prgclb (12/02/82)
Some time ago, I initiated a request on net.auto for opinions on radial snow tires. The responses I got were generally along this line: If you have a front-wheel drive car, don't bother with snows. If you have a rear-wheel drive car, especially a performance car with a heavier front-end, you might want snows. My car, while it has rear-wheel drive, is pretty well balanced, so it's a 50/50 choice for me. I did want to share the following from Jim Mateja's auto column in last Sunday's Chicago Tribune. "Snow tires revisited" "If you own a front-wheel-drive car, do you need snow tires? 'In the typical Chicago winter, you don't need snow tires on a front-wheel-drive car,' said L. Donald Gschwind, vice[ president - product engineering for Chrysler. 'If your car comes with regular radials, the step-up tire for the winter would be the all-weather radial. 'Whether you have glass- or steel-belted radials on your car, it really doesn't make much difference. All raidal ply tires have an aggressive tread pattern that makes the front-wheel-drive car an excellent snow machine,' Gschwind said. 'With a front-wheel-drive car, you have the weight over the drive wheels up front, the steering and braking up front. What you have is super traction, so that, at the most, all you would need is a set of all-weather tires,' he said. There are some who wear both a belt and suspenders; that is, they're considering snow treads for the rear tires on a front-wheel-drive car. The rationale is that it can't hurt and could provide even better winter stability for the car. 'Absolutely not necessary,' Gschwind said. 'In a rear-drive car, the front wheels fight to push their way through the snow. This makes the rear wheels work harder and is why you may have some rear-wheel spinning. In the front-wheel-drive car, the front wheels pull their way through the rough snow, so there is less resistance for the rear wheels. And in a front-wheel-drive car, you have so much weight up front, you don't need the added weight (sand, blocks) in the rear, either.'" Carl Blesch