people with low pro tires

[98outbackpdx]

has anyone noticed that people with low profile tires on their car usually cannot drive?
i was heading up my hill and a lady in a newer Acura TL got stuck. i had to stop, and under the fresh snow is ice. i barely got going, in my Outback.
i am watching the news from Portland Oregon, people cannot drive in the snow. lots of accidents, and people chaining up in the middle of the freeway. people still amaze me that they don't carry chains or have snow tires on their car this time. if you don't know how to drive in the snow or ice don't go out.

[j_saffron]

yeah, im from KCMO, but this is my 2nd Portland winter.
this snow isn't even that bad. i would rate it @#2 for severity. #10 being worst.

my wife has spent 3 hours in her Outback Sport traveling the distance it usually takes 10mins to get through.
Portland in general has major traffic problems even when conditions are optimal.

this city was not designed or modified to handle its population.

[98outbackpdx]

i live in The Dalles which is about 1.5 hours east on I-84 and grew up here so i know Portland, you think Portland has bad traffic go down to the SF bay area, and drive in rush hour.

[ouch1011]

We only got like an inch down here in Salem, but people were still freaking out about it.

This is my first winter with AWD. Did it with FWD before. The AWD is really only marginally better. It just means you can accelerate a bit better. You still have to slow down just as much for corners, and that is still just as difficult to do. The AWD does probably give you some more options to recover from a skid, though.

Low profile tires are also usually worse on snow and ice, especially since most low profile tires are performance-oriented. The BF Goodrich KDWs I used to have stuck like glue in dry and wet, but they became useless in even the slightest bit of snow.

[Huffer]

What does winter have to do with low-profile tires? Not much, it's the tire tread, not the aspect ratio.

[98outbackpdx]

i don't know, my mom had a 2008 legacy 2.5i limited with the VDC (i got t-boned in it and it got totaled side airbags deployed) with the low profile tires, and it did horribly in the snow and ice. it had the Yokohama tires that it came with. they were supposedly all seasons. i did spin out when i hit some snow, plus i would like to say that Subaru's VDC system is one of the worst systems on the market. Hyundai had a better system (rental cars.)

[peugoby]

Low profile tires and Portland, OR have nothing to do with each other. Last winter I had a set of Toyo studless snow tires and could blast anything in my Legacy. Unfortunately, those tires are gone.

I was driving in yesterdays shit show and could not make it up the slightest of inclines in my extreme summer performance only Pirelli Pzero Nero's. It just goes to show that tire COMPOUND makes the difference. My Legacy was about as useless as the Ferrari 355 I was following. I actually got out and helped push him (nice Guy)

The heigth (sidewall) has little to do with traction issues, it has much more to do with the width and compound. You could put snow tires on a IROC-Z Camaro and do better than my Legacy did yesterday lol

[BE-Fresh]

Yeah uh, I don't think the the profile of the tire has anything to do with how well it performs in the snow. You can drive in the snow with All-Season tires, but don't expect to cut through like a snowmobile. All-Seasons are usually good for an inch, [/i]maybe[/i] and inch and a half of fresh snow. I have semi-bald (I call 'em bald-seasons) Potenza G009s on my car, and as long as I drive carefully, slowly, and leave enough room for braking/between me and the car in front of me, everything is fine.

Cliffnotes: If your area experiences harsh winter conditions, you might want to consider investing in a good set of snow-specific tires.

[Huffer]

As an aside...


has anyone noticed that people with low profile tires on their car usually cannot drive?


i don't know, my mom had a 2008 legacy 2.5i limited with the VDC (i got t-boned in it and it got totaled side airbags deployed) with the low profile tires,

:lol: :lol:

So basically, your thread is really all about "if you can't drive in ice or snow, don't go out". :smt023

[BE-Fresh]

Yeah I'm still kinda lost on this thread

[rougeben83]

I have 45 aspect ratio (snow) tires on my car right now :oops:

[ouch1011]

What does winter have to do with low-profile tires? Not much, it's the tire tread, not the aspect ratio.

Isn't that what I said?

I will disagree to a certain extent though. In serious winter conditions you want more sidewall flex to allow the tire to conform to the road better. Most snow tires have very, very soft sidewalls. On low profile tires, especially REALLY low profile tires, the sidewall has to be stiffer so that you don't squash the tire all the way down to the wheel over bumps and end up damaging stuff.

[98outbackpdx]

yeah basically, if you are not prepared or cannot drive don't go out.