Primacy vs. Ice. Toyo gets involved

Melting temperature of the salt-water mix varies from -7C to -29C depending on the chemical used. While spreading salt over the snow in hopes the latter melts and the water runs off the road is widely used as a snow removal technique, one would argue it is not the most effective one. Spreading salt over the roads to keep them driveable may be used in conjunction with knowing chemistry and checking the weather forecast.

Yesterday's snow removal operation in Ottawa ON was not very effective in my opinion. There was enough salt to melt all the snow, but the temperature dropped down sooner than the liquid managed to run off or evaporate. Starting at evening rush hours, through the night and continuing into today most of the roads including highways were covered with patches of ice.

Enough of good intentions. Michelin Primacy Alpin PA3 into its fourth winter does not amuse. Mind you it still behaves better than three-season tires. But occasional slides during braking and acceleration made me feel concerned. Just to add to my doubts, I happened to drive a minivan on brand new winter Toyo Observer GSi5 tires today. Again, same day, same roads, but different vehicle make comparison unclear, nevertheless first-time-on-the-road Toyo showed off 3 year old Michelin.

I'll keep watching and reporting back to you my readers.

CAA for Winter Tires

CAA is paying service to its members reminding them of the benefits of winter tires. In traditional accessible manner the magazine makes few points: one is that it is not about snow in the first place, but about flexibility - non-winter tires get stiff with temperatures above zero and thus loose a grip.

Secondly magazine brings again the "expert" notion that two tires are not enough. Although it sounds like a common sense, experts suggest that all four winter tires will make your drive much safer.

And finally with elaborate image the magazine tells their members what they should be looking for: the snowflake sign. Don't get fooled by the "All-Season" marketing term, or the "M+S" sign. While the latter stands for "Mud and Snow", it does not make tires certified for winter driving.

So again, although it is not about snow, look for the "Snowflake" sign on the side of your tire for your winter driving.

Getting ready for the 2011-12 winter season

I promised to update you on my experience with Micheline Primacy Alpin PA3 after past 2010-11 season, but the spring has come so fast - I've got my tires taken off, packed and stored in the garage. It was over with the winter. Now, after having the tires installed for new season, I am going to reminisce on the last one.

Chrysler PT Cruiser with Michelin Primacy Alpin PA3 installed.

Last winter offered variety of challenges, typical for Eastern Ontario: cold dry pavement, ice, fresh snow, mix of snow and salt, pretty much all you can encounter was equally represented.

The tires performed very well, except for two occasions.

First, highway entrance ramp that looked covered with fresh snow, in fact was covered with sheer ice under that innocent snow. I lost control for a moment, but managed to stay on the road. Have to keep in mind: going down the hill while making sharp turn is a challenging maneuver for the front-wheel driven car on a slippery road, never mind ice.

On the second occasion, I was driving on the back road in Quebec, where locals use beach sand to add traction to the compacted-snow covered surface. I don't think there is flat stretch of the road longer than 10 meters in this part of the world. Winding roads (my wife calls them "curly") run through the hills, going up and down, turning left and right. It felt slippery at some points, but not to the point of losing control.

I may attribute problems at both occasions in part to the vehicle design. Chrysler PT Cruiser has widened base, making it feel like driving a go-cart sometimes. It is an easy-to-spin car, but that puts more pressure on the tires (pun).

So here we go again. Tread depth has not changed much after 10,000 km of winter roads, it stays at about 1/4 of an inch, or 7 mm in the center. I hope it will get me through this winter.

Wish you all safe winter driving...

10 10 TIRES Educational Approach

1010tires.com, arguably all-Canadian leader in online tire sales started new season with stating obvious - one has to use winter tires in winter.

Educational approach comes with colourful diagram. Inclining and declining lines cross at 7 degrees Celsius, temperature of flexibility loss for compounds used in summer and so-called all-season tires.

There are many drivers who have never tried winter tires, and this diagram is probably not addressed to that category. Hopefully there is small but clever group of  the drivers appreciating science and common sense, willing to purchase a set of proper tires and move at legal speed limit regardless of the weather.

If winter tires don't become mandatory in Ontario some time soon, may be all the vehicles with no winter tires should be legislated to stick to slow lanes, leaving fast lanes to those able to move?

1 cm of Snow = 46 Car Crashes

It would have been funny if it was not sad. As on January 4, 2011 the Weather Network reported 1 cm of snow accumulation , police reported 46 car crashes due to the weather conditions during morning traffic hours.

Who is there to blame? According to all involved, it's City of Ottawa negligently lacking on adding enough salt on the pavement to melt all the precipitation away. People on TV and in the papers complained about salt trucks being slow on moving snow off the roads. This is how one driver described his experience to Ottawa Citizen:

"My tires were spinning like mad. I could tell there was no salt on the road. I had no doubt about why I kept hearing about people crashing. I was just thinking, 'Geez, this is unbelievable. The roads aren't even salted."

If your tires are spinning like mad, my friend, your should buy yourself good winter tires. There is also public transit for those unwilling to invest in their own safety. 1 cm of snow should not even slow down the traffic, leave alone 46 crashes.

That same morning my wife went shopping in her Caliber equipped with Michelin X-Ice tires.

"Any problem on the road?" - I asked her after she has returned.
She said "No", and never complained about City trucks.

Read full report  Transportation ministry denies response slow after Otttawa highways littered with wrecks during morning rush in Ottawa Citizen.