Studdable Tires
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From: Raritan
Studdable Tires
I'm ordering studdable tires for the first time. Tire Rack offers to send them studded ($15/tire). First question is: Since my truck is RWD, should I just order 2 studded and put them on the rear, or order all 4? Second question is, am I wasting my time trying to drive this truck in the winter? It's a Chevy S10.
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Re: Studdable Tires
You're not wasting your time driving the truck in winter, but you're wasting your time getting studded winter tires. In most winter conditions, studded winter tires don't grip as well as today's best studless winter tires.
And you should definitely get four of whatever kind of winter tires you go with, not two.
And you should definitely get four of whatever kind of winter tires you go with, not two.
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Re: Studdable Tires
AN OVERVIEW OF STUDDED AND STUDLESS TIRE TRACTION AND SAFETY
Here are some of its conclusions:
Originally Posted by AN OVERVIEW OF STUDDED AND STUDLESS TIRE TRACTION AND SAFETY
1. Studded tires produce their best traction on snow or ice near the freezing mark and lose proportionately more of their tractive ability at lower temperatures than do studless or all-season tires.
2. The traction of studded tires is slightly superior to studless tires only under an ever-narrowing set of circumstances. With less aggressive (lightweight) studs being mandated, and with the advent of the new “studless” tire, such as the Blizzak, since the early 1990s, the traction benefit for studded tires is primarily evident on clear ice near the freezing mark, a condition whose occurrence is limited. For the majority of test results reviewed for snow, and for ice at lower temperatures, studded tires performed as well as or worse than the Blizzak tire. For those conditions in which studded tires provided better traction than studless tires, the increment usually was small.
3. The precise environmental conditions under which studded tires provide a traction benefit are relatively rare. The maximum frictional gain (in comparison to nonstudded (not studless) tires) is found for new studded tires on smooth ice, where they have been shown to provide up to 100 percent gain in certain tests. However, the relative frictional gain of studded tires diminishes or becomes negative on roughened ice, as the temperature drops, as the studs wear, or if the comparison is made with studless tires.
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From: Raritan
Re: Studdable Tires
Funny you should post that. I was doing some googling last night, and was reading something similar. Good info nonetheless. I was also reading on why winter tires were more effective than all season tires, due to the resistance to harden at colder temperatures.
Thanks for the insight man.
Thanks for the insight man.
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Re: Studdable Tires
Yup. All-season tires are a compromise, providing the extra flexibility to be used in bitter cold during the winter, and in blazing heat during the summer. In exchange for that flexibility, they don't grip as well in winter as tires designed specifically for cold temperatures (winter tires), and they don't grip as well the rest of the time as tires designed for moderate to warm temperatures (summer tires). There's nothing wrong with that; they may be the best solution for someone who needs to use the same tires all year round (maybe as a matter of convenience). But you'll get better performance and grip from using multiple sets of tires, each designed for the specific conditions they'll be used in.
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Re: Studdable Tires
BUT... as most winter tire marketing fails to mention... All seasons do perform better than winter tires > ~32 so those who don't expect solid months of frigid cold and constant snow need to weigh the pros and cons.
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Re: Studdable Tires
That's not really true; all-seasons perform better in warmer temperatures, but that means in the upper forties and warmer; in the thirties, it's a toss-up, and colder than that, the winter tires have the clear advantage. Furthermore, using all-seasons rather than winter tires in bitter cold or a big winter storm may mean that you can't get there (or worse, have an accident) whereas the advantage of all-seasons if you get the rare warm day in winter is merely the convenience of ride comfort and handling, and not a major safety factor.
If you live where the winters are mild - places like DC/Va, St. Louis, Oklahoma, etc - all-seasons may be worth the trade-offs. But if you live where the winters are harsh - Chicago, Minneapolis, Boston - you'll encounter bitter cold and/or snow more days than not, and you'd better be prepared.
Normal high/low temperatures in January, in degrees F:
Washington DC 42/27
Tulsa 47/26
Chicago 30/14
Minneapolis 22/4
Those are the trade-offs, and it's your car, your decision.
If you live where the winters are mild - places like DC/Va, St. Louis, Oklahoma, etc - all-seasons may be worth the trade-offs. But if you live where the winters are harsh - Chicago, Minneapolis, Boston - you'll encounter bitter cold and/or snow more days than not, and you'd better be prepared.
Normal high/low temperatures in January, in degrees F:
Washington DC 42/27
Tulsa 47/26
Chicago 30/14
Minneapolis 22/4
Those are the trade-offs, and it's your car, your decision.
Last edited by nsxtasy; Dec 1, 2010 at 08:59 PM.
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