"Big Bill" > wrote in message
...
> On Thu, 3 Mar 2005 08:31:53 -0500, "The Malt Hound" <Malt_Hound@*no
> spam please*yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> >
> >"Big Bill" > wrote in message
> >news
> >> On Wed, 02 Mar 2005 18:48:37 -0500, Max > wrote:
> >>
> >>>Big Bill wrote:
> >>>> On Tue, 01 Mar 2005 20:36:33 -0500, Max >
> >>>> wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>>Hakkapelittas are nuts. I had a set (Hakka 10's) once on a Saab
> >>>>>900 and
> >>>>>nothing, nothing could stop me in the snow. Not even studded. They
> >>>>>were
> >>>>>awesome traction.
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> Obviously, you've only driven in light snow.
> >>>> Be reasonable. When the snow is over your bumper, tires are not
> >>>> the
> >>>> answer. You need more clearance.
> >>>>
> >>>
> >>>Never had Hakkapelitas eh?
> >>
> >> What good do they do when the snow lifts those wonder tires enough
> >> to
> >> lose traction?
> >> When the snow is high enough to lift the vehicle high enough that
> >> the
> >> tires don't any longer have enough weight on them to gain traction,
> >> better tires are *NOT* the answer.
> >
> >Snow will not magically elevate your car. The stuff is generally
> >pretty light, especially if light and drifted, and can be pushed aside
> >as the car plows through it if you have the traction to do so.
>
> Did you see the OP's photos? If not, I sugest you do so. Then you will
> see what I mean.
> >
> >Sorry, but you are wrong. Good traction *is* the answer.
>
> Well, I learned how to drive in the snow in Pa.
> I learned that when you simply plow into the snow, and it gets packed
> under the car, it lifts you up, and the tires lose traction.
> I haven't noticed any changes in show that would have changed this,
> and, seeing the OP's pics, I am confident in saying that.
> I wonder where you drive that this is not so.
I think that comes down to the airdam. If you airdam is low enough, snow
will either get plowed or pile up in front of the car. If it is higher than
the undercarriage, snow will build up under the car, starting with the
lowest points of the undercarriage and proceeding to all sections that occur
lower than the airdam's lower lip.
On the E30 if you have an iS lip, it's low enough. An i lip will still not
allow any significant buildup under the car. With no lip, you will get
buildup in front of the steering gear and the front crossmember, which will
get into the belts eventually. Nothing behind the front crossmember is any
lower than that so it won't build up back there. Regardless, snow in that
seciton is not likely to lift the front up, and if it did, the drive wheels
are still in traction. It would be very difficult to build up enough snow
to lift the rears.
Now, breeching a drift is another story... you can blast the front wheels up
and over it, and then settle the car down on the crest of the drift and high
center it just as the rears begin to get lifted up. Hit it hard enough and
momentum will carry you through regardless Go slowly enough and you will
tend to plow it out of the way and not allow anything under the car, but
might get stuck when the rears get into the middle of it if you have bad
tires -- with good ones, the rears will still bite and you'll continue on.
-Russ.
-Russ.