If you mix the kitty liter or play box sand with rock salt, and put it back in the bags and duct-tape them shut, you will have a mix that gives you weight, traction, melts ice, and won't freeze into a solid brick when you need it most - even if it gets wet.
-Dave Walton On 10/5/05, Russ Maki <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > As with any area there are good and bad points. > > > > > I'm with you there, Bill. Here's my rant, back at ya: > > During a pretty recent December, we got 54 inches of snow in > southeastern Wisconsin. That's 54 inches of snow in one month. It was a > wild blip on the bell curve, to be sure, but the nearest big city > (Milwaukee) averages about 3 feet of snow in a season. And I'm just on > the fringe of the serious snow belt. The Great Lakes are a snow-making > machine in the winter! > > I love Wisconsin, but the weather can be ... er, character-building. I > deal with it. Winter is not all unpleasant -- in fact, it can be great > fun. Still, there are plenty of occasions when it delivers drudgery by > the bucketload. > > Consider the worst chore you can think of. Now, imagine having a > chortling heckler lounging nearby on a chaise, sipping a tall drink and > hooting while you perform said chore. As I said, winter isn't all bad, > and most of the ribbing on this list is good-natured -- but when you get > poked in the ribs 30 or 40 times a season, every season, it gets a > little old. > > On to the subject of the post, sort of: > > I have gone many years without snow tires. I've also ended up in the > ditch more than a time or two. Since I drive a lot at night these days, > I wouldn't have a car without them in the winter. > > As I recall, you posted that you didn't find them necessary, based on > your winter driving experience (I surmise) some years ago. But modern > snow tires are a far cry from the old clunkers of the bias-ply days. The > H-rated tires (like the Nokian NRWs Ned K. and I were singing hosannas > to awhile back) drive like touring tires and can navigate an unplowed > road without drama. They've also been extremely durable -- Ned and I > have both gotten 40,000 miles out of our sets, and they're still > roadworthy. Other brands that use multicell rubber compounds don't hold > up as well. > > I also recall you mentioning kitty litter as a winter driving aid -- I'm > not sure if you meant for weight in the trunk or to spread under the > wheels. If the latter, I'd have to disagree to a point. Once that stuff > gets saturated with moisture, it's wet clay. I prefer bags of playbox sand. > > But then, I have snow tires, so I don't get stuck in the snow! > > Russ > > > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________ > For new parts see official list sponsor: http://www.buymbparts.com/ > For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://striplin.net/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_striplin.net >
