[scoobydoo2]

Am I the only one who loves to get into the Outback in weather like this (see photo below)...take it for a drive...turn off the traction control...and get ‘er a little...okay...a lot...sideways going around the corners...?

Picture taken while stopped :29:

 

[77'911]

It's not the Outback I'm totally concerned about. It's the others around us:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=W9EQb_W31OU

For some reason, when winter comes to the PNW, all common sense seems to go out the door with some. The highway and streets are like a pinball machine. I don't remember the east coast being that bad.
Regards

 

[scoobydoo2]

It's not the Outback I'm totally concerned about. It's the others around us:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=W9EQb_W31OU

For some reason, when winter comes to the PNW, all common sense seems to go out the door with some. The highway and streets are like a pinball machine. I don't remember the east coast being that bad.
Regards

That’s hilarious...my sister lives in Vancouver and has told me that most drivers there do NOT have snow tires because they rarely get snow...and when they do it’s gone in 24 hrs....which explains the video very clearly. The skill of driving in snowy weather is in short supply in the greater Vancouver area

 

[stocker]

Most vehicles can get away with well treaded good all season tires. It's really unbelievable how many vehicles have nearly bald tires in MN. Then people wonder how they end up in the ditch? I drive a civic now with very deep treaded all seasons and that thing struggles in deep unplowed snow. I can't imagine having 50% or 25 % tread and driving around - just plain stupid.

We have a new-to-us 11 outback this year with great all season and I go out and play every time it snows. Roundabout and industrial areas are amazing as long as you know where the curbs are. I also took it to an ice driving event on a frozen lake and it was the best $60 I've spend in a very long time - an absolute riot.

 

[andrec10]

Am I the only one who loves to get into the Outback in weather like this (see photo below)...take it for a drive...turn off the traction control...and get ‘er a little...okay...a lot...sideways going around the corners...?

Picture taken while stopped :29:

Nope!

 

[beedle4]

My son loves to do doughnuts. He always says to drop mom and lil brother off so we can "go drive crazy"

 

[Jon89]

I also enjoy taking our 3.6R out at first light after a decent snowfall. A couple of weeks ago we received nearly 7 inches of snow which we thoroughly enjoyed. At first light, the vast majority of lousy snow drivers and their ill-equipped vehicles have not yet summoned up the courage to try to drive, so the roads are nearly empty. My biggest concern is always getting plowed into by someone who has no business being out in the white stuff, so first light is playtime and we are safely home before the local TV newscasts start to become packed with video of wrecks and vehicles sliding into ditches.

 

[scoobydoo2]

Most vehicles can get away with well treaded good all season tires.

The problem with all seasons is the tread compound. When the temperature drops to about 35 degrees F...the compound hardens up in the cold making near useless for gripping snow. Proper snow tires have a softer compound and way more sipes in the design which enables them to get way better grip in the snow. I am preferential to the Michelin Xice tires...great in snow with AWD.

 

[andrec10]

The problem with all seasons is the tread compound. When the temperature drops to about 35 degrees F...the compound hardens up in the cold making near useless for gripping snow. Proper snow tires have a softer compound and way more sipes in the design which enables them to get way better grip in the snow. I am preferential to the Michelin Xice tires...great in snow with AWD.

I have the Michelin X -Ice and the Nokians on a Grand Cherokee. I like the Nokians better...IMHO...

 

[scoobydoo2]

I have the Michelin X -Ice and the Nokians on a Grand Cherokee. I like the Nokians better...IMHO...

My dad had Nokians on his A4 quatro...liked them but said there was a lot of road noise...agree or disagree?

 

[traildogck]

You all should see how much fun you can have with boost, Cooper Studded snows and a proper hand brake. The OBXTs are 5% rear bias. Couple that with a handbrake ... and welcome to winter time fun.

Induce a corner with steering input, then break the rear loose with the HB and then goose the gas. Turn into the slide and and then straight and you powerslide into a slingshot getaway.

No, You are NOT the only one.

 

[johnre]

Induce a corner with steering input, then break the rear loose with the HB and then goose the gas. Turn into the slide and and then straight and you powerslide into a slingshot getaway.

Yet another thing we give up when the HB is under electronic control!

 

[eagleeye]

My dad had Nokians on his A4 quatro...liked them but said there was a lot of road noise...agree or disagree?

when there is as much snow on the road as you originally posted,

you get no road noise. even with a fresh set of studded coopers like I have.

______

do I like flat sections of road with 4" of nice fresh powder,...yes. so long as there is no ice underneath,

and I am the only one out,

= so that I don't have to think about someone coming from the other side of the road without snow tires at me.

 

[stocker]

The problem with all seasons is the tread compound. When the temperature drops to about 35 degrees F...the compound hardens up in the cold making near useless for gripping snow. Proper snow tires have a softer compound and way more sipes in the design which enables them to get way better grip in the snow. I am preferential to the Michelin Xice tires...great in snow with AWD.

I understand what snow tires are in both theory and practice - I've owned them in the past. We just recently got 10" of snow which I went out and had no problems with my General RT43s - acceleration, braking, turning, drifting. The RT43s have deeper softer tread than any all-season I've ever seen which is why I bought them as a year round tire.

I can understand snows if you live in an especially snowy/icy region and have significant hills. Snow tires DO have more grip, I won't disagree with that.

 

[77'911]

That’s hilarious...my sister lives in Vancouver and has told me that most drivers there do NOT have snow tires because they rarely get snow...and when they do it’s gone in 24 hrs....which explains the video very clearly. The skill of driving in snowy weather is in short supply in the greater Vancouver area

You can't make this stuff up. That vid is a small fraction of the type of stuff I see around Vancouver and WA. We always run snows in the winter.....
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[scoobydoo2]

when there is as much snow on the road as you originally posted,

you get no road noise. even with a fresh set of studded coopers like I have.

______

do I like flat sections of road with 4" of nice fresh powder,...yes. so long as there is no ice underneath,

and I am the only one out,

= so that I don't have to think about someone coming from the other side of the road without snow tires at me.

...that's why I no longer use studded tires...too much road noise when there is no snow...and tire compounds are now so good that on snow...don't need them...ice...that is another thing all together

You all should see how much fun you can have with boost, Cooper Studded snows and a proper hand brake. The OBXTs are 5% rear bias. Couple that with a handbrake ... and welcome to winter time fun.

Induce a corner with steering input, then break the rear loose with the HB and then goose the gas. Turn into the slide and and then straight and you powerslide into a slingshot getaway.

No, You are NOT the only one.

...and there lies the key to real fun in the snow....a proper hand brake...not the electric crap that the OB has. brings back memories of the good ol days driving my VW bugs...instant fun in the snow with the hand brake and rear wheel drive.

 

[eagleeye]

...that's why I no longer use studded tires...too much road noise when there is no snow...and tire compounds are now so good that on snow...don't need them...ice...that is another thing all together



...and there lies the key to real fun in the snow....a proper hand brake...not the electric crap that the OB has. brings back memories of the good ol days driving my VW bugs...instant fun in the snow with the hand brake and rear wheel drive.

I try not to use one with studded snows as a daily driver, and it stays put if there is zero chance for ice / snow on the road.

as such I keep my studded snows a long long long time. way past when the sticky compounds in the ice tires would have dried up.

so studded snows that are 5 years old with 20,000 miles on them can still bite the ice,...I would think that is something that sticky ice tires can't do as easy after 2 years.

 

[m3scott]

So much fun! Running Nitto SN2's and having a blast in MN. I got a good deal on them, mounted on OEM rims so it's swap on, swap off.

 

[andrec10]

My dad had Nokians on his A4 quatro...liked them but said there was a lot of road noise...agree or disagree?

A little nosier than the Michelins, but nothing horrible.

 

[beedle4]

You all should see how much fun you can have with boost, Cooper Studded snows and a proper hand brake. The OBXTs are 5% rear bias. Couple that with a handbrake ... and welcome to winter time fun.

Induce a corner with steering input, then break the rear loose with the HB and then goose the gas. Turn into the slide and and then straight and you powerslide into a slingshot getaway.

No, You are NOT the only one.

This is true my 05 Saabaru I gave up for the OB was much more fun in the snow. Boost, manual trans, hand brake. It was amazing the controlled drifts you could pull off.


And yes living in MI just to be extra safe I run snow tires on my and my wife's car. Old one had Michelin primacy alpine performance snow tires that were great. I currently run Michelin x-ice 3, again great tires. And run mastercrafts (coopers) on the wife's HHR since its only fwd I opted for the clunker/slightly noisemaker deep tread tire. She gets around pretty good too.