This is not a winter car! Fed up! May end up selling...

[FeveRS]

i got the frs as my winter car, can't complain for a car that cost less than 30k new.

[hmong337]

There's no doubt I got this car soley based on it's dry capabilities. It slaughters at that! This is my first winter with the car and I'm learning as I go. You guys must've all been born Tommi Makinens lol.

...posers *cough* *cough*

It seriously was some deep ass snow for sure Sunday night in Southern Ontario. When I got stuck, I got out the car and looked to see that I was belly dragging snow like crazy.

Maybe I am over reacting... I bet a lot of you talkers would've gotten stuck that night too! But I keep on forgetting that you're all Takumi Fujiwara haha.

I guess this time around, I'll be more prepared for deep snow. Live and learn...

The frs is so damn unique. It would be quite a struggle driving one of those boring wheel drive cars after the frs.

I still am quite willing to deal with it's winter pitfalls. The warmer months more than make up for them

I will say that TRAC has caught me slipping on black ice on more than one occasions. Which is why I leave it on all the time. But for deep snow, I now know to turn it off.

...i wish i could show you guys the road leading to my house. It's got a pretty nasty incline and you lose lots of momentum going up it. When I mistakenly left TRAC on thinking it would help, all it did was rob control of speed. I guess the next time we get bombed with snow, I'll switch TRAC off before reaching my street.

[hmong337]

Originally Posted by daiheadjai

No problems so far, but I have 205/55R16 Continental Extreme Wintercontacts and two 20kg bags of sand in my trunk.
It also does help that I haven't actually encountered truly deep snow yet...

Hmong, did your SW20 fare any better?

The sw20 is a beastly tank through the snow! I blew by 4x4 and suv's like nothing in the mr2. All that weight over the rear axels, plently of grip all the time. It was NA with no lsd either when I put it through it's only winter. It leaves the frs in shame when talking winter driving.

Yea, I gonna have to go out and grab me an army shovel and 20kg of kitty litter to stash in my trunk for ballast and stuck situations. Thanks.

[Wolfking]

Originally Posted by wparsons

Once you get past that, they're great in the snow. I've driven mine in 5-6" of snow lots and not gotten stuck once. The only time I've been stuck was in about 10" of snow in a parking lot where the rear wheels were actually spinning in the air while the car rested on the snow.

What make and size of rubber are you on? Even my lowered '98 240SX got around better than my FRS...

[wparsons]

205/50/17 Barum Polaris3's, a few local shops recommended them over much more expensive tires because they're better all around so I took a chance on them. What tires are you running?

They're definitely not as good as something like a General artimax in deep snow, but they're also much better on the dry roads. They are a studless ice/snow, not a performance snow, but aren't nearly as squirmy as other ice/snow tires I've had on previous cars. The artimax I had my jetta were terrible on dry roads, felt like they were dangerously low on pressure all the time even when at 36psi cold.

The only day I got stuck was when we had the huge dump last winter, and the parking lot I got stuck in was full of stuck SUV's.

[raphy]

^barums are amazing for bang for buck performance

[Myv]

First time driving RWD and was expecting winter to be a PITA, but I actually feel like I have more control than the other FWD cars I've driven. Been stuck in SUV before (Venza) for a bit, this car seems to just do fine, haven't gotten stuck yet, then again GTA's weather is nothing like Calgary's.

[Rossman]

Originally Posted by hmong337

Maybe I am over reacting... I bet a lot of you talkers would've gotten stuck that night too! But I keep on forgetting that you're all Takumi Fujiwara haha.

Part of being a good winter driver that doesn't get stuck, is having the good sense to know when a road is impassable and not go that way. I *could* get this car stuck in the same place you did, but I wouldn't have because I wouldn't have even tried it. I haven't been stuck in the FR-S yet.

I think this car is an excellent winter driver.

[Suberman]

Originally Posted by raphy

^barums are amazing for bang for buck performance

Another Continental tire. Like Gislaved of Sweden. Or General in the US.

[daiheadjai]

Originally Posted by Suberman

Another Continental tire. Like Gislaved of Sweden. Or General in the US.

How are the Polariseseses compared to, say, the Conti WinterContact?

I ended up choosing the Contis, but have been second-guessing the decision (especially since the Barums are cheaper).
That being said, I've been pleasantly surprised with how livable the car has been this winter.

[brzr]

i got stuck once....but it was in my driveway, and the rear wheels were on ice....just spinning.....took some cat litter to get myself out of that

yesterday, i was out on the road at 5am.....it was still snowing and the roads were quite covered with snow.....it was all fine until i had to make a turn over some snow banks that got ploughed and left in the middle of the street
and i thought i was going to get stuck.......but i pushed on, and slowly, very, very slowly i somehow got across of that snow bank
i did have the shovel in the back....just in case
when i got home i decided next time, i either stay at home, or take out the station wagon
sure all the snow makes lots of fun in this car.....but not when it's mountains of snow that i plough go through

[drewbot]

It was so cold our AT locked me out of 6th for about 10 minutes...weird

[Kfresh23]

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=52798

Read my older post and it may change your mind.
I think the opposite, that this is the BEST RWD sports car for winter driving! Sand bags, Trac in "Sport" mode (partial Trac off), and proper winter driving (throttle control, brake control etc).
No issues....in 2 winters....in Calgary Alberta!! Lots and Lots of snow....chinooks, then freezing so we have ice.....then more snow! -30C temps, no problems starting.
I have owned other Rwd cars and nothing can compare.
I am just giving you my opinion, from my personal experience.
I have seen ALL types of vehicles get stuck this year....even a Hummer!! You think they are saying "I'm selling my Hummer because it got me stuck this winter!"......probably not. It just means that no matter what, in various conditions, any vehicle can, and will get stuck. It's a part of winter.....we just need to accept it, and be prepared for it when it happens. But for the most part, embrace it and try and have fun! I am.

[Taro]

Originally Posted by drewbot

It was so cold our AT locked me out of 6th for about 10 minutes...weird

I've noticed that these last few days too. This morning I "forced" it to 6th by switching to the manual mode, holding the gas steady until about 60/3000 RPM, then releasing the gas. At that point the car seems to "remember" you can still go one gear higher and let you shift up. Not sure if that's repeatable. In fact, I suspect it has more to do with the car warming up, since the auto mode seems to shift at higher RPMs when cold. I have very little technical knowledge, so this is just anecdotal.