Topic: AWD is no replacement for winter tires!

[sailor723]

I'm driving a rental today while my SRX is in the shop. It's a Santa Fe GLS. It's a decent little CUV but it's got Kumho Solas KT-something all seasons that seem to be absolute crap in the snow. We're getting 5-10 cms of wet snow today and the roads are fairly slippery. I had no issues at all driving to the dealer this morning in the SRX ( Bridgestone Blizzack DM-Z3's)

The little Hyundai shows a dogged determination to roll on through intersections no matter how loudly the ABS is banging away.

I don't know for sure if it has ESC but I just attempted to make a 90 degree left turn up my driveway. The car turned about 30 degrees from the street and then proceeded staight on into a plow bank. Once I got it extracted and pointed up the hill it made it but not without lots of wheelspin and slewing from side to side. I don't know for sure but I suspect our Cooper S with four Dunlop Wintersports will do as well or better on the hill when my daughter gets home.

Just goes to prove.....Canadian winter conditions require winter tires no matter how many wheels are being driven!

[safristi]

ALL us 70's/80 Guys and gals are STILL STUCK @ the bottom of thousands of Inclines........just look for the skeletons in olde cars dotted about Ontario and elsewhere............... ....


  Cahrlie Brown is IN....................."WINTER DRIVING LESSONS 10Cents"

[MX5 Miata Guy]

Just goes to prove.....Canadian winter conditions require winter tires no matter how many wheels are being driven!

D'uh!  AWD or 4WD may get you going a little quicker, but without the grip of proper tires, stopping and turning will be worse in a vehicle with all the added weight of double the drivetrain.  It's simply no excuse.

[blur911]

Just goes to prove.....Canadian winter conditions require winter tires no matter how many wheels are being driven!

D'uh!  AWD or 4WD may get you going a little quicker, but without the grip of proper tires, stopping and turning will be worse in a vehicle with all the added weight of double the drivetrain.  It's simply no excuse.

AWD doesn't add that much weight and can more than make up for it in slippery conditions. 
It does aid in turning, you can't purposefully slide the rear end out under power in a FWD car to get it pointed in the right direction quicker, you also distribute power to more wheels so you can get on the power without the front end pushing off into the ditch when you do so.
The torsen diff in my Audi connects front and rear drivetrain, it doesn't like it when the wheels at one end are turning faster than the other ends and will transfer torque to the slower wheels, this helps to limit wheel lockup when braking on uneven or traction limited surfaces, like snowy and icy patches.  Helps for stability under braking.

Like sailor723 said though, AWD is no replacement for winter tires, but there's no reason you can't have both.

[safristi]

 Shawn of the Dead.................................run....................... ....

[aaronk]

Just goes to prove.....Canadian winter conditions require winter tires no matter how many wheels are being driven!

D'uh!  AWD or 4WD may get you going a little quicker, but without the grip of proper tires, stopping and turning will be worse in a vehicle with all the added weight of double the drivetrain.  It's simply no excuse.

AWD doesn't add that much weight and can more than make up for it in slippery conditions. 
It does aid in turning, you can't purposefully slide the rear end out under power in a FWD car to get it pointed in the right direction quicker, you also distribute power to more wheels so you can get on the power without the front end pushing off into the ditch when you do so.
The torsen diff in my Audi connects front and rear drivetrain, it doesn't like it when the wheels at one end are turning faster than the other ends and will transfer torque to the slower wheels, this helps to limit wheel lockup when braking on uneven or traction limited surfaces, like snowy and icy patches.  Helps for stability under braking.

Like sailor723 said though, AWD is no replacement for winter tires, but there's no reason you can't have both.

Doesn't EBD (Electronic Brake Force Distribution) do that anyway? There's no difference in stopping power between an AWD car and a FWD/RWD car, especially factoring in traction and stability control systems that transfer braking force to wheels experiencing slippage. I took out a Scion Tc the other day for a test drive (manual tranny) and the dealer was eager to show off the traction control system. He had me pull up on a patch of ice/snow at about 20 km/h, hammer the gas in 2nd gear and watch the car balance power and braking to maintain control - it worked. While the car didn't have lots of forward momentum (which would have put me in a ditch in this instance), the car maintained straight-forward tracking while easing back my throttle inputs. We tried the same thing braking on an icy patch - car tracked straight. This was on low-profile 45-series Bridgestone Potenza tires. I'm sure with a set of winters the bite would have been much sharper and would only have offered more control.

95% of maintaining control is being a smart driver. AWD adds control for smart drivers, but gets dumb ones into trouble even faster, especially when they're wearing the wrong tires. I've seen every type of car in the ditch - FWD compacts with worn all-seasons as well as brand-new AWD SUV's on proper winter tires.

[aaronk]

I'm driving a rental today while my SRX is in the shop. It's a Santa Fe GLS. It's a decent little CUV but it's got Kumho Solas KT-something all seasons that seem to be absolute crap in the snow. We're getting 5-10 cms of wet snow today and the roads are fairly slippery. I had no issues at all driving to the dealer this morning in the SRX ( Bridgestone Blizzack DM-Z3's)

The little Hyundai shows a dogged determination to roll on through intersections no matter how loudly the ABS is banging away.

Just goes to prove.....Canadian winter conditions require winter tires no matter how many wheels are being driven!

Having purchased the said Hyundai model, I can attest that these tires are crap. I can't justify throwing out a set of 'new' tires, but I am def. looking forward to putting some real rubber on our Santa. That being said we have never been stuck, never held up traffic significantly more than other vehicles and never rolled through an intersection. Driving according to traction is key here, you need to know the vehicle and how it will respond to snow, ice, etc.

[DKaz]

Agreed, I had my dad's truck and my 5 in Whistler and even with the crap Toyo Observe G-02 winter tires, they still did better than the all seasons on my dad's truck. I may buy him winter tires next year.

Are you sure you have a AWD Santa Fe though? Some of the lower trims are FWD.