Since the prices have been coming down quite a bit on these I was actually thinking about picking up a T/A WS6 for my DD. Already found a nice one that I'm quite interested in. I was actually going to get a C5, but I'm worried about the height in snow. I currently have a Audi A4 for DD duty which is nice, but I'm looking into something else.

My Camaro is the toy and has only seen the snow once when it was new. And it really didn't seem to be a problem at all. But since this was only once I really can't say. Otherwise it has only seen the best of days with super low miles.

The previous winters we've had in IL I wouldn't think it would be much of a problem to take one of these for DD duty. However this year so far seems like it would be a challenge. So who had DDed their F-body this year? What are your comments. Am I nuts for thinking about getting one for DD?

 

I did, i have 2 other cars to DD but i love driving my fbody to much. They work ok in the snow with decent tires,CC, and common sense.

 

i usually have to dive my SS during the winters. this year my mom was laid off so i've had her car for the badder days. like MadIceV8 said, as long as you got some decent snow tires the car should be fine in snow.

 

For the most part everyone I've come across says as long as you have all season or snow tires that it'll be fine. But I just wanted to hear from people who have dealt with it 1st hand this year.

 

My camaro sucked in the snow. I'd let the clutch out at idle and it would spin the tires.

One time I made the mistake of driving down an unplowed chicago street with about 4" of snow on it. Instantly got stuck.

 

Drove various ls1's numerous winters and have never gotten stuck

 

i did that once and said forget this and got a front wheel drive DD, never had any problems (was really carefull) but it just sucked.

Living were you do i would get some snow tires for when the weather gets bad ro at the very least get the best all seasons you can get.

A stick care and RWD is pretty much a no no unless you are in a Porsche or something.

Before you buy take your camaro out in the snow, then when it snows BAD like blizzard bad take it out a again..... You will like that Audi.

It can be done no problem but it just sucks. Corners suck the most.

 

I DD mine, I have been fine this winter so far been driving camaros all winter since I could drive so its not too big of a deal for me. I have ok All seasons on it no snow tires and I still make it around just fine.

 

Well, mine's fine when I put the salad shooters back on, with Khumo Ecsta ASX's. But, right now I've got the ZR1's on it still, with 275 Nitto DR's, and not a whole lot of tread. So, it's a pain in the ***. That's why it's sitting in the garage, not being driven. Until I can get it back over to switch the wheels and tires back.

 

I've driven my A4 Formula and M6 T/A in the snow in Northern Indiana each year. On my 5th winter with the same Blizzaks. I've never been stuck or even remotely close. I actually feel more confident in my rwd LS1 than I do any FWD car I've driven. I actually would really like driving in the winter if it weren't so cold, and the city didn't dump metric tons of salt and sand on the road each day...

 

My Audi is a 5spd manual, so I know how easy it is to get a manual car to spin in the snow. This T/A is actually a A4 so it would make things a bit easier in the snow. Thanks for the comments.

 

I drove my 98 Z for one winter and didn't have too much fun haha. It is possible to do, but I wouldn't do it if I could DD another car/truck. I also had Fuzion ZRi tires, so those aren't the best for snow. Hills and driveways are the biggest problem. If you drive on roads that are for the most car cleared, then you should be fine. I now have a Silverado Z71 for the winter so thats a lot better. Btw, traction control helps, but you have to get used to it. Sometimes it comes on when it definately doesn't have to.

 

I have driven mine in the snow befor... just get good tires and use common sense man its not to bad i just prefer to drive my POS bad weather car because i dont trust everyone elses driving, lol.

 

Get some snow tires and you will be fine. I've been driving my car this year same as every year no problems. Everyone that says its impossible and gets stuck is usually because they ran summer high performance tires or they have no idea how to drive a RWD car. I've been driving nothing but F cars in the snow since 1996. I only got stuck once in my old M6 Lt1 when the forecasted 1" of light snow ended up being 6" of heavy snow and I had not changed to the snow tires yet. I even made a video last year of portions of my drive to work during one of the large snow storms.

F-Body in the snow

 

You shoulda PM'ed me this question sooner!

I've been driving the '02 Z every day this winter. Here are my thoughts/tips/tricks/impressions:

- I have a spare set of wheels/tires for the snow. I'm using 16x7.5" aftermarket wheels with a 225/55/16 Blizzak WS-60 tire (this seems to be the most extreme snow tire you can buy to fit this car without going studded). I wanted a skinnier wheel/tire combo to put more weight to a smaller contact patch for a better cutting path. I may try some 215/60 size tires next time.

- I have 100lbs of weight (two 50lb bags of gravel) in the trunk (T-top well). Originally, I had the weight on the open space right behind the rear seats thinking it would do more good being directly over the axle, but my theroy was wrong. I moved it to the truck and traction improved (more leverage maybe?).

- I keep the gas tank at 1/2 full or more (for the extra weight over the rear). 1 gallon equals about 8lbs, so a full tank is about 130lbs of extra weight.

Following the above routine, deep, un-packed snow is no problem at all. I can't seem to get this car stuck actually (yes, I've tried just for fun). Heavily packed snow (like an un-plowed road that's been driven on many times) is a bit harder, in that the rear will slid a bit when first moving from a dead stop (at a light, etc.). Traction control will help with this, but TC isn't always your friend. If you're trying to make a turn and the TC cuts on, it'll often kill power to a greater degree and for longer than is needed, making it hard to get up to speed quick enough to not be rear-ended. So you have to get a feel for certain times when you might want to turn the TC off and just use your own skill to keep the car under control. You'll be able to figure this out quickly though. Also, if you do find yourself in very heavy snow (like come out to an unplowed parking lot after work), I've found that getting through that stuff is much easier withOUT the traction control.

The thing to be most careful of is hitting patches of snow at speed. For example, driving down a plowed main road at 35-40mph and suddenly coming to a point where someone has pushed a bunch of snow off their driveway and into the road. If you hit that patch at full speed, the car will get a little sideways (just like hydroplaning in heavy water), especially if you're accelerating at the time. So just make sure you've got some room next to you, or slow down a bit.

Overall, it's really not that bad at all. People who say these cars are impossibile in the snow just aren't using the proper tires or don't have enough weight over the rear. Granted, it's not as stable in serious snow as my '96 Bonneville was, but it's certainly not that bad either. I have no regrets, and plan to continue DD'ing this car for as long as I own it.

That's all I can think of right now, but let me know if you have any more questions.

PS. This is an A4/2.73 car. I have no clue what the M6 cars are like, or if the more aggressive 3.23 geared A4s would be any more difficult than my 2.73 car.

 

RPM WS6 - Yep as I mentioned earlier, totally slipped my mind that you DD the 02 . Thanks for a great write up on your experience. I did particularly look for a A4 just because it makes it easier in the snow. My biggest concern was mainly getting stuck and the heavy packed snow. Everything else is more based on drivers skill and common sense, which isn't a problem. I mainly do highway driving and the packed snow is pretty common on the highways when snowing heavy and that has made me 2nd guess myself.

sixvi6-camaro - Thanks for posting the video.

 

No problem. I think 2.73s are the better gear for this type of driving, but if you want a WS6/SS car, you obviously aren't going to get that stock.

I don't see getting stuck as being a major concern (or at least any more than it would be with a FWD car), after some of the stuff I've been through (assuming you use the proper tires and have some weight in the back). I've come out of work multiple times now only to find that the plow drivers have pushed enough snow up against the front of my car to cover the headlights, and I've been able to pull through it with little issue. That's why I always back into a spot though, so I can pull forward through the mess...it just seems easier that way.

As for highway driving, welcome to my world. I do 75 miles a day, and 75% of that is on I94 (Edens and Tri-State), so I've got plenty to tell you about there. The Edens is rarely plowed well during or shortly after a storm, so I've done plenty of highway driving through the packed snow. Again, it's only an issue if you come to a complete stop, and even then it's not a big deal so long as you've got the tires & weight. You'll get a bit sideways when you first start moving from a dead stop, but after you get moving just a bit the car stays pretty straight unless you get careless with the throttle. This is more of an issue on the city streets, where you hit constant stoplights, etc. Driving through the packed snow at speed has been no issue for me at all, again you just have to be careful of hitting deep patches on a otherwise mostly clear road....because how the car reacts may take you by surprise the first couple times, but you'll get used to that quickly.

EDIT: One other thing, braking is AWESOME with these tires (Blizzak WS-60). The ABS rarely kicks on, even in heavy packed snow. Stopping power will actually be better than you expect (or at least it was for me). This car seems to stop better in the snow than anything else I've driven in recent years. Only time it's ever really slid on me was going downhill out of a parking lot that had some ice on the ramp.

 

Snow is bad. Ice is undrivable. I can put mine in d and sit and spin all day at idle.

 

Ice is bad in any car though, its just worse with rwd cars and trucks.

You're getting some real good tips on what to do. My biggest problem was I had summer tires on haha.

 

In my opinion its just going to make your camaro loose its fun cause you would basically be driving the same car all the time. I like to drive my monte carlo to work, and then when its nice out, or on fridays i like to drive the camaro. Otherwise its not a toy anymore. One week i had to drive it every day cause my GF needed my car, and it rained every day, and i still havent forgiven myself. And then i noticed just how not so fun it is to drive in traffic and such. In my opinion, get yourself another front wheel drive vehicle. One that is way different than your camaro.