BRZ in the snow
 

This is my first winter in the BRZ, but certainly not my first winter driving. I can say that this is the most fun car that I have ever had in the winter. I have studded Hakka 9's on the car, and have not had an issue with traction. I live in British Columbia, Canada, where we have had several 20-20cm dumps already. The snow really showcases the balance of the car, and makes it feel more powerful than it is. What a hoot. If you have any doubts whether this car can handle snow, it is NOT a problem! I would definitely make sure that you have excellent car control skills before turning off all aids through, as she rotates quite quickly.

As an aside, the roof rack system installed really well following instructions. I used an air driven rivet gun to install the attachment posts. I will keep everyone posted if any problems arise. My son is a ski racer, which is why I have such a large structure on the roof of the car. So far, no bending/denting.

Enjoy the snow everyone!

Welcome! 100% agree. Sweet ride.

Snow is fun!
http://www.seriesblueadventures.com/...17/04/03-2.jpg

It sure is!

OK let's get her goin...

More snow pics please.

Always love them.

Make this one our 17-18 winter snow thread.

Did you call in sick after making that imprint on the snow? :popcorn::clap:

Nope. I carried on into the street and went to work. So far the record is 14"s of unplowed snow on the road.

Just look at @humfrz standing off to the right with his hands in his pockets.


http://www.ft86club.com/forums/attac...1&d=1513841364

Damn Beast :lol:

The FR-S in front of me was lowered 2". She was from Florida, though, so snow driving was new to her. Once I told her to be a bit more aggressive with the throttle to keep up her momentum, she was fine.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mwz-fQJzwf0"]Snow Plowing... Almost - YouTube[/ame]

Totally doable.

Aggressive yet smooth at the same time is the trick.

I have driven far worse in the snow. The worst ever was surprisingly a 70 Chev Cheyenne pickup with duel wheels. It would get stuck in an inch of snow since the tires just sat on top and spun.

https://i.imgur.com/c8TkARH.jpg

Innsbruck Austria

Nice pics so far, keep em coming!

My other vehicle is a 1 ton GM diesel truck. I have people ask me why I drive a sports car in the snow when I have a truck, and honestly, I'd much rather drive the BRZ in the snow than the truck. Just the weight difference and balance alone makes the BRZ much better when it comes to turning and stopping. Plus you can't turn the traction control off in the truck (it comes back on automatically above 50 kmh).

Make no mistake, people. These cars suck in the snow. But Hakka 9s, especially with studs, are amazing snow tires. Put those on any car and it'll do great in the snow.
Oh, and if you think this car rotates quickly, try driving something with an engine right behind the driver. It makes the BRZ seem mundane by comparison.

These cars are no worse than any other RWD car in the snow. In fact the light weight makes them more nimble. It's the stock SUMMER tires thst suck in the snow, lol.

The man has a point. Tires are everything especially in the snow. But, that doesn't necessarily make the twins bad in the snow. Unless you are on stock tires, then you're F'ed.

They only suck in the winter if you try to drive it the same as in the summer. Any decent snow tires work just fine.

I have about 30K winter miles in a lowered FRS with cheap Champiro snows and have never had a single issue.

This ^
Little old ladies drive Mustangs and Cameros around in the snow here and don't think anything of it.
For most of the history of the automobile everybody drove around in RWD cars in the snow. On bias ply tires, no power brakes or steering, no traction control or electronic aids, no ABS and frequently with vacuum powered windshield wipers and no heater. Now all of a sudden a lightweight car full of assisting devices is hard to drive in the snow for some people?

I grew up driving RWD cars, instructed on tracks and frozen lakes for many years, and have driven a ton of cars, including many that were RWD. I stand by my original comment. I preferred my E30 in the snow to this car. My original comment has nothing to do with modern technology. It was written to be independent of tire choice, which I failed to specify. As I said, "Put [any great snow tire] on any car and it'll do great in the snow."

So ultimately it isn't the car that sucks in the snow but the tires.
Preferring a different car in the snow does not make this one suck.

@Pat I beg to differ on an E30 being better in the snow than this car. Just by nature of a lower CG this car is easier to drive well in slippery conditions. I also think that this car tracks better in mixed conditions and has more predictable braking characteristics.

I also have a truck and prefer driving my BRZ over the Durango until it gets deeper than about 5 inches. At that point clearance and weight win, especially since the only other vehicles out in those conditions are also usually big and bulky and poorly driven.

just dumb. I'll take the BRZ with snow tires over anything else. I have cheap General altimax arctic's and drove through 3 blizzards in total white out conditions on untreated roads like the snow wasn't even there. On the highway the idiots in SUV's were scared to go over 20 and I literally never even slipped on ice once as I passed them all.

My comment was about the car, independent of tires.
You are correct, Tcoat, preferring a different car in the snow does not make this one suck. That said, preferring nearly every car, independent of tires, does make this one suck. IMO, of course.

You'll take it over anything else? I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume you want a car that is good in snow. If that is accurate, what you're essentially saying is the BRZ is the best snow car ever. How else could one legitimately interpret that statement?

Now...what's dumb?

:bonk:

The 86, with 4 good snows and a reasonably skilled driver, is perfectly fine in the snow. Is it as good as an Audi Quattro Coupe with locked diffs and studs? No..and no one is saying that. If we're having this discussion it's because you daily drive this car, so you need to weigh benefit and penalties for having that level of traction. The few times a winter that you ACTUALLY need to engage maximum traction capabilities is few compared to the amount of time the rest of the season (and the rest of the year) where you're driving on roads that have been cleared and the 86 is at no disadvantage whatsoever. In those cases, 4 snow tires and some common sense can get you anywhere you'd ever want to take this car. Id rather have the 86 any day over having to drag around the poor handling and weight associated with an AWD system.

Said no Subaru WRX or STi owner EVER!

I completely agree with this:
"The 86, with 4 good snows and a reasonably skilled driver, is perfectly fine in the snow."

I disagree with the part in bold:
"Is it as good as an Audi Quattro Coupe with locked diffs and studs? No..and no one is saying that." The quattro Coupe will destroy the 86 in the snow with equal tires. Everyone should know that. But why? doesn't.

For the record, I'm ashamed I got into this thread too deep. :sigh:
It has reached a new level of stupidity.
Merry Christmas everyone! :D

I originally started this thread to show that you can drive these cars in the snow easily with good snows on them. To answer the question that seems to come up about these cars.

My truck also has hakka’s, and pound for pound, I’d rather be in the BRZ. Most problems arise when stopping and turning, and I’d rather be in the BRZ in those situations in the snow. Is it better than an audi quattro, or a wrx/sti? Of course not. But if you own a brz, and you are wondering if you can tackle the winter, you’d be fine. In my opinion better than getting a beater truck, suv, or any fwd car for that matter.

Just because they don't know doesn't mean it's not true.

I'll have to reread this thread, but I didn't get the impression anyone was saying the 86 will match an AWD car in the snow, but I might've missed it. I agree that the AWD car with equal tires will run away from the 86 in the snow...the point of distinction for me is, despite being slower than the AWD car, the 86 still isn't "bad" in the snow. The perceived value of having AWD is way overblown, in my opinion. But, that's the power of advertising.

Based on the number of comments I got yesterday if you drive in any type of snow or ice without 4/AWD these days you'll immediately be killed.

Granted I generally swap to my old Explorer when conditions are bad (for fear of some jacked up brodozer hitting me and being decapitated by his homebrew bumper...), but didn't think our insignificant little bout of winter weather warranted dragging it out, plus the BRZ is more fun (and I'm sure if I had a dedicated winter tire and not all seasons, more controllable as well - but the DWS06 is pretty impressive)

I pulled into the work lot amid gasps of shock that I was able to make it in and was told I'd be stranded here for sure as my car wouldn't make it up the hill. Trying to explain to people how to drive in winter weather is like trying to tell a brick wall how to sit down. They know they have AWD so stopping and starting= same as any other sunny dry day to them, and the reason why there were 30+ accidents related to the weather last night :bonk:

The advantages to AWD are restricted to starting out in deep snow, driving on patchy ice and to a very, very small extent turning. Even these are really only advantages if you want to be able to just push the pedal and drive without giving any thought to how you should do it in the snow. A good driver in a RWD will blow the doors off a poor driver in AWD in any weather conditions. I have had to stop and help push AWD cars out of my way many times since I got the FRS.

BRZ in the snow
 

If a person gets into a thread too deep...

Can they get out of it with a snow shovel, four snow tires, four studded snow tires, four wheel drive, or will they need to ask a friend who's got a winch to help them out ?


And while we're at it...more snow pictures please.

I have had to call in heavy recovery wreckers to get me out of threads.

Even at that I have taken some down with me.

https://img.gifmagazine.net/gifmagaz...gif?1420977773

That is one of my top ten favorite animated gifs on the net. I am still convinced the cat was thrown though.

Full video makes me believe it was 100% the cat, no shadow of anyone picking up the cat from where it was previously sitting outside and throwing it.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtGog4Cb7RY"]My cat jump through the snowbank - YouTube[/ame]