Driving & Driving Test Tips: icy roads, winter traction, pound chunk

Question
We live in Ohio where of course the weather makes for tough driving in the winter. We have a new teen driver in the family and am concerned about winter driving. He has a front wheel driven car and I put in some heavy bags of rock salt in his trunk for weight. However, someone told me with front wheel driven cars, that it is not a good idea. I used to do that back in the 70's but had rear wheel driven cars then. Should I be doing this? Thanks

Answer
ronn,

I agree, extra weight in the car is of no use, and can actually be a problem.  First, the heavier a vehicle is the longer it takes to stop, and the harder it is to get it to turn on slick roads.  Really anytime, but you just notice it much sooner on slick roads.

Another problem is in a bad wreck, those bags of salt (or sand, and one friend of mine put a 150 pound chunk of railroad TRACK in his trunk!) become missles as the car stops and they aren't tied down and come forward!  these alone can kill a passenger or driver.

A much better solution would be to put FOUR true winter tires on the car.  The reason for four is that if you just put them on the driven wheels, then the back won't be able to help with stopping or turning and the car can oversteer.

With four good winter tires almost any vehicle can compete with 4WD trucks for traction.  Just don't depend on them on ice, since they help a little, but nothing except studded tires work on ice very well, and that is illegal in most places.  Most brands of winter tires can be had for under $100 per tire, and you use them about 1/2 of the year so your regular tires last longer, and winter tires can last for several winters.

NOTE: a winter tire is different from an all seasons tire.  All seasons tires with good tread will work in most winter situations pretty well, but true winter tires (not the old "snow tires" of the 50's/60's) work wonders on any car.

I had a 1987 Mustang 5.0L hatchback.  Almost as notorious as a Corvette for BAD winter traction.  It was helpless with the summer tires on it, but with winter tires, it was as good as any car for driving in bad winter weather.

FWD works well in snow not so much because of the weight on the front tires, but more because the car is being pulled through the snow rather than pushed.  Just think about a wheelbarrow.  If you try to push it through deep sand it is harder than if you turn around and pull it.  Same thing with FWD cars.

Finally, don't fall into the trap of putting good tires on the front of a FWD car and nearly bald tires on the back.  This can lead to oversteer (the back coming around and passing the front in a turn) in slick or fast conditions.  It is best for ANY vehicle to have four tires of exactly the same tread pattern and depth/condition at all times.  

This is why rotating tires every 3000 miles or so is so valuable.  You really do get more life from the tires, and you are going to have to buy four eventually no matter what you do, so better to have all four the same through their life.

I hope this helps!

Don