Icy roads - steep hills - tire solutions?

[YVK]

We live on a bench with a fairly steep and twisty road out of the neighborhood. With snow on the ground and temps fluctuating from above to below freezing we sometimes have ice problems. Few years back I wrecked a RAV4 after an uncontrollable slide. Today my wife was unable to drive down and barely returned back home. I was able to get out, sliding in a couple of spots and almost taking out somebody's mailbox along the way. I was literally going 1-3 mph. Both of our cars are small SUVs, AWD, ABS, and we always put winter tires for the season. I'm not sure what else I can do to mitigate the risk. Not sure if tire chains are practical or even allowed by the city.
Wife's car tires are 255/45 R20, mine are 265/40 R21 front and 295/35 R21 rear. Ideas?

[WDR]

Are your snow tires able to take studs? Short of chains/cables, that's probably the only other option.

If its one particular stretch of road, maybe the city needs a reminder to salt/sand/plow... maybe even when its not actively snowing, if there is melting and refreezing going on. Cities are sometimes unaware of problem areas, especially with high turnover in streets worker jobs.

[YVK]

I need to find out if my snow tires can be studded. I simply don't know. I edited my initial post to add tire sizes. I'm afraid mine may be too fat to get chains that will fit the wheel well. Maybe I should get a set of winter rims with studded tires, not sure.
I think the city is aware. My wife called them once she got home. Their reply was "we get there as soon as we get there". I don't know how long a poor gal with three kids had to sit there in their stuck minivan.

[MickAK]

Have you much experience taking on and off tire chains?

If it's a short leg that's dangerous and only dangerous on occasion that might be an option but it's a pain in the butt. Studded tires come with their own set of drawbacks and maintenance requirements. If you have a good tire shop near you you might consider asking them, I've found professional tire guys to be surprisingly passionate on occasion.

[Borderland]

I used to live on a steep hill. I usually put snow tires on my 4x4 in the winter. Didn't help on steep inclines without chains.

Studded tires are now illegal here. When the snow becomes a problem in out passes chains are required. That's the only solution that I know. It's a PIA.

[JRB]

All the tech and features in the world can only make the most of what traction there is - it can't invent or make more traction where none exists.

In my mind you've got three choices here - studded tires, tire chains, or a winter beater that can sit ready for ugly snow/ice and only be used for ugly/dirty jobs etc.
Four options if you include a 'bug in' contingency that has everything you need at your house for a few days until the city or whoever clears that road. Five options if you get a wheelbarrow and salt of your own and do the work to clear your own road as needed.

From the tire sizing you've got newer and fairly nice vehicles - If you can get studded snow tires in those sizes - great!
But understand you will give up some NVH (that's a car dork industry term for Noise/Vibration/Harshness) because studded tires tend to be louder on the pavement and often have speed limitations and vibrations at those higher speeds. But nothing beats good studded tires on ice and snow. It's also possible that studded tires violate a city code or statute of some kind. If I were in your situation, I'd carefully consider what you're more worried about between a slim chance of getting a modest ticket vs a decent chance of a dangerous driving situation for you or your family.

Tire chains should be sourced by specific tire size, and many newer chain sets are pretty low profile. But installing and removing tire chains can be a cold and time consuming PITA, and worse, they tend to have much lower speed limits and cause much more vibration than studded tires. But you can ostensibly install and remove them as needed and be on your way. But doing that every trip is a PITA. If you have a 4x4 with lockers or limited slip diffs in both axles, you can get surprisingly decent results with chaining just two tires, one front and one back (preferably on alternate sides). I'd do all four tires every time though, if you don't have lockers or LSD's in both axles.

Beater winter monster that you don't need to care about - based on your other input here, Sir, I'm guessing this isn't a desirable option for a multitude of reasons. But in wild winter weather there's an amazing peace of mind that comes with having a paid-in-cash cheap beater 4x4 with studded or chained up knobby snow tires that is ugly and skimps on luxuries but is cheap enough that you could push it off a cliff and walk away without a second thought. This kind of utili-beater is also useful for messy home improvement projects and range trips and stuff like that where you don't want to get a nice car dirty.

[NETim]

[YVK]

@MickAK No experience with chains, could probably learn but I dunno if I can predict ahead when to.

@JRB I actually considered a beater when I talked to GJM today. Main concern is absence of garage space and that I dunno if it will do any better in snow. I guess if I had it chained permanently....
Being an emergency responder, sitting it out is often not an option. The Toyota below was a victim of that.


From today: this is at the end of a long descent and before the intersection. I'm guessing he couldn't stop straight



This is how RAV4 looks when it meets a house





Right now studded tires seem like a most practical option. Will talk to my tires guys to get their thoughts. Thanks to everyone.


P.S. If you look very carefully over the roof of my RAV4, you'll realize that there is another car there getting intimately acquainted with a tree.

[JRB]

@MickAK No experience with chains, could probably learn but I dunno if I can predict ahead when to.

@JRB I actually considered a beater when I talked to GJM today. Main concern is absence of garage space and that I dunno if it will do any better in snow. I guess if I had it chained permanently....
Being an emergency responder, sitting it out is often not an option. The Toyota below was a victim of that.


From today: this is at the end of a long descent and before the intersection. I'm guessing he couldn't stop straight

(snip)

This is how RAV4 looks when it meets a house

(snip)



Right now studded tires seem like a most practical option. Will talk to my tires guys to get their thoughts. Thanks to everyone.

Yikes on that Rav 4 hit! Glad it wasn't worse!

Another thought - studded tires tend to tear up concrete driveways and especially epoxy floor coatings if you're repeatedly parking a studded-tire vehicle in a garage. Another point for chains vs studs.

Also, in my mind, a proper winter beater won't need to be garaged - so if you've got sideyard/adjacent parking or similar that's mostly out of the way, and can make it a 'chains on at the beginning of winter, chains off at last melt' sort of ritual with tire chains, you should be good to go. There's a few battery tender options that work outdoors as well.

[WDR]

I think the city is aware. My wife called them once she got home. Their reply was "we get there as soon as we get there". I don't know how long a poor gal with three kids had to sit there in their stuck minivan.

Judging by the picture, that is indeed a steep road, and unfortunately, JRB is right that you can't make traction where there simply isn't any. That sort of response from the city isn't surprising, but sometimes the squeaky wheel gets the grease in these sorts of cases. I say that, having grown up with a father who's job entailed roads and snow removal, and who ended up fielding those sorts of calls. There is only so much they can do with the manpower and time they have, and what mother nature throws at them.

If accidents are common on that particular stretch, you might document all of them you see/witness, and approach the city with a fist full of evidence. They may move that particular road up the priority scale.