mpe488

Alright so I'm only 18, and I can admit that I don't have as much driving experience as most of you guys do, but I wouldn't say that I'm a bad driver by any means. I just moved to IL from FL, and I want to buy another LS1 car (sold my last) but I'm scared of having to drive it in the winter.

I want to buy a M6 and I'm guessing those are even worse in the snow, and I have very limited driving experience on manual cars. If I bought a car it wouldn't be during winter, so at the very least I could familiarize myself with a RWD M6 before winter rolled along, but should I... or should I be smarter and buy a FWD econobox?

tspence45

iTrader: (30)

if you decide to buy a fwd econobox you could buy my 2000 Cavalier Z24

ProjectCamaro

iTrader: (26)

It's not that bad. I just got home from driving my Z28 in the snow. Just drive smart and you'll be fine. Remember, back in the day all they drove were RWD cars and they were by no means as good as ours.

ibanez7

iTrader: (7)

budget yourself properly.

buy an affordable ls1 after this winter but budget yourself for a fwd pos for next winter.


I drive and race autox. No matter how good you drive in the winter, f-body cars get stuck easy, slide easy and can barely make it up hills. Its not worth the frustration or the chance or spinning out or worse another driver hitting the ls1 car you love..


In fact today I saw three stuck lt1/ls1 f-bods and 1 that couldnt get up a hill. Sucks for them, where as mine is warm in the garage, while I drive a 4x4 rodeo that I scored for $1500

BlownupLT1

iTrader: (5)

Good pair of snow tires will do wonders. I've driven my Z through the snow on more than a few occasions now and haven't had any problems except the day I didn't have time to switch out my drag radials. those didn't work in the snow, but with my BFG's it drove fine. They have a tendency for the *** to slide to the right though, but if you feather the gas it shouldn't be a problem. Like I said though, if you do drive it, invest in a good set of snow tires like some Blizzacks. They will probably be the biggest improvement you can make.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Get the LS1, but also get a beater. It's the best way to go. Keeps the F-body nice in bad weather and gives you the chance to get a car much better suited for bad weather when you need it.

mpe488

its tempting to buy a $400 POS but I need a reliable winter car.

pro2low

iTrader: (3)

i just turned 20....i have a ls1 and fortunatly a work truck that i use as a dailey driver. i own 2 cars neither that i drive in the winter haha (sig) where did you move to? anywhere by me it has been snowing all day!

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

You can get something for ~$1,000 that will last 6-12 months without much issue. The deals are out there, you just have to look.

ibanez7

iTrader: (7)

exactly, yeah I drove vettes and f-bodies both in the snow and yeah its possible but its not cool. those cars are made for warm weather fun..

get a beater, and yes there are reliable ones out there. Look at this way you could buy the beater now and in 3 months finance the ls1 when the roads are nice. There are tons of great prices always floating around for ls1 cars.


Also remember for every 1 inch of snow we get in IL, the state supplies us with 10 inchs of salt. Why trash the look of a nice car with salty roads, plus salt ground into a road makes it tough to get traction.

Breaking Stuff

iTrader: (11)

Throttle Control! Yeah, I know, sometimes that doesnt even work. This is the first winter I had an alternate vehicle. Ive been driving RWD V8's all year round since I was 17 and am 25 now. If you take it easy it should not be a problem. Then all you have to worry about is the other idiots on the road.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Ah yes, the 1:10 ratio. I thought I was the only one that new about that IL state secret.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

I've driven lots of V8 RWD cars in the snow too. But they had more weight over the axle and skinny tires ('78 Caprice, '86 Cutlass, etc.). The F-bodies are much harder to manage in the snow than some other types of RWD cars. I used to drive my '89 Formula in the winter. It was possibile, but you need really good tires otherwise you'll get stuck.....often! And when the snow gets heavy forget about it.

Junk 302

You shouldnt have a problem. The key thing is have some good snow tires. I had Blizzaks on my one Mustang and Dunlop Wintersports on my other.. Both drove just fine in snow , never stuck. I had them on all 4 rims also , I hear this helps with steering. However , I didnt buy snow tires for my LS1 I have now , so it does become useless in 3"+ of snow.

Breaking Stuff

iTrader: (11)

All the vehicles I was talking about were F bodies. The first was an 87 bird. last year it was a 00 Z and this year its an 01. Remember the real bad one we had last year? I drove from my job in Lincolnwood home to Wheeling, granted it took an extra hour and a half. There was about a foot of snow on the ground and it was rushhour. No, it was not fun and everyone else driving like F'in idiots didnt help. All I was saying is its very doable. I usually find myself a nice empty P-lot the first snowfall we have and get myself readjusted to the snow. My 01 I wouldnt drive if I didnt have to but there was a time I awoke to some snow and had to drive it home from where I was at. It was a little nerve wrecking but we made it home. To Sum it up its not impossible ,its about your comfort level.

98CamZ28

iTrader: (31)

I never really had much of a problem with my old car, 98 NBM Z28, 224/230 cam, and a 4000 stall. Drove it everyday, even delivered pizzas with it in the winter. Definitely not the easiest car for the winter but as long as you realize that it's not a 4x4 SUV, have decent snow tires, and learn how the car behaves, you'll be fine.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

You work in Lincolnwood? Wow. Wereabout? I've only seen two other people on here that even live in my town. I didn't think anybody on this site worked in this small town.

mpe488

I moved to Evanston... it's nasty here. Its been snowin and blowin all day. I saw a ford focus spinning all over the place try to park his car is slushy snow... I was scared, now I'm terrified. Every car on the road is going 25mph where people would go 35-40. I'd hate to see how slow I had to drive an f-body.

I'm really jumping the gun though, I won't need a car for a year and a half... but its been about 6 months since I sold my car and I'm getting withdrawl symptoms.

G-Body

iTrader: (4)

I prefer RWD in the snow. Yes it is more likely to break the back end loose and spin it, but I can still steer with the front wheels. If it is FWD once you start spinning them you lose steering too. It is probably a personal preference, but I prefer being able to throttle steer if I feel like it .

As was said above, snow tires make a huge difference. With my El Camino going from a 225-60-15 all season to a 215-75-15 snow makes a night and day difference.

The biggest thing you have to look at is leaving extra room to stop. It does not matter if you have FWD, RWD, AWD, or a 4x4, they all stop the same. Also brake before you turn not as you turn. It seems that most accidents are caused when someone doesn`t leave enough room to stop, or they try to brake and turn at the same time.

I always find it funny that so many people buy 4x4`s because they are so good in the snow and they won`t get stuck with them, Even in 6-8" of unplowed snow I can make it through just fine with my el camino that is RWD and has no weight in the bed.

sixvi6-camaro

iTrader: (9)

I drove my Z28 today from Buffalo Grove to Schaumburg and back today no problems at all no driving 10mph or anyihtng either I drove right along with traffic. snow tires and car control go a long way. I guess after driving f-bodies for 10 years now I've gotten used to driving them also I can't stand driving FWD cars in the snow.