what snow tires?

[E30SPDFRK]

Because that's against the point of snow tires... They're made of a super soft compound to stay flexible in cold weather and grip. And most of them are made so that you can deflate them a little for more traction and slower driving.

Conti Extreme winter contacts. Love them.

I don't want stiffer rubber, I want stiffer belts in the sidewalls. And wouldn't deflating the tires more make snow traction worse?

[nando]

yeah, I thought deflating tires was for sand, not snow.

[straight6pwr]

have used hancook iPike 185s on my 14" wheels for years now, not a complaint. they actually have an almost identical tread pattern to a couple recent hakkapeliitta snow tires.

[M-technik-3]

On our E36's we have Toyo Garrit KX's and did not get stuck once last year in the M3 nor the 332is both have LSD's and no dreaded traction control devices enabled.

Throttle retard is for retards.

[TurboJake]

I don't want stiffer rubber, I want stiffer belts in the sidewalls. And wouldn't deflating the tires more make snow traction worse?

To answer the first thing. I understand what your going for. But a stiffer sidewall will have less flex, which is against what a snow tire demands. You want it to be accommodating and flexible. They're just like a suspension. You won't want a soft suspension while racing on an asphalt track. Nor do you want a stiff suspension while competing in the baja 1000.

As for deflating. It's just like sand (and the principles apply even for dry roads too). The more surface area you have making contact, the more grip you have. Because your in snow (And using snow tires which have the most surface area you can), you get more grip. Deflating the tires is just like putting snowshoes on your feet. More surface area, Less pressure per square inch on the snow. Easier to get around because your not sinking as far. Obviously you won't be wanting to go faster with deflated tires. But if your stuck, Some are made to be delated to as low as 10psi to get yourself out.

I can keep going. But you'll never find a snow tire with a stiffer sidewall that's DOT approved. That's the purpose of All-Season performance tires.