At face value that is true, but only in a 4x4 can one take lines that allow for powersliding through any slippage

 

I would say tires. I had BFG All Terrains on the truck when I bought it and it was horrible in the snow. The Goodyear Dura Tracs I bought to replace them are awesome in the snow. I had a set of Nitto Terra Grapplers on a P38 I owned previously and they were fantastic in the snow too. The traction control kicking in when accelerating and the ABS going nuts when braking means your tires aren't sticking. If you want to get the snows from ZG let me know. I have a set of rims you can buy.

 

Recently got a set from him. Condition fine (not concours) and shipped fast - well packed. Would buy again. I bought mine to put dedicated bad weather tires on.

 

You are probably right.

I used to be a bit naughty in my younger days, 3-4 years ago. I used to drive my 4x4's like go-karts power sliding them in the dry and wet and using the ABS as a 'do or die' stopping aid all of the time . I soon learn't I was eating tires, brake pads and rotors . Back in 2001 I even raced a VW GTi and Audi through the French mountain roads near Chambery during the winter just for the hell of it, mind you, it was an almost new D2 V8 at that time, I can assure you the wife wasn't amused as there was 500 to 1000 ft drops next to the road. I've grown up since then and drive sedately being the good citizen I now am.

 

So, sounds like I need studded tires OR, lower my PSI on my Cooper tires.
Never needed studded tires here in the Boston area for 25 years, and for the most part, ran with either Nokians or Nittos for a variety of cars/SUVs I have owned during this time. So I'll lower my PSI, run these tires 'till no tread left and if my Disco doesn't explode, I'll get some Nokians or conduct a little more gum shoe work to see what all purpose tires might suit me best.


As for my Mario Andrettri cornering....let me clairify. Posted speed limit on the on and off ramps are very conservative. So, I might go maybe 5 MPH over the speed limit. So, I can't imagine that this 5 MPH can really make an impact on traction. But then again, nothing will give you traction on black ice, unless you have chains on your tires. Besides, with two young kids, I'm not that stupid to do such dangerous tactics. Also, if exceeding the speed limit both in the city or highway driving, I rarely go over 10 MPH - and usually just to pass some jerk texting or eating a Mc'ds big mac with fries and a frap...rather keep these a***holes in my rear view mirror.


Cooper tires last summer in rainy weather were just ok...some minor hydroplaning, but again, I am running 40 PSI on all four tires. And FWIW, I posted a thread about 8 months ago asking what is the best PSI to run. Why? I got three different recommendations: 1. Dealer. 2. Owner's manual. 3. Side door panel. The informal straw pool I got from the readers on this forum was to run at about 40 psi on all four tires.


I'll investigate the ghost 3 amigos and traction control stuff.

 

on psi, I always do the chalk test on my disco.

 

Don't base your tire pressures off of a straw poll on here...

A Disco is a rear end heavy vehicle... The aluminum block V8 is a pretty light motor...

The manual will tell you to run the front tires with quite a bit less pressure than the rears and you will find that you will have a much more comfortable ride as a result...

Manual calls for:
28 Front
38 Rear

If loaded to Maximum Capacity
28 Front
46 Rear

This is assuming stock tire size... Load Rating, etc...

 

Gbob, I live on the Cape so I'm driving pretty much the same conditions as you are. I think the biggest factor to consider with this truck is it's weight. It took me some adjusting coming from Jeeps and pickups to the Discovery driving in the snow. I have an '04 with Terra Grapplers. There is a very small window in your speed from controlled cornering to just sliding straight no matter how hard you turn the wheel. It's all about the momentum you bring into a turn or stop. Snow tires might help a little but I think its more important to just pay close attention to your speed.

As a side note, I drove my wife's V8 Explorer Eddie Bauer with Advancetrac the other day which has Rugged Terrains on it and found it to be one of the best vehicles I've ever driven in the snow, and yes I even mean better than my Disco.

 

I was looking at the Cooper Discoverers as well, what model do you have exactly?

 

Even on vehicles with 50/50 weight distribution, you'll find the manual calling for higher pressures at the rear. That's because they are trying to promote understeer, which is safer for the average driver. I generally find I can back off a little on the rear pressures on most cars.