studded tires and the C5

Winter is coming--and if last winter is any indication, I need a
solution. The Corvette was unable to leave the garage for three
months last year because of snow. We have paved our driveway (725
feet cost almost $14K), and this should help a bit, but from our
driveway to the nearest paved road is another half mile. Worse, the
Corvette couldn't handle the snow on the state highway as I approached
the summit last year. Adding to the frustration, I am currently
working in Bend, Oregon every other week, and the natives tell me that
I should plan on seeing some serious ice in town.

So, there are four possibilities:

1. Buy a 4WD to use three months of the year. (Expensive.)

2. Rent a 4WD to use three months of the year. (VERY expensive.)

3. Trade my 2000 C5 in on a 2007 Jaguar X-type, which has full-time
4WD--and enough power and cornering not to feel like I am giving up
too much.

4. Studded tires?

The source of the C5's problems with traction on snow and ice is the
combination of rear wheel drive and very, very wide tires. As the
tires get wider, the amount of force per square inch declines.
There's roughly 700-750 pounds of force per rear tire--and with the
standard tires of the Corvette, this spread over an enormously wide
piece of rubber. My measurements suggest that the contact patch is
about 30-40 square inches--so roughly 19 psi of pressure. At a
certain point, the down force is so little that the tires simply have
no hope of getting any grip on either snow or ice.

The way that chains work, and studded tires, is by concentrating the
roughly 750 pounds of force per tire into a relatively tiny area--
perhaps as little as three square inches for chains--so 250 psi, or a
square inch for studs (so 750 psi). That's enough to break a hole in
the surface of the ice, and allow you to move forward. Ditto for
brakes.

So, how many of you have used studded tires on a C5? And what has
been your experience?

wrote in message

Snip
> So, how many of you have used studded tires on a C5? And what has
> been your experience?

Never needed them and have driven Corvettes year round in Michigan and
northern Ohio since 1956. It did get to be a bit of a hand full once
in the Smokies when I got caught in a storm that ended up dumping over
10 inches. I do run a set of open tread narrow tires on the back of
the C6 in the winter and during the spring rains.

I did get stuck once when I stopped to pick up my mail instead of
walking back out to get it after I put the C5 in the garage.