Will I survive this winter?

[Wolfking]

Originally Posted by Iand518

Ridiculous is a perfect description for the stock tires grip in any snow.

ROFL! Perfect!

[Suberman]

Originally Posted by Jaywest717

No. I just got back from driving my car in less than an inch of snow and ice outside. I only drove to get some food which is literally three minutes away and in a residential neighborhood. I was doing "maybe" 5 mph going up a small hill and the rear of the car was already swerving to the left and right slightly.

Now I'm a big Gran Turismo (video game) fan so I was mentally prepared for this kind of situation and kept the car under control, but...seriously...I'm buying snow tires on my very next paycheck. This lack of traction with these tires is ridiculous!!

Even with winter tires the back end is squirrelly. I highly recommend fitting the best studless snow tires you can afford. You need max grip to tame the rear axle in this car.

In ascending order: Blizzak WS if you're a complete winter wuss, Hankook if you're on a budget, Yokohama if you have more money, Michelin X ice, Continental if you're serious about grip and Nokian if you've got the dough.

[BRZnut]

We didn't have much of a winter in Jersey last year so kept the stock summer tires on. For fun, tried it in the little snow we had and the car had 0 traction. It would not move.


Since we have many clear days in the winter, I put on All Seasons this year. We just had our first snow today! 5 inches! Car moved but the rear end was all over the place. And, unless I turned all the traction controls off, could not go up our driveway.


Why is there less traction up an incline with the Traction Control System on????

[Pete156]

Originally Posted by Iand518

Ridiculous is a perfect description for the stock tires grip in any snow. We only see 12" of snow in an average year, and I almost crashed a dozen times last year running the stock tires. DON'T RISK IT!

+1

DON'T RISK IT!

[Suberman]

Originally Posted by BRZnut

We didn't have much of a winter in Jersey last year so kept the stock summer tires on. For fun, tried it in the little snow we had and the car had 0 traction. It would not move.


Since we have many clear days in the winter, I put on All Seasons this year. We just had our first snow today! 5 inches! Car moved but the rear end was all over the place. And, unless I turned all the traction controls off, could not go up our driveway.


Why is there less traction up an incline with the Traction Control System on????

Oddly enough, in loose snow you get slightly more grip from good snow tires with more wheel slip than the TRAC or the VSC allows. It appears the same applies to your all season tires.

Some all season tires are much more like snow tires than others. There is no minimum standard of winter performance for all season tires. Winter tires must meet an industry minimum winter performance standard. Only a very few all season tires actually meet that standard. I know of only one: the Nokian WR series. However, some all seasons are not too bad in winter conditions even if they don't meet the mountain snowflake standard.

[amram]

Originally Posted by Suberman

Some all season tires are much more like snow tires than others. There is no minimum standard of winter performance for all season tires. Winter tires must meet an industry minimum winter performance standard. Only a very few all season tires actually meet that standard. I know of only one: the Nokian WR series. However, some all seasons are not too bad in winter conditions even if they don't meet the mountain snowflake standard.

Yup, for e.g. the stock All-seasons that I got on my FR-S are the Bridgestone Turanza EL-400, see the 'Survey' Tab for tire performance.

Especially note Light snow traction - 3.5 score. Pretty Dismal.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....S&autoModClar=

And compare that with the performance of the Michelin Primacy MXM4 all-seasons. Much better Wet/Dry/Snow -

Especially note Light snow traction - 7.5 score. Not bad!

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....S&autoModClar=

[Iand518]

I can tell you Yokohama yk580 all season has great light snow traction, but the dry handling is so bad I have gone back to the tire store and paid to upgrade to Michelin AS3. We all know what we need to safely travel in our respective areas, get what you need to be safe. It would make me so sad to see a wrecker dragging any of you out of a snowy field.

[cjsporl1996]

I also live in New Jersey and we just don't get enough snow down here to buy winter tires i am going to run the OEM summer tires till i can afford some new wheels and Direzza z2 tires. We are supposed to get up too 3 inches of snow tomorrow, pray i don't die please but if i do you can tell me i told you so.

[Opethfan]

I live in VT and drove my car in just a inch or two of snow before I got it put away. Trust me when I say you NEED snow tires. It's better to spend the cash on the tires instead of repairs to your car after you hit something.

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by cjsporl1996

I also live in New Jersey and we just don't get enough snow down here to buy winter tires i am going to run the OEM summer tires till i can afford some new wheels and Direzza z2 tires. We are supposed to get up too 3 inches of snow tomorrow, pray i don't die please but if i do you can tell me i told you so.

Not to worry, if it snows 3", and your BRZ is riding on summer tires, I doubt you will be able to build up enough speed to hurt yourself....

humfrz

[Dsmith1992]

Originally Posted by Dipstik-sportech

Jesus man 26f that's cold as F!! J/k, man you Americans are spoiled in the temps department. My car got so cold last year the stereo wouldn't turn on lol.

26 is warm compared to colorado, the past like 10 days have been at like 2 degrees subzero at night

[nyfries]

I'm more worry about the salt on the road than slipping. Pick up the frs less than a month ago and didn't have a chance to put a good coat of wax on and now the road is cover in salt and snow

[Muaddib]

Wax is not going to protect you from the corrosion. The only way to get rid of the salt is hot water.

[kALMIGHTY]

Originally Posted by Muaddib

Wax is not going to protect you from the corrosion. The only way to get rid of the salt is hot water.

Free unlimited touch less car washes for the win!
But yes I do agree, hot water is the only way. Once a week should be enough, maybe a bit longer if you have opti-guard to protect your paint.