Re: [16v] Mini-Slip Diff. Worthless?

[Tyler Zachau <pennyz@ieway.com>]

At 11:43 PM 1/7/99 -0500, you wrote:
>Hey gang,
>	Due to the nasty ice storms and snow we've been having here in the
>Pittsburgh area, I've been having more fun than usual driving the Scirocco
>around.  This area is extremely hilly, and I can't say that I have a lot of
>experience driving in the snow.  The experience I do have is mostly in the
>Scirocco, though.
>	I have an 87 16v with 57,000 very easy miles on it, and at the moment I
>have Bridgestone Potenza RE930 All-Season 185/60-14s on the teardrops...
>The tires have about 22,000 miles on them... and they're about 2/3 of the
>way worn.  They're by far the best all season tires I've owned.
>
>	Here's the catch... I seem to be having a bit more trouble getting around
>in the snow than some of the other cars are.  I always manage to get
>around, but I'l slipping and sliding a whole hell of a lot more than
>everyone else. 
>	
>	This morning I couldn't get up my hill, no way no how.  So, thinking that
>it would help, I tried to reverse up the hill (my logic was that more
>weight would be on the front wheels if they were facing down the hill and I
>was reversing) but that proved even worse.
>	I finally got up the hill after I dropped the tire pressure... it's
>probably around 15 psi now.
>
>	I did learn later that it took my neighbor 45 minutes to get up the same
>hill in his Jeep... but somehow I expected more.  
>
>	A ride in my friend's Suzuki Swift this evening crimped it.  True, his
>front tires have 80 miles on them; but they're el-cheapo brand.  And true,
>the ultra-skinny 165s help in the snow... but the hills he could go up with
>*no* wheelspin, I had to try.  And the hills he crawled up, I wasn't moving.
>
>	Now, is this because my tires are almost done?  Is it gonna make that much
>difference.  Now, they're not bald of course, but they're nearing the end...
>
>	So, anyways, during one of my Scirocco-sledding trips, I got stuck on a
>street that was covered in 3" of snow and then a 1" thick layer of ice
>below it.  Lo and behold, the left wheel just sat there, and the right one
>spun and spun and spun.  So, now the question... what's this shit about
>VW's "mini-slip" differential?  I can see that when they said "Mini", they
>meant "Teensy". :)
>
>	On that note, how are all of your cars faring in this wonderful winter
>weather?
>
>	Jason
I put 195/65/14 studded tires on cheapie rims and my 88 16v can't be beat
in the winter. In the snow I can take corners with a little help from the
ebrake and put Collin McRaye to shame.(Well... almost) And if the roads are
just packed ice or black ice, I still get around better than 95% of the
cars. The only drawback to the studs is my top freeway speed is about
75mph... faster than that is unbearable. And for what its worth, I have an
identical set of tires as yours on stock rims which are 14/15 worn and they
don't handle worth a flying f*ck. ^_^ Happy winter motoring!


________________________________________________
Tyler Zachau
Bean Bandit(Roadbuster) - Romanova
ICQ:1357564
88 VW Scirocco 16v 
"What kind of car is this son?" "VW officer..."
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