Yeah, some snow tires have little spikes in them that give you better grip on ice, some have some monster looking tread pattern.

@ genks video.. wow was nobody going to stop the traffic from going down that road??

This is a situation where four wheel drive would help. I mean, it'd help even more to not GO there, but if you do go there you sure as hell aren't going to be able to stop. At least with 4wd, if you know what you're doing, you might have a chance to steer a bit instead of whipping around everywhere. A small chance, but hey, it's better than nothing.

So now the question: for glass-smooth ice on the road, big and heavy or small and light?

big or small you must have grip. Guys with trucks put sand bags in the back to weigh the bed down, this helps the rear wheels get grip with the ground. Lowering your tire pressure might also help. But you will see a decrease in gas mileage.

Heavy. More weight = more traction.

Yeah, 4wd definitely helps because you can pull yourself where you want to go. FWD is great in snow as well.

LLVs. That is; mailtrucks. These.



The great thing about them, though, is after the snow gets a chance to melt a little, then freeze overnight, these things are light enough to drive ON the snow.

However, they are hard to get out if they get stuck, because the wheels that steer don't have any power. They also have rather undersized tires for a vehicle that size.

Chains are great for deep snow. They aren't always that great on ice if they are just plain chains. The narrower coil chains work better on compact cars. Unfortunately, chains are illegal on public roads in some places, except on government vehicles. (And technically, federal government vehicles, including mail trucks, don't have to follow local government laws anyway.) They tear up pavement, and if you go more then 25mph on dry pavement they will break.