OAUSA Net - January 21, 2016- Snow Driving

[DaveK]

Studded snow tires have been around for many years and are still preferred by many. The disadvantages are significant, including the need to buy a new set of tires, the need to swap them in when snow appears and out when the season is over, and significantly increased road noise. Additionally many states prohibit studded tires during non-snow seasons, and some states have even banned them altogether.

The "studded vs non studded tire" debate is one which will be resolved purely by choice, but breakthroughs in tire technology have nearly eliminated the need for studs. The Bridgestone Tire Company offers the following analysis of "stud vs non-stud" tires" (http://www.bridgestonetire.com/tread-an ... less-tires):

Studded Tires

Studded snow tires literally have metal studs embedded within the tread. These small, strong pieces of metal are designed to dig into ice, which provides added traction. When the driving surface isn't covered in ice, studded tires can damage the road. They're tough enough to dig into pavement, which is why many states limit their use during non-winter months and some states have outlawed them completely. Studded winter tires are also known to produce a noisy ride.

Although studded tires are capable of handling icy driving situations, improvements in the rubber compounds of modern studless winter tires have made them more capable of handling some of winter's most extreme driving situations.

Studless Tires

In recent years, studless snow tires have become the preferred snow tire for many winter drivers. Instead of relying on metal protrusions in the tread, modern non-studded winter tires lean on advances in rubber compounding, tread designs, and other unique technologies.

In winter's cold temperatures, a non-winter tire's tread rubber becomes stiffer and less able to conform to even a dry road's irregularities. Modern studless snow tires are capable of maintaining flexibility in freezing temperatures, thanks to advances in rubber compounding technologies. This increased rubber flexibility allows tires to maintain traction on snowy, icy, wet and dry driving surfaces.

Studless winter tires generally have deeper tread depths than summer or all season tires. Deep tread depths allow the tire to manage snow and slush dispersion from under the tire. It also allows the tire to provide better or snow-on-snow traction by packing it within the tread blocks.

Another feature you'll notice are thousands of tiny slits in the tread pattern, called sipes. These act as thousands of biting edges on ice that help with acceleration, deceleration, and stopping.

[DaveK]

Special Chain Applications

Many of the newer cars today have very tight clearances around the tires and manufacturers do not recommend the use of (regular) chains. Tire chain companies have risen to the task and have developed chains that are meant to fit these vehicles. SAE guidelines have also been developed to indicate which type of chain is appropriate for a given clearance dimension. For purposes of illustration only, I have selected one manufacturer to demonstrate the types of chains that are currently being offered that can be used in such vehicles. The product is called "Z-Chain" and is manufactured by the SSC company. This is the description from their website (http://www.scc-chain.com/tire-chain-fin ... s/z-chain/)

Z-Chain has always met S.A.E. Class “S” requirements for passenger vehicles with limited clearance around the drive tires. Now the inner cross member connectors and side cable fastening system have been redesigned to operate in even smaller spaces!

Here is an example of these chains. Before purchasing any chain, you should check with your owners manual.

ZP_6.jpg (25.77 KiB) Viewed 537 times

Heavy Duty Chains

If you are looking for some heavy duty strong snow chains, look into the pewag website, http://www.pewagchain.com/Products/Traction-Chains.aspx . Since most four-wheelers run tires much larger than stock, finding chains can be challenging. Pewag offers chains in a huge variety of sizes.

[NotAMog]

I'd like to request a courtesy check in for KD6GCO and KN6VL.

Thanks,

Bruce

[jeepin_idaho]

Here is the link to the podcast that I mentioned where I interviewed the inventor. You'll have to jump to about minute 50 of the show for the interview.

http://www.the4x4podcast.com/episode-58 ... dakar-2014

[lrsrngr]

Candles are toted as being a means of providing heat when you need a little something in your tent or ice/snow cave, so I don't see why candles would not work in a vehicle that can not continue for whatever reason or do not want to burn vehicle fuel unnecessarily. Below is a link to some suggestions. I made the candle/flower pot rig and staged it in the bathroom at home and it gives a nice radiated heat. Not a lot of heat but it was enough to take the edge off of a small bathroom with the doors shut to retain the heat. Problem with candles is they will not last in a year round stored vehicle kit. If anyone has heard of a candle application, I am curious.

http://offgridsurvival.com/candles/

Further down in the comments on this site I found this [added to original post]:

Sherry Beeson says:
April 15, 2011 at 12:59 am
I keep small candles and a metal coffee can [too bad coffee cans are kind of scarce now] in my vehicles in the winter. If I get stranded I will light the candle and put it into the can … the can will warm up and keep the inside of my vehicle warm. I also have a thick hot pad to place the can on so it doesn’t burn my flooring. I also have a small grate, just a little larger than the can. I can put snow into a heavy cup (always keep one of these too) and melt the snow to make tea, instant coffee, soup or hot chocolate. I keep dried fruit mix in the kit so when I get hungry I will have something substantial to eat that isn’t just wasted calories.
Just my two cents worth …..

Just in time for the big storm coming to the East Coast, FEMA preparations: http://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/ ... AL_508.pdf