More fun with my new digicam. Pictures of my old snow tires.
01-07-2001, 09:33 PM
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More fun with my new digicam. Pictures of my old snow tires.
Since Raj (RKA) and I have both made public our lukewarm opinions on the LM22s, I thought that I would post some pictures of my history with snow tires. What better way to have fun with my new digital camera! :-)
I am also experimenting with multiple picture posting. So hopefully this will work.
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/AudiWorldPics/2001/PelicanPeteOldSnows.jpg">
On the left is my Nokia Hakkepelita 10.
Notice that the company's name printed on the sidewall is "Nokia" before they changed it to "Nokian." I had these on my 1984 Saab 900T, which I owned from 1993-1996.
The tires have about 25k miles on them, and still have most of the studs and most of the tread left on them. They were incredible in deep snow. I loved them!! I did not have to slow down when the snow was falling. I would regularly drive through the snow at 70+ mph on the highway. The only time I had to slow down to 45mph was when there was so much snow on the ground, and my Saab did not have enough ground clearance. (Blizzard of 1995.)
They were pretty dismal on dry roads, however, and the studs made a lot of noise.
Size is 185/65-R15.
On the right is the Pirelli 210Asimetrico from my Integra GSR. I plus sized them to 205/50-HR15.
Great in the wet & dry. Even better than the factory Michelins.
A tad noisy, but that is to be expected with a snow tire.
I only drove them in the snow once, and they did fine. Not nearly as aggressive as the Nokias, but not bad either. They were a terrific balance of dry/snow handling.
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/AudiWorldPics/2001/PelicanPeteLM22.jpg">
Here are my new Bridgestone Blizzak LM22s mounted on my A4. Read Raj's post about a page or two back for a detailed review. I agree with his opinions 100%.
Yes, I have 8 snow tires in storage at my mother's house (12 during the summer, when the Audi's snow tires are not mounted.) Fortunately mom has a crawlspace that is insulated and protected, but not used for anything else.
When I took the old tires out of storage for this little photo shoot, I was reminded of something I read several years ago. It was either in a TireRack catalog, or a Nokia (Nokian) catalog:
Snow tires work by trapping the snow between the tread blocks, and the grip is provided by snow-on-snow contact -- otherwise known as surface tension between the water molecules, for all the science buffs. :-)
Notice how the Hak10 treads are so spread out.
That makes them very squirmy on dry roads, because there is very little rubber-to-pavement contact. But in deep snow they are awesome.
The LM22s on the other hand have tight treads for a snow tire. That gives them a larger contact patch, and excellent dry weather handling.
But instead of digging into the snow like the Nokias, they tend to float on top of the snow, which became evident when I was driving in last week's northeast snow storm.
Nokian calls their NRW tires "all-seasons." If that is so, then I think that the LM22s are also all-seasons moreso than true snow tires. They are fine for light snow, just as an all-season tire would be. But in last week's "blizzard conditions" they were mediocre at best.
Last year my Audi had Firestone Winterfires, which were very soft on dry roads -- even moreso than the Hak10's. I sold them before I got to take any pictures. They were okay in the snow -- much better than the LM22s.
I plan to keep the LM22s because they are appropriate to my driving style on dry roads, and for NYC's typically mild winters. But when it comes time to buy another set of snow tires (either for the A4 in a few years, or if I buy a different car in a few years) I would not get the LM22s again. I would want a more aggressive snow tire. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.
But in the meantime I'll be slowing down when it snows. No more 70mph through the snow for me.
Incidentally, if anybody knows someone who would like either of these sets of snow tires, drop me an email. The Pirellis are still fairly new, so I'd like to sell them.
But the Nokias have 25k miles on them. And even though they still have adequate tread and most of the studs left, I couldn't ask for much. I'd be willing to GIVE these tires to somebody who could actually make good use of them.
I hope you enjoyed this little history lesson.
Today's show was brought to you by the letters H and Q, and the number 4.
-- Peter
98.5 1.8tqms 1 bar
I am also experimenting with multiple picture posting. So hopefully this will work.
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/AudiWorldPics/2001/PelicanPeteOldSnows.jpg">
On the left is my Nokia Hakkepelita 10.
Notice that the company's name printed on the sidewall is "Nokia" before they changed it to "Nokian." I had these on my 1984 Saab 900T, which I owned from 1993-1996.
The tires have about 25k miles on them, and still have most of the studs and most of the tread left on them. They were incredible in deep snow. I loved them!! I did not have to slow down when the snow was falling. I would regularly drive through the snow at 70+ mph on the highway. The only time I had to slow down to 45mph was when there was so much snow on the ground, and my Saab did not have enough ground clearance. (Blizzard of 1995.)
They were pretty dismal on dry roads, however, and the studs made a lot of noise.
Size is 185/65-R15.
On the right is the Pirelli 210Asimetrico from my Integra GSR. I plus sized them to 205/50-HR15.
Great in the wet & dry. Even better than the factory Michelins.
A tad noisy, but that is to be expected with a snow tire.
I only drove them in the snow once, and they did fine. Not nearly as aggressive as the Nokias, but not bad either. They were a terrific balance of dry/snow handling.
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/AudiWorldPics/2001/PelicanPeteLM22.jpg">
Here are my new Bridgestone Blizzak LM22s mounted on my A4. Read Raj's post about a page or two back for a detailed review. I agree with his opinions 100%.
Yes, I have 8 snow tires in storage at my mother's house (12 during the summer, when the Audi's snow tires are not mounted.) Fortunately mom has a crawlspace that is insulated and protected, but not used for anything else.
When I took the old tires out of storage for this little photo shoot, I was reminded of something I read several years ago. It was either in a TireRack catalog, or a Nokia (Nokian) catalog:
Snow tires work by trapping the snow between the tread blocks, and the grip is provided by snow-on-snow contact -- otherwise known as surface tension between the water molecules, for all the science buffs. :-)
Notice how the Hak10 treads are so spread out.
That makes them very squirmy on dry roads, because there is very little rubber-to-pavement contact. But in deep snow they are awesome.
The LM22s on the other hand have tight treads for a snow tire. That gives them a larger contact patch, and excellent dry weather handling.
But instead of digging into the snow like the Nokias, they tend to float on top of the snow, which became evident when I was driving in last week's northeast snow storm.
Nokian calls their NRW tires "all-seasons." If that is so, then I think that the LM22s are also all-seasons moreso than true snow tires. They are fine for light snow, just as an all-season tire would be. But in last week's "blizzard conditions" they were mediocre at best.
Last year my Audi had Firestone Winterfires, which were very soft on dry roads -- even moreso than the Hak10's. I sold them before I got to take any pictures. They were okay in the snow -- much better than the LM22s.
I plan to keep the LM22s because they are appropriate to my driving style on dry roads, and for NYC's typically mild winters. But when it comes time to buy another set of snow tires (either for the A4 in a few years, or if I buy a different car in a few years) I would not get the LM22s again. I would want a more aggressive snow tire. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.
But in the meantime I'll be slowing down when it snows. No more 70mph through the snow for me.
Incidentally, if anybody knows someone who would like either of these sets of snow tires, drop me an email. The Pirellis are still fairly new, so I'd like to sell them.
But the Nokias have 25k miles on them. And even though they still have adequate tread and most of the studs left, I couldn't ask for much. I'd be willing to GIVE these tires to somebody who could actually make good use of them.
I hope you enjoyed this little history lesson.
Today's show was brought to you by the letters H and Q, and the number 4.
-- Peter
98.5 1.8tqms 1 bar
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