Quote:
Originally Posted by 1976gmc20
Probably a lot narrower tires than what comes on newer cars.
I changed our FWD car from 215/50r17 to 205/65r15 and it's better in the snow but still it stays parked about six months of every year.
Our old 2wd 4 speed Suburban would just go right through snow. We carried chains but I only recall using them twice. Once, when getting a tractor on a trailer out of a snow covered field, and another time after we moved to MT my wife had to put the chains on when she got caught on a back road in a rainstorm. We bought the 4wd Suburban not too long after that.
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Yessir, that little Honda had tiny donuts for tires -- 165R-13.
Which reminds me of another skinny tire experience or two... or three.
In 1967 I had a '62 VW Beetle which, in winter, was dreadful and wonderful at the same time. The heater & defroster may as well have not existed at all. But with (skinny) snow tires it was virtually unstoppable in snow.
The other was my '65 Corvette which I believe had 6.70-15 tires. Snow tires transformed that car into a wanna-be tractor of sorts. It would scrape its floorpans and keep going, pushing snow until it packed up and you couldn't push any more.
My '66 Corvette was about the same. As I recall, it had slightly wider tires than the '65, and later upgraded to radials. Both of those cars had great balance & stability, and an uncanny tendency to want to keep tracking straight instead of sliding sideways on snow or ice. They were wonderful drivers' cars no matter the weather or road conditions. Just something about them..... I wish I still owned one (or both!).
Don't miss the old Beetle, though. What a horrible little car that was. For a short time I owned a 1954 Ford, V8 (272 IIRC), 3-speed with overdrive. Cost me all of 50 bucks and it was heaven after the Beetle. It had a very effective, functioning heater & defroster! The VW's was like a hamster blowing through a straw.....