Would letting some air out of tyres help on the ice?

Juwwi

As the title says would it be worth letting some air out of the wheels of my car while this cold weather continues.

I have'nt heard it mentioned anywhere is it a bad idea?
thanks

Interceptor

No absolutely not. It may even make things worse. Keep your tyres at the recommended pressures.

'cptr

KamiKazi

On snow letting some pressure out will increase the contact area so that will help.

On ice you want a small contact patch to pierce the ice, so a high pressure is preferable.

'kkzi

SV

You're never going to have your tires at a high enough pressure to break through the ice as they theory goes..

Just keep them at the correct pressure, no variance.

Juwwi

Thanks for the replys I'l leave them as they are so.

Mr. Presentable

robbie1977 wrote: »

Thanks for the replys I'l leave them are so.

Good man. You know it makes sense.

Fishtits

Reducing tyre pressures can have an effect on traction. Some say it increases the flexibilities in the tyres thus enabling them to disgorge gathered snow & ice.

My own experience is that reducing tyre PSI has a positive effect on traction.

argosy2006

robbie1977 wrote: »

As the title says would it be worth letting some air out of the wheels of my car while this cold weather continues.

I have'nt heard it mentioned anywhere is it a bad idea?
thanks

My god.,,cancel the salt order, robbie has cracked it,

Juwwi

argosy2006 wrote: »

My god.,,cancel the salt order, robbie has cracked it,

No need for sarcasm I was asking a simple question thats all..

danjo

robbie1977 wrote: »

No need for sarcasm I was asking a simple question thats all..

Sarcasm won't cut any ice.

JHMEG

The general concensus is lowering pressure won't help. However when they do talk about letting air out to improve traction they're talking about letting your tyres down to less than 10 PSI.

Bulmers

i thought letting pressure out would, i was watching the top gear polar challenge again over xmas and i thought they had the tyres at low pressure?..stand to be corrected..i would have thought a bigger surface area contact would be better?

fuelinjection

The cars that race on ice have low tyre pressure as are the cars/jeeps that run on sand in the Paris/Dakar rally in very high temperatures.
Lower tyre pressure- as long as it at low speed (not motorways) means the same weight has a bigger footprint in rubber to drive. I say drop the pressures a bit if its town driving.

Alanstrainor

Bulmers wrote: »

i thought letting pressure out would, i was watching the top gear polar challenge again over xmas and i thought they had the tyres at low pressure?..stand to be corrected..i would have thought a bigger surface area contact would be better?

It depends on the type of tyres though, in most cases in Ireland it would only make things worse. Most tyres will be relatively low profile, which will mean that reducing pressure will for one put extra strain on the side walls of the tyre and also reduce the contact in the middle of the tire with the road.
This image is to illustrate how tyre pressures affect tire wear in normal conditions, but it illustrates how decreasing pressure in most cases will makes things worse by reducing contact with the road.


When you look at the cars that top gear were using in their polar expedition, the tyres are huge, and have huge side walls, which are designed to work at different pressures for different conditions. Here's a pic.

cormie

KamiKazi wrote: »

On snow letting some pressure out will increase the contact area so that will help.

On ice you want a small contact patch to pierce the ice, so a high pressure is preferable.

'kkzi

I was told the exact opposite, snow = higher pressure less contact area, ice = lower pressure, more contact area

Harcrid

cormie wrote: »

I was told the exact opposite, snow = higher pressure less contact area, ice = lower pressure, more contact area

You were told wrong. It's like wearing snow shoes walking on snow. It increases the contact area and allows you to move across the snow rather than dig into it.