Tire pressure and snow

[Tippey764]

Well i got on the highway and noticed this HUGE vibration

So i filled them back up to 32

Vibration is still there. Its so bad i can't use the highway. Fucking i drive all day perfectly fine, intentionally drifting my car without fail. I get home safe and slide into a curb doing 4mph. FML

[Dobermann]

I'm from northern Ontario, (like 9 hours north of detroit) and my parents refuse to buy winter tires. My dad is a firm believer in not driving like an asshole and you will be fine with all seasons. It works well for them. If you just drive with properly inflated tires according to the conditions you will be fine.

I found 175/60/14 Perellis because I found them basically brand new for $300, and I run summer tires that arent even recomended in cold weather, let alone in the winter.

Just run your tires how they are supposed to be run and don't drive like an asshat, or dish out some money. If you cant afford $200 for winter tires, you cant afford to wreck your nice summer tires.

[red07frontier]

Well i got on the highway and noticed this HUGE vibration

So i filled them back up to 32

Vibration is still there. Its so bad i can't use the highway. Fucking i drive all day perfectly fine, intentionally drifting my car without fail. I get home safe and slide into a curb doing 4mph. FML

Sucks but the vibration is a cord broken on a tire. Basically the tire is garbage now. No way to know which one or how many but need to take it to a tire shop. 15psi is way to low for a tire that size.

When you hear of people running that low it is from off road trucks that have a sidewall that can flex. For instance, I have 39.5" iroks on my truck so I can air down to 15psi and have lots of room to flex. A small tire is going to destroy itself. Low pro tires are even worse.

[deevergote]

Assuming your tyre pressure are correct to begin with wont increase surface area, in fact it will reduce as the middle of the tyre shrinks in diameter. However this can be useful also, as youll be running on the inner and outer parts of the tyres which will dig into the snow. But its not recommended.

Thin tyres arent the best solution, however a sharp sidewall shoulder would be beneficial. Keep it simple though just run proper tyre pressures.

This makes the most sense out of everything posted.

Not only will the contact patch shrink slightly, but the areas that are intended to grip will contract, resulting in them not gripping. Furthermore, and the primary reason why lowering tire pressure won't help much, is that radial tires will buckle as pressure decreases, and you'll end up using the sidewall as your contact patch more than the middle.

Keep your tires properly inflated. If you're not happy with the traction, you have 2 options... buy snow tires, or don't drive when it snows!

[Ralphie]

I think you are reading too far into what I said. I never said, "lolz all seasons are the best for snow storms, lol." All I said was that if you know how to drive (not just *think* you know how to), you can do fine with all seasons in a pinch. We didn't get enough snow where I lived to warrant snow tires or chains. If you knew how to drive, the all seasons would get you through any storm in that area. The problem is, people *don't* know how to drive.

Oh i never said ONLY winter tires will work.

My in laws here don't believe in winter tires, they run all seasons all year round and have never had an issue because as long as you know how to drive then your fine, i agree with you 100%.

The point you keep missing is i was speaking about under inflation.

That is a waste and i don't agree with it, and i thought you were arguing for under inflation but i guess you were just talking about winter tires.

So my appologies.

[deevergote]

I've never owned a set of winter tires in my life. uslspct gets a new set every year.
MOST people I know in NJ don't bother.

I do admit that there are times when I'm working up in the mountainous regions of NJ that I wish I had snow tires! I almost didn't make it out of a guy's driveway once.... not good. "excuse me sir, i know i'm working for the people that are taking your home from you... but do you think you could help me dig a path up your driveway?"
I went to a house once where nobody was home. So I left. I got stuck in the snow just off the road in front of the house next door. A nice man and his son pulled over to help. Then they parked their car at the house I was just at. I didn't have the heart to go back and tell them who I was...

[Ralphie]

I've never owned a set of winter tires in my life. uslspct gets a new set every year.
MOST people I know in NJ don't bother.

I do admit that there are times when I'm working up in the mountainous regions of NJ that I wish I had snow tires! I almost didn't make it out of a guy's driveway once.... not good. "excuse me sir, i know i'm working for the people that are taking your home from you... but do you think you could help me dig a path up your driveway?"
I went to a house once where nobody was home. So I left. I got stuck in the snow just off the road in front of the house next door. A nice man and his son pulled over to help. Then they parked their car at the house I was just at. I didn't have the heart to go back and tell them who I was...

LOL damn that has to be crappy.

Ya i when i moved here i told Jenna i was going to invest in good winter tires and she thought i was crazy because no one here really puts there car into "winter mode". They just make sure the car is in good cond for winter and then just drive carefully so that's why im on all seasons and ive had no issues so why spend the money?

[alb_accord]

for snow you need thin tires to cut threw the snow.... it's a very well known fact. pls do not do that to ur tires. the more threads you got in the tire, more they are going to cut threw the snow to get some traction. it works this way in snow rain and dirt. on asphalt is the other way around. that is why some tires have no threads at all. and these tires are called what??????? s.... you got boys.

[Tippey764]

Sucks but the vibration is a cord broken on a tire. Basically the tire is garbage now. No way to know which one or how many but need to take it to a tire shop. 15psi is way to low for a tire that size.

When you hear of people running that low it is from off road trucks that have a sidewall that can flex. For instance, I have 39.5" iroks on my truck so I can air down to 15psi and have lots of room to flex. A small tire is going to destroy itself. Low pro tires are even worse.

I'm so glad you were wrong. I thought I was fucked. I went up to the car wash abd found atom of snow caked to the inside of the rim nearly clearing the caliper abd very off set. So basically I had a wheel weight on my wheel. Vibrations gone

[DJ metadelic]

i keep an average of 32-35 psi per tire, all year round.

and i live in an area that some of you would rather die than drive in (in winter).

i've heard this trick too, but heard that it's best for rear wheel squeel trucks, and not necessarily in the snow, but more so in the mud and loose gravel.

underinflation is as dangerous as any other tire pressure issue has the potential of being; i would recommend the manufacturer's specs on inflation.

[J-specCb4]

lol i have bald z rated 245s.... good times.

[crazymikey]

I swear by snow tires. The difference they make it unbelievable. Because they're a softer compound, they stick better and don't harden up in cold weather like an all season does, which ends up reducing your traction even more.

I bought a big set of 31x10.5x15 Cooper Discoverer STT mud/snow tires for my Ranger, thinking they would be the ultimate tire for poor conditions. They were rated M+S and had really thick aggressive lugs, almost like a tractor tire.

They were super hard and in snow, slush and ice they were absolutely deadly and unsafe. In powder snow, sand, dirt, mud and dry pavement they were great and would paddle through anything. You throw one bit of ice or slush at them and you'd end up sideways and upside down.

Snow tires, other than common sense and safe driving to the conditions, are the biggest and safest investment you can put on your vehicle for the winter.

It's like saying "why use drag slicks at the track when I can just use my street tires?" Why? More grip.