Quote:
Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr
Less contact surface, but it increases the pressure applied to the ground.
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A skinny tire can punch through a couple of inches of snow to make contact with the pavement, while the wider tire spins on a thin layer of compacted snow/ice.
The old vw beetles had the advantage in deep snow in that their front tires packed down the loose snow a bit so the weight driven rear tires could more easily punch through to the pavement below. And if the snow was deep enough, the lightweight front end would float up over the loose snow clearing a path for the rear tires. You also didn't have to worry about deep snow piling up against the fire wall inside the engine compartment and drowning the engine as you did with front engined cars.