TheSamba.com :: View topic - Snow Tires, undercoating, mud flaps... winter topics.

Sat Sep 11, 2010 2:21 pm

Well, I know it's only September, don't get depresses! lol But my Hankook RA08s are coming as we speak and I was wondering what does everybody run in the snow? What's the best all season bus tire in the snow?
Too late for me I know, but I think Hankooks are not all that great. I was thinking buying a set of those rubber band chains to keep in the bus. I won't be driving in extreme snow conditions I don't think but it might see some flakes here and there...

Sat Sep 11, 2010 2:34 pm

It only snows here maybe once a year and its mostly slush. Why worry?

Sat Sep 11, 2010 2:37 pm

skid wrote: It only snows here maybe once a year and its mostly slush. Why worry?

Haha, yeah I know. I'm not worried, but I might want to go somewhere in the winter. For example, going to Tofino in late January. Plus snow is fun to drive in!

Sat Sep 11, 2010 3:18 pm

Whats there to do in Tofino in the winter?

Sat Sep 11, 2010 3:20 pm

I drive my bus to Mt. Hood for winter night skiing most weekends. 120 mile round trip to an altitude of 4,000 feet. We get a little more snow than Vancouver, but we also get a lot of black ice on the road. I use studded tires all around as when I only used them in the rear I once got the bus sideways at 50 miles per hour when I hit some ice. I recovered - the other five cars did not. If studs are legal in B.C. they sure help with ice. For deep snow I use chains which are a real pain to install with the very narrow clearance at the swing arm.

Sat Sep 11, 2010 3:34 pm

ned wrote: Whats there to do in Tofino in the winter?

or any other time! i only went there once. :lol:

Sat Sep 11, 2010 5:13 pm

If you plan on doing anything with your bus after september around here you better get familiar with this stuff soon.

Sat Sep 11, 2010 5:48 pm

I run with a set of Nankangs (185R14C) most of the year in the Denver area. But, when the snow starts to fall I pull the rears off and replace them with Yokohama ICEGuards (205/70R14). The improvement in snow performance is modest. The improvement in ice performance is substantial.

With snow and ice comes the salt-gritters. http://www.saltawayproducts.com/QuartL.jpg[img][/img]

Sat Sep 11, 2010 6:40 pm

busdaddy wrote: If you plan on doing anything with your bus after september around here you better get familiar with this stuff soon.

Well, it's gonna get driven. But I barely drive and it won't see much of the road at all when there's salt on them. However, as I mentioned, it might see a trip to Tofino(for example) that involves a mountain pass. Last year I took the GTI and there was no snow... but it's a gamble.

I've seen a couple of Hankook ratings somewhere online that they don't rate good in the snow. One of things I was wondering was if they don't rate well compared to a snow tire or compare to an average all-season.

ned wrote: Whats there to do in Tofino in the winter?

Absolute serenity(and huge waves!)...

Sat Sep 11, 2010 7:55 pm

In my experience the Hankooks tread fills easily with snow, creating a "bald tire"

Sat Sep 11, 2010 8:08 pm

Gawd I hope you're wearing pants in that pic :shock: :P

The highways dept. salts or applies brine on any day when frost is forecast, not just for snow. Unless the roads are absolutely dry your bus will get salty, even a little splash creeps into the seams and lower extremities and attracts moisture causing rust year round, not good for a clean bus like yours.
Just sayin, an ounce of prevention............

Sat Sep 11, 2010 8:14 pm

TRN9 wrote: In my experience the Hankooks tread fills easily with snow, creating a "bald tire"

The idea of a snow tire is the have as many sipes as possible to trap snow. Nothing sticks to snow like snow, and a tire that self cleans is BAD in the snow. I spent one winter with non-siped BFG Mud-Terrains on my Jeep and it was a white knuckle experience of the bad kind.

In short, if it fills full of snow and doesn't fling it out at speed, that should be a very good thing.

Sat Sep 11, 2010 9:03 pm

busdaddy wrote: Gawd I hope you're wearing pants in that pic :shock: :P

The highways dept. salts or applies brine on any day when frost is forecast, not just for snow. Unless the roads are absolutely dry your bus will get salty, even a little splash creeps into the seams and lower extremities and attracts moisture causing rust year round, not good for a clean bus like yours.
Just sayin, an ounce of prevention............

Ooh, good info! I know they salt for frost but I didn't know exactly what the rules are. I can keep it out of salted parts/times no problem. I know I haven't driven the GTI(I sold last May) in the salt at all but did end up in a snowstorm once in Burnaby coming back late from a friend's place. But you still end up sometime in the snow and such.
So, speaking of which, that rust check good stuff? Or is it something arbitrary you posted to make a point? I sure can spray something under the bus before they start salting. I prefer something that is easy to apply. My GTI that is originally from Montreal had this greasy stuff sprayed underneath(with a product/shop sticker in the door jamb identifying it)... I'm assuming it's effective but it was soooo messy! But man, this salt here is nothing compared to East... check this out, most of that is not dirt!

No wonder they have no AC VWs left there!

P.S. I am on Beach Ave downtown Vancouver so we rarely see salt or frost here.

Sat Sep 11, 2010 10:27 pm

The rust check is about as good as it gets, Canadian tire sells it as well as the pink lable stuff for inside panels and cavities (runny), the green lable is much thicker.
Search up a thread by Rubberduck about his experience with applying it.

Sun Sep 12, 2010 1:01 am

busdaddy wrote: The rust check is about as good as it gets, Canadian tire sells it as well as the pink lable stuff for inside panels and cavities (runny), the green lable is much thicker.
Search up a thread by Rubberduck about his experience with applying it.

Awesome, thanks. :)
(wearing wet suit in the pic btw!) :lol:

Sun Sep 12, 2010 8:40 am

I really like these when I go out onto the snowpacked wyoming roads:

They're the proper size/weight range Cooper SRM II. They are M&S, rated, and have worked really well. I don't drive the bus much in the winter 'cause the heat kinda sucks, but on warmer sunny days she'll come out. Compared to the POS sears tires that were on there, these rule!

Sun Sep 12, 2010 8:18 pm

I run Continental Vanco Vikings.

I just put them on for a work trip to Northern BC/Yukon over the next couple of weeks ~6,000 km or so. Could probably wait another six weeks here on the coast. Since I got them, there is no going back to all seasons in the winter.

This photo is from last year in early November doing the same thing. Notice a green can of something?? :lol:

Mon Sep 13, 2010 7:10 am

busdaddy wrote: If you plan on doing anything with your bus after september around here you better get familiar with this stuff soon.

I'm just setting up to run the winter. Those RustCheck Prods are maybe only on shelves way up there? I'd like to get an innerpanel spray into the kit. but don't know if it's distributed here in the Midlantic east coast.

BD? Anybody else out east?

Mon Sep 13, 2010 8:50 am

We are not far from B.C. It doesn't snow very much up here. I think the idea for chains is a good one. If it does snow you will be covered. :bay_red:

Mon Sep 13, 2010 10:00 am

bfg all terrain K/Os, lock this thread your hunt is over.