Hakuna_Matata
Passed Driver's Ed
- Location
- Canada
Ultra high performance Winter tire shopping ends here. Pa4's
7
Winter tires - Why you should think diffrent
- Thread starter amullo
- Start date
Ultra high performance Winter tire shopping ends here. Pa4's
As a first approximation, there are two factors that affect the grip between tires and the surface in contact. The two factors are area in contact (i.e. width) and the force (weight) pressing the two surfaces together. All other things being equal, increasing the area in contact increases the grip (think dragsters or racing cars with wider tires). OTOH, increasing the weight (on the same area) increases the grip. What makes this a little tricky is that changing one factor usually changes the other. By that I mean that if you go to a wider tire, you naturally increase the area in contact, so you would expect greater grip. However, when you go to a wider tire, you, also, at the same time are reducing the weight per square cm (same weight, larger area) which would lead (all things being equal) to less grip. Two competing effects, so going wider (or narrower) does not change the overall grip by that much. You may gain some advantage in some cases, such as when plowing through snow or dealing with aquaplaning but, how often do you deal with such conditions? My opinion, FWIW, is that I do not drive that often in conditions where I have to worry about deep snow or aquaplaning. It is more likely that I have to deal with icy roads caused either by freezing rain or melting snow that has refrozen. Even that does not occur that often where I live, so the other thing I am interested in is preserving the normal handling characteristics of my GTI. Consequently, what I have done is to fit a set of winter tires the same size as my stock tires (225/40-18). As others have noted, modern winter tires are much better than in the past, so they are way ahead of the stock "all-weather" tires. You may give up a little bit in unusual conditions but you are still way ahead. Most of the time, however, if you are like me, you are driving on dry roads. In the end, any selection you make is a compromise and you should keep that in mind.
golfdave
Autocross Champion
- Location
- Scotland (U.K.)
- Car(s)
- Mk7 Golf GT Estate
F'me!!!......
..............someone who has actually moved past the old "narrow is best" for winters!!!!.................like me!...........Same reasons & have a set of winters & summers exact same sizes, didn't want to upset the handling, had that problem on my old car. In icy roads the extra contact area 2" wider (O/A) on each axle will provide better grip (mainly) to the outside wheel on corners instead of going for the 205 size! VW don't state on my car winters, or sizes, but the only reason they do state 205on a 16" is because they have tested them on snow chains!.
If the conditions are so bad I need to fit snow chains to winter tyres I'm driving the wrong car!!!!!!
Korab
Ready to race!
- Location
- United States
ultra high performance winter tires are neither ultra high performance nor snow tires. Tires can do one thing well. Pick that thing and the tire that does it best.
RedHotVAG
Ready to race!
- Location
- Toronto, Canada
I have 225/40/18 ContiWinter tires.
Some people actually prefer to give up a bit of snow traction and go with a wider snow tire so they can have better grip and enjoyment when there is no snow on the ground. Like me!
Some people actually prefer to give up a bit of snow traction and go with a wider snow tire so they can have better grip and enjoyment when there is no snow on the ground. Like me!
I have been living in Sweden since 1998 and in Colorado (high altitude, lots of snow) for eight years before that. Used primarily studded winter tires for most of that time (Gislaved while they were still leading edge, Nokian Hakkas since then.) Just ordered a Golf Sportscombi (wagon) with the GT spec, so it will be delivered with 17" Salvador wheels and 225/45 summer tires. For winter use I ordered 16" VW Aspen wheels with 205/55-16 Nokian Hakka R2 studless friction tires. My rationale for the change was primarily motivated by the benefits of some additional sidewall depth on rough winter road surfaces. We don't get a lot of snow close to Stockholm, but we very typically have multiple thaw/refreeze cycles that can make slushy ruts solidify into quite nasty surfaces.
I understand that the 15" option might be even a bit better in that respect, and that it might also be helpful when it comes to negotiating the thick, slick, salty, slushy mess that the road departments seem to delight in here (rather than doing a good job of plowing and sanding.) That having been said, I have reason to believe that the 205's will do just fine under a wider variety of conditions, and I won't have to deal with the visual pain of such small wheels and tall, narrow tires on my sleek, new car.
I understand that the 15" option might be even a bit better in that respect, and that it might also be helpful when it comes to negotiating the thick, slick, salty, slushy mess that the road departments seem to delight in here (rather than doing a good job of plowing and sanding.) That having been said, I have reason to believe that the 205's will do just fine under a wider variety of conditions, and I won't have to deal with the visual pain of such small wheels and tall, narrow tires on my sleek, new car.