Anyone drive in the snow yet???

[Gost]

Originally Posted by amram

Hi All, mine came with the Bridgestone Turanza All-seasons and this is my first winter. Noticed that many in this thread talked about their experience with the Michelin summer tires. Has anyone driven with the Bridgestones in the winter in the NY/NJ area, and can share their experience?

I am familiar with the major grip and stopping diff between all-seasons and winter tires in temps < 50 F as spaceywilly pointed out with those links, and have been debating whether to get another set of wheels and winter tires because this is my first RWD sporty car, all previous experience is with FWD cars and have always had only all-seasons (Michelin Primacy MXV4 and the likes which are some of the better ones out there) so not sure if these Bridgestones are decent enough in our NJ/NY winter.... the car is my DD and I drive 65 miles a day in central NJ so not a lot of hilly action but still....

EDIT - just wanted to add that am only really concerned about my 65 mi DD driving in central NJ (which is basically just GSP and I-280 really which tend to always be ploughed quickly and well), for any weekend travel I never use the FRS, we use the minivan. Just to give some context, i.e. I don't need to plan for major hilly areas or long trips or upstate NY etc....

thanks in advance!

I drove today while it was storming on the stock Bridgestones. Difficult to put power down, but doable. Just drive really slow, like the local streets of Brooklyn slow. The storm was considered a relatively warm snow storm, and as others have mentioned, when it gets colder, it'll be more difficult to handle. I would get winter tires just to have more control.

[NYCsubaruBRZ]

Originally Posted by Opethfan

Anyone who says the car does fine on stock tires in the snow did NOT deal with any hills or dirt roads in freezing temps trust me. One day before I got mine put away for the winter it snowed while I was at work and I had to leave it at the bottom of my hill because in just a couple inches of snow it would not go up my hill. I could spin all I wanted with trac off but there was no way I was getting up my hill. It was cold enough so that the ground was frozen and you could not get down to the dirt. Studded snow tires is the only way I would even attempt to drive it in the winter. But I have a beater FWD car for that so my FRS with sleep for the winter months.


If you need to drive yours in the snow you with no doubt NEED snow tires if you plan on getting anywhere. Otherwise get ready to be stuck somewhere. Maybe you can get away with it if you live in a flat area with all paved roads and never leave until the plows do their job. But even that is risky. But in the end its your car and your time so take it for what its worth lol.

took the words from my mouth, except the frs/brz sleep for winter. i wish.

but im trying to find the most off road rim/tire combo available. like a friggin off road truck tire. not just a winter tire. big profile, knobby tires. i dont care if it makes crazy road noise. and its a big plus if i get more clearance from the ground.

think rally/off road/death race mode for the winter. let me know what u guys come up with. any ideas for a rim/tire combo?

also is there any way to lift the ride height? everyone lowers but id like to get 1/2in or 1in lift. i know it sounds crazy for this car but thats what i want for winter months... can it be done?????

[babylobster]

So forgive me in advance for any stupid questions due to my n00bness. My FR-S came with the all-season tires (don't recall the brand but I can check later). Should I be investing in winter tires? I don't drive the car too much because I use a '04 corolla as my DD. If so, where should I go shopping for them, are there certain measurements I should be aware of, how much should I be paying, etc? I've never driven a RWD in snow before so I'm a little worried. Any suggestions on driving in snow? TIA!

[sklimo]

Originally Posted by babylobster

So forgive me in advance for any stupid questions due to my n00bness. My FR-S came with the all-season tires (don't recall the brand but I can check later). Should I be investing in winter tires? I don't drive the car too much because I use a '04 corolla as my DD. If so, where should I go shopping for them, are there certain measurements I should be aware of, how much should I be paying, etc? I've never driven a RWD in snow before so I'm a little worried. Any suggestions on driving in snow? TIA!

If I were you I wouldn't spend the $ on winter tires and just drive the Corolla.

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=52837

[Gost]

just drove in today's storm, if the road isn't plowed, and theres snow there, the stock bridgestones are completely useless. You'll get stuck. really woulda gotten into an accident if it wasn't for the traction control.

[Efenys]

I drove today! I got in my car, put it in reverse and got 3 feet back before getting completely stuck. Roads are bad even in 4wd on the other car.

[Tgionet]

Stock tires are hilariously bad in the snow. I went to the store earlier and the rears literally never stopped spinning up. Barely even made it up the hill I live on. Stock tires drop off a cliff even in the dry once it gets under 20F or so as well.

[Tgionet]

Originally Posted by babylobster

Any suggestions on driving in snow? TIA!

Relax.

[sklimo]

Be careful out there.

[YMAA]

The drive to work tonight on route 365 was pretty interesting. 2-3 inches of snow with tracks from other cars was enough to cause the rear to fishtail back and forth a bit even when going straight. I'm on Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice WRT 17" tires.

Even with the fishtailing and the occasional wheelspin when starting from a dead stop I wasn't particularly concerned about my own driving for the most part. It was only when there were other cars on the road doing 25 in the middle of the highway splashing crap on my windshield that things got really hairy.

On the bright side, today will be a good day to find an abandoned parking lot on the way home and drift around a bit. Ok, a lot.

[Dreamshot]

I did a 20 mile commute to work last night in Central PA on the stock Turanzas during the height of the storm. When I left my place (9 PM), we had 6 inches of snow and the lot hadn't been plowed yet. Let the car warm up and turned traction control off before blasting out of the lot. Snow couldn't have been more than a few centimeters lower than the front lip. Came to a complete stop, turned TC back on, and slowly spun my way onto the empty but 2-3" snow covered main road. No major issues for the first 90% of the trip. Was going 35-40 mph on a 55 mph highway. Not a flat road, so had to make sure that I had enough momentum going up the hills...

Get to the exit, off ramp a mess, but blasting through it with any problems, then somehow get a green on with the only light on my trip which happens to precede a large hill. That's when things started to go bad. Made it up that hill but pulled over to let others pass, then had a tough time getting it going again, had to turn TC off. Three more hills/valleys in the road prior to me getting to work from there...came to a dead stop just before the top of each hill. TC had to go off every time to get over the top. By some miracle, no one was on the road behind me at any point during the struggle.

So basically, I've come to these conclusions regarding the stock Turanzas and snow:

--Driving in a moderate snow is possible: No quick turns, abrupt stops, fast merges, or otherwise questionable driving moves. Drive slowly and cautiously. 100% concentration, two hands on the wheel. Use flashers if necessary so that people don't drive up your a$$.

--If dealing with hills, be sure to have enough momentum coming into them. If you can't make it up the hill, turn traction control off and give varying levels of gas while slowly turning the wheel to push ahead.

--A quiet road is your friend. I was/am more concerned about other drivers than I was driving a rear wheel drive sports car with semi-crappy stock all-season tires.

--Be sure to knock the snow out of your wheel wells when you arrive at your destination so that snow isn't inhibiting the movement of your wheels.

[brianL.]

I drove home from work last night when it started to rain and the car has stock tires on it.It wasn't that bad a all I know most people bitch about rwd in the snow but I think most of the time they just need a drive mod lol.

[frs10]

who had their FRS/BRZ stuck by the brooklyn bridge 2 nights ago during the storm?

[Reflex]

drove today when it was flurrying but wasn't sticking to the road.. went 10 mph on a turn in my own development and slid on clear slush. Hit the curb, went over it, and then hit the guardrail... sideskirt area is dented, rear driver side wheel is slightly mis-aligned, rear bumper is cracked, rear fender is also a little dented, and my rear fender looks rolled but idk how that happened