Snow tires lol...

[Rupert]

Silica is not sticky. Rocks are made of silica. Glass is made of silica. Silica is very hard. Some other shit in there possibly with silica makes things sticky.

[MX793]

Silica is not sticky. Rocks are made of silica. Glass is made of silica. Silica is very hard. Some other shit in there possibly with silica makes things sticky.

The silica may give it bite on ice.

[Rupert]

Silicon isn't silica. Silica is SiO2. Silicon can be combined with stuff to make it very sticky (see caulk for example), but I'm pretty sure silica is silica and silica is hard.

[MX793]

Silicon isn't silica. Silica is SiO2. Silicon can be combined with stuff to make it very sticky (see caulk for example), but I'm pretty sure silica is silica and silica is hard.

I'm not talking "stickiness", I'm talking bite.  Lots of hard silica particles in the rubber should make it course/rough.  That would be a benefit on ice as the particles could bite into the surface.  Almost like having a little sand dispenser right in front of your tires.

[Rupert]

But rohan was talking stickiness, and do you know if tire makers actually do stick sand in their tires?

[giant_mtb]

We got some heavy wet snow yesterday, so the roads got panked down into ice rather quickly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeqG0CqzHq4&noredirect=1

[Cookie Monster]

We got some heavy wet snow yesterday, so the roads got panked down into ice rather quickly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeqG0CqzHq4&noredirect=1

Did you take that video? Pretty funny.

[giant_mtb]

Nope, wasn't me; that's on the other side of town...people were posting/re-posting it on Facebook.  That hill just got re-paved over the summer...fun as hell to bomb down at 35mph on the moped, too.

[Cookie Monster]

Nice! It would've been awesome if the guy drifted around the left hand turn instead of spinning out and then turning. He did a good job of not crashing though.

[giant_mtb]

Nice! It would've been awesome if the guy drifted around the left hand turn instead of spinning out and then turning. He did a good job of not crashing though.

Yeah, he definitely got lucky there...the main road through town was just one block farther than that and it looks like there was a big truck stopped in the road just past where he stopped, too.  Could've been bad!

[Soup DeVille]

But rohan was talking stickiness, and do you know if tire makers actually do stick sand in their tires?

There's a visible grid pattern in the tread of blizzaks that clearly comes from a somewhat harder material than rubber, and is slightly more reflective. This may be the silica the ads mention. Whether it is indeed silica or one of the many other compounds of silicon 9and I never trust ad print for technical features like this) I don't know.

[GoCougs]

Just got the Blizzak LM-60s on my new wheels. They're a lot quieter and smoother than anticipated. Still some squishiness at freeway speeds though. I can tell there's more drag too. MPG are gonna drop for sure but I'm gonna be quite a snow machine now!

[dazzleman]

I haven't used snow tires since the early 1980s.

[MX793]

I think I may actually spring for snow tires this season.  We had such a mild winter last year that it wouldn't surprise me if this year is extra snowy.  Additionally, I need new tires anyway since the all seasons on my winter rat are more than half worn.  OK for summer driving, but they aren't going to be much good in anything deeper than a fraction of an inch.  I suppose if I buy them already mounted on a set of steelies, I can always sell them slightly used if I end up getting rid of the Mazda after this winter and they don't fit on whatever I get as a replacement winter/practical car.

[280Z Turbo]

Manbearpig is making the winters mild. I'm hoping that the south will come to me, rather than me having to go south to enjoy good weather. Consequences be damned!

[rohan]

Just got the Blizzak LM-60s on my new wheels. They're a lot quieter and smoother than anticipated. Still some squishiness at freeway speeds though. I can tell there's more drag too. MPG are gonna drop for sure but I'm gonna be quite a snow machine now!

Too bad they're so unsafe.

[MX793]

and just ordered a set of Blizzak WS70s on steelies.

[VTEC_Inside]

So the tires on the CSX are pretty much done. Got 50,000kms out of them from when I got the car so they've paid their dues.

Problem is that this happened in winter. I haven't had any major issues driving on them, but I have had to drive painfully slow to compensate. After taking my gfs brand new Civic for a drive I realized just how bad my tires were since I was barely setting off the VSA in that car.

So I'm browsing the ClubRSX for sale section and I see a set of RSX Premium wheels with snows mounted for $430, I offer $380, dude says $360 if I come there (he doesnt have to meet me half way.)

2 of them are practically new, the others, well, they'll make it through the season (All Hankook W300s). The wheels aren't mint, but there is no major damage to any of them, just a couple small scuffs here and there. Heck $90 a wheel with tires? Pretty good deal IMO.

Put them on yesterday in the middle of a snow storm and went for a short drive last night. It should be noted that this is the worst we've gotten dumped on in a long time and that most major roads still had a skim coat of packed snow on them, so this is about as bad as it gets.

This is my first time driving on snows. I noticed extra bite just pulling out of the driveway. The car still wandered a bit going down the road, but I still had steering control. Accelerating/braking/steering were all a bit better than the Continental all-seasons on the Civic.

Stalled the car twice when trying to get into a parking lot, was spinning them a bit and the sudden bite under light throttle caught me twice. I did get into the lot pretty easy though.

All in all, I still don't think I would spend money on a new set of winters. I think they caused a bit of an SUV complex. They made it seem better than it really was, but the laws of physics remain. Comparing again to the Conti all-seasons, well, IMO, the relatively new Contis hold their own pretty darn well. Given that yesterday was about as bad is gets, and I didn't even need to go out, well....

Now, IF, yesterday was a regular occurrence around here then sure, but I can easily live without that little bit of extra bite on the 3-5 days a year that its likely to help. The rest of the time I won't have to endure the whir they are going to make (speculating at this point because I haven't driven them on asphalt yet)

[MX793]

My snows are actually quieter on bare pavement than my all-seasons were 

[VTEC_Inside]

My snows are actually quieter on bare pavement than my all-seasons were 

As I said, speculation at this point. I've been in cars with snows where it sounds like your in a dually with mud boggers on it. Others have been quite a bit better.

[MX793]

As I said, speculation at this point. I've been in cars with snows where it sounds like your in a dually with mud boggers on it. Others have been quite a bit better.

My all-seasons were especially loud even when new (and after 50K+ miles and some light cupping, they were even more so).  Fairly blocky tread design.  They handled snow quite well, though.  I pulled through snow up to the rockers with those tires.

[MexicoCityM3]

Lost traction yesterday driving to my mom's house.  It was an inclined left hander that I didn't take too aggressively.  They salted when they were expecting snow last week, so all that is crushed up and lowering the traction of tires now.  Where I live, there's no salt yet.

Lost traction = spun out?

😈

[GoCougs]

Couple of comments. By the time you notice decreased tread depth on a dedicated snow tire the tire is shot. Also the W300 is a "performance" snow tire it won't be as effective in the snow as something like the WS70 or X-Ice. Yes, you will have more road noise and ride will be a bit rougher too. Also MPG will drop ~15%.

Getting stuck is a major hassle, and can be dangerous if done late at night and/or out in the middle of nowhere. Since I started buying cars again ('05) I've had dedicated snow tires each season. It is an inconvenience/tradeoff but worth it.

[VTEC_Inside]

Looks pretty good with the RSX wheels if I don't say so...

[VTEC_Inside]

Couple of comments. By the time you notice decreased tread depth on a dedicated snow tire the tire is shot. Also the W300 is a "performance" snow tire it won't be as effective in the snow as something like the WS70 or X-Ice. Yes, you will have more road noise and ride will be a bit rougher too. Also MPG will drop ~15%.

Interesting... I know nothing about the different snow tires... These were on an RSX so I assume the owner wanted something with a bit more "performance".... Plenty more bite than I've ever had in the snow that's for sure. I was really surprised the way the car pulled out of the rut I got in. I thought for sure I was gonna have to at least get out and clear a bit of snow, then when I stalled it I was like whoa... lol..

[VTEC_Inside]

Got going about 120kph on them today.

They are a little louder than the worn goodyears but not significantly.

They are def balanced better.

[S204STi]

Couple of comments. By the time you notice decreased tread depth on a dedicated snow tire the tire is shot. Also the W300 is a "performance" snow tire it won't be as effective in the snow as something like the WS70 or X-Ice. Yes, you will have more road noise and ride will be a bit rougher too. Also MPG will drop ~15%.

Getting stuck is a major hassle, and can be dangerous if done late at night and/or out in the middle of nowhere. Since I started buying cars again ('05) I've had dedicated snow tires each season. It is an inconvenience/tradeoff but worth it.

My Continentals actually have a secondary indication which tells you when they're no longer useful in the snow.  I'm pretty close, but they still rock in even deeper stuff.  Snow pack is still respectable; ice not as much.  But then without studs that was always expected.  I'm pretty happy with this tire, and I suspect I'll buy them again.

[VTEC_Inside]

Update: Dry weather grip? Nope...

[93JC]

B-b-b-but what if it's cold? Winter tires are needed when it's cold, even if it's dry!

[VTEC_Inside]

Lol... The smell of burning rubber doesn't lie. It makes for some fun burnouts but cornering blows. Had the RSX out on the weekend and it was sheer joy to feel some cornering Gs again.