of course, affect handling at higher
sppeds, but if the road is that slippery, you should not be going fast
anyway. At lower speeds, the lower pressure will dramatically increase
traction even with street tires.
If you will be driving on a mix of pavement and snow pack and at higher
speeds, 27-28 lbs. should help without adversely affecting handling/tire
wear significantly. Be aware, however, that driving is much more
dangerous where the road conditions are mixed and you encounter
snow-covered sections of any length while traveling at moderate to high
speeds. If you regularly drive in such conditions, snow tires are a
much safer way to go...and you can still lower the pressure in them when
it gets bad or if you get stuck.
steve
sh@interlog.com wrote:
> We've only been out in the recently acquired bus (82 Westfalia) a
> couple of
> times on slippery, snowy roads. While I knew that any van, and
> especially
> VW vans, handle more poorly than regular cars, I was surprised at how
> bad
> it really is. The slightest glaze on the road, and the van wheels
> start
> spinning. It regularily gets stuck simply parked on the snowy street
> in
> front of the house. Yesterday, at Albion Hills conservation area, the
> VW
> was spinning its wheels on several grades that other vehicles had no
> problems with.
>
> Tires (not snow tires) are in reasonable shape. Is this typical of
> Vanagons?
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