powerslave_clay

Well, winter has hit the land of Wisconsin after an absence of 7 months or so, and I finally decided to pony up and buy a wheel/tire combo from Tirerack.com. For $800 including shipping I'm getting 4 Sport Tuning "Glide" wheels at 17" and $99 each, and 4 Firestone Winterforce 225/55/17 tires at $82 each. I decided to try the 255/45/18ZR Riken Raptors that were on the car when I bought it, since I didn't really want to spend that much on snows (and no one would sell me two snows, four only). They were pretty much worthless, the car was just as bad as my Mustangs were without snows, meaning it took me 15 minutes and about 20 pounds of sand to make it up a minor incline this morning! Oh well, lesson learned!

I will update this thread with driving impressions after the new gear is installed and has tasted some of the white crap. I am interested in hearing what other LS4 owners have experienced regarding snow tires, and or lack thereof.

Clay

JC05GXP

Our first snow was a good one wasn't it? I've had the Goodyear Eagle F1's since aug '07 and I made it through last years record setting winter. They still handled the snow fine this time after 16kmi on them. I figure that if i made it through last winter I'll be fine without snows.

neilownz

mine are good so far. only thing is unplowed or unsanded lightly travelled turning lanes can be slick. need to slow down before you get to them. we need to make like a winter driving tips thread. maybe prevent some people from needing body work hah.

StealthV8

iTrader: (1)

we have almost 2 feet of snow already but the gxp has been parked since nov 1

EmersonHart13

iTrader: (3)

GXP isn't the greatest but driving the GTO makes it seem like a dream!

neilownz

makes me wanna go out and test some rear drive cars. maybe after we get some more snow.

20SS07

My stock RSA's did okay in the snow last winter, however I don't have very far to commute to work so it's pointless for me to buy snows, if I had a longer commute I would.

JC05GXP

Last year I was driving downtown during a storm and passed a 300C that was trying to accelerate but sliding backwards.

powerslave_clay

LOL! Reminds me of the Mustang before I grew a brain and threw snow tires on it.

And yes, our first snow was a doozy! With a 64 mile round trip commute, snow tires make a lot of sense to me. I just prefer to be safe rather than stuck!

07carlocrusader

Damn the last time we had 2+ feet was the 93' blizzard (ATL) we get it from time to time but not like how we use to.
But we don't need it because people can't even drive in the Rain down here.

GrandMan

So, Clay - how 'bout an update on your tire/wheel combination?

neilownz

My F1 A/S arent the best, but better than the old rsa's were. My t/c light is gunna be worn out pretty soon.

lspuck

I just did the same about 4 weeks ago. I went with a combo from TireRack as well, with Goodyear UltraGrips. I drive about 30 miles into the heart of NE Ohio's snowbelt every day to work. Had about 3 really good days of heavy snow so far. These tires were deffinitey worth the cost, I almost feel as good as in my old 4x4 S-10 with 37 inchers LOL

powerslave_clay

Ask and you shall receive!

I had the gear installed on Monday, which happened to be the start of a two day extravaganza of freezing rain, sleet, and snow. Just what the doctor ordered for breaking in a set of snow tires! Tuesday morning, I woke up and it was raining here in the OC, with a bit of rain frozen on the ground at my place. Going to work some dope was apparently petrified of the wet pavement, and was going 20 in a 35, and had a line of cars following him like sheep. I made the (admittedly rather stupid) decision to use the curb lane to pass all of them, but that lane had about 4 inches of slush in it. I gunned the car into the slush and hit about 50 with nary a squirm or wiggle, the car just dug in and went! Needless to say, I was very impressed!

The storm continued to get worse throughout Tuesday and eventually dumped quite a good deal of snow on us. I decided to stay at my parents that night instead of driving home just to be safe. When I got there the plow had left a nice 20 inch high berm of snow in front of the driveway. Feeling invincible, I just plowed the car into it. She stuck a little, I reversed out, hit it again, and plowed right through! It was pretty awesome, I was giggling like a kid! No car I've ever owned could do that, and to confirm my belief in my new tires, my fiancee called later with a horror story about getting stuck in five inches of slush at our apartment complex and needing the plow guys to help her out. She has a 2006 Hyundai Sonata V6 with all-season Michelin's that is usually pretty good in the snow.

In general, I don't really notice that I have snow tires on when driving in the dry, they are a bit louder, but not annoyingly so, and they handle decently. When driving on roads that are not well plowed after the snow, the GXP just goes, no traction control intervention, no worries. She stops much better, much less sliding around. Overall, I am very happy with my purchase! If you have the extra cash and live in an area that gets a lot of snow, I would highly recommend buying a set of snow tires, they are definitely worth it!

LS4SPEED

iTrader: (3)

Awesome!

Kazmaniac

We have a foot or so of snow and ice here, F1 A/S's doing pretty well.

Saved me on a black ice slide - thought I was going to hit the wall on an off ramp. Can't believe the wet grip - felt like I hit dry pavement!