Hibernation season'* coming fast & I need some grippy tires for deep snow & ice. The Bonnie was a flat out nightmare last winter so I'm looking at snow tires. They all say to use snows on all corners. Ummm, why? The rear is just along for the ride, why do I need traction back there? Its not like I'm going to be driving so fast on ice that the rear end'* going to swing out on a turn Is this just a marketing scam (sell twice as many tires)??

Any suggestions for good tires? Its usually 1-2' deep snow or ice around here for a few months.

we will illustrate driving in the snow like driving in the mud. if u drive through wet enough mudd, the rear end of the car <i have done this in my bonneville> will break loose. also, in the likely hard stop, the rear brakes will lock up because they have little traction and are drum brakes <at least until the abs kicks in>. also, now, the rear end of the car will handle poorly in the snow, unstead of the whole car. that can result in more problems because the car could spin out which would leave u facing head on with the next peter built custom, instead of the whole car sliding. so when u find yourself face to face with a peter built custom, you would probly wish u got 4, not 2.

Go with four.

YES! You would be amazed(and somewhat surprised) how fast the back of your car is suddenly in front of you when you try and stop in a little snow. I've been there and I don't EVER want to do THAT again!!! It'* 4 Snow Tires for me from mid-November to April 1.

smaller = better. Which wheels do you have? I think the base models had smaller wheels [you have an SSE, so you probably won't have those, but it'* a fair question at that].


-justin

Thanks gang I'm just still not convinced its worth it in the rear so I'll just get the fronts.

Me neighbour'* '87 LE has 205/75R14'* I think. Oddly enough, I've seen similar-wheeled Bonnevilles out there, but never the exact same rims. They're crosslace (ghetto silver?!?!) wheels...

well, like i said before. when u come face to face with a peter built custom, you will wish u would have had 4.

You have to consider that on frozen surfaces, no tire (unless you have studs/spikes) is going to come anywhere near the dry road traction which means No WeightTransfer. In other words the rear has as much to do with what braking you can achieve as the front.

Further, anything you can do to increase the tire loading is good. I used to run tall, skinny snow tires of the appropriate load rating. 205x75x15s are available from tire rack. A wide tire is liable to act like a ski (is there an equivalent term for aquaplaning on snow ?) while a narrow one can exert enough pressure to catch any irregularities.

With a RWD car, people often put sandbags in the trunk to increase traction. Same idea.

So if all you care about is GO, snow tires on the front are fine. If STOP is also important, get all four (and a set of 15x6 winter wheels to keep the salt off of the good rims).

And just for *&G since it doesn't snow here (well, once since 1957) wonder what four space savers would be like - real narrow but no real tread.

I had 2 snow tires on my olds last year and it made an AMAZING difference. It stopped much straighter and gripped like it was dry pavement.


Blizzaks are the sh*t.

Although maybe considering those new Toyo'* this year.

You should be fine with 2 in the front since that is where the stopping and driving power is at. The rear ends on these cars will lock up easily regaurdless of the tires on the back. I have rarely if ever had the rear end come flying around though. if the front wheels lock up have fun....

But please do 4 unless money is a really serious issue. or the car is worth as much as the snow tires

Most tire places try to convince you they will not sell you 2 because the fact that the soft rubber snow tires last maybe 5-10,000 miles on the snow rubber then you are down 1/2" to all season. they argue that if you do not rotate them it will "screw up the car"