Snow, snow, and more snow.  Definitely not good for track days, but it is good for winter sports. I find that driving on snow-covered roads is a blast, as long as no one else is around me.  It’s like being at a large snow-cross event.

I do a lot of driving miles every year, and I like to be prepared for all types of weather and road conditions, similar to driving on the track. As an example, you would not drive your car on the track with slicks when it is raining heavily or when there are freezing temperatures.  Instead, you would put on a set of rain tires or intermediate tires.  The same applies to the local roads and highways.    

On our vehicles, I have a second set of rims and snow tires that I pop on in late November and leave on until the cold goes away.  There is no comparison for a snow tire to a tire that’s rated as all-season or even four-season.  Snow tires will transform your confidence in your driving in the snow, hands down.

I recently had a conversation with a good friend of mine who was telling me that it was very slippery out on the roads during the last snowstorm.  She said she had almost slid off the road, and her daughter noticed the same while she was out doing errands.  I asked her if they had snow tires on their cars, and she said, ‘No, we have Subarus.’  Wow, she actually believes that snow tires aren’t needed because Subaru advertisements show their cars going through the snow with all-wheel drive, not sliding on the wet, snowy roads. The misconception that if you have all-wheel drive, you don’t need snow tires is crazy.  Snow tires are a softer compound than all-season, have more tread pattern, and in theory, cut through the snow better to give you better traction.  If you have a big fat tire, that makes things even worse in the snow.  It distributes the weight of the vehicle over a larger area, sort of like floating on water.  The narrower the snow tire, the better off you will be.

I have been out on the roads this winter during two of the storms, and the number of people I’ve gone by who were struggling with traction in the snow was nuts.  Many had no right being out there.  For the others, in their Subarus, fancy Jeeps, and other four-wheel drives, if they would just put on a set of snow tires, they would see the light. 

So, this year, when you come to the track or are just out for a ride in your car, remember, if it’s a cold 40-degree morning, those Michelin Cup tires are going to be greasy until they get some heat in them.  There are many different compounds of tires for our fancy race/street cars, and using the one that works best for the conditions or use is important.

Have a fun time the rest of this winter, slipping and sliding around, and we’ll see you at the track soon. Our first 2026 DE is scheduled for April 13th, and registration opens on ClubRegistration.net on March 9th.