Winter is here
 

This is how it looked like this morning when I walked up to my car:

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-V...026_082059.jpg

Fortunately I got up a set of Bridgestone Blizzak Nordics mounted on the OEM wheels already on wednesday so getting to work was smooth sailing. :) The traction control and VSC work very nicely in snow, although the VSC does break the slide quite abruptly when it deems that the drift is too wide.

Oh, I thought this was @Dadhawk posting. I was like, "What? Snow in Georgia??"

See? 86/FR-S/BRZ is just fine in the snow, if you have good tires and know how to drive.

Damn looks cold! Good to hear the 86 handles the white stuff ok.

I can't emphasize enough the importance of good winter tyres. It's almost magical how those things grip the snow even when it's so slippery that it's difficult to walk around wearing Airwalks. ;)

Another blizzard just hit us and the forecast says ~10 inches more will fall overnight. Going to be interesting tomorrow.

The best drive-train & most advanced computer in the world WILL get your car moving in the snow, even with summer tires. However, stopping & cornering is basically all in the tire. The ~$1k investment in 4 steel wheels & snow tires pays dividends when you're driving past cars stuck in a ditch, and feels amazing when you can get moving (or stop) and others cant. Plus, swapping the tires/wheels for winter will make sure your summer-set looks great when you throw them back on in the spring!

please, go on and share more snow GT 86 pictures soon.

Sure - I'm going for a drive tomorrow so I'll grab a DSLR with me to shoot some winter wondeland pics. :)

Nah, can't be mine, I don't have the rear snow-shelf/spoiler.

Snow this early in Georgia would be a sight to see. MomHawk would already have half the house loaded in the Suburban telling me the world had come to an end and she was moving to Florida with or without me.

Hahahahahahahahaaa :bellyroll:

Looks like the snow is going to melt pretty quickly, but I did manage to snap some photos.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-0...s800/snow1.png

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-A...s800/snow3.png

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-I...s800/snow6.png

Thanks for sharing. Firestorm looks awesome on snow! I've never experienced RWD on snow. How much difference does snow tire make during winter?

are you having any problems with opening the doors? or can your windows move up and down freely even tho theres ice?

Oh man, this reminds me that I have to get my set of winter rubber before it starts snowing over here.

I have to say that I'm actually excited about driving this car in the snow.

How's it handle the hills in the snow. That's my concern with the car. Here not only does it snow but you can't go 2 miles without facing a climb combined with curves.

Snow tires are cheaper than bodywork.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-D...2010.22.23.jpg

Studded snows with 100 lbs of salt in the trunk, runs fine. But if you turn off all the TC/SC the car spins if you look at it funny. Sport mode is safe.

Hills and highways I'm driving better than I do in my SUV. And MPG is unchanged. :)

Proper snow tyres have a massive traction advantage over summer or all-season tyres. Mine are studless, so on clear ice they are not quite as effective as studded ones, though. Here in southwestern Finland we generally have clear asphalt during winters due to road salt, so studless tyres are a bit more comfortable in terms of road noise and dry traction.

Last friday, on my way back from work, I had to stop in the middle of an uphill because some cars with summer tyres had gotten stuck in the snowstorm. Even then, I had no trouble getting moving from a standstill. The rears spun slightly all the time but the traction control worked incredibly well. This car is just so incredibly easy to drive in the winter compared to, for example, RWD Corollas. Because you can switch the assists off, you can still have just as much fun. :)

The first morning we had frost, the driver side window got a bit cranky and the 'AUTO' -lights on the switches just flashed. Re-calibrating the window fixed it and it hasn't happened again eventhough there's been a lot more ice on the windows after that.

geeez! that sucks,and to think its headed here! (hot damn!) i like that color!
looks rich! nice dark blue! sweet!

The weight in the trunk is a mistake. It will magnify the tendency of the rear end to fishtail. That force is far greater than any small advantage in traction.

I have my snows and mud flaps ready, bring it on winter.

Indeed, and it will only assist in acceleration, which shouldn't be an issue with proper tires.

Hrm, interesting. With the stab control I figured more weight in the back axle would let it have more effect. But I can see the point if I was actually fishtailing.

Toyobaru designed the FR-S to place the center of gravity as low and as centered in the car as possible. If you feel the need to add additional weight to the car put it in the passenger seat footwell - that way it will not skew the center of gravity and tend to pull the car off-axis in a spin.

Can someone please enlighten me on what 'snow' is?

Where are you guys finding a proper size steel wheel for the FR-S/BRZ? I've looked around and can't seem to find any for the car.

get a mirror, a razor blade and a straw and I'll show you

lol......

Snow is the cool white stuff that falls from the sky when temperature gets low enough. It makes a stock low HP RWD car with winter tires transform into a .... DORIFTO MACHINE! :D

Some people over here call them "power flakes" because once they fall on the ground, even a meager 70hp KE70 Corolla DX drifts anywhere anytime. :)

Good times, good times.. :)

5hp sticker - adds 10 hp

3 cm of "power flakes".. Adds 300hp! :D

I can't wait for snow, usually we go out and slide around with the handbrakes on FWD cars but I won't even need to touch that lever anymore :D.

And for those saying it's dangerous, these manoeuvers are made at like 7 mph, no traction at all = fun :D

Glad to hear the BlizzaCKS are working good on the car. That is what I have been eyeing for mine. I drove my old 72 Camaro SS in the snow for years with studs on it with little problems. Most of them caused by other drivers out of control. LOL I could not imagine this car being bad in the snow with all of its traction tech and some appropriate tires on it.

Good to hear! I have already said to others that I love this car so far (only 260 miles on the odometer) but the only thing I feared is how it was going to treat me in winter. I have Michelin X-Ice XI2's sitting in my basement ready to go on my stock rims as soon as I see snow in the forecast!

Winter is indeed here. I drove about 200 miles through the snow both on the interstate and on Route 30 through Wyoming and Idaho. At some points there were about 3 inches of standing snow on the ground. I kept the traction control on and I only had the stock tries. With that said the car had good handling, though I did slow for bridges. Overall I was quite impressed with how it responded though I was nervous. Here are some pictures: