anyone done any snow driving yet this winter in their AWD?

type of tires? road type? snow depth and wet/dry?
icy/black ice? chains?

i'm running Toyo 800 all season and have cable chains for all four....headed to the mountains and snow this weekend
my old Michelin MX's would go just abt anywhere even without the chains.

 

No snow yet to test out my tires. (even though they keep on threatening)

I am currently running Kelly Navigator tires (new (3,000 mi on them) that came on vehicle.) They look to have a good snow traction pattern, but I have never run them on a vehicle before. I have always run Goodyear Regattas with great success on my vehicles.

 

Hi AeroHawk,
thought they never had snow on the roads in SD, the wind blew it all off.
i was in Cutbank, Mont. several winters ago, don't know which was worse, the cold that took skin off or the wind that cut to the bone.
these Aero's are survival rigs especially with AWD and two heaters in a white out. i've seen it snowing hard with several inches on the road in N. Montana Rockies in mid September, the elk and bear love it.

 

No, the wind blows the 8' drifts onto the road. But that usually doesn't happen until March (May in the upper hills).

The wind and cold was here today (-25 windchill, 50mph gusts) but after about ten minutes of running, the Van was nice and toasty warm.

I just wish we would get some snow so I could see how the van "locks" into 4x4 so I know what to expect.

 

definitely a "seat of the pants" experience that words can do no justice. find some deep snow with a good solid base underneath. put her into a tight turn and stop....then start up again....wow
or an icy plowed parking lot with lots of room....
put the chains on in dry powder and plow 18 inches...can sucker the big boys with their front heavy toys into places their front end drops out of sight...
Audi's A6's going up ski jumps are mild to Aero's

 

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Nighthawk, 96 4WDR, you fine people are absolutely amazing! I grew up in NE Ohio, and have not experienced a "REAL" winter since 1983. Here in northern California, SUV soccer Moms put those shiny, brand new to nearly new rigs in a ditch the moment it rains here, and those 5,000 LBS go sledding on the oils washed up from the rain. Little Tyler's $350 video games go flying, as the soccer mommy's cell phone is still stuck to Mom's ear, when Mommy realizes she's doing a 360 degrees spin out while talking to little Melissa's first grade teacher, wondering why Melissa didn't receive an A+ on her coloring picture. I see it happen all the time in Calif., and 99% of drivers here, would not last a week in the winter where you two are! Ed
PS What size tires are you using for the winter? Anyone else to replies here, I would be interested in knowing what size tire you recommend for your winter driving?... Thank You, and Drive safely, please.

 

I just put a set of Kumho KW11 snow tires on my van last week, since the forecast looked bleak (and the scrappy tires that were on it desperately needed replacing). Now all of a sudden we're looking at a high today of 60... But I expect that the combination of AWD and good snows, regardless of which one you choose, should make a highly capable combination. FWIW, the snows I put on are 205/75-14, which are the same diameter as the 215/70-14's that were on it, just a little narrower. I thought that a little narrower would be better in snow, at least when its not packed down...

 

I'm using all-weather tread in WNY. Can't remember the brand but believe they're made by Dunlop. I've never had chains, but mountain driving may be more demanding than it is here in WNY. Although I can't imagine how much more demanding things can be than some of our lake-effect storms. I just had the Aero on an old logging road while deer hunting. We were supposed to have the Brother-in-laws F250 but he had problems -- that would have given us more ground clearance and more aggressive tread. The Aero performed like a champ but it worried me a bit when the front transfer case was scraping ground. I got some interesting looks and comments from the owner of a full blown off road truck when we pulled off the road/trail when we parked.

BTW: Last year I came a across an AWD aero with a snow plow. I snapped some pictures and will post when I can resize.

 

I took my AWD up the mountains in New Mexico last Christmas. Nothing fancy as far as tires are concerned, just Bridgestones tires from Costco since I'm living in Southern CA. I never had any problems with the snow up there, while my in-laws' Honda Odysee and Toyota Sienna were slipping all over the place. I actually had to tow them out of a couple of tough spots.

 

We get our fair share of snow and icy roads out here. All season tires are more than adequate with AWD. I've even pulled a dual snowmobile trailer through 8 inches of fresh snow without a problem. Just remember, in slippery conditions using the correct tires is less important than using the correct brains.

 

Here in the Great White North, all we use is all seasons. I've pulled a 4 sled trailer through a ft of snow. Driving through many a snow storm, even the one we had the day i picked it up. Mine is only a 2 wheel drive and my second one.

 

Keep in mind that AWD helps you accelerate better in poor weather or snow conditions. Snow tires help you accelerate better, turn better, and above all - stop better in snow conditions. That's why AWD is not a substitute for proper tires (and neither is a sub for safe driving). That's also why you see so many soccer moms in the ditch in their fancy SUVs when the snow hits - they don't grasp that 4WD isn't a get out of jail (or the ditch) free card... If you've done OK with 3-season tires, that's great. But think of how much better your traction could be if you combined the AWD with tires actually designed for winter...

 

A lot of people do not realize that 4WD is great at you moving forward, but once you step on the brake, everyone is the same

 

Well, everyone has basically the same brake set up - one at each wheel.

The other thing people miss (and this was my point before) is that ultimately it's the vehicle's tires that do everything. Brakes don't stop a car, they turn rotational energy into heat energy. The tires stop the car - the four palm-of-your-hand sized contact areas between the tires and the road provide all of the friction that allows a vehicle to do every single dynamic event that it does. The better the tires provide that friction in a given set of conditions, the better the vehicle will stop, turn, drive, etc.

So yes, everyone has four wheel brakes even if they don't all have four wheel drive. But how effectively you can use those brakes is determined by the tires, which are not the same for everyone. Again, AWD and proper winter tires are an optimal combination.

 

SPEED kills on snow and ice.

FWD with 70/30 weight dist. are the worst....black ice and slamming on brakes....no braking...no steering...no control....most of them have both feet on brake pedal trying to shove it thru floor, both hands on steering wheel white knuckled and cranked over to lock on one side....have that bambi in the headlights wild eyed stare as they try reforming 3/8x12" steel guard rail at 50 mph

see 'em all the time up in the hills, $70k Mercedes SUV or big Audi AWD, down over the bank or off road at bottom of hill, going to fast and relying on brakes, AWD/4wdr helps with 4 tires engine braking at slow speeds, brakes are for top of hill and flat ground, worthless going down hill...no steering.
most of the time, they are setting in their rig waiting for someone to pull them out....i drive on by...if they jump out real quick...wave and yell for help...i'll stop and hook up the ****** strap...if they set in the rig like yuppies with too clean shoes....they walk....

dark overcast lifted here today for a few hours....snow down in hills 15 miles away to 1500 ft....hooray...headed for the hills with gear in back...