Threaded or Slick tyres on Ice??

07Lapierre

As the title says, Threaded or Slick tyres on Ice (not snow, slush etc.), which gives better grip?

I think it makes no difference, but we're having a "debate" about it in here.

I reckon it makes no difference as the thread only works with water.
A slick tyre would have more rubber in contact with the ice, but that would not make any difference, as the tyre will still slip on ice.

I reckon the only tyres that would provide any grip on ice and or snow are studded tyres.


What do you think?

Skinny ones. Also winter tyres (for cold climates) have lots of thread and are not slicks, so unless you no more than tyre manufacturers I reckon you are wrong.

Matt Simis

RoverJames wrote: »

Skinny ones. Also winter tyres (for cold climates) have lots of thread and are not slicks, so unless you no more than tyre manufacturers I reckon you are wrong.

I think you are prolly correct, but infairness to the OP, the splines and grooves on Winter tyres are for Snow, Water and Slush, not sheet ice. However perfectly flat ice is not a surface anyone is going to be driving on...

07Lapierre

RoverJames wrote: »

Skinny ones. Also winter tyres (for cold climates) have lots of thread and are not slicks, so unless you no more than tyre manufacturers I reckon you are wrong.

I think your talking about winter tyres? these have deep threads and possible studs, which are not what i'm talking about. The deep threads provide grip in snow/slush and water, and the studs grip the ice.

Imagine a skating ring, i.e totally flat surface, no surface water/snow etc. Just pure Ice.

Two cars, one with smooth tyres, one with Threaded tyes. Regardless of the thread pattern, i fail to see how a threaded tyre would perform any better than a totally smooth (slick) tyre. IMO, Both would be as bad as the other.

Anan1

Treaded (without the 'h';)) Winter tyres have little slits called sipes on the tread blocks, which help grip on wet or icy surfaces.

Cuddlesworth

What makes ice so slippy is the small film of water on a smooth surface. Tread is necessary.

07Lapierre

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

What makes ice so slippy is the small film of water on a smooth surface. Tread is necessary.

Good point! hadn't thought of that. Treads are better then. Thanks for the replies all...

Stealthirl

iv a set of Bridgestone Blizzak LM and Vredestein wintrac xtreme on both cars
[powerfull RWD soarer and octavia TDI FWD and about the only taxi that worked all the bad weather in jan.well in my base anyway] didant have any probs last year or this

Bridgestone Blizzak LM



Vredestein wintrac xtreme

SouperComputer

Grip on ice is all getting as much download pressure (not necessarily force) as you can between the tread and the ice. The more pressure (as in literal PSI) you can exert, the more grip you will get (to a point). If you are dealing in the same tyre dimensions and pressures, the treaded tyre will win in terms of grip as less surface area is available for contact, therefore the pressure of what is in contact increases, escpecially at the edges of the treadblocks. Think blunt blade vs sharp blade. The sharp blade works better because there is more pressure (again not to be confused with the actual force being applied).

Also, all other things being equal, tread width makes no difference to the size of the contact patch whatsoever, only its shape. If you find your winter grip lacking, you can put the tyre pressure up to the manufacture's recommended max, at the expense of ride quality. Be sure to monitor weather conditions and tire wear (rarely an issue with modern tyres if your alignment is OK) and be ready to re-adjust accordingly. In my case its going to be well below freezing between now and Feb and I've been running 50-55PSI for the last 4 winters without any adverse effects. YMMV

dr.fuzzenstein

07Lapierre wrote: »

Imagine a skating ring, i.e totally flat surface, no surface water/snow etc. Just pure Ice.

Two cars, one with smooth tyres, one with Threaded tyes. Regardless of the thread pattern, i fail to see how a threaded tyre would perform any better than a totally smooth (slick) tyre. IMO, Both would be as bad as the other.

Right, all we need is a frozen surface, two identical cars, hhmhh.. I feel a Mythbusters moment coming on...

MarkoC

Its the tyres composition what makes them good on ice, not the thread.

Good article here about winter tyres:

http://carhelp.biz/winter-tires/

On the road, slick tires perform worse all the time.

mathepac

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

What makes ice so slippy is the small film of water on a smooth surface. Tread is necessary.

Correct. Have a look at the sipes on the winter tyres above (the grooves that run out to the tyre sidewalls). They are much wider than the sipes on a summer or general purpose tyre and can shift more water (melted ice) away from the treads where it's generated and collected, freeing the treads to look for more grip and preventing low-speed aquaplaning aka skidding.

Correct tyre pressure is necessary for any tyre to work properly. Underinflated tyres will tend to run on the shoulders with the centre of the tread out of contact with the road, reducing its gripping efficiency. Over inflated tyres will run on the centre of the tyre and the other parts of the tread and the sipes can't do their jobs with similar results.

Guy:Incognito

07Lapierre wrote: »

Imagine a skating ring, i.e totally flat surface, no surface water/snow etc. Just pure Ice.
.

You mean like in the video on winter tyres thats been posted here a couple of timesin the last few weeks? Done on an ice rink to show comparison between normal winter tyres (not studded or anything) and all season or summer tyres.

MarkoC

Stekelly wrote: »

You mean like in the video on winter tyres thats been posted here a couple of timesin the last few weeks? Done on an ice rink to show comparison between normal winter tyres (not studded or anything) and all season or summer tyres.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlYEMH10Z4s

07Lapierre

MarkoC wrote: »

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlYEMH10Z4s

This sums it up I think. Slick tyres are BAD. Treaded tyres are GOOD. but studded tyres are BEST for icy conditions.