Siping

[kacyk]

A few years ago I had a tire dealer talk me into selling me some new tires and siping them. I suppose they did well in the snow and rain but I didn't notice anything significantly different about the wet or snow traction over the stock set.

I did notice that the steering felt vague and that the wheels tracked every groove on the road. I couldn't determine if this was just the new type of tires or it was because of the siping.

I just bought some Toyo Proxes S/T for my new SUV. The OEM wheels were 17's and these are 22's. We made a trip up to the cabin last night and much to my dismay, the Proxes didn't do too well despite the M&S rating. I know, 40 series are made for adequate snow travel. But the problem is we bought this rig to get the whole family (of seven) up to the cabin. Needless to say, the wife is not happy with me. I traded in the factory set so no hope there either.

Here's my question, will siping really improve snow and wet traction? Also, how will it affect the ride? Like I mentioned, the last time I bought some siped tires they sent the car all over the road. It could just have been the tires but who knows.

[Vroom2]

I don't think it's the 40 series sidewall that's hurting you in the snow, but rather the directional tread pattern of those Proxes. They're very sexy, and offer solid dry and decent wet traction, but in the snow...well, you've discovered their weakness.

Siping won't do much of anything for you in the snow. In fact, I don't know of a siping machine that will accommodate 22" wheels & tires. In any case, I'm a fan of siping - it generally adds wet weather traction because water is removed from the contact patch instantaneously. It also generally adds miles to the life of a tire since it cools the tread.

For your situation I'd recommend picking up a set of stock wheels & tires on eBay or Craigslist, or considering a set of plastic chains for travel in the snow. I use bold becuase, as I understand it, you can easily damage your rims with these things. Good luck.

[the blur]

what is sipping ??

[tonytone]

kacyk--how much snow/slush was on the road? I ask because I also run Toyo Proxes S/T on my truck (305-40-22) and on a trip to Oregon last this past February, they seem to hold up pretty well. It's not as if I was driving over a few inches of snow, but I'm not talking about a light dusting, either.

[kacyk]

TonyTone,

We have a cabin in Leavenworth and as long as the snow plows are out, I-90 is not a problem. The issue comes to play when we enter our cabin neighborhood. Last year I had to tread into over a foot of snow in some areas to get to the cabin. It was fun in the Hummer, even with 325/60-20's but I doubt if these 40 series will do the trick.

[tonytone]

Originally Posted by kacyk

TonyTone,

We have a cabin in Leavenworth and as long as the snow plows are out, I-90 is not a problem. The issue comes to play when we enter our cabin neighborhood. Last year I had to tread into over a foot of snow in some areas to get to the cabin. It was fun in the Hummer, even with 325/60-20's but I doubt if these 40 series will do the trick.

Yeah, with that much snow I don't think the Toyos would do any good either. For me though, if I knew ahead of time that I may have to drive through that much snow, I would have just swapped my 22's with the stockers (I still have them just for winter driving).