If you have 2 snow tires where would you mount them?

The Prius is not every car. Normal braking "regen" is only carried out by the front wheels, no rear wheel assist. It is only when the front wheels loose grip that there is a transition to friction braking using the rear brakes.

 

Your saying every tyre manufacturer would disagree with having all four tyres the same. Read the last line of my post.

 

OR

 

No. I'm saying they would disagree with everything you stated previous to that line.

 

The battery current limit allows only 27kW of regen braking in Gen3 (a bit less in Gen2), which isn't a lot. It is less than the 'normal' braking power of many drivers on dry pavement, and less than is needed to lose grip in many slippery conditions (not glare ice).

Also, I don't believe loss of front grip is required to trigger VSC, which does use friction brakes.

I still disagree with the last sentence. FWD and RWD should have the same answer. If that means the FWD car cannot safely climb a certain hill, then those tires have no business being on that hill at all.

 

Not in the low traction conditions and this is what this discussion is all about.

 

Low traction forces a switch to friction ABS braking, which isn't how you want your Prius to brake in routine operation. It's suboptimal. With good tires you still get regenerative braking with most winter driving.

Tom

 

Look, you are wasting your time, I understand it very well. The whole discussion started about 2 winter tires in case you forgot. Are you trying to say that 2 winter tires are fine on front tires only?

 

If you only had 2 snow tires where would you mount them?

I suggest that you make certain that your insurance is up to date (auto, health, and life) and then mount one of your snow tires on the front left and the other on the right rear, or vice versa. This will ensure a spirited drive on icy roads and should boost adrenalin levels, keeping you alert on boring drives. You may also want to pack some Dramamine and a first aid kit to help with the, inevitable, dizziness, cuts and contusions.

 

Hardly. Speaking of forgetting, I already stated in this thread that I would never mount only two winter tires. My previous suggestion was to mount them in the garage until the OP could afford two more winter tires.

I'll never understand why people get snippy posting on the Internet when (presumably) they would never act like that in person. It must be the anonymity.

Tom

 

That is a huge presumption Tom!

 

This is not cool. You started the whole exchange. Go back and reread your posts.

 

You make my point.

Tom

 

ABS and VSC and TRAC cannot create traction. They can only ensure the best utilization of whatever traction is available. Having said that, whenever either end of the vehicle has a coefficient of friction markedly different from the other end, you're putting yourself at risk. When the rears have a higher coefficient of friction, the car has a propensity for understeer; higher in the front and you induce oversteer.

For most drivers (e.g.: those who have not been professionally trained explicitly on skid control and vehicle dynamics), understeer is the more manageable and less panic-inducing of the two. This is why most road vehicles are tuned to default to an understeer when limits of traction are breached and why mid to late-'80s Porsche 911s were so maligned (along with the Corvair).

To answer the OP's question, if you only have two snow tires, they belong on the back of the vehicle, regardless of which wheels provide the motive and stopping forces. The correct answer, however, is to install snow tires in sets of four. You certainly wouldn't go for a walk on an icy path wearing a tennis shoe on one foot and a Sorel on the other. Why would you drive your car in an equivalent fashion? And, to bolster the "put the best two in the back" position, I submit to you a link to what real tire experts have to say (not just us self-appointed ones of the intrawebz): Where to Install New Pairs of Tires?. What they don't know about tires probably isn't worth knowing.

 

On the front.

Drive slow enough so that you don't get understeer, ie, the nice person of your Prius kicking out on slick roads.

After tire installation, punch the accelerator some in open territory to get a feel.

Just had ice/snow tires installed on my Prius, but I had all four installed, so the above experience isn't recent.

 

... only in areas that don't have real winter.

 

That is called oversteer. Understeer is where the vehicle continues to plow forward instead of turning.

 

It's also called "Oh crap oh crap OH CRAP!"

Tom