History Old snow tires: Pic/info thread

So I'm pretty young and it seems odd to me that snow tires used to be such a popular thing, or at least it seems to me. Anyone have old pictures with snow tires on cars, or can anyone explain why they were so prevalent? i was thinking maybe it was because of RWD, but plenty of trucks are driven in the winter without snow tires.

 

Better grip due to deeper and more open tread pattern to throw the snow. Before al the modern electronic traction control, anti lock braking and other do dads, snows were installed on the driving wheels (usually the rear) only. Only had to buy two. Nowadays you need four and you'd better run four or otherwise it could be a little hairy and could also be ticket time!

 

I don't know why. But I love the look of white wall snow tires on the back of my cars.




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Don't know that snow tires were so popular in old days, but lots of gravel roads at that time & snowies resisted puncture wounds better than summer tires..........

 

Also is softer rubber compounds with winter tires. They grip the road better, but wear out quickly.
Best to just have a extra set of wheels and use as needed. But they do really help.
Also today they have all season radials with a compromise of rubber compounds and tread pattern for all seasons. This works for many.
Does not work well at all for those in bush Alaska. Just depends on where you live, amount of snow, ice you get as to what tires you do need.

 

I also like the look. To someone like myself, it makes it even more of a trip back in time to see those old grippers.


What'cha got in there, kid?

 

Plus they could be studded. Made for some cool burn outs with sparks.
What a pain every year, the first snow fall and customers would be lined up around the block to have their snows mounted. Made a ton of money as a kid.

 

Yeah I just like to imagine scenarios like it was the fall of 68 or something long before my time. And the car got parked right after winter with the old snow grippers on it.
57 belair typical upgrades. 350 tbi th350 disc brakes and lowering spindles.


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A lot of the time they were labeled mud and snows. Think of the 4x4's out there and what they try to go thru and back then you got what would work best for the season. But tire technology, car traction control, and road clearing capabilities have all improved making the need for a special seasonal snow tire pretty much a thing if he past.


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Snow tire use diminished after radial tires became common on most cars as they had superior traction compared to bias ply tires.

 

LoL Yeah....just spent $500.00 on snow tires for my daily driver and reinstalled the 4 from last winter on my wifes car as well.
Noticed I need to buy two new ones very soon for her car too because those soft rubber tires are worn almost to the wear marks on the rear. Another $200+ in the next couple of weeks I guess. Sigh....

I wish snows were as unnecessary for me as they are for many of you!!!

 

When I was a kid in the 60's in North Ontario I remember everyone put snow tires on the back drive wheels. There is no way you could get around with the snow and ice if you did not.

 

Awesome car btw, it's got the perfect look. It's not a show car but not a pile either, looks like something you'd see parked on the curb back then. (in a good way)

 

four wheel drives were not as common as they are today. snow tires were the way to go on two wheel drive trucks too. also throw something heavy in the back for traction, cars and trucks .

 

Dad always had snow tires mounted on extra wheels, on in Nov.-off the end of March. They were a must have for Ohio winters. The old guy up the road from us swore by Sears Suburanites, he pumped oil wells with lots of crummy roads all year , he said with those "sumbitches his old Plymouth would climb a tree"

 

Nothing beats snow tires on a convertible. I've seen it done. Sorry I don't have a pic.

 

Perhaps the little to no usage of salt on the highways had something to do with it? Not sure when it's use on highways began, but I've heard that it wasn't used much at all, (at least in rural Illinois), until the mid - late 1960's.

Unfortunately, it seems like the use of road salt has exploded in the last 15 years, or so, here in Illinois. Personally, I'd rather do without any road salt.

 

Sears catalog, 1970.



And my 57 suburban when I got it, had sears snow tires rear and rib tires front. Just like in the old catalog.

 

As has been stated, radials perform so well that snows have lost favor. That along with FWD. But you had better get all season radials or you will have no winter traction. The best snows I have used were Fireston Town and Country's. They were tops. They also made recaps with sawdust mixed in the rubber. They were a good traction tire, but wore out quick. Used to be, maybe still is, the law in many northern cities that changed parking from one side of the street to the other; If your care was stuck and couldn't be moved to the other side of the street, you got a ticket if you didn't have snows on.

 

Makes me feel old!-MIKE

 

Good afternoon from up north Finland,
You asked for this when starting this thread, right?
As we all know, NOKIA was originally in rubber products, ca half century before cell phones & electronics.
Today named Nokian Tyres, they claim making the 1st ever snow tires in 1934.
They lookes like this:


In the end of 60's...

 

Once you drive a winter with a good set of winter tires you'll never go without them. Here in MI, we get a fair bit of snow. My daily is a 300hp RWD station wagon. Have yet to get it stuck....

 

Hakks are the SHIT! If you can find them that is.....

 

All season tires weren't available till '77 (Goodyear), until then it was either summers or snows, most cars (here in USA) were big tourqy American rear wheel drive boats, not many had limited slip differentials.

So with an open differential (non-limited slip), once one wheel starts spinning or slipping, it will get all the tourque and spin faster while the other doesn't get enough tourque to move the vehicle, which causes vehicle to lose control even more. The function of a limited slip differential is to limit the difference in speed of the two axles, so this helps to keep moving through the snow. Or perhaps more relevent here, so both tires will burn rubber and fill a parking lot with acrid smoke, instead of just one, doubling the effect.


I remember one Thanksgiving, we hadn't changed to snows yet on our '70 Ford wagon. My Aunt's house was at the bottom of a hill, it had started to snow after we got there, so that evening when we went to leave, the wagon couldn't even make it up the hill at all, tire spinning, burning rubber, car sliding back down the hill with every attempt to climb it. We had to sleep there, and we weren't the only ones either. For a little kid it was an awesome night. First snow of the season is always magical.

 

When I was a kid we found a set of snow tires in the rafters of my Grandpa's garage . The tread was small round circles like small hockey pucks. They were just what we needed for our 54 Buick drag car. We used them until they wore out.

Gary

 

In the 50's dad bought 2 in1 recaps in the fall. The square knob winter tread
would be worn down in the spring to the summer tread which should
last till fall. The soft rubber had good traction, but the recap might fail.
We also put weight in the trunk to help traction.

 

before the "luxury" of common four wheel drive, town plow truck pretreating and scraping salting roads dry a snow tire would be needed. the design was intended to "throw" snow/mud and come back around for a fresh bite.
dads truck, two wheel drive. note the plow frame and road conditions.

 

Bought a 67 plymouth satelite with the studs on the back years ago, I would leave white marks on the blacktop instead of black marks......before changing the wheels and tires and "cragaring" it up

 

Called "Knobies" around here back in their day. Worked very well in the snow but sang quite the tune on dry pavement......

Ed

 

The studded snow tires were the best at getting through snow. They even gave you a little traction on ice. We lived in a valley so if we were going anywhere, we had studded snow tires. In really bad weather, we parked at the top of the hill a half mile from the house.


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