4. Traction
So... you've got your car going, you are worm, the engine is working fine, the car's liquids are all ok and you have a nice and strong battery. What's next ?
Traction is very important for the winter times. ESP, TC and ABS and other safety systems will not save you from having an accident if you don't have a proper mechanical traction with the road that only a good tire can provide ! Check if your tires have a deep tread. You need more tread depth in snow because your tires need to compress the snow in their grooves and release it as they roll.
If there isn't sufficient tread depth, the "bites" of snow your tires can take on each revolution will be reduced to "nibbles," and your vehicle's traction and mobility will be sacrificed! A common misconception is that the wider the tires the better the grip... well that's not entirely true. Have you ever wondered why in WRC the rocketships that fly with over 150mph on top of the snowy Scandinavian roads have narrow tires ? It's because narrow tires have better traction on icy and slippery roads, so be careful when choosing Winter tires. It's simple physics, the weight of the car redistributes on a much narrower surface, ensuring better traction.
If you want to feel more secure about going from A to B, a good idea is to always carry in your luggage compartment a set of tire chains. Installation is easy and they can really provide a nice grip.
Another way of having traction is to install tires with studs. You must know though that they are illegal in most states and countries. But our fellows from the Balkans have found a way to go around the law : "Rarely an officer will go all the way and check the tires on passenger side too. So if your car is fwd put the stud tire as front right and voila' ! Constant traction !", not bad, but our advice though would be to put it as spare and use it only when you are stuck.
Last but not least an advice from Russia with love ! If winter catches you totally unprepared, use a 2 by 4 technology. Tie a piece of wood to your tire and you will have no problems with traction, this works on sand and mud too !
7. Powerslides
Powerslides, that's what Winter is all about, right ? It's the only time of the year where every pedestrian car becomes 700++ hp, fire breathing, flames throwing mother f dragon !
Powerslides are good for your car, because of many reasons, they are just too many and we don't want to miss any out.
Think about it, if this is what makes you happy... maybe the car slipped, maybe the clutch slipped and you lost traction.. well we are just joking but look how much fun it is, just look at this guy bellow.
