RX8Club.com - now that the snow is here....

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- - now that the snow is here.... (https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-discussion-3/now-snow-here-227516/)

now that the snow is here....

Just how many bags of tube sand do you put in the back of your 8? They are 70lbs a bag, so I was thinking 2 would do it.

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lol - I was going to ask which plow works best on our cars too. Sorry guys, thawing out from snowblowing 5 driveways (elderly neighbors), and just being goofy!

I used sand bags for one winter. I put 3 bags back there. If you can, Just buy winter tires.

Quote:

Originally Posted by trustyrusty (Post 4164386)

Just how many bags of tube sand do you put in the back of your 8? They are 70lbs a bag, so I was thinking 2 would do it.

lol - I was going to ask which plow works best on our cars too. Sorry guys, thawing out from snowblowing 5 driveways (elderly neighbors), and just being goofy!

No sand bags, it puts too much weight in the back and upsets the balance. You could find yourself swapping ends while braking.

BN Sports makes a replacement front bumper that would make a very effective snow plow if you just add lowering springs. The AB Flug front would work as a snow scoop. :)

None..

I eat a lot before driving during snow time so it do add more weight..

what is snow?
funny in Nebraska we havent got any...
I bought this AWD BMW hoping it would snow, but noooooo.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tonik (Post 4164616)

None..

I eat a lot before driving during snow time so it do add more weight..

:101384_l:

None. Adding weight to the car does more harm than good. Since the coefficient of friction is so far less than 1 on snow, the additional frictional force from the added weight will make you less able to change velocity (starting, stopping AND turning) than if it weren't there.

And it will also change the moment of inertia of the car making it handle differently than you're used to.

It's really only useful on vehicles with RWD and a huge front weight bias (pickup trucks).

The best method of increasing traction is to upgrade the interacting surfaces between the car and the Earth (read: get snow tires).

Quote:

Originally Posted by NotAPreppie (Post 4164655)

That's exactly why I really did buy a couple of tubes o' sand today....for my front weight bias vehicle (F-150). The 8 won't be seeing any of the white stuff. I wonder if I could get my Yokohama Geolandar AT/Ss to fit under the 8? Nah, they work fine on the truck, and with the weight, and 4x4; think I'm all set for snowy, slushy driving time. :fingersx:

If you just go to a skinnier tire that will cut down into the snow better you will be set. Wide tires give you the snowshoe effect and you stay on top of more snow, skinnier ones will go deeper in that same snow and should give you better traction.

Also it depends on the depth of the snow... There are times when a wider tire will be better if the snow is extremely deep. You wont have to worry about that though, because these cars are to low to get through any snow the wider tires would help with.

lol my cars been in storage since november and wont see the light of day again until apri...* sheds tear*

I thought the sandbag trick was generally used for unloaded trucks to enhance rear wheel traction in snow/mud.

As alnielsen mentioned, unless you like the way old 911's handle, stay away from the sandbags.

Or you can carry around the sand and pour it over patches where you need extra traction to dig out of.

I've posted about this before...

Quote:

Adding weight to the trunk is a common action based on a twisted conception of the benefit they are going for.

What they are trying to do is to increase the pressure of the tire contact patch against the road. Adding weight over the drive wheels ... wait, I've typed this before...

Ah yes, here it is:

Quote:

Originally Posted by RIWWP (Post 4107687)

The only extra weight in the car that is needed for snow is the driver.

Adding 50lbs of weight to a 3,000lb car is a 1.6% increase in weight. People who do this are ACTUALLY attempting to increase the pounds per square inch of the tire to the snow. Greater pressure means greater traction.

Going from a 225 width tire to a 205 width tire is a 8.88% decrease in surface area of the tire to the snow, and with the same weight spread over the reduced contact patch, a roughly 12.1% increase in the pressure of the tire to the snow.

And that's just some napkin math to the common 17x7 205/50r17 winter package people go with without factoring in the added benefit of narrower tires cutting through the snow better. So, if you want to add weight to get the same increase of effectiveness as going to that tire package (without going to the tire package), add 363lbs of weight to the car.

Carrying sand only has a value in being able to pour traction in front of the tire if you are stuck, but proper snow tires will mean that the only time you will actually be stuck is if you are pushing snow with your bumper, in which case you need a shovel, not sand.

So if you must carry sand, carry it on the front passenger floor. :)

I agree with above that adding weight to the rear of a car is only really effective in vehicles with a heavier front weight bias.

That being said. Shingles are better to carry as weight than sand. One package of shingles is roughly 50lbs and takes up about 1/8 of the trunk space that a 50 lb bag of sand would and offers way more traction and way less mess. A good set of snow tires is still the most effect way to get around in the snow though.

RIWWP I was going to post that but I could not figure out which thread that post was in.

Good tires are a must before sand bags. But I don't have haven't driven my 8 in any substancial amount of snow. That's what the STI is for ;)...not that it's practical either haha..