Driving Disco on snowy/icy roads? Help?

[DirtyDisco]

Just an update: I drove again on snowy mountain roads this weekend and put it in "high" differential lock and I was cruising at 40mph with no problem. I suggest putting it in diff lock on snowy roads. Without it, I was slidding all around the turns.

 

[discoman]

My Disco's is a bit of a sled when it comes to winter driving conditions. I do however have tires that are too wide and I'm not to fond of the tread pattern. And it is a heavy vehicle, add too much speed and you get momentum; hard to stop on slippery surfaces. I was out driving for fun the other night when there was a foot of snow on the ground. Center Diff Lock helped quite a bit with control, and I was able to climb any hill in town with it. Unlocked and it would start to spin the wheels.
I always find good tires and a slow enough speed will get you where you need to go.

 

[meyersd]

Forget the chains and get yourself some snows.

 

[DirtyDisco]

I just replaced the two old tires I had on it, so now I pretty much have 4 new all terrain tires all around. Before, my front tires were kind of bald and around the turns I would just slide straight into the mountain/off the mountain, instead of turning!! It was a learning experience and an adventure to say the least. With diff lock set on "high" I was zooming right along with almost zero traction loss, and now with new tires I should be all set. Can't wait to try it out up there. Driving slow is definetely a good decision on snowy roads. You never know when the snowy road becomes an icy road.

 

[discoman]

I also highly recommend sipping (rymes with typing) your tires. If you have never heard of this let me explain. Sipping, is cutting lots of tiny slits across and through the tread of the tire. This gives multiple biting edges that help to give grip on the ice. Ask your local tire shop if they have a sipping machine. Get all four tires done. Around here, the price is around $25-30 Canadian per tire.
I've done it to ordinary tires and have had very pleasing results. I sipped a set of BF Goodrich AT's 3 winters ago and they are still working great! I find that doing this to a tire gives no adverse affect to it when driven on dry pavement. If anything, it has improved performance in almost every situation.