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> Even roads covered with a solid sheet of ice would be no problem in a FWD Camry. I was with you till that last sentence. Have you ever actually tried to dri

> Even roads covered with a solid sheet of ice would be no problem in a FWD Camry. I was with you till that last sentence. Have you ever actually tried to drive (or walk) on a solid sheet of ice? I was involved in a freak situation where the temperature plummeted suddenly after a few hours of mixed ice/water/slush precipitation. The roads and any other concrete flat surface were coated with smooth ice. We sat near a curve and watched all the 4WD vehicles come along and slide off the road. Wherever people were in town that evening they had to stay there until morning. True sheet ice cannot be handled by any combo of FWD or 4WD without perhaps studs or chains. Even then it is sketchy. Fortunately, that kind of ice is fairly rare on a large scale. However, patches of ice are common and that creates many problems since drivers may not recognize it.

mywittyname 6y ago
Yeah, I have, every year it's a problem because I live in a neighborhood where sump pumps dump onto the road, so ice dams forming and coating the entire road in smooth ice is common. Modern extreme winter tires are designed for traction on ice. They are impregnated with this gritty stuff (made of walnuts shells, I think) which grips on ice. The grip is not great, but I can reliably get a RWD sports car up a modest grade in them. Note that I'm not talking about the Mud and Snow tires that come on most vehicles. These have an indicator that is a snowflake in a mountain and usually can't be used above 60 degrees. Here's a link to some examples: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=PSIS&sortValue=14&lowToHigh=Y&openCat=Dry https://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.j...