Interesting snow tire (for cars)

[Motofool]

Link to original page on YouTube.

[Triple Jim]

When I lived in MD, I wasn't allowed to use studded tires. They seem to be legal here in NC, but they're not in your state.

[cadd]

Originally Posted by Triple Jim

When I lived in MD, I wasn't allowed to use studded tires. They seem to be legal here in NC, but they're not in your state.

Does it even snow in NC?

[greg737]

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-li...y/n45830?snl=1

[Triple Jim]

Originally Posted by cadd

Does it even snow in NC?

Looking out my door five minutes ago:

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by Triple Jim

When I lived in MD, I wasn't allowed to use studded tires. They seem to be legal here in NC, but they're not in your state.

What is the reason that makes studded tires illegal in some areas?
Would these retracting type be less problematic.

Sorry, I don't know much about driving or riding on snow.

[greg737]

What is the reason that makes studded tires illegal in some areas?

I don't know if this is the reason but...

When winter decides to go all dry-and-clear and there's no snow and ice to intervene between the steel studs and the road surface it gets chewed up and develops worn-in ruts.

I lived in Spokane for 20 years and can attest to the damage. Because of the studded snow tires used in the winter we drive around in spring, summer and winter on weirdly rutted roads.

It's an interesting visual experience in the late winter and very early spring, before the official "take-off" date for the studded snow tires, to be driving along westbound on I-90 through Spokane in the afternoon traffic. If you look out in front of you down a straight piece you'll see the sunlight reflecting off a white-ish haze of very finely ground dust hanging in the air over the highway. That's when you realize how much damage the studded snow tires do on a dry roadway.

So we drive around slowly pulverizing roads that the city doesn't have the money to replace and as a result Spokane is becoming covered in cheap, nasty chip-and-seal roadway repair.

[Triple Jim]

Originally Posted by greg737

I don't know if this is the reason but...

That's the reason... road surface damage. I guess if the makers of this new tire can show lawmakers proof that it doesn't damage the road, it's possible they might convince them to allow its use. It sounds like a painful battle though.

[dcj13]

Studded tires (in theory) are harder on roads than regular tires, so flat-ish states ban them.

In states with hills and fairly high altitude mountain passes, they are allowed during snow season (Nov thru Apr in WA), although the governor can extend their use depending on weather.

Studs are all about hills and ice (and usually not having to put on chains).

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by dcj13

.......... Studs are all about hills and ice (and usually not having to put on chains).

For all the responses above, I thank you all.

Are chains better, worse, legal?

[Triple Jim]

Chains are a lot better than studs for traction on snow or ice. Laws about when to use them vary from state to state. In my experience, a 2-wheel drive vehicle with chains can go about as well as a 4-wheel drive vehicle without them, but the vehicle with chains can stop a lot faster. The problem with chains is they wear very quickly on pavement, so you need to stop and take them off as soon as they're not needed.

[dcj13]

Yes, chains are better. But a PITA to put on and take off.

Usually one puts them on for going over a mountain pass, then removes them a few miles down the road.

[Triple Jim]

No mountain passes around here. I use chains when I need to go somewhere in snow that's so deep that my 2-wheel drive cars can't make it. Like today if someone here needs to get to a doctor, for example. Since I've been in NC, it's been rare that I needed chains, but it has come up once or twice.

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by Triple Jim

No mountain passes around here. I use chains when I need to go somewhere in snow that's so deep that my 2-wheel drive cars can't make it. Like today if someone here needs to get to a doctor, for example. Since I've been in NC, it's been rare that I needed chains, but it has come up once or twice.

Then, are chains effective for any depth of snow?
Or does the accumulation of snow need to be small enough for the chains to contact the road and for the belly of the car to clear it?

[Triple Jim]

Chains work well to get a grip on snow and ice, and don't normally contact the road to work, but once the car's belly starts dragging, it can get difficult to drive no matter how many wheels are driven and how many of them have chains on them. I remember a winter in the DC area when I put chains on my Dodge B200 van and got out of my subdivision to the plowed roads, but the snow was deep and the belly was dragging, so I was moving about half as fast as my rear wheels were turning.

[Motofool]

Thanks, Jim.
Very interesting.