Welcome to another winter in Duluth!

For some of you, this will be your first winter in the Zenith City. You will quickly find that driving in winter here is unlike that in most other Midwest cities. First of all, there are the hills; need I say more? When the snow falls, travel is far more difficult than in Chicago or St. Louis, or even Minneapolis/St. Paul (other than the traffic jams, of course). Over the course of this snowy season, this column will provide tips that will, hopefully, keep your vehicle on the road and keep you from having time-consuming discussions with the Police and your insurance company.

In my driving career spanning five decades, I have learned to cope with the slippery conditions, even reveling in them for sport. Years of driving in ice races and winter rallies have taught me a few things about driving on less-than-optimal surfaces. Let's start with the most basic:

Snow tires on all four wheels.

Duluth is built on a hill. When it snows - and it can snow a lot here - it becomes necessary to find traction any way possible. The tires make the only contact with whatever traction surface may be available, so it only makes sense to get the best snow tires for your vehicle. Front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive, all-wheel drive… none of it does any good if there is not good adhesion between the tires and the road. Modern safety features such as Traction Control and anti-lock brakes are nearly useless without good tires.

All-Season tires are better than warm weather tires because they have a rubber compound that stays pliable in sub-freezing temperatures. However, all-season tires usually don't have sufficient tread for the deep snow that we experience in the northern climes. They may work fine in light snow or slush, but deep cleats in the tread are needed to safely travel in deeper snow. This is especially important on the side streets of Duluth if you want to get around before the city crews can get the streets plowed.

Severe Winter Traction Rated The "M+S" (Mud and Snow) rating that has been used for many years was not really a good indicator of snow traction capabilities, so a few years ago the Rubber Manufacturers Association developed a new rating - the Severe Winter Traction standard. Tires that meet this standard carry a symbol that looks like a snowflake superimposed on the outline of a mountain. Look for it when buying snow tires for your vehicle.

"But I have a front wheel drive car. Can't I just use two snow tires on the front?" you may ask. That's like wearing only one boot for walking in snow. In addition to starting and stopping, you will probably be making turns occasionally. With summer tires on the rear, that end of the car has less traction while cornering and is likely to slide. In a rear-wheel drive vehicle, the front tires that do the steering and most of the braking are more likely to slide, especially under braking, which leads to straight-on skids into the objects you are trying to avoid.

Nokian Hakkapeliitta RSi "I have four-wheel drive, so I have plenty of traction." I don't know how many times I have comfortably driven my 2WD car shod with snow tires past an SUV with all four wheels spinning. It still boils down to contact with the snow-covered road. You will see plenty of 4WDs in the ditch this winter because their owners trusted the capabilities of all-wheel drive and ignored the tires.

"But the added expense!" Since your summer tires are now safely stored away, they are not seeing any use. In summer, your winter tires are in storage. You don't use any more rubber than you have on the vehicle at one time, so there is no added expense for tires. However, you will want to mount your winter tires on their own wheels for ease of installation. A set of four used wheels usually costs less than $100.

While there are good snow tires from all of the major tire manufacturers, I use and recommend Nokian tires made in Finland. Ask anyone who has ever had Nokians and you will be treated to praise seldom reserved for any product. They are available at Foreign Affairs of Duluth (722-2246) and at Kari Toyota in Superior (394-4429).

Don't just take my word for it. In the December 2005 issue of Automobile magazine, David E. Davis expounds on the virtues of snow tires on all four wheels. The Tire Rack web site has a Winter Tire Tech section with several articles on choosing the correct tires as well as tips on Winter Driving. The Snow Tire FAQ is an independent site that offers opinions on some of the snow tires available, but it is a bit out of date. Forums at the Snow Tire FAQ site do have more recent tire reviews posted by site visitors.

Tim Winker is a freelance automotive writer who lives west of Twig. He has competed in ice races and winter rallies since the 1970s, and in endurance rallies such as One Lap of America, the Alcan Rally and Targa Newfoundland.