thegerberbaby

1999 m6 trans am, I will need to drive to school in winter and wonder any ideas to keep traction and easy way to wash off sal.t

JohnS Z28

iTrader: (1)

yeah you can drive in the snow...just not in this car.
Find a beater...its goanna be your best bet.
a nice FWD car will do like a grand prix or cavalier. if you wanna go all out you can get an AWD wagon/sedan like an audi or subaru. Or you could just buy a nice truck and have a good car and good truck.

I personally have a 1994 honda civic DX hatchback with 202k miles on it that i picked up for $800...also use it when i do delivery shifts at my pizza job

Jersey Mike

iTrader: (9)

Yes, there is. Get some Blizzaks for the winter months, you'll be fine. Just don't go off trying to drive through 2-feet of standing snow for *****-and-giggles.

Latch

iTrader: (8)

Absolutely you can drive in the snow. I've driven in light snow a few times now on 245 all-season tires, didn't even add any weight in the trunk.

Go ahead and get a set of 4 snow tires and you should be good to go. Don't listen to people who say that F-bodies are instant death in the snow, they either haven't tried it, or they were trying to drive in the snow on drag radials or something else that's dumb.

lemons12

iTrader: (71)

I personally would buy a fwd pos for a grand. Nice having a better. Would suck for an asswipe to slide into your trans am at school or work.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

- Skinny wheels (7.5")

- Skinny tires (225mm)

- True ice/snow tire (Blizzak WS-60 or better)

- 100lbs of extra weight in the trunk

- 1/2 tank of gas or more at all times (extra weight)

These are the steps I have used, and it works great. The car has been very controllable through heavy snow (unplowed parking lots), tightly packed slick snow on highways during blizzards, and icy roadways. Granted, this has been with a 2.73 geared A4 car; with the M6 it might be more tricky.

Snake_Skinner

iTrader: (12)

Just floor it, the raw torque to the wheels heats up the snow and eats right through it!

99Z28camaroman

iTrader: (10)

I wouldn't bother trying as when I had my C5 Vette a few years back it was a DD and the first sign of ice let alone snow it would not get up a samll slope outside my house because of the rear wheel drive. I'm on my 3rd 4 gen F/Body they are the same as the Vette.

The front wheel drives cars had no problem. I would only take a 2 to 3 inches of settled snow to make it impossible to do my short 2 mile journey to work. Thankfully with don't get much snow in the UK and they girt for ice but only the main roads. You have trouble getting out off the side streets to get to the main roads especially in a rear wheel drive car that has loads of power even with the T/C turned on it just sits there and spins the tyres on ice and snow!

If you live in an area of lots of snow in the winter don't plan on using your Trans Am you won't get far unless you have studded snow tyres or snow Chains.

Latch

iTrader: (8)

What tires were on that Vette? Have you tried putting Blizzaks on your car?

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

No need for studded tires, no need for chains; a true snow/ice tire will do fine. I live in an area that gets tons of snow, it's not a problem if you set the car up correctly (as I listed above).

Are F-bodies the best option for snow driving? Absolutely not.

Can they be driven safely in the snow with the proper provisions? Most definitely.

Z28_Driver

A winter tire or high quality all-season will go a long way.
Best advice is to go slower. Start slow, turn slow, stop slow.
Having to drive a f-body covered in salt dust and go really slow all the time is the reason after 8 winters I bought an AWD Olds and put the camaro away for the winter.
Why would you wan't to drive a performance car slow. Store it and drive a AWD or a POS FWD.

stingrayj

iTrader: (1)

I drove a '95 3.4L auto for 8 years through absouletly everything (up to 3" of snow and including some IL winters) on all season tires. It was stressful at times, but drive smart, know your limits, know the vechicle's limits, and take good care of your tires.

I now have a 2001 SS m6. I'm a bit concerned about the extra power, but as long as you can manage the power to the wheels properly you should be fine. You do need to know how to handle a rwd vehicle in the snow very well, though. If you don't, the car will let you know pretty fast. The thing that I love about the 4th gens is that when the do start to slide, it is completely predictable and controllable.

wav3form

iTrader: (1)

I drove my '01 SS for one upstate ny winter and did OK but I don't recommend it. I wasn't worried about my driving it was other people that might smash into me.

You have to plan every move you make. My wife got a small AWD SUV so we just use that and I always have my '99 dakota but it's only 2WD and is awful in bad weather.

99Z28camaroman

iTrader: (10)

I never herd of Blizzaks I am assuming they are snow tyres!

I Can't remember. just stock street tyres. There is no call for snow tyres in the UK If would be a waste of money as if it snows it's normally gone in a couple of days.

gocartone

iTrader: (4)

I would buy a beater car and look at it as a way to keep money in your pocket. Driving in the winter and getting your car rusty is going to lower the value, make the car look ugly, and be a pain in the ***. You can buy a $1000 beater to drive through the winter and sell it come summer time for what you paid for it and have your car still looking like it did when you parked it before they started dumping tons of salt everywhere.

sjsingle1

iTrader: (1)

we get ice here in TEXAS.......my car drove like ****........no more ice drivin for me

Arctic2002ss

Yeah, I think the salt is a bigger issue.

You just need tires made for it. I got caught in the snow once on a trip with BFGs and it did OK. I tired to get out on an icy day with my current NT05s and they were hopeless.

blackls1ta00

iTrader: (27)

as these other guys said you cud drive it with snow tires and some added weight,but me personally buy a beater,dont risk getting high insurance if you or someone smashes into another vehicle.i wouldnt do it but its your choice,i have too much into my transam too ruin it,goodluck.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

My '02 Z28 is my beater. I bought it to keep my '98 and '71 nice.

I just can't justify continuing to buy beaters for my beaters.

dee99gt

iTrader: (3)

I drive a G8GT daily & in the winter and park the SS... I really would like to buy a fwd car.