Date: Wed, 29 Dec 1999 20:09:11 -0400
Reply-To: Betsy Webb <WebbKVMA@ADELPHIA.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Betsy Webb <WebbKVMA@ADELPHIA.NET>
Organization: Kids Voting Massachusetts
Subject: Re: More counter-intuition re traction (some token VW content)
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Four wheel snows with studs is the way to go on Vanagons in the winter.
I have had studded snows on mine, 2 wheel drive, in Colorado and
Massachusettes for four years now. This is actually more useful in
town, not so much for going but for stopping for the moron that just
slid through the intersection in front of me. Snows with studs on the
rear only is asking for trouble when it comes time for stopping and steering.
Don't try to be a 4X4 SUV with these though. Just like most SUVs all
you will succeedd in doing is getting stuck twice as far from the road.
Course I always have the chains also, but they came with the van and
have never been out of the box.
Happy new year.
Brad
85 Vanagon
John Rodgers wrote:
>
> John,
>
> I lived for 30 years in Alaska. in all that time I never owned but one 4WD ... a
> Jeep Grand Wagoneer LTD . .a heavy machine....and I only bought it because I was
> working a job out in a bush town. Didn't need the 4WD features once I moved back
> to Anchorage.
>
> In all those years I never put chains or studs on tires on my vehicles. I did,
> however buy all weather tires, but I never even bought snow/mud tires. Just your
> typical allweather radials. I even had all weather radials on my "68 VW bus. All
> vehicles performed just fine for me.
>
> This all changed, however, when I bought my "85GL. The very first winter I had
> the van and I encountered an icy road, I started up a grade on the hightway out
> of town, spun out a little over half way up the hill, and slid down the
> sideways.
>
> I drove straight back to the tire store and put new studded tires on it all the
> way around.
> After that, it gripped the road like a hound chased cat digs his claws into a
> tree trunk. Never had any more problems.
>
> In the region of the state where I lived (Kenai Peninsula and Southcentral
> Alaska) the weather would change a good bit in winter, switching between snow
> and ice and rain. Often, we would have deep snow, and temps at -35 degrees. Then
> a warm Chinook wind would blow in off the Pacific and wam this up to +40-45
> degrees in 24 hours. Snow would melt to water, and puddle on the packed ice
> underneath. Water-on-ice as a road surface is not fun. But in my vanagon with
> all tires studded, I could go when others could not.
>
> That was in Alaska. I am not in that cold climate now and I am not sure that I
> would use studded tires at all now. I would use all weather snow rated tires
>
> Studded tires do tear up the roads, and the studs lose their effectiveness at
> 50% wear, and must be replaced.
>
> Just my experience.
>
> John Rodgers
> "88GL Driver running a 4 tire set of Michelin 205R70/14 MLT's
>
> "John P. Flaherty" wrote:
>
> > Per:
> >
> > Well, I've driven numerous rear wheel drive vehicles with studded tires on
> > the rear only, never found it to be a problem. Only had one get away from
> > me, that was a 79 bus, was going along at about 40 in what would have been a
> > 55 zone without the snow when some fool pulled out of a driveway ahead. They
> > took up both lanes as they turned, leaving me no room to swerve around them.
> > I had to brake hard, knowing what would happen. Spun around about 3 times,
> > watching the telephone poles go by, hoping I didn't hit one. Landed in the
> > ditch between the poles, didn't hit a thing. Composed myself, started it up,
> > drove it right up out of the ditch and continued my trip.
> >
> > Never had a rear wheel drive car with studs on all four, so I can't say if
> > they handle better, and never had a front wheel drive with any studs at all.
> >
> > John
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Per Lindgren <lindgre@ONLINE.NO>
> > To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
> > Date: Monday, December 27, 1999 6:58 PM
> > Subject: Re: More counter-intuition re traction (some token VW content)
> >
> > >"John P. Flaherty" wrote:
> > >
> > >> Interesting addition to this thread. Here in Maine, a new law took effect
> > >> this winter. It requires that front wheel drive cars which use studded
> > snow
> > >> tires must use them on all four wheels. Rear wheel drive's still just
> > need
> > >> them on the back wheels. Any other states with similar laws?
> > >
> > >This sounds dangerous, to only have studs on the rear. Here in Norway, you
> > can
> > >have two studless and two "summer" tires on the car, but not two studed and
> > two
> > >others. Either four studed or none. Also, if you damage the car on slippery
> > >roads, without proper tires (m+s markings) you can risk no compensation for
> > >damages. (So, it is understood, but not a written law, that m+s marked
> > tires are
> > >required in the winter)
> > >
> > >PerL
> > >87 Syncro 112i
> > >
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