No Winter Driving Problems

[Kfresh23]

What an amazing car to drive in the winter!
Of course winter tires and some extra weight in the back are a must, but everyone knows this would help ANY car in the winter!!
The set up is perfect, Subaru of course know what they are doing as they have made amazing all wheel drive cars since they first existed, Toyota should be grateful they partnered with such a well known, rally bred company. The same way Subaru should be happy with the design.
I cannot believe the all around balance, precision steering, and fun factor this car exudes, it truly is a car for all seasons!
The grip it has on slippery roads is second to none, with RWD control mimicked by nothing else. It slides when you want it to, and catches and grips when you don't want to slide. It over steers at such manageable times and speeds, that anyone with even less than race car driving skills can handle this car!
There is no need to go into torsen this, and mu that, and use "big" words on how the car was built or what type of "toe" angle the front tires are set at....blah, blah blah......it doesn't matter because this car is perfect!! It works like it is supposed to in wet, dry, slippery, dusty, windy, snowy, hot, chilly, humid, sleety, foggy, misty, etc.... Let's all praise the greatness of this car and enjoy the privilege we have every day to drive such a wonderful piece of automotive engineering!
Enough said!!!!!

[CoupedUpSubie]

I'm not disagreeing with you that it performs well in the winter with proper tires. I run the general altimax Arctics. Proper aggressive snow tires are not a choice but a requirement on the twins. Is extra weight needed? I don't think so. Can different alignments help handling, yes.

Everything comes down to proper tires and knowing how to drive. I feel much safer in my old beat up impreza in a snow storm then I do my BRZ. It has a solid feel in the snow.

People need to be realistic with this car. Some grade it low and some over praise it.

[Ralph Spoilsport]

In before he-who-must-not-be-named...

I confess to being curious, but since the Spoilsport household has one solid AWD Winter vehicle per driver, there's really no particular need for me to equip and subject the Breezy to Winter salt.

A lot depends on your requirements. One of mine is getting up the hill on the road that leads to my house. On this road, it's not terribly uncommon to see the snow plow make the ascent *backwards* so he can drive over his own salt/sand mix. The failed attempt going forward that precedes this is often fairly exciting to watch. On those horrid days, FWD cars don't stand a chance (unless equipped with studs), and I am confident in saying neither would the Breezy.

[congee]

I agree. My first RWD in snow and I feel pretty confident with it. I came from a suv with winter tires. Not as confident as I am with the suv but pretty darn close.

My only complaints for this car in the winter are:

1. Windows easily fog up/ice up
2. I usually get stuck after parking my car during a snow fall(as expected)
3. Leg warmers are none existent. I don't feel any hot air going to my legs even at full blast. Does anyone feel this way too or am I doing something wrong??

Other than that, the car has been perfect. I drove through yesterdays "snow storm" about 5-8cms of snow and no issues. Had a lot of fun sliding around corners with full control.

[Taro]

Originally Posted by congee

I agree. My first RWD in snow and I feel pretty confident with it. I came from a suv with winter tires. Not as confident as I am with the suv but pretty darn close.

My only complaints for this car in the winter are:

1. Windows easily fog up/ice up
2. I usually get stuck after parking my car during a snow fall(as expected)
3. Leg warmers are none existent. I don't feel any hot air going to my legs even at full blast. Does anyone feel this way too or am I doing something wrong??

Other than that, the car has been perfect. I drove through yesterdays "snow storm" about 5-8cms of snow and no issues. Had a lot of fun sliding around corners with full control.

I find the "warm legs" setting really efficient, actually. Better than the "warm face" setting. Do you ever use that? My car is basically almost always on "warm feet and window" setting.

[congee]

Originally Posted by Taro

I find the "warm legs" setting really efficient, actually. Better than the "warm face" setting. Do you ever use that? My car is basically almost always on "warm feet and window" setting.

I find the "Face warmers" a little too much powerful lol. I only leave it on for a few seconds. I usually have it on window & legs.

On my previous cars, I could feel the warm air blowing on legs but for the brz, I don't feel anything at all. Does anyone know where the vents are for the leg warmers? Hopefully, my car isnt defective.

[AVodka14]

I had an 05 tC to drive around when the weather was nasty. Just sold it recently and have had to subject my poor FRS that has been garaged for almost 2 years to the likes of rain, snow, and salt :-(. Although the tC felt less planted on the road during sub par road conditions with All Season tires compared to the FRS with the factory tires. So, I feel okay about driving it around as my DD for right now. I will be buying another car in the next year to use during poor road and weather conditions. That way I can put my baby back up.

To the OP: glad you are doing well in the winter and really enjoying it. This is definitely a car that can be driven all seasons.

It does make me feel better when I see others driving their BMWs/Chevrolet/Ford/Mercedes sports car during the winter. I love my car and it convinces me to believe that it is of high quality and integrity. It feels like a car to keep for years. Drive on!

[Burrcold]

Suberman to the rescue!!

[Kazuya]

@Suberman The hero this city deserves!

[Canehda]

Yesterday in Mississauga we had a solid 5-10 cm of snow and the car was absolutely flawless, not only was I getting better traction from the lights than most other cars, i also had amazing turn in compared to everything else on the road!

I had a guy in a F150 trying to keep up with me down a twisty bit of road and when we got to the bottom he said he was astonished at the grip i was finding in a little 2wd car compared to his 4wd pickup that had massive notchy tires…

I also love how easily the car can just hang its tail out, nothing ridiculous, but its quite fun holding ~15 degrees of opposite lock around a 60 kmh corner when no ones around… shhhh

[brzr]

yes, i agree
this car is such fun to drive in the snow with proper winter tires.......don't agree with the weight in the back though
none needed

[brzr]

Originally Posted by congee

I agree. My first RWD in snow and I feel pretty confident with it. I came from a suv with winter tires. Not as confident as I am with the suv but pretty darn close.

My only complaints for this car in the winter are:

1. Windows easily fog up/ice up
2. I usually get stuck after parking my car during a snow fall(as expected)
3. Leg warmers are none existent. I don't feel any hot air going to my legs even at full blast. Does anyone feel this way too or am I doing something wrong??

Other than that, the car has been perfect. I drove through yesterdays "snow storm" about 5-8cms of snow and no issues. Had a lot of fun sliding around corners with full control.

to avoid getting stuck, try finding spots for your rear tires that have very little amount of snow, or even go out, take the shovel out of your trunk (i carry a small one with me), clean two patches where the back wheels will go, and park
also avoid parking up on hills

as for warming up the legs, no problems here.........but i wear heavy duty snow boots so any heat would make my feet melt

[Dave-ROR]

BTW for Suberman, this diff is not from anything like a WRX STI.

The diff is one of the rare things actually stamped with a Toyota ID tag/sticker.

[daiheadjai]

First time I left my TRAC off for just regular driving today.
As long as you're not dealing with uneven snow and high speeds, the car is very predictable and fun (found a nice subdivision with empty, unplowed side streets - had a blast).
However, I did take my sandbags out of my trunk one day for a drive - and it was a noticeable difference - I immediately put them back in.

Drove BRZ up to Newmarket yesterday, and on the way back down (in the middle of a big snowstorm), had no problems - did get nervous when I took a hilly road (Stouffville) and there was a line up though (kept my fingers crossed that the guys in front wouldn't stop and force me to claw up the icy hill).

BTW - does anyone notice that the heated seats don't really seem to heat up much (or quickly)?
And the front vent (on the dash for occupants) seems to be poorly-designed - the single horizontal slat doesn't do much to direct air up or down.

I'm tempted to take it in to the dealer to get the seats checked (my wife likes heated seats on cold days, and complains that they don't get very warm at all).