Which one is more snow worthy?

What kind of "trouble" are you talking about? There's no law involved here. It's MARKETING.

Jesus. You need to get a grip.

Reply to
Elmo P. Shagnasty
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If you're talking the front beam, Honda took care of ALL of those, completely free of charge.

Loved it.

Yeah, I'm remembering my 1200 Civic. In the depths of the cold winter, the choke would randomly stick. I never found rhyme or reason for that. It didn't keep the car from going, it just went badly for awhile until it unstuck. No amount of working the cable seemed to fix it.

Reply to
Elmo P. Shagnasty

Tires and drivers skill are the reasons for the differences.

If they put "4WD" on the back of a 2-wheel drive vehicle, sure. But that's not the case. Do you still not understand that AWD is a form of 4WD? If ALL wheels are being driven on a vehicle with FOUR wheels, isn't that 4WD?

Reply to
Seth

I've never had to use chains, but when the weather gets to that point we put away the wheeled vehicles and use something that drives by track.

Reply to
Iowna Uass

"Seth" wrote

Questions:

Last winter I posted about my somewhat frightening drives in my 2004 Accord

4-cyl auto. I live in upstate NY and yes, they do take good care of the roads. The only two times I was out driving "on snow" was when the storm was just starting and the road was, to me, very slippery such that my, um, rear end was often sliding around especially when braking. So I drove very slowly to ensure my safety, especially on turns and curves. The car has three Goodyear Assurance Comfortreds and one Pirelli P6 Four Seasons. (I went through a lot of successive flats with the OEM Michelins, one dealer had only the Pirelli, blah blah....)

So, are the driving problems I had due to the slick road with the fresh thin layer of snow, my tires, my driving... ? Last year was my first year back to the Northeast since living in a snow-free climate for 30 years. When living in the Northwest I drove a 1973 rear-wheel drive Toyota Celica with regular tires through lots of snow with no issues whatsoever. What ideas have you got?

Howard

Reply to
Howard Lester

First thing I'd do is at least have MATCHING tires. That one lone tire I'll bet is a slightly different size than the others causing an imbalance. At worst your tires should at least match form left to right (both fronts the same and both rears the same). the have 3 and 1 is crazy.

Then on top of that you have you not being used to driving in snow. Somehow in the past you did fine with a less snow-worthy vehicle so the issue has to be you. Not meant as an insult, but just an observation based on the data you've provided. In a front-wheel drive vehicle with more safety systems how can it be more difficult to drive unless it is the driver who has lost some of his edge.

Hopefully this winter now that you have "snow legs" back things will be better.

Reply to
Seth

"Brian Smith" wrote

Yes, I'm sure I'm out of practice. I should look for a driving course to see if I can get some help. I'm a lot older than I was 30+ years ago, and less of a daredevil! Where I live there are short hills and country driving with lots of curves, some dangerous even when dry. It was on those roads that I about freaked... until I slowed to about 20 - 25 mph.

I am keeping in mind the tires. Yes, 3+1 is crazy, but it's what I've got right now. I thought of getting two snow tires on their own wheels to start with, but then Elmo's suggestion of the Nokian WR's is tempting and possibly a better all-around solution. It's too bad there's still a lot of tread on the tires I have, but maybe for a couple of years I could treat the Nokians as Oct - April tires. There's supposedly a service center around here that sells Nokians; I can ask there for advice.

Howard

Reply to
Howard Lester

I would say in the case of the 2004 Accord, the mixture of tires was one issue. The fresh fall of snow would contribute to the issue as well. Do you consider yourself (at the time) to be out of practice in driving in this type of road condition?

Reply to
Brian Smith

"Brian Smith" wrote

Yes, and life is worthwhile. Well, there ARE those days.... *sigh*

I have read many times that four snows are better than two, but if two are used (let's use "budget constraint" for now), which wheels should they go on? I'd think the rear to, as you say, keep the rear end following the front of the vehicle. I felt like I was getting into trouble when the rear tires were slipping sideways, particularly when braking on a curve. (Re: the ABS discussion from last winter.) Then again, I'm recalling when all four went sliding....

Reply to
Howard Lester

It happens when one doesn't do something regularly enough, the skill level suffers.

LOL! That's true of pretty much everyone, as we age, we realize how short life is and how precious too.

The important thing is that you did realize your limitations and acted accordingly. The prof of that is that you're here and telling us about it, lol.

Two snow tires aren't as good as four snow tires. The ones on the rear will keep it following the front of the vehicle (crucial in most cases to a healthy life).

Reply to
Brian Smith

Never, EVER get just two snow (winter) tires. Match them all, whatever they are.

Two snows and two all-seasons is way more dangerous than four all-seasons.

Reply to
Elmo P. Shagnasty

I had a Gen II, CVCC, definitely had a manual choke. I lived in Atlanta, but drove it in snow country frequently. Never had a problem.

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Reply to
MG

Yes, the rear.

Your car is built with inherent understeer. To preserve what the engineers built in, put the sticker tires in the rear and let the fronts slide similar to what everyone expects.

If you put the stickier ones in front, the fronts will track but the rears will slide. In other words, the rear of the car will arrive at the scene of the accident first--called oversteer. You don't want that. You're not used to it, and the car isn't designed for it.

Budget restraints? Put 'em on the rear. But really dump the fast food and Starbucks for a few months and put the money toward another pair of matching winter tires (or Nokian WR).

Reply to
Elmo P. Shagnasty

Nope, everything was rusting especially the structural area where the rear control arms were mounted. I could push the whole area with my hand and that's when I decided to take it off the road.

You bet... I bought it from a friend who bought it new in 1976. Had

88K and all I ever did was replace front brake pads twice, and rebuilt the starter and alternator. Oh year, one timing belt along with a water pump. Easy to work on too.

After the 1,500 was retired, I picked up a '76 1200 sedan, (had a trunk), for $100 but it had a rod knock. I ended up by going on a foreign work contract and never got around to fixing it. It was relatively rust free too...

JT

Reply to
Grumpy AuContraire

They seem to happen more often than we ever thought they would. :^)

In my experience (and there are a lot of people here that will disagree with this), I would prefer to have the snows on the drive/steer tires. With tires with good tread on the rear (budget restraints taken into account).

Reply to
Brian Smith

Yep, two feet a day for a few days in a row can really do it.

Glad I'm not part of *that* picture!

JT

Reply to
Grumpy AuContraire

Thank God and the Baby Jesus, that they discovered "chemicals".

30 years ago or so, I drove through Fort Worth after an 'Old Fashion Texas Ice Storm' had hit, with a front wheel drive car that had never gotten stuck in a Canadian winter. I got stuck with it in Fort Worth. I could not believe it... stuck in Texas, in the winter.

To get unstuck I had to find a 'grassy knoll' to dig down through to get the copious quantities of dirt needed for spreading under the tires. I had to chisel through 3" of frozen slush, with a large screwdriver and a machine hammer, and then dig out about 2 shovelfuls of dirt for traction.

Changing lanes on the Interstate was like driving over two greasy 4" sidewalk curbs.

Ha!... I'll see your Buffalo NY with a Watertown NY, and raise you an Oswego NY (Oswego NY... possibly the only place in the east that can look like the Donner Pass after a blizzard).

It is so ever pretty, isn't it.

Reply to
M.A. Stewart

I'll see it and raise with "The Storm Of The Century" (from Georgia to Maine March 10, 11, 12, 13, 1993)

Reply to
M.A. Stewart

I'll see it and raise with "The Storm Of The Century" (from Georgia to Maine March 10, 11, 12, 13, 1993)

Reply to
M.A. Stewart

snip

I'll see your selection and raise you RI during and after the blizzard of '78...

JT

Reply to
Grumpy AuContraire

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