[dsfyu404ed]

The snow tires vs AWD situation is more nuanced. I own three of the same old car. The FWD one is the one with snow tires and it still sucks compared to the AWD ones. The reason I put snow tires on it is so that it can hill climb better on my street. Snow tires are highly overrated for commuting conditions. Maybe they would be more worthwhile if they didn't salt the roads in my sate.

For the typical slush you get when a few inched of snow meets road salt then AWD wins every damn time. Traction is not dominated by the coefficient of friction but by your tires ability to shed the "thick water" they're driving through. A snow tire is not going to be better enough at this than an all season tire (alright, maybe a little since the tread is a tiny bit more aggressive leaving more room for slush) to make up for the fact that the front tires have to do all the going and all the steering. You will be breaking traction left and right every time you touch the gas. Two tires simply do not have the traction to keep you moving at traffic speed and keep you pointed where you want when they are saturated with slush.

I would almost go so far as to say that snow tires and FWD is more dangerous in "slushmageddon and rolling traffic jamb behind the plow" type commuting conditions (e.g. Boston this morning) than AWD and all seasons simple because you will likely need to drive closer to the limit of traction on your front tires in order to maintain the same forward speed.

I have no doubt that snow tires stop and turn great on a sheet of ice but that is not what real world snow driving conditions are like. Obviously AWD and snow tires would be the best combo but forced to choose one I'll choose AWD every time.

[timw4mail]

Do they not plow the road where you drive? Just put salt on top of it?

Tread depth is also an important factor, which is basically a freebie with snow tires, as they usually have more tread depth to start with than an all-season tire.

Regardless of drive system, if you feel you are at the limit of your traction keeping up with traffic, you are going too fast.