Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

Hi All.  I am going to buy a snow blower soon and need some advice.  My driveway is between 20% to 30% grade for about 150 feet..   I am concerded that a wheel drive snow blower will not be able to get up a drive that steep with snow on the drive.  At what angle of incline does a trak drive blower need to be considered?  What is the primary puopose of trak drive?. 

Thanks!

Doug D

Thanks everybody for the input. 

Doug D

Well i got general altimax arctic for my civic which are only $66 each on tirerack. I don't know what your tires would cost you in Canada but I am sure it would be a ton more than what you paid.
Cross border shopping isn't an option for me, its overall about 20 hours of driving plus a 6-8 hour boat ride to the nearest state.

giocam wrote:

Yikes! That is a long haul to the US. So not really an option for you. Most small communities in the US overcharge as well because they can get away with it. Nokian WRG2's would probably cost a bundle in Canada I looked it up and teh same tires would cost you $806. Not sure if that's installed. They are only sold through Canadian Tire up there.

Back on topic....for you Hundaa heads out there, do you feel that you can maneuver just as well with the tracks as the wheeled models ? Off topic : Nokian tires rock. It's just a shame, just like these dwindled down red buckets we get out here. We are 2 years behind in current Nokian snow tire technology ....and their current revision of the Haks are pretty damm amazing.. I thought the Hak 5 series were quite a deal, but the Hak 7 overseas trumps it 2 1/2 fold at least

Back on topic....for you Hundaa heads out there, do you feel that you can maneuver just as well with the tracks as the wheeled models ? Off topic : Nokian tires rock. It's just a shame, just like these dwindled down red buckets we get out here. We are 2 years behind in current Nokian snow tire technology ....and their current revision of the Haks are pretty damm amazing.. I thought the Hak 5 series were quite a deal, but the Hak 7 overseas trumps it 2 1/2 fold at least

I was looking into those Nokian snow tires for my rear wheel drive car a few years ago.  They look like they do a good job with traction on snow.  We don't get a lot of snow at one time, and when the pavement is dry, I'm pretty aggressive on tires so I didn't think those Nokian compounds would nog hold up too well.  Plus I wasn't comfortable with the Q or T speed rating on those tires.  I have Dunlop Wintersport 3D and it's a fairly decent compromise for this area.  Plus, with my wheel size to fit the brake rotors, the highest profile I can get is 40 series in snow tires.

i really would like a truck for my winter driving.  Good ground clearance (5" with my current car) and not worrying about dodging pot holes that sends shockwave through the car. 

8 Pots up front.....40 Profile as well.
It's all in the wheels as well to a degree.

19" clear my breaks. Another set of 20's, I need to run a 5mm spacer for it to clear it by a hair.

FWIW, the Nokians wear very well.....It's one of those tires where you run it once and never look back.

The WR is more a all season tire with snow symbol on it. I prefer true dedicated snows and true dedicated summers...

aa335 wrote:

If you have a truck or AWD vehicle that's different. if I didn't have Nokian snow tires I would not be able to get home in the winter. They really last since the WRG2's are all season tires but are snowflake rated.

chefwong wrote:

Correct, the WR is an all season tire with a 50,000 mile rating. It will do the job where I live. I used to run dedicated snows on my Miata when it was all I had but they are like running on jello here when it gets even a little bit warm. We have to use a compromise tire like the WRG2's. Our weather in New England really bits so all seasons are best for up here. My car is nothing to brag about for handling or performance anyway. If was a wee bit bigger I could almost put my snowblower in it tho.

I used to run dedicated snow tire on a Honda Accord.  Very good traction on snow and ice at cold temperatures.  Warm and dry handling, on the other hand, was unbearable.  Mushy and slow steering response, feels like the tires only have 10 psi and the threads are rolling over at every corner.  Definitely not a compromise I want.

My current car is far from a dedicated snow car (RWD, 300+ HP, 5 inch ground clearance), so dedicated snow tires don't work for me, for the snow fall around here.  Major roads are cleared often and heavily salted.  I rather buy a second skinny tire car like a Corolla with mushy handling and numb steering to begin with.  Suspension so soft that it doesn't even feel a pot hole.  The Corolla is actually good in snow, even deep now, so stable and numb, but that's all it's good for.

aa335 wrote:

I have a Honda Fit and it has very skinny tires, handling is ok, it gets about 34mpg combined which drops to about 31mpg combined in the winter. My wife can easily get 36-37mpg combined out of hers. It's not a car you'd write home about but it's ok for what we use it for. The WRG2's are great on it and go through snow like a 4x4. It sounds like you are driving a BMW 335i. Your nick kinda alludes to that. Nice car, I almost bought one. I'm saving up for when I move back overseas. I'd like to buy a nice condo in cash, so no mortgage. No snow ever again either.