The only reader-added tag right now is "Tire Exchange" (as in the Kamen Rider Drive ability).

Do you ever tire of these surveys?

Which tires shall we have them put on?
• Rubber tires
• Sponge tires
• Barrel tires
• Offset tread tires
• Spiked tires

Still paying for Kamiokande, eh?

Tire chains exist for passenger vehicles too, not just big rigs, and they can be a practical choice when choosing to face the cold. A new set of quality tire chains costs less than standard winter-ready tires. If Kogasa expects to drive in the snow and ice yearly, a permanent investment may be wiser, but I wonder if the author didn't, or can't, look for chains?

Blindga said:

Tire chains exist for passenger vehicles too, not just big rigs, and they can be a practical choice when choosing to face the cold. A new set of quality tire chains costs less than standard winter-ready tires. If Kogasa expects to drive in the snow and ice yearly, a permanent investment may be wiser, but I wonder if the author didn't, or can't, look for chains?

Chains have nothing to do with the cold. You don't drive with chains permanent. Chains are used on very snowy/icy conditions where you lack traction because you're going up a mountain. Once you don't need them, you take them off, because you can't drive normally with them.

Winter tires improve traction when temperatures drop below ~5 degrees. People usually think they are just for snow and ice. In fact, they are advised and intended for non-snow/ice conditions too.

For traction on very snowy and icy roads you need spikes (or studs).

Edit: Also studded tires can seriously damage roads when driving on non-snow/ice. Not all countries allow them. Although studless tires recently are becoming just as reliable as studded ones.

Blindga said:

Tire chains exist for passenger vehicles too, not just big rigs, and they can be a practical choice when choosing to face the cold. A new set of quality tire chains costs less than standard winter-ready tires. If Kogasa expects to drive in the snow and ice yearly, a permanent investment may be wiser, but I wonder if the author didn't, or can't, look for chains?

Dunno which post it was, but Kogasauthor has those chains, but they wreck the asphalt, so the tires are a better option.

Kurai_Tora said:

Dunno which post it was, but Kogasauthor has those chains, but they wreck the asphalt, so the tires are a better option.

That's the big drawback to chains: they're loud and ride like crap. Still, I think you're supposed to put them on while in the snow and take them off before you get back to asphalt.

I could imagine attaching and detaching chains could get old, but if it's the mountains you could probably leave them on.

Blindga said:

Tire chains exist for passenger vehicles too, not just big rigs, and they can be a practical choice when choosing to face the cold. A new set of quality tire chains costs less than standard winter-ready tires. If Kogasa expects to drive in the snow and ice yearly, a permanent investment may be wiser, but I wonder if the author didn't, or can't, look for chains?

Actually in Japan in some places, including mountain highways, there can be mandatory winter tires and/or tire chain conditions in effect with police checking. There's actually tire chain installation pulloffs in those highways too but generally they will check to make sure you have winter tires before letting you go.

On top of the conditions possibly not requiring them, the author's had some bad luck with tire chains before.

Moonspeaker said:

On top of the conditions possibly not requiring them, the author's had some bad luck with tire chains before.

Nice find, that's the post I mentioned.

kokiase said:

Actually in Japan in some places, including mountain highways, there can be mandatory winter tires and/or tire chain conditions in effect with police checking. There's actually tire chain installation pulloffs in those highways too but generally they will check to make sure you have winter tires before letting you go.

Ah, I completely forgot that might be a thing. I suppose there isn't really any other way to have figured it then. Not that it matters anyways.

Although I am kind of curious now: does it snow regularly in Japan? I've always though Japan was temperate enough that it sometimes won't snow (in most places) in the winter, but I wouldn't really know. I guess if Japan does have a yearly freeze, then winter-ready tires would be preferred anyways.

Blindga said:

Ah, I completely forgot that might be a thing. I suppose there isn't really any other way to have figured it then. Not that it matters anyways.

Although I am kind of curious now: does it snow regularly in Japan? I've always though Japan was temperate enough that it sometimes won't snow (in most places) in the winter, but I wouldn't really know. I guess if Japan does have a yearly freeze, then winter-ready tires would be preferred anyways.

Does this answer your question?

This happens in general ALOT. Today (more like 11/30) at work we had all sorts of people asking about Advent calenders.