Originally, the weather forcast said snow this week. Now it looks like less of a chance, but Todd and I figured it was a good idea to initiate the annual Snow Tire Blitz.
We started off taking off my alloys and Goodyear RS-A's, and put on steels and Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice's... The two front ones may have to be junked after this winter, but the rears are still good.
Next, we had to plug one Firestone snow tire, move the cars around, and swap the Firestone with a police spec Goodyear Ultra Grip from Todd's mother's car that was originally his.
Next, we moved cars again, sifted through Todd's collection of tires and rims, and installed two Goodyear Ultra Grips on Todd's car.
THEN we tried to make heads-or-tails out of all those tires laying around the place... some junk, some good, some on rims, some not.
Lastly, back in my own driveway, I managed for the first time to get all 4 center caps on my wheels all by myself! The key seems to be a rubber mallet and no fear of denting them.
Some drivers choose to put snow tires only on the front axle, thinking it will give them added traction for less money; however, this actually causes a serious safety hazard.
ReplyDeleteI don't know about front wheel drive cars, but with RWD, you can get away with 2 snows on the rear. I did it for years, and so did many other people. Now, if you want to get into how a car handles with two different pairs of tires, then you have to look at the driver. The average person wouldn't notice a thing, but someone like me would. Sloppy snows mixed with harder rubber can alter the handling of a car a lot. I decided to go with 4 snows because I would otherwise end up with 2 all-weather tires wearing more than the other 2. Also, my commute at the time and work parking lot were crazy tough in winter. Add in the fact Vic handles a lot better than my old '87 Grand Marquis, and therefore I drive it differently, AND the fact the Marquis had hubcaps and Vic has alloys... well, you get my meaning...
ReplyDeleteYeah, that part of automotive maintenance can be a bit of a problem. Travelling on snow-covered roads is very dangerous. And since normal tires are harder than snow tires, there’s very little grip on the road, which is why cars usually slip and slide on icy roads. When are you going to change back into summer tires, by the way?
ReplyDeleteWell, I usually end up driving on the snows far longer than I want to, due to limited access to my boyfriend and his tools! I like to get them off around April, as the snows I run are pretty good in the rain. Once it gets warm, they get all squishy and start to wear more.
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