In message , Harry Bloomfield writes
In the late 60's early 70's when I was working in an Auto Electricians shop. A new product was brought out called Holt's Liquid Tyre Chain.
It worked very well and wore off on dry roads. It also worked well on shoe soles to stop slipping on icy pavements.
I doubt if making rubber tacky would improve its grip on snow and ice.
Rob Graham
Unfortunately the closest to that, a google for" Holt's Liquid Tyre Chain" comes up with, is this thread!
I just read up that Chevelles in 1969 had a factory option of remote mounted liquid tyre chain dispensers for the rear wheels, you just pressed a button the dash and it squirted out. the option added 23 dollars to the vehicle cost !! Apparently some people copied the idea using bleach for good burnouts when street drag racing. oh those crazy yanks :)
As I understand it Winter tyres are softer at a given temp and this is why they are so hugely better than Summer tyres on snow and ice.
Nice idea (press and squirt). Thanks for the bleach suggestion. I might be tempted to experiment with that - trying it on an old tyre first.
As suggested in another reply try it on your shoes - rubber sole. One only at first - you may end up spinning around for a bit till you do the other.
Better on cold tarmac. They could be made of superglue and they wouldn't work on ice.
I've had a set for three years - I do recommend them. They will get you off ice or up an icy slope - which is why I have them, having a steep road to the back of my place. I only use them to move on ice and take them off as soon as I'm on reasonable roads.
Slatts
Thats what I thought but they do.
I should possibly be saying "mud & snow" instead of "winter" - not sure if that makes a difference.
You can say "holy water" if you like - if you think you have anything short of spikes that will grip sheet ice you are delusional.
Holy water. Please feel free to call me a liar, but I'm just telling you of my experience. I was very sceptical as well, but the difference is amazing -ie two wheel drive car, no traction control, same driver tackles steep hills covered in hard packed unsalted snow that it would not have done previously and which other two wheeled vehicles (including mine - with same size tyres plus traction control) can't.
I'm not calling you a liar about that - hard packed unsalted snow is not sheet ice.
No rubber will provide any grip on sheet ice. If there are no ice-free bits you are a snooker ball on sheet ice - enter at the right angle and hold your course and you'll emerge in the right place. Otherwise you're toast.
OK fair enough, I should have read what you said more carefully. Fortunately I was not toast when I hit some ice once (black ice but must have been similar to sheet ice in effect) - I'd read of it, but never experienced it and thought the road in that particular hollow was merely damp - until something seemed to go wrong with the steering - my first thought was a mechanical failure. It took a second to realise it was a skid. Had I been going a bit faster, the toast factor would likely have come into play, but that day I was happily able to continue on my merry way.
In message , strassenbaum writes
I've just bought a set of winter tyres for £298. I already had a spare set of rims. I'll get 3 possibly 4 years out of them. Add to that the longer life of my summer tyres due to decreased usage and I reckon the winter tyres will cost me about £70 per year over the life of the tyres. I don't think that's too bad given the increased grip and safety of winter tyres.
The problem is the tyres have W speed rating. That website says I'd get away with a V rating - but even so, the £350 just gives me a pair. Was thinking I could get one spare rim (Ebay perhaps) and 2 Winter tyres, one for new rim and one on the spare rim - then keep it as a spare for the rest of the year. It would be nice to have a full set but will settle for fronts only.
Actually that's not true. You get almost no grip on wet sheet ice, you do get some grip on dry ice. Not much, but way more than you get with normal tyres.
You should be able to tell the difference between damp and ice by the change in tyre noise unless your car is fantastically well insulated from normal tyre noise. When it goes quiet you know you're in trouble!
Tim
Yes I think that is right - the lack of noise - rather a smooth gliding action, and no feel at all from steering was the unusual thing about this experience which was a first for someone who normally enjoys skidding and goes out of his way to do so.
No there was no fantastic insulalation - it was a Renault 5 Campus. Don't laugh, it was a fantastic car and easy to work on and was finally retired, due to pending MOT, with 260K on clock, orig clutch, engine never opened up and still running sweetly. Cheap to maintain, apart from annoying one piece air filter and with timing chain that lasted lifetime instead of the dreaded 60K timing belt I have now.
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