Thread: How many people reduce tire pressure to get more traction in winter driving?

Every winter, I see that the subject of driving in adverse conditions to quite popular on FB and other car sites.
I have contended that for more than 20 years, I have reduced air pressure in each tire to get better traction on ice and snow covered roads. I have run various winter tires, from studded tires to my current Blizzaks.
Removing air from each tire (down to around 18-20 lbs pressure) has helped me gain traction and has resulted in me not getting stuck or sliding around hitting cars and other objects.
I even admit to being the one who drives faster in snow and ice conditions, but I am able to do so with the better grip in the road.
I have had zero issues with any of the tires that I ran with reduced air pressure and had no issues with the vehicles I have run.
Again, this winter (in Pittsburgh) put me to the test, and I have not had any incidents. And I drive many more miles in the winter than anyone I know (600 or more miles weekly on average)
I have been told by just about everyone that this is a big no-no.
I have brought this subject up and hardly anyone has done this, or even heard of removing air from tires.
I tell them the story that once, with a Oldsmobile Toronado, I was driving with all season tires with no tread. And I was 50 miles from home when 5" of snow fell. I was on a 4 lane expressway and was spinning so much that I could only go no more than 15 mph. I got off the hwy and removed a good deal of air from each tire. I was then able to drive normally and made it home with no issues.
Ever since then, I reduce air pressures in all the tires.
That Olds Toro (which was a tank by the way) is gone. Now, I drive GP's with Bridgestone Blizzaks.
For this winter, the Blizzaks had between 6 to 7 32nds of tread remaining. I reduced the pressures anywhere from 25 down to 16 lbs.
How many people have ever done this?

First, I imagine having a wider contact patch causing less traction, which is what deflating the tire would do (same reason we do it at the track, more rubber on the ground). Then, I consider the fact that by deflating the tire, you're making it softer, and a softer tire I would think would be less likely to slide than a harder one (fully inflated). So maybe a softer/deflated tire makes up for the disadvantage of the larger contact patch and then some? I don't know for sure, haven't had to drive in snow since I left Pittsburgh for the Army in '01, lol. If it snowed where I live, the city would be shut down, people barely make it around in the rain.

I air down when I go 4-wheeling in the snow. Been as low as 6-7 psi and in as much as 4' of snow. The purpose here is to try and stay on top of the snow.

When driving in the city and paved roads, and you have low snow levels, you want a skinny tire to cut through the snow. I have never aired down my car tires and doubt I will ever have to.

At the end of the day, it all depends on how much snow and what type of snow you are driving on. And be careful as to how much driving you do when aired down; it increases tire heat and tire wear.

In my opinion this is a scenario where dragstrip tachniques are applied on the street in a dangerous manner. Wrinkle-wall slicks with just a puff of air pressure have a MUCH different job than anything on snow. Reduced tire pressure increases the risk of bead breakage a LOT. With ruts being very present in winter driving conditions, a gentle slide is more likely to blow the tire (separate the bead seal and let air out). If sliding laterally, next thing to make contact with the road is the rim and over you go. This is a problem that would not surface until its too late and you've already bet your life on it. Don't do it unless you're stuck and find that it helps forward thrust in the stuck situation. Then inspect for tire damage and air it back up before driving normal speed.

That is interesting to lower the psi with a 4X4. It is true that if in deep snow while off-roading, if you have a narrow width tire, it would cut through the snow and even in a 4X4, you could get bogged down.
In the Olds Toro that I drove for 18 years, I used 215/75R15 tires (snow tires in winter also that size) and it did go good in the snow. I am sure the weight of that car helped, as it was a boat.
In the Grand Prix's I have driven the past 16 years, I use the usual 225/60R16 tire, and I reduce psi to as low as 14 lbs if road conditions are particulary bad. Of course, when road conditions improve, I increase the psi back to around 32 lbs.
The point I am trying to make is there are so many people who have difficulty driving on snowy/icy roads. There were numerous accidents all over the city due to many people driving with all season radials, which they use even in the summer. There are many factors causing accidents. But, driving would be helped if they reduced the psi. Guess many people feel that is a major bother because then they have to air up the tires as the road conditions improve.

Originally Posted by NotEnoughGPs

The point I am trying to make is there are so many people who have difficulty driving on snowy/icy roads. There were numerous accidents all over the city due to many people driving with all season radials, which they use even in the summer. There are many factors causing accidents. But, driving would be helped if they reduced the psi.

I would place a wager that most of these people couldn't drive in the snow if they had a snow-mobile. LOL

Never 37psi 365 days a year, dont know why so many babies for the winter, you are NOT driving on snow everyday in the winter time, plow comes, roads clear, back to pavement with all seasons.

I keep them lower in the winter, but all within safe limits. I go as low as 28 in the winter, and usually 35 in the summer. I can't really say if it helps, I never aired them back up to to see if it got any worse. I wouldn't go much below what's recommended. idrivejunk said exactly what I was thinking with increased risk of popping the bead off if sliding, and increased tire wear. And the sidewall gets beat up pretty good at too low of pressures, every time that tire rotates, the sidewall compresses and decompresses. At 70 mph that's a lot of movement. Wears the sidewall and tread. I'm sure that makes it more likely for the belts to shift and cause an uneven tire surface.

I can add to the long lived deep snow. My street was a foot deep for almost a week. Not a lot of people got around for a few days until the ruts were made. Then it was a one way street, if one car moved to the side to let the other through, they weren't gonna get going very easily.

365 days a year, how many DAYS do you DRIVE in the snow to JUSTIFY all this winter crap? Me 0, all seasons and away I go. If my car, box truck, f150 cant handle the condition then I dont belong on the road and will not justify my safety going out be my error or some other idiot. Buy a tank problem solved.

Whats next, air up and just summer tires thread?

Hey he was just asking man lol. The sharing of thoughts and ideas is nothing if not a chance to learn something new.

With so many different experiences that people have with winter driving, there may not be any "right" advice.
I know some people living near me that have all wheel drive cars that they say they never gave thought to reducing psi to get more traction on ice and snow. And many 4X4's, which all the additional weight, may handle different on the ice and snow providing they have the proper tires for winter driving.
In a front drive GP (and a previous front drive Oldsmobile) I have had positive results driving in adverse conditions due to lowering the psi in tires.

I bbelieve people get the wrong idea with regard to inflation and tire contact with the surface... It is a rotating mass, and the tire will look to bend, curve away from the edges when spinning, thereby creating less of a contact area with the surface. Is why there is speed ratings too. I don't think lowering inflation to extreme levels helps any at all and is a placebo effect. You want grip, get SNOW tires... Period. Deflating all seasons is just a problem waiting to happen as mentioned in an earlier post. I will deflate or inflate based on a LOAD in the vehicle... I thought I seen it somewhere, but here... You'll see what I mean. Correct inflation allows for correct contact...


http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete...e.jsp?techid=3

I agree running 18 psi on the road is a terrible idea. It is a hindrance on the road. Just because off roaders do it for traction doesn't mean it works on the road.

I'll give you a perfect example. Years ago I was driving in adverse road conditions and didn't realize my tire pressure had dropped on my rear tires. The lower pressure actually caused me to spin out TWICE because my front tires had more traction due to proper inflation.

Another factor is you will ruin your tires running that low of psi.

Its crazy how low tires are on cars that come in the shop. They come fresh off the highway, I check then all. I see 14, 23, 18, 16, etc. Thing is the rear tires can be 10 psi lower than the fronts and yet look the same due to the weight difference. But I see these low numbers almost daily in the winter months. Not good. I'll lower pressure a bit in the winter, but I won't go any further than what's safe for freeway driving. I know a 28 psi tire will grip a bit better than one at its maximum rating of 44 psi.

KoRn, snow banks, sand beaches and rock climbing is not what we are talking about and totally apples/oranges! It really doesn't on a typical country road or highway... But to each his own, give it a whirl, lolz...