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Old 01-05-2014, 11:34 AM
 
Location: Up North
3,426 posts, read 8,871,154 times
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I have never lived in the suburbs of Boston before and I'm currently in Metro West. My residential road has been plowed since the blizzard but there is still an inch of dirty snow coating the streets. I drove my car one block and the tires were already caked with snow. Is this safe? I plan on driving into Brookline and Cambridge and I'm not a seasoned winter driver. I don't know how to brake a skid without using my emergency brake. So, I can't afford excessive skidding right now.


How should I handle the snow caked tires of my civic?

I have "all season tires" but purchased them in Miami so there is a 50% chance I was scammed.
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Old 01-05-2014, 12:02 PM
 
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Questions: What brand & model are your "all season tires"? How much tread left? Will you usually be able to wait until the roads are plowed to drive?

You might, or might not, need 4 Winter tires. And more info about your commute (from where) would help. But the "snow caked tires" thing, I wouldn't worry about. I've owned a few sets of snow tires by now, even they get somewhat "snow caked".
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Old 01-05-2014, 05:32 PM
 
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I drove in Canada for 15 years. Snow tires make a lot of difference. They use a different blend of rubber that stays softer at colder temperature (implying also that you will chew through them if you keep them year round). If you are concerned, get a set (with the wheels to. Much cheeper than switching wheels all the time).

As for the cake tire, you may feel a vibration on the highway, but I never had an issue before. Plus the salt will melt it fairly quickly.
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Old 01-05-2014, 06:39 PM
 
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Centrifugal force will fling the snow from the tread as soon as your get any speed on the highway or dry surface street. Combine that with the flexing of the rubber tire, and no snow will remain in the tread for long. You also have the salt factor as well.

Why are you using your emergency brake to control a skid? That's just dangerous. I assume your civic has ABS? Do not touch your emergency brake. Locking your rear wheels can be very dangerous on a slick surface. The term "emergency brake" should not be used. It's a parking brake, used to help hold on inclines when parked. Most are not meant to be used while driving. In an actual emergency (brake lines cut by road debris) it can be used, but the actual chances of that happening are very rare.

Vast majority of tires sold today are "all-season" unless you are buying high performance summer only tires, I wouldn't worry unless you are driving some souped up "racing" civic with 100hp stickers.

If you are nervous about snow driving, get snow tires. But a FWD car in New England on all seasons should be ok for the most part short of driving through the actual blizzard or 6" of standing snow.

Next snow storm, find an empty parking lot and practice driving and seeing how the car handles in the snow. Make some hard stops at 25-30mph, or swerve, or turn, etc. Basically find a wide open space and understand how the vehicle will behave. If you have ABS or traction control systems, understand how these will work in the snow by testing them out in a safe area.

Most of the roads in Boston are Down to bare pavement now anyway, and well salted. Pretty much driving on wet roads really.

Last edited by BostonMike7; 01-05-2014 at 07:02 PM..
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Old 01-06-2014, 02:11 PM
 
Location: Cape Cod
24,206 posts, read 16,893,747 times
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I agree with the posters comments above. All tires get caked but it will fling off when you go faster.
Don't use your emergency brake unless you are drifting (racing) or parking.
Do not drive fast in the snow that is when accidents happen. I used to sell 4x4 trucks and SUV's and many people thought the 4x4 would keep them on the road and safe and allow them to stop fast. NOT! It is hard to stop anything on ice so go slow and be careful.
Do go to a open area and try to skid around and get a feel for how your car will perform.
Don't go out unless you really have to there are many fools on the road who think they can drive in the snow and they will wreck your day.
Good luck and be careful.
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Old 01-06-2014, 03:47 PM
 
424 posts, read 642,046 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pear Martini View Post
I have "all season tires" but purchased them in Miami so there is a 50% chance I was scammed.
I doubt you were scammed...just check to see if your tire is M+S rated. Most all weather tires (vast majority sold) will have this on their rating.

But you should seriously get snow tires if you are concerned. Just watch youtube and you will see tests over and over on how snow tires behave so much better than all season. So long as you drive slow and stay far back from the car in front of you that's half the battle.
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Old 01-06-2014, 04:46 PM
miu
 
Location: MA/NH
17,758 posts, read 40,008,193 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pear Martini View Post
I have "all season tires" but purchased them in Miami so there is a 50% chance I was scammed.
Eh. I don't think that you were scammed in Miami. IMO you can't expect "all season tires" to work amazing in all weather conditions. If you have any worries at all about driving in the snow, I recommend getting snow tires for the winters in New England. They are made of a softer rubber compound, so actually the treads will never get caked up with snow. Also, with regular tires, in sub zero temperatures, the rubber gets hard and therefore less grippy. On the other hand, I'd say never to drive in snow tires in summer temps of 90 degrees. Some of those winter rubber compounds start to feel really "greasy" in the heat and the treads would wear away quickly.

And go back to your all seasons in the spring.

My snow tires on my 94 Civic have performed flawlessly for me this winter. BTW last weekend, I was driving on snow covered roads up in NH with no slippage at all.
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