[OreoCookie]

For anyone who lives in a region with appreciable snow fall, you should have winter tires, no matter if you have a sports car, a van, a sedan, fwd, rwd, awd. In fact, I'm glad they've made them mandatory in Germany last year. (Not that this changed anything in the South of Germany, people have always had two sets of tires here.)

[l008com]

Camaro's are famous for getting suck in the snow (in New England any way). You should see the shock on people's faces when they can barely make it up a hill in their toyota, and I pass them and accelerate away like I'm on dry pavement.

[sek929]

I have excellent ice and snow tires for my truck, but I drive em year round. Since even in a rainstorm a small RWD pickup can be quite squirrelly I'll take all the traction I can. Even driving during the warm months I still get about 2 years out my fronts and slightly more out of my rear tires. I buy Cooper brand from a local tire shop and they only cost a little north of 100 bucks per tire, in 4LO the only thing that'll stop me is deep deep mud or snow 2 feet deep, even then I've driven through real deep snow banks and slowly crept my way out without any fuss.

[l008com]

Yeah but you're on cape cod, you guys don't even get "real" snow

[sek929]

What we usually get is far, far worse. We'll get 6 inches of wet snow, followed by a night-long rain, followed by a hard freeze. I'd rather have 2 feet of powder than 3 inches of the sh!t we usually get. I'm just before the 'real' cape anyways (other side of the canal).

Plus, those times when we get a massive winter nor'easter we'll get all the snow while inland won't get much. Remember the blizzard we had back in '05? We had 48" of snow blanketing the whole area. It was a lot to shovel, but in comparison to our last slush-fest it was a walk in the park. At least we've been above freezing for several days now so the 2" thick ice sheets everywhere have has a chance to melt away a bit, still very treacherous in most driveways though.

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by OreoCookie 

For anyone who lives in a region with appreciable snow fall, you should have winter tires, no matter if you have a sports car, a van, a sedan, fwd, rwd, awd.

Actually, anywhere that experiences temperatures regularly below 45 degrees should invest in winter tires. The softer compound stays flexible in colder temperatures and offers better traction in cold weather than standard tires even on clean, dry pavement.

Originally Posted by sek929 

I have excellent ice and snow tires for my truck, but I drive em year round. Since even in a rainstorm a small RWD pickup can be quite squirrelly I'll take all the traction I can. Even driving during the warm months I still get about 2 years out my fronts and slightly more out of my rear tires.

You don't rotate?

[sek929]

Not really since my front tires wear out more quickly (especially with the added friction of the 4WD system) and I like having my best tires on the drive-wheels. When I bought the truck it had new rears and worn out fronts, so it has been a situation of buying two new tires at a time.

The place I bring my vehicle for oil change service, which includes chassis lubrication and a top off of all my vital fluids, has suggested a rotation in the past, but apart from that the only thing I pay attention to is tire pressure. I don't do really any commuting, and even less highway travel so if my tires are a bit lopsided every once and while is doesn't affect my drive. 99% of my travel is backroads and jobsites.

[OreoCookie]

Originally Posted by Laminar 

Actually, anywhere that experiences temperatures regularly below 45 degrees should invest in winter tires. The softer compound stays flexible in colder temperatures and offers better traction in cold weather than standard tires even on clean, dry pavement.

Agreed.

[dav]

Originally Posted by Snow-i 

My g35 is 100/0 r/f. And on snow, it automatically changes to 50/50 as long as you're going downhill (direction the car is facing does not matter).

my g35x (2008) starts at 25/75 (front/rear) torque split till about 12mph where it switches to 0/100, conditions permitting.
the snow button changes the starting torque split to 50/50 (also reduces throttle response), again until about 12mph when it switches to 0/100. i don't think inclination has anything to do with it.

[Arty50]

Originally Posted by Laminar 

Actually, anywhere that experiences temperatures regularly below 45 degrees should invest in winter tires. The softer compound stays flexible in colder temperatures and offers better traction in cold weather than standard tires even on clean, dry pavement.

This is mostly true. However the exception are all-season tires that carry a severe weather rating. The Bridgestone Dueler AT Revo II's are a perfect example. I'm constantly driving in various different types of snow all the way from slurpee to ice. The Revo IIs are unbelievably good in all slick conditions. Plus, you don't have to swap out tires for the summer and they'll last you 40-50k miles.

The only reason I'd run a true winter tire is if I lived in a place with constantly icy conditions. Then I'd invest in a good set of studded snow tires. Studded snows are in a league of their own.

As for the original post, Currie Enterprises makes a twin stick shifter for old Jeep CJ transfer cases. One of the many things it allows over the original single stick is 2 Lo.
Currie Enterprises CJ Axle Parts

That said 2 Lo is pretty pointless in most cases. There is one nice one I can think of though. One day, my clutch linkage wore out in my old CJ and naturally I couldn't get the tranny into gear. On a whim, I threw the T-case in 4 low. Surprisingly enough, I was able to ease the shifter into 1st from a dead stop and get my car home. A few years later I tried this on an old 1 ton Chevy with a Granny Low on the transmission and was able to do the same.

[phantomdragonz]

they also make the 2low kit for most jeep wranglers and Cherokees. the np231 and 241OR cases have the option too.
2WD Low Range Kit | TeraFlex Suspensions

Clutch linkages are OLD SCHOOL, most modern clutches (1980's and on), have typically been hydraulic and don't need adjustment. and yes you can shift without the clutch in any manual as long as the revs are matched to the gear you are trying to get into... I have done it.

-Zach

[l008com]

Originally Posted by Laminar 

Actually, anywhere that experiences temperatures regularly below 45 degrees should invest in winter tires. The softer compound stays flexible in colder temperatures and offers better traction in cold weather than standard tires even on clean, dry pavement.

I disagree. Sure, summer tires to slide around a bit more in the cold weather when you muscle the car around a little but. But without some form of water on the roads, snow tires would be a total waste of money.

[OreoCookie]

Originally Posted by l008com 

I disagree. Sure, summer tires to slide around a bit more in the cold weather when you muscle the car around a little but. But without some form of water on the roads, snow tires would be a total waste of money.

Originally Posted by Arty50 

This is mostly true. However the exception are all-season tires that carry a severe weather rating.

No all-season tire comes close to the performance of proper winter tires. As Laminar correctly points out, the rubber gets hard once the temperatures drop below 10 degrees. I see people (from, say, the Netherlands) on the way to their skiing vacation and even when the roads are cleared, they're driving just half as fast as people with proper winter tires. They improve safety substantially and definitely worth it if you have to deal with cold temperatures.

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by Arty50 

The only reason I'd run a true winter tire is if I lived in a place with constantly icy conditions. Then I'd invest in a good set of studded snow tires. Studded snows are in a league of their own.

From the previously linked article:

One interesting technology in particular has negated any need for studded tires (winter tires with small metal spikes screwed into the surface); this technology gains traction at a microscopic level using millions of "bite particles" to spike into the ice or snow.

Toyo, for instance, utilize walnut shells to add traction on ice. Walnut shells are first pulverized into a fine powder and then mixed into the tread compound. At a microscopic scale each individual particle represents a sharp shard of broken shell, ready to act as an ice pick sticking out of the tire. As the tire wears, fresh shards of walnut shell surface, providing additional grip. When you consider that studded tires may have around 10 spikes in contact with the road surface at any given time, while modern winter tires have thousands of individual bite particles in contact at with the road surface at any moment – the advantage of microscopic "bite particle" technology becomes clear. Other manufacturers use different bite particle materials while operating on the same design premise. Lastly, modern winter tires contain "micro cells" or "tubules" that literally suck water off the surface of the ice or snow they're rolling over to allow better contact between the tread and the surface beneath (consider that as ice or snow is compressed at temperatures near the melting point they release water to the surface, which effectively produces ‘micro-aquaplaning' and reduces traction).

Everything I've read said that studded tires are obsolete.

[imitchellg5]

Dude, you're all LEMMINGS. My Audi UrS6 is UNSTOPPABLE in the snow even with summer tires. I laugh at all BMW drivers.

[OreoCookie]

It would be even more unstoppable with appropriate tires

[ChrisF]

Originally Posted by Laminar 

From the previously linked article:
Everything I've read said that studded tires are obsolete.

They're not.

[l008com]

From what I gather, on true ice, like if you drive on frozen lakes or ice roads etc, studs are helpful. But in normal snow to slush back to bare pavement type situations, they don't offer much over regular old snow tires.

[OreoCookie]

Originally Posted by l008com 

From what I gather, on true ice, like if you drive on frozen lakes or ice roads etc, studs are helpful. But in normal snow to slush back to bare pavement type situations, they don't offer much over regular old snow tires.

In many countries, they're not even legal, because they damage the roads. In Germany, at least, they are. You have to use snow chains (which are very effective).