Ask Sarah: Holiday Stocking Stuffers

The Pirelli P4 is also a great all season tire that works very well in winter. The price is reasonable (about $120 a tire), they're designed to last 80,000 miles, and they work very well in snow. I put a set of P4s on my dad's Matrix last winter and driving through the blizzard that hit Delaware last winter was almost fun (they allow enough slip that you can drift with the e-brake). If you're on a budget, the P4 is one of the best commuter all season tires.

More than anything, driving skill will save your ass in winter. The mistake a lot of SUV drivers make is the assumption that AWD will prevent them from flying off the road. The biggest tip is to drive slow until you can judge the grip conditions. And always keep the fridge stocked so you don't have to go out when the snow won't let up. And when you have to go out, just drive smart. But once you get the driving down, enjoy the snow. You can play Mikko Hirvonen if you get good.

Also to note, is that in some states, studded tires are illegal. You should check your state's laws before investing in a set of winter tires. I also live in Minnesota, and MN is one of the states that they are illegal in.

Snow tires help tremendously, but like mentioned, the most important thing is to go slow and learn the amount of grip you have on the tires you are using. Having dedicated snow tires is a plus, but all-seasons will get you by. However, I would not recommend using summer performance tires in the snow. They can be as difficult to drive on as if you had racing slicks when it comes to snow.

In general terms, surfaces that are reflective also radiate heat poorly, so something like polished aluminum doesn't radiate heat very well. So you want a coating that radiates heat better than polished aluminum, but also has a low thermal resistance and a low interface resistance between the coating and the aluminum.

If the coating isn't a polymer, or it is a polymer and has a lot of thermally conductive filler, the thermal resistance through the coating can be a lot lower so the transfer of heat is more efficient.

For those who are interested, here's something a little more technical (I'll try not to get into the boring details)...

It's all about emissivity and thermal resistance. Emissivity is a measure of how well a surface emits radiation (heat in this instance) and is basically inversely proportional to reflectivity. That means a highly emissive surface is also highly absorptive (not reflective). A black body is a perfect emitter, which is what we would ideally want to radiate heat. So the heat transmitting coatings like Swain's BBE or Calico's CT-29 (yes, there is more than one coating company) increase the emissivity to make the heat exchanger closer to the characteristics of a black body.

The nice part of these coatings is that the range of applicable materials is a lot greater. Then you don't have to worry about things like which aluminum alloys can actually be anodized, or whether the heat exchanger is made of some other metal like copper or brass.

Bridgestone Blizzak FTW!!

Another tire which I'm partial to is the Dunlop Winter Sport line; in my experience they're not as good in the snow as the Blizzaks, but the Dunlops are a better tire for dry roads. That's an important consideration for places (like here in Colorado) where there isn't always snow on the roads all winter long. I'm on my second set of Dunlops, and I've since sold my Blizzaks. But, like anything else, your results may be different.

craftsman digi torque wrench.......my weapon of choice as well.

I'll add to what Fabrik8 said on the tires. I had Dunlop Winter Sport M3s on my 3000GT and they were great. If you live somewhere there isn't always snow on the road a real snow tire like the Blizzaks sacrifice too much performance in the dry to be enjoyable to drive. If you have 1 car only and still want a decent performance tire look into them. They have sipes and a softer compound so they do well in the snow and ice (better than all seasons), but they are still do reasonable well in the dry when it's cold outside.

I remember being told by Garrett at one of their open houses several years ago that powdercoating an intercooler has no measurable effect on its efficiency. The reason is that the charged particles are diverted from their trajectory to hit the fins so close to the surface of the matrix that basically none of the area where a significant amount of heat transfer occurs gets coated. Flat black is an option if you want a giant front mount to be stealth.

Also, @ Mike: Dark blue on black is kinda hard to read.

Thanks for all the good tire suggestions. My Blizzaks might be on their last winter depending on how many other blizzards we see like this past weekends.

@ezcheese: Absolutely right- I should have added that about the studded tires. Thanks!

@Fabrik: love the added tech discussion. That's what keeps these comments so interesting to read!

@Dan: I think Garrett calls it "negligible" so it shouldn't make a noticeable difference (when done right) unless you decide to Krylon the crap out of your I/C until it looks homemade. I know none of the MotoIQ readers would do that, but just in case... =)