Hows the FRS/BRZ in the snow compared to other RWD cars?
 

Hows the FRS/BRZ compared to an M3, 370z, S2000, Mustang, Camaro, Miata, Genesis, etc?

I don't have any experience with the specific RWD cars you mentioned, but I have lots of experience driving other RWD, FWD and AWD cars in the snow. The Twins are livable in the winter as long as they are on good snow tires. The main issues I found are the lack of ground clearance, which was an issue in the couple of big storms we had last year, and the lack of weight in the back. I put 50lb of sand in a sports bag in the trunk. Initially I had the sand right after the back and I found it compressed the rear suspension too much and made the car shift into oversteer in nearly every corner. I finally moved the bag forward, capturing the webbing handles in the RH latch for the rear seat. That seemed to be a good compromise between ride, handling and traction.

Driving my BRZ in the winter was a good refresher in clutch and throttle control. Driving WRXs for six years had made me lazy! :)

I drove an e90 335i for 3 winters. It was great in the snow. never had an issue. It was more stable in the snow (probably due to the weight), where as the BRZ felt a little bit looser. The BRZ wasnt terrible though, and I felt much more confident in it than my GF's fwd Cruze. Just make sure you get proper snow tires and you will be fine. I had hankook snow tires on the BMW and Blizzaks on the BRZ

ive driven in snow just this past winter, it gets slippery in heavy snow so just go slow. I have an auto with snow mode so with reduced torque its somewhat manageable.

Trac control helps a lot. With it on you cant even slide the car intentionally in like 6cm of snow at safe speeds

I found that the FR-S drives about the same on snow as the miata.

Just get some good winter tires and drive slow ....... the biggest problems are the jerks in front of you ...... :eyebulge:


humfrz

Hows it like in the highways around 60mph in a couple of inches of snow (1in-5in)?

With good snow tires ...... no worse than any other vehicle.

Personally, I wouldn't drive ANY vehicle at 60 MPH on snow covered roads ..... :confused0068:


humfrz

Compared to my 90 miata it drives a whole lot better I would say. Even with studs on the back of the miata I could only do 35mph on snow. If I tried to accelerate any more it would start fish tailing lol. I found the FRS did pretty well with good snow tires on it. I put 225/50r17 studless snows on it and I never got stuck. The taller tire helped with ground clearance issues. Heck my current street tires are 235/50's and it makes it like a truck lol I really need to put my lowering springs on..

Also side note. Macho driving man BS aside.. The traction control was actually very helpful while driving in the snow. As much as I hate to admit it.. It was kind of nice.

While I did drive a Miata year round for 10 years, it is hard to make a direct comparison due to the advances in traction and stability control that have taken place between 1990 and 2013. The Miata has no electronics and no ABS.

Would I drive the FRS in winter after doing the pedal dance to disable all the nannies? For some reason I cant see myself doing that. The car feels a bit more tail happy than the Miata.

Would not (could not?) drive all winter without snow tires.

I had a RWD Mercedes C-class wagon before the FR-S, and the difference between the two is much like you'd expect - the Benz had a bit better straight line traction and straight line stability, and the '86 is a bit more nimble, but looser feeling. I drove both all the time with all the nannies turned off (including ABS in the Benz, which unfortunately you cannot do with the '86), which makes them much easier to chuck around. The Benz was also an auto, which did nothing to help the situation. As long as you get a full set of good snow tires, you'll be fine. I run 205/55-16 on 16x6.5 steels for winter. I'd get skinnier if I could find them, but I can't. Go find a parking lot, turn off all the idiot-override controls, and learn how to drive a car like everyone should.

They are fine.

It's not moving...

It was I assure you!
Not a single snow day even with my 3 day a week commute to Woodstock and my 2 day one to Windsor.
Mind you 3 1/2 inches of clearance with 14 inches of snow makes for a spectacular show when you are the very first car going down the road.

Like the rest of them; without snow tires, a danger to yourself and others. Cheap people hoping to save a few hundred bucks (but rice their rides) have to learn that the hard way.

That is exactly how I felt some days!

This^
If you have very cold temps and loads of sow we are talking about actual snow tires here. Not "performance snows" or "all season" but deep treaded, butt ugly, noisy as hell, I don't want those on my nice car snow tires. Throw them on some 16" steel rims that do not gather and hold ice and snow or get bound up in the deep stuff and you are good to go. You will look like a monster truck for a few months but you will get where you are going.

Very good idea. I didnt think about that. BUT aren't those wheels only for temporary use for less than a few months?

Steel wheels are not for temporary use. Many cars come from the factory with them and use them full time.

You may be thinking about the spare tire rim. Those are indeed for very temporary use. Mine are just regular steel rims with the snows on them. Far better than alloy or fancy rims in the snow. by using 16 inch ones I also gain some tire depth to give a bit better snow penetration and traction.

Exactly. And for most of the time that cars have existed were the major rims used.

Lets just say that it is better than any AWD

If you put winter tires on, it's no worse than any other econobox - it'll be better than the majority of idiots who don't put on snow tires. If it's really deep snow, hope you own a truck or can wait until a plow comes.

I bought my FR-S in February, in Wisconsin, and tested the 370z and Mustang GT with a little snow on the ground and the Z was far worse than the FR-S/BRZ with any snow - summer tires that are absurdly wide was just plain terrifying (even up here, they come with summer tires). With winter tires, I would imagine it's basically the same. The mustang felt like driving a bigger sedan in the slush - I would imagine mostly due to the weight and wheelbase along with it's manners when you don't stomp on it.

One of my best friends has an s2000 and that is, bar none, the worst car I've ever driven in the snow - even with winter tires. You are freezing your balls off, revving the piss out of it and can't see shit through the windows in the winter, though summer more than makes up for this. I don't know about the M3, but the M5 is awesome in the snow - It feels significantly better in the snow than even my dad's Dakota if the snow isn't too deep. I would imagine it has something to do with the fact that they weigh the same...

Damn, to be a stupid teenager living out in the sticks hooning around in the winter (spring, summer and fall as well). Probably leaving a trail of beer cans and occasional clouds of smoke behind, too. Those were the days. Nobody died, we all learned to drive really well and had some very good times. You'd be in Gitmo for doing that shit today.