><I believe the studs are key for driving on ice.
>The noise does not bother me on dry roads! A small price to pay for
>safety and traction ...>
>
>How do studded tires behave in a panic stop? All this talk lately
>about snow tires and chains has brought back vivid memories of
>following a mid-70's Chevy Monte Carlo one night that had chains on
>the rear. On dry pavement the driver slammed on the brakes and
>locked up the rear wheels- the fishtailing and shower of sparks was
>impressive-I was also glad I was behind him!    Jeff

Fortunately studded tires are illegal in most countries. They'd be
pretty bad on dry roads, apart from the wear they will cause to the
road surface.

When we bought out used-import 89 Corona diesel, fresh in from Japan
(yes, we didn't think about it, it is now just starting to show minor
signs of rust & must've been from parts of Japan where they salt the
roads), it had Japanese snow tires on it. These are studless & very
soft in compound, with smallish treadblocks full of siping. They grip
remarkably well on snow or black ice... I even squealed them on ice
once. BUT they are too soft for dry-road use and give very poor grip
there, as well as wearing quickly. Eventually we took 'em off and
never refitted them.
--
Andrew Grebneff
Dunedin
New Zealand
Fossil preparator
Seashell, Macintosh, VW/Toyota van nut
� Opinions stated are mine, not of the University of Otago
"There is water at the bottom of the ocean"  - Talking Heads