2wd performance in snow

[mazdarotary]

Hello all,First off I am so glad I joined the TDR. This is just as good a resource as the RX-& discussion boards i am on(aside from not nearly enough 1st gen stuff aftermarket wise). My question goes out to all but particularly 2wd owners that live in climates that have snow. How do your trucks handle the snow?What kind of tires do you run?I have done a search on snow tires and read about siping but I'm not really sure what that is(heat cycling race tires i understand). The reason i ask these questions is I'm in the process of buying a 92 D-250 CC from a club member. He lives out of state(MI) and I have yet to see the truck in person but have seen pictures. I have owned 2 2wd trucks and 3 4wd trucks and to be honest I never go off road and the past few years have been very mild as far as snow where i live. My first truck was a 88 D150 V6 regular cab short bed w/a 5 speed. It sucked in the snow. Will the longer wheel base and heft of the diesel help or hurt the performance in the snow?Sorry for being long winded. Thanks.







Chris

 

[formula]

Bet you can't wait to get your new rig. . Oo.

The added weight of the CTD will definitely help your steering in snow. (not that we get any of that stuff around here any more ) As for rearend traction, just put 500 or so pounds of something in the bed and that'll help quite a bit. I rarely use my 4x4 in the snow unless it's really deep.



Sean

 

[nascar mark]

Hi,

Siping is cuts in the tread from the manufacture or from a tire installer. The more siping in a tire, the better it will grip ice or snow. I would recommend adding weight by means of sand bags or cement blocks, if you are worried about traction.

 

[RKohn]

How to describe it...

lay a piece of cooked spagetti on the table, put a brick on one end and try to push the brick. yeah, it's kinda like that.



seriously, siping helps, skinnier tires are better, and put at least 500-800 pounds all the way to the back of the bed. sand is good, cause if you do get stuck you can throw some under the wheels. cat litter in the 35lb plastic buckets works good too.



whatever you use, make sure it's tied down good, cause if you stop hard, it's coming up front to visit.



rick

 

[JLEONARD]

You will defiantely need some weight back there. I use 4 cement blocks, 2 on each side held in place between the wheel wells and tailgate with a few pieces of 2x6. This way they are easily removed if you need to and they won't make a mess of the bed.

If you need more weight you can add more blocks.

 

[turboduck]

stuck it once

Stuck mine once when new, Tryed to go down unplowed

gravel road with 12 snow slipped off road and buryed one

fwd tire . Farmer had great time pointing out to me that

mitey cummins diesel can't get you out. After that I put 700lbs

of sand in the bed in winter and got me new tires with more

aggressive tread. Never a problem after that. But I would

stay home during one of those NORTHEASTERS

 

[JLEONARD]

But I would

stay home during one of those NORTHEASTERS



That is good advise!

 

[Power Wagon]

Nascar Mark is roughly right.



The answer is TIRES, TIRES, TIRES.



Cooper Discoverer M+S snow tires have a very soft, sticky compound, are siped unbelievably well, have a very good footprint.



They are the best truck snow tires I believe you can find.

 

[mazdarotary]

The truck has a transfer flow 30+ gallon fuel tank where the spare tire used to sit would keeping this full or close to it be good enough for weight?How do you guys feel about toyo open countries?I have use dthem on my 96 Dakota and presently have a new set on my F-150 that i plan on donating to a charity when i get the dodge. I could take the tires off and put on some cheap used tires. The Toyo's are only 15'S though could i find wheel's to fit the dodge in 15"??Thanks again.





Chris

Pistons??I don't need no stinkin Piston!!!!

Sorry about that. Just used to posting stuff about the Wankel.

 

[DBF]

Diesel weighs about 8 pounds per gallon, so 30 gallons is 240 pounds. I like a little more than that when I'm headed to Michigan for the holidays.



DBF

 

[Mel Fuelling]

My truck is a dually that weighs close to 9,000# with my everyday tools and equipment. With Michelin LTX A/S (sort of a siped highway rib)all the way around, it gets around on ice and snowpack roads real well until fresh unplowed snow gets deep enough to drag on the running boards. I haven't tried it empty.





Good Luck with your new truck,

Mel

 

[boatpuller]

You might have a hard time finding 15" wheels with our 8 lug pattern, but even if you found the wheels the 15" tires probably don't have enough weight rating for the front of a truck carrying the mighty Cummins. Be sure you check the rating before trying this.

Just concerned about your safety,



Caleb



P. S. Man I must be getting old to be worrying about stuff like this