Vehicle question

[Insurgent]

The tires make the biggest difference, as that is all that's between you and the road. I bought a set of Nokian all-season tires when I lived in Minnesota and that has made a difference of night and day.

It's also possible to sort of convert a 2WD to a 4WD by putting in a limited-slip differential. Normally one wheel will spin when a 2WD vehicle is on snow, but with a limited-slip, both will spin giving you twice the traction. I have a '97 Ford Ranger 2WD pickup and would always get stuck in Minnesota. Since putting in a limited slip (around $500 depending on) I haven't gotten stuck once! I'll be curious to see how well she handles now that I've moved to NH...

[Russell Kanning]

where did you move to? What is your name? Did you sneak in on us or have I met you?

We need more insurgents.

[Insurgent]

where did you move to? What is your name? Did you sneak in on us or have I met you?

We need more insurgents.

I'm Jeremy MacKinney; moved to Deerfield just in time for PorcFest. I've been on this board for a while but wasn't active when I lived in MN. Now that I'm in NH I plan to get involved in the insurrection, wherever it's happening!

[Pat McCotter]

where did you move to? What is your name? Did you sneak in on us or have I met you?

We need more insurgents.

I'm Jeremy MacKinney; moved to Deerfield just in time for PorcFest. I've been on this board for a while but wasn't active when I lived in MN. Now that I'm in NH I plan to get involved in the insurrection, wherever it's happening!

Hmmm... Deerfield. There is a local item that may interest you.

http://forum.soulawakenings.com/index.php?topic=3626.0

http://www.conmon.com/drupal/blog_entry/susan_inman_davis/live_and_let_die_in_deerfield

[Lex]

The tires make the biggest difference, as that is all that's between you and the road. I bought a set of Nokian all-season tires when I lived in Minnesota and that has made a difference of night and day.

It's also possible to sort of convert a 2WD to a 4WD by putting in a limited-slip differential. Normally one wheel will spin when a 2WD vehicle is on snow, but with a limited-slip, both will spin giving you twice the traction. I have a '97 Ford Ranger 2WD pickup and would always get stuck in Minnesota. Since putting in a limited slip (around $500 depending on) I haven't gotten stuck once! I'll be curious to see how well she handles now that I've moved to NH...

I'm pretty sure a limited-slip differential is the opposite: without it both wheels spin at the same speed and with it the wheels can essentially "slip" and rotate at different speeds (the slip limit can be configured and is based on traction). This is very common in sports cars and allows you to make very tight turns without losing traction. I had LSD on my MINI Cooper S and when doing a tight turn I could feel power being transfered from both wheels to only one wheel (the outside wheel) and the vehicle was throw in and out of the turn, pretty exhilirating :-)  Not sure how other LSDs work but the one I had I believe could be adjusted so that depending on the kind of driving you are doing you can set the wheels to split at different degrees of traction loss (mine was set at 30%), that's where the word limited comes from since the sliping of the wheels is limited to only situations where the wheels have different traction: this can either be on icy/dirt roads where one wheel is stuck and the other has traction or if you are in a tight turn and the inside wheel is spinning less than the outside wheel thus the LSD kicks in and allows the wheels to spin at different speeds. If you are making a tight turn in a car without LSD the inside wheels actually have no traction so you are basically hoping the outer wheels won't give out and you don't fly off the road ;-) If you have the option always get a car with LSD, it feels safer in a turn and it is much safer in a turn.

Just a side note my wife had a '65 Corvair Corsa and it was one of the first cars to have LSD although back then it was called "positraction" and it worked in her car just as well as it did in my '05 MINI.

[FTL_Ian]

All this talk about LSD...   

[KBCraig]

I'm pretty sure a limited-slip differential is the opposite: without it both wheels spin at the same speed and with it the wheels can essentially "slip" and rotate at different speeds (the slip limit can be configured and is based on traction).

No, in a standard (full slip) differential, all power goes to whichever wheel slips.

If you ever have a rear-wheel drive car up on jacks or a lift, put it in neutral and spin one rear wheel; the other wheel will turn the opposite direction. Start the engine and put it in gear, and only one wheel will turn (whichever has the least resistance). Slowly apply the brake, and suddenly both wheels will start turning when they meet the same amount of resistance.

Loggers often use home-built winches made from a truck differential. One end is modified to have a cable drum; the other has a wheel and brake drum. When the PTO drives the differential, the side with least resistance (the end not attached to a log!) will turn. The logger pulls a lever to apply the brake on the free-wheeling side, which forces power to the cable drum, taking up the cable.

A common trick when stuck in a vehicle with a full-slip differential, is to slowly apply the emergency brake until the other wheel begins to get power.

There are also solid axles, but those are only used for racing dirt tracks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Differential_(mechanics)

Kevin

[Lex]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Differential_(mechanics)

I guess I should've consulted with the wiki first 

[Dave Ridley]

I have a car that is supposedly bad on the snow and ice relatively speaking, but it hasn't been much of an issue near or south of concord.   They keep the roads more or less passable.   

If you are in the northern part of the state it could be different. 

[Insurgent]

The tires make the biggest difference, as that is all that's between you and the road. I bought a set of Nokian all-season tires when I lived in Minnesota and that has made a difference of night and day.

It's also possible to sort of convert a 2WD to a 4WD by putting in a limited-slip differential. Normally one wheel will spin when a 2WD vehicle is on snow, but with a limited-slip, both will spin giving you twice the traction. I have a '97 Ford Ranger 2WD pickup and would always get stuck in Minnesota. Since putting in a limited slip (around $500 depending on) I haven't gotten stuck once! I'll be curious to see how well she handles now that I've moved to NH...

I'm pretty sure a limited-slip differential is the opposite: without it both wheels spin at the same speed and with it the wheels can essentially "slip" and rotate at different speeds (the slip limit can be configured and is based on traction). This is very common in sports cars and allows you to make very tight turns without losing traction. I had LSD on my MINI Cooper S and when doing a tight turn I could feel power being transfered from both wheels to only one wheel (the outside wheel) and the vehicle was throw in and out of the turn, pretty exhilirating :-)  Not sure how other LSDs work but the one I had I believe could be adjusted so that depending on the kind of driving you are doing you can set the wheels to split at different degrees of traction loss (mine was set at 30%), that's where the word limited comes from since the sliping of the wheels is limited to only situations where the wheels have different traction: this can either be on icy/dirt roads where one wheel is stuck and the other has traction or if you are in a tight turn and the inside wheel is spinning less than the outside wheel thus the LSD kicks in and allows the wheels to spin at different speeds. If you are making a tight turn in a car without LSD the inside wheels actually have no traction so you are basically hoping the outer wheels won't give out and you don't fly off the road ;-) If you have the option always get a car with LSD, it feels safer in a turn and it is much safer in a turn.

Just a side note my wife had a '65 Corvair Corsa and it was one of the first cars to have LSD although back then it was called "positraction" and it worked in her car just as well as it did in my '05 MINI.

Yes, by limited-slip I also mean posi-traction. A normal differential allows the outside wheel to spin faster around corners, but it also means that there is essentially only one drive wheel. An LSD has clutches in it that slip if one wheel is spinning faster than the other. Otherwise the axle is basically locked and both wheels spin at the same speed.

Some trucks and SUVs have it as an option when you order the vehicle. I had it installed on my used pickup for a couple hundred bucks. Kits are available for some, but not all vehicles. If it's available, I highly recommend it as 2WD basically sucks!

[Russell Kanning]

The Keene Free Press van has posi  ..... I hope I never need it.

[tracysaboe]

Ian I'm in Cold/Windy South Dakota right now. But I would definitely recomend using Snow tires in the Winter. (Actually I only have them on my front wheels -- but I should put them on all four because sometimes, if I'm not carefull the car will fishtail on icy roads.)

But it depends partly on how agressive you're going to be driving. For instance my wife never puts snow-tires on her car. She's got a better quality car that handles better to begin with but she's also fairly cautious.

Frankly I don't trust Anti-Lock-Breaks.  They give people a feeling of false security. Amy has them on her car and they don't seem to do anything except make grinding noises when the tractions low w/o really doing anything to help control the car.

SD is actually the same latitude (or simular) to northern NH so conditions should be fairly simular I would think. Except around here they use a mixture of sand and salt so we have less problems with rusting then those people in Minneapolis.

Make sure you have cold temporature washer fluid (the red stuff) instead of the normal stuff. Although it's probably a lot windier so maybe it doesn't freeze as fast in NH as it does here.  (Around here the normal stuff freezes as soon as it lands on your window.)

Tracy

[Fluff and Stuff]

SD is actually the same latitude (or simular) to northern NH so conditions should be fairly simular I would think. Except around here they use a mixture of sand and salt so we have less problems with rusting then those people in Minneapolis.

Make sure you have cold temporature washer fluid (the red stuff) instead of the normal stuff. Although it's probably a lot windier so maybe it doesn't freeze as fast in NH as it does here.  (Around here the normal stuff freezes as soon as it lands on your window.)

Tracy

You are right.  SD (outsides of a few pockets near WY) is colder and more windy than NH.  Thanks for the tips.  I plan on getting snow tires and taking a winter driving class when I move up.

[Bald Eagle]

As for corrosion from salt - do what boaters do in salt water - electrically connect a big block of zinc to the frame of the car to electrochemically absorb the oxidation and resulting corrosion.  When the zinc corrodes into a big pile of non-toxic white powder (the same zinc oxide people put on their noses at the beach) just remove it and replace it with a fresh block of zinc.

It's called a "sacrificial electrode" if you want to look up more information.

[41mag]

We used those zinc blocks quite a bit in the navy.  They were bolted all over the bilges.  This works because corrodes much easier than the steel, and the zinc anode is sacrificed preventing this form of corrosion in the steel.

Never thought to use them on vehicles, but it should work just as well.