Landrew

iTrader: (2)

done

Sentic

iTrader: (1)

About studs, pretty useless and noisy if you mostly drive urban, but the only thing that works on ice.

(location sweden)

Pen2_the_penguin

iTrader: (4)

I take full advantage of anything I get... so yeah...

Bryce

iTrader: (24)

In for pics of snowdrifting Miatas tearing up parking lots. Let me live my life through yours.

Landrew

iTrader: (2)

Haven't filmed any myself.


Slow speed drifting on left and right turns at stop lights in 1st and 2nd is about it - i'm still naturally aspirated though

Pen2_the_penguin

iTrader: (4)

I have a pretty ***** video, since the cops were out ALL FRIGGIN NIGHT busting fellow people having fun in parking lots... so my wife and I did it in the private driveway.
YouTube - Snow Miata.wmv

Vashthestampede

iTrader: (17)

I'll have a couple at some point

Right now I have no idea how I'm going to get out of the driveway in the morning. Its a small hill that shoots into the road and right now its just about a sheet of ice. Made it up somehow tonight, but the morning should be fun.

I spent 2 hours washing the car today. It'll look like **** again by noon tomorrow. :(

KPLAFIN

iTrader: (1)

Houston? If so you may want to consider changing your plans: https://www.miataturbo.net/forum/t41759/

saint_foo

I'm running stock size 185s for the NAs. I bought a set of Dunlop Graspics a few years ago and mounted them on the stock 7-spoke rims. About the first week of Dec - 2nd week of March, I'll run this set up. I bump up the tire pressure to 40psi so it doesn't feel too mushy.

It really helps with a Miata to have a good set of winter or all-season plus tires. You won't need studded (probably can't run studded in your neck of the woods), but some design with a lot of sipes is what you're looking for. From what I understand, the sipes trap snow/ice and acts like a bonding agent...much like when you pack a good snowball. The best grip for snow is snow.

In any event, winter tires won't make you Superman with ice. With snow, it gives you a good fighting chance and makes sliding a lot more controllable.

webby459

iTrader: (8)

We had a couple of sets of WS-60s then a set of Graspics on a Protege 5 we had a few years back. The tires were more or less equivalent. You can't expect good handling on dry pavement, the wormy tread that makes them work on ice doesn't work well in the dry. We got great wear out of all of them. These new generation of winter tires work magically, even on sheer ice. The ice racers up here even have a Blizzak class, granted not as fast as Menards race studded, but light years better than a standard M&S tire. The little Protege could get bite even when the snow was above the chin/belly pan. If I didn't have the pickup, I wouldn't hesitate driving a Miata with a torsen and Blizzaks right on through winter.

-Banks-

the snow really bumfucked my plans on rebuilding my motor

i ******* hate boston. i hate the salty *** slush thats eventually going to ruin my perfect north carolina chassis in a few years. i hate not having a garage to keep my baby in. ive been on a hate rampage ever since i saw ******* snow in my damn driveway.

my first choices on snow tires is bridgestone blizzacks or dunlop graspics.

rally tires here http://www.subesports.com/products/cat/Tires

btw, anyone in tampa? hows the weather there? im thinking of transferring to univ. of tampa so, just wondering wat its like at this time of year.

sixshooter

iTrader: (12)

Its a little cool right now. And they are predicting a rainy front for Christmas. High 74* low of 57* today. But it got down to 37* two nights ago and only got to 52* for a high. I wore my long-johns.
See this:
7-Day Forecast for Latitude 27.96N and Longitude 82.48W (Elev. 23 ft)

saint_foo

Eenteresting!

So if I were to toss this set of Graspics at the end of the season....what should I get next year? We get maybe 1-3 snow dumpings a year (usually ~4-6 inches, sometimes a biggie). However, it's the black ice, refreezing, slush that I'm worried about.

How do the newer designs compare with warmer/drier winter days (like 50 degrees and dry)?

webby459

iTrader: (8)

Aside, we didn't have the WS60, we had the previous generation WS.

Testing the Newest Crop of Studless Ice and Snow Winter Tires

Probably shouldn't post tirerack tests here now, but this is pertinent. What I would get in your situation would depend if you like to play to worse case scenario, or the mean scenario. IE, worst case, you get a ton of snow, need to get to work, and all you have is your Miata. If this is you, and/or you spend time worrying about such things, the WS or similar would be it. If you can get a ride to work with a buddy with a Subie, then a really good all season/M&S or something like the LM would do fine.

FWIW, even up here in upstate NY, I opted for the FWD Minivan over the AWD for the wife. And, I don't put snows on it. We aren't in the hills anymore, suburbia has better plowed roads. Also, I have the hell truck for the really bad days, she can commute with me if we get one of the 4X per year big storm, and she absolutely needs to get somewhere.

The WS Blizzaks will make you feel like a hero, and they absolutely do hold on to ice/black ice much better than all seasons. They will be ok for the dry ~50* days, just be sure to change them out when the threat of snow is over, usually ~May 1 up here.

saint_foo

^ Cool, thanks for the TR review. I'll probably get the WS60s based on that review. I've driven w/ Nokian WRs for about 18mos on my WRX wagon, and 3 winters w/ the Graspics on the Miata. They definitely help...but don't give me as much confidence as I remember. Maybe it's the 275 whp and extra tq, or just old age tires.