Re: winter tires gliding on dry surface?

[Greg Williams <gaw@xxxxxxxxx>]

timothy estin <testin@domain.elided> wrote on Wed, 17 Feb 1999 at 15:34:03 -0500:

>>>>i just purchased and installed 4 new Blizzac 195/65 14 winter MZ02
Snow/Ice for my '90 325 ic. On dry surface, the car feels as if its
gliding or
swimming, or even floating sort of , across the road . . .<<<<

As with almost anything in life, specialization trades off performance in
one area for increases in another.
Good snow tires have characteristics which make them effective on snow and
ice, but compromise dry pavement performance:
1)  The tread is comprised of many small blocks, and the blocks themselves
are heavily "siped."  This, combined with the extra depth of the tread,
produces squirm, which is what I believe you describe as floating.  A high
performance dry tire has large tread blocks, or in the case of racing,
slicks with no grooves.
2)  The most effective snow tires are narrow in width, again a trade-off in
the dry.

As another has suggested, the best solution is to keep snow tires on
separate wheels and use them only when required.  

Greg Williams
gaw@domain.elided
Lake Oswego, OR
'94 325i

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