Driving in the snow and ice - what do you do?

[cruising7388]

Originally Posted by Bruceper

The answer is thinner tires penetrate snow better and provide more weight over the smaller footprint.

The wider tire however does better in slush due to the displacement of the slush.

With modern winter tires the thin vs wide debate is pretty moot. They include a softer material compound with tread designed to shed the snow.

I'm still unclear why four rear tires are inferior to two rear tires when dealing with snow, ice, slush or mud or some perverse combination of all four.

[booster]

Originally Posted by cruising7388

I'm still unclear why four rear tires are inferior to two rear tires when dealing with snow, ice, slush or mud or some perverse combination of all four.

It appears to be the same reason big wide tires are bad, they tend to float on the surface of the snow rather than sink through it and compress it into the tread. They also have to move through more snow because of the width of the contact area. Tall skinny tires have a contact patch that is longer than it is wide, while wide tires (and duals) have a wider, shorter contact patch that isn't as good at packing the snow into the tread for grip. This is the explanation I have always heard.