Why hi there everyone Last weekend I was in the passanger seat of my friend's Accord as we slid straight off the road, hit a curb, and caused $1,200 worth of damage to the drivetrain/steering and he was taking a turn at maybe 5MPH . Watching how the FR "supposedly superior-winter-car" was so powerless got me thinking... I know that adding a few sand bags to the hatch are a good start, but I was wondering if that's enough. Right now I've got Futura GTX II's all around and was wondering if snow tires would be a good idea and if the benefit outweighs the cost of buying them (at least in your opinion). I dont drive WRECKlessly, and I know the basics of keeping a car on the road so...
Thanx

 

Ballast in the trunk is KEY. And good tread tires, help. Although a "winter" tire would be even better. If my Mom can drive a V8 Camaro through 7 IL winters, anybody can.

And that was with GodYear GA tires.

 

Snow is def **** in these cars. It can be done, but not on summer only performace tires. I know that I got stuck in 1 inch of snow w/ no sand bags and GSD3's. (I was at work, and it wasnt 'supposed' to snow)

Sand bags + Bridgestone Blizzak's would make it doable

 

I run Blizzaks on my GTO and I have been fine in our shitty PA winters. I did however hit some ice this morning and I dont care what kind of tires you have you will break loose.

 

SNOWS ARE A MUST!!!! I've driven RWD vehicles all my life. All seasons will work but snows are FAR superior, actually on ANY vehicle, not just RWD. Ice is ice and no matter what tire you have it'll be slippery. Blizzaks are probably one of the best on ice but they are expensive. I run Winterforce tires from Tire Rack and they are better in deep snow than Blizzaks but give up a little on the ice traction. 215/60/16's are the proper size on stock steel wheels. You can get packages from Tire Rack with wheels for decent prices.

 

Wusses . . . geez I have never installed snow tires on any of my car(s) EVER . . . neither has my Mom or sister, and the list of RWD car is extensive:

66 Impala
67 Chevelle
73 Malibu
74 Nova
77 Sunfire
79 (Ford product not worth mentioning)
81 Camaro
91 Camaro
04 GTO

What did people do in the 70's when all the cars were RWD, stop driving . . .

 

i drive mine year round and my tires are so bald thier almost slicks..just gotta take it easy thats all and i only drive it if i absolutly have to.. otherwise i take my dads truck..oh yeah i only work 1mile from home so its not too bad.

 

Not a wuss...I had driven RWD for YEARS before trying snows. Hell, my first car was a big *** 71 Pontiac Safari wagon with bias ply tires on it. THOSE SUCK in snow and ice. Once you TRY snows you'll see the HUGE difference in performance vs normal "all season" tires. Once I tried them I'll never run regular tires in the winter again. I feel more safe driving in bad weather and have NO problems getting around. Back in the 70's they had snow tires as well. I remember my dad putting them on a few vehicles when I was young.

 

I have Dunlop Wintersport M3's on my car now... Had Blizzaks on another car...

 

I drove my camaro through a couple blizzards and in a lot of snow over the first winter I had it in upstate NY. You just have to be REAL careful.

My advice:

First snow, take it out on a sunday morning to a deserted parking lot and spend a few hours spinning it out. It will get you used to recovering from spins and help you learn what it feels like as the car reaches the edge of its traction capabilities. Plus its fun. Learn to recognize where and under what conditions road ice can form. Learn the roads you drive regularly, what parts get slick easily. Stay a good distance from other cars.

 

I'm running Michelin Pilot V rated Alpin's on my CTS-V and love them! I usually run F1 supercar tires in the summmer; the Alpin's act very similar without any additional road noise and superior snow/wet/ice traction. Another vote for Winter tires instead of all-season.