BlackNorthernJK

Time for an e-mail to Mythbusters! They'll get to the bottum of it

cerbomark

This is very interesting. I m in a snowbelt too and can only add that we use a thinner tire to plow snow than you would expect. ???? More weight per square inch on a thinner tire (on packed surface) equals better traction. I don t know... Does seem that different conditions require different solutions. I like the Mythbuster idea the best!

sn4cktime

I go with:

Packed snow / ice: 10 PSI (AKA my normal wheeling pressure) for traction

Fluffy / deep snow: 25-28 PSI (normal street pressure) to cut through the snow


35x12.5 BFG KM2's, not siped. Went wheelin' last weekend on Saturday, all the hills were super icy. My open diff X made every hill first try cause I aired down; so much more traction. A couple TJ Rubi's and a YJ with lockers needed a few attempts each to crest the hills. They didn't air down enough. Could also be I'm willing to hit the hills a little harder than most .

LedZepp877

run the psi normal or a little higher, want thinner tire to cut into the snow

Northernmedic

I was out wheeling in 2' of snow this past weekend. this is what i learned: Snow depth, consistency, and even the terrain under varies greatly on a long run. Not just from one geographical area to another. I started my day off aired up at 30PSI. Where the snow was not too deep and the ice under it minimal I was able to best those that were aired down. But when the snow got deeper I could not make it through and kept getting stuck. I had to air down gradually and in increments of 5PSI to a low of 10PSI. What I'm saying is that there is not definative answer to this question. Too many variables in play. This includes the weight of your rig. lighter rigs will float easier than heavier ones. Heavier rigs will dig down better than lighter ones. Asses each situation individually and be prepared to modify your set-up accordingly. Everyone who has posted earlier has made great comments and suggestions.

BlackNorthernJK

and this is exactly the same conclusion I cam to earlier in this thread, I agree completely, too many variables for one answer to be the correct one all of the time

micja

Wheeling here in the northern rockies, everyone runs lower tire pressure because there is no digging down through 3 to 8 feet of snow. There are not tires tall enough for that so your only hope is to stay on top. The biggest thing is floatation, not traction. If you stay ontop of the snow, there is less snow to push, meaning there is less traction needed to move forward.

Now if there is the possibility to dig down to terrafirma, it is your best bet as long as you dont get high centered.

Now i personally air down for all conditions on snow because for all of the changing snow types and depths, i would rather be on top of 6 feet of snow and be a little slower in the thin stuff than fly through the thin stuff and have to get pulled out of everything more than 18 inches deep. The lower pressure matches my driving style and that is what i have found to work best for my set up at the sugestion of some very seasoned snow crawlers. I can only suggest that you play around with your pressures because not all tires are the same, not all rigs are the same weight, not all drivers drive the same. What ever you do, expect to get stuck either way and have fun. Its what your going for anyways isn't it?

greatwhitebuffalo

we just had 47 inches here in colorado, and i was the only one that got out before the plow came. i aired down the 33s to 10psi and it made an appreciable difference in floating above the snow. really sucked on the highway though.

JimWPB

I may live in the sunshine state now, but I grew up in the snow. I've actually lived in a lot of different areas that get snow. I started driving snow plows in the 1970s. I've used studded tires, chains, and all sorts of different tire sizes on all sorts of different equipment including farm tractors, military vehicles, dump trucks, pick up trucks and Jeeps. Most of my snow time was in CJs.

Every storm can be different. Wet snow & dry snow are very different animals. Snow depth matters. Snow pack matters. The underlying surface matters. Some areas get fairly consistent types of snow fall. Other areas see more variation.

Dry snow on top of ice is the worst. Studs help a little here. Chains are a little better than studs. Nothing is actually good for this. I've seen fire trucks slide sideways in this stuff.

Wet snow packs up under pressure. Tires with wide tread patterns grab well in this stuff. If it's real deep, wide tires that are aired down work well because they help you to float on top. If the snow is only a few inches deep, skinny tires, with full normal pressure, dig down & do well. Tire chains work great in this stuff. I've even pushed through 10-12" of this stuff with a 2wd Dodge D-50 (AKA Mitsubishi Mighty Max) mini-pick up. Tire chains are a real hassle and they present the possibility of doing some damage, but they work very well. I consider them to be emergency equipment.

Loose slush parts easily. Skinny tires often work well here because they dig down to the base layer.

Driving in snow is not a single type of event & there is no single method that will always work best.

greatwhitebuffalo

update-- the snow has gone away for a while in my neighborhood, anyway, and i got it in my head I wanted to get some automatic lockers. i read how some of these react badly on solid ice, and wont lock up due to lack of anything to grab on to.

Anyway, i weighed the pros and cons, and ended up ordering some aussie lockers for the front. Popped the front cover and....it already has aftermarket lockers. The first thing I saw was 'made in taiwan' and I thought, 'that's odd.' But after some part number googling, there they were, staring me in the face. eaton detroit truetrac LSD. I always attributed my insane climbing ability to the big Nittos, but this probably has more than a little to do with it as well. And then, yesterday, i was wheeling way up in the high country of colorado, and i peeled out going backwards up a steep hill of scree-- basically a tailings pile from a long dead silver mine. yup, the rear locked up too. So I'm pretty sure I'm running true-trac front and rear. Thank you, previous owner(s)!