darrensls1

I had to daily drive mine for two years in Chicago. So I know from my personal experience that they suck in the snow and on ice BUT are manageable with the right tires and driving skills. I was running BFG KDWS and they did ok. Pulled a few 2.0 60's with them at the track too

But now that I don't have to drive it in the snow anymore I am more then happy to store it five months out of the year.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

They are decent tires for very light snow, but not really the best choice for a winter F-body tire. They are still geared more towards being a Z-rated performance tire than a straight up snow tire. Did you have them in the 245/50/16 or 275/40/17 size? It's best to run the skinniest tire possibile, like the 225/55 series, so the weight of the car isn't spread across as much tire. You'll get a deeper bite on a 225 tire, espeically once you've got some weight in the trunk area.

darrensls1

I ran the 245/50R16. I know they were not the best snow tire but they were rated for snow and I did ok with them. Granted it was slow going and I got passed a lot by civics and other fwd cars

But still they got me around even with as much as an 18" snow fall one of the two winters.

Camaroz

iTrader: (2)

Yeah? Had mine since 16 1/2 and I pay Insurance, Gas and Car payment nothing has happened to mine in the 40+K I've driven it.

Unstang

iTrader: (26)

The next time it snows, toss her the keys & let her drive it around...

eappwr

iTrader: (1)

dude, you're sexist, not funny, ignorant, etc., etc., etc...

eappwr

iTrader: (1)

don't drive that thing in the snow man. to be safe, imo, you need a fwd, awd, or something with a nice set of snow tires. i had a awd volvo xc 70 and it did beautifully in the snow.

SparkyJJO

iTrader: (11)

Hehe a couple weeks ago I blew past a ricer on the highway in the snow. He was in the right lane probably doing something like 40 or so and while there was snow on the road it wasn't too much so I swung out in the left lane and whipped past him at 65. Don't know why but it just gave me some glee doing it lol

araber89

iTrader: (3)

Nice kill... HAHA....

Seriously though. Tires+Rims+ Sand+cost of repairs if you wreck it are greater then the cost of a beater. Shoot if you wreck a beater take the plates scratch the VIN and call for a ride then leave it.

Like I said before a car that gets sideways on dry pavement will be quite crappy on snow...

+1 for beater

Camaroz

iTrader: (2)

You should never be doing 65mph when theres any decent amount of snow on the ground, I don't care what your driving. Sounds like the ricer was outsmarting you

darrensls1

Let me start by saying I am all for a winter FWD or AWD beater. But having one is definately the more expensive way to go. First of all you don't need sand. I never had sand and so far I have survived 15 years of chicago/rochester winters with RWD cars including the 99 Formula. Second, almost everyone here has full coverage on thier LS1's so cost of repair should = deductable. Third is you don't "need" seperate rims and tires. I ran my KDWS year round on stock rims. If I was going to buy seperate rims for tires it would have been for slicks or drag radials and not winter tires.

So in the end you don't actually need to spend any extra money but you do need to spend a LOT of extra time getting from A to B right after a snow fall. There were times I had to go 20 mph and got passed by civics and Neons. But I always got where I was going and I never got into an accident. No matter how you slice it the winter beater is an extra, albeit worthwhile, expense because you are adding a new vehicle to your insurance policy and you have to pay for the second cars purchase, repairs, maintenence, ect.

Winter beaters are awesome for those of us that can afford them. But I wouldn't and didn't let it stop me from buying an LS1 even when I couldn't afford the extra car.

sixvi6-camaro

iTrader: (9)

snow tires.. 16x7" rims with 215/60 snow tires and knowing how to drive a RWD car is all you need. most all the guys that are saying its impossible are all trying to drive on summer only high performance tires. Drivers puts cars into ditches not the cars themselves... I've driven f-bodies in the snow since 1995, never gotten stock, never been in a ditch, good tires and knowing your car are all you need. I don't drive all slow either I just drive with traffic.

In fact.. Here is a video of my car after 8" of snow. It doesn't look that deep in the video but at some spots I could feel the snow plowing against the air deflector.

http://www.fquick.com/videos/LS1_F-body_in_snow___/4727

venomhp

iTrader: (13)

buy a beater, I mean a serious beater! find 500 dollars and see what you can find that runs thats a fwd and have fun with it. Your car could be driven in the snow and you would be fine but honestly its not worth it. I drove a 2wd little nissan in Kodiak, AK this past winter that was a lil 4cyl 5 spd with studded tires and I had a shitload of weight in the back so it did pretty good as long as I had momentum. but find a fwd car, liability only and drive it like its your nice car and you will be fine.

troopercar

iTrader: (6)

interesting read for a Florida guy
I have no idea about snow, but my mom thinks they suck in swamps.

She's probably right.

SparkyJJO

iTrader: (11)

There was no lack of traction at all. The only snow on the road was in the middle of the lanes. Where the tires were was just dry and those spots were quite wide too from all the semi trucks. The center strips were really small and looked to be no more than 1/4" deep at the most.

A few miles later the highway was totally covered (all the plows decided to get off at main st exit I guess ) so at that point I was doing 30 at the most along with everyone else as traction was definitely compromised. Still didn't slip but I didn't want to push it.

slingshot928

I had to drive in the snow in December on the southside of chicago, as long as you are careful you can easily get around, though I would recommend putting some weight in the hatch for some traction, I have snow tires and it still walks right off the road if I try starting on a snow packed road.

trexbob

iTrader: (1)

I'll be honest with you: I hate driving my beater FWD car in the snow. It's boring. (Yes I have snow tires on my winter beater) All this talk of driving Fbods in the snow makes me want to wake mine up from its winter slumber and powerslide to my hearts content! If they didn't use so much salt on the roads around here I'd definitely be driving my camaro in the winter. I'm so sick of driving a POS "winter car" that I'm almost ready to trade it for a set of snows for the camaro!

LrngCrv

This is my favorite post in the thread. Don't forget guys that a free flowing exhaust will also keep the underside of the car warmer and help with traction in snow too. A larger rear end like a 12 bolt or a 9 inch is also a must in winter weather. I was sliding like my car was on skates until I got my 12 bolt.

slick1851

WHAT THE ****????????????????????????????????????????????



Are you kidding me? Warmed exhaust: bang::bang

Dont give out bullshit advice if you dont know what your talking about

slick1851

Thats a performance tire=junk in the snow


Get a real winter tire, thats size right and throw some weight in the back and its perfectly fine in the snow


Spend the money on a set of steelies that fit or somthing and get real good snow tires ment for rain/sno only