winter driving

[FRSGT86]

Mine's a DD too. I'm in the California bay area, so if we get snow, I'm staying home.

All kiding aside, it can get cold and rainy, so I am a little concerned about how the stockers will perform under those conditions. My main worry is that when it gets cold the stockers will get hard as rock and traction will compromised. I guess we'll see how it goes. Maybe it will give me an excuse to get a new set of rims and tires - for "safety's sake" so the wife can't complain about it (as much)

[Kayeri]

A new law mandates winter tires in Quebec. My thinking is the price difference between cheap chineese plastic tires and top of the line ones is less than than getting towed out of a ditch, paying for the deductible, and raising your insurance.

You can't afford NOT to have good tires.

I ordered me some Nokian Hakkapeliitta 7 (studded). Heard some great things about them.

[Demandred7]

Fortunately (as long as the bolt pattern is the same), my 2009 Corolla XRS trade-in vehicle had the identical tire size as the FR-S and I had bought Michelin X-Ice XI2's last year (although I minus sized them to 205/55R-16's on steelies). The traction and confidence that they inspire are amazing. I will be slapping those on this winter as long as there are no clearance issues (or issues with the aforementioned bolt pattern).

I think that driving during the winter will take some getting used to again. I have not driven rear wheel drive since my first car.

The other concern that I have is if we get any serious accumulations. We only have a little less than 5" of ground clearance. Otherwise my car will become a very small snow plow.

[wheelhaus]

Originally Posted by whtchocla7e

Do we need to have something re-calibrated when putting smaller/larger wheels on the car?

Technically no, the car has no idea what size wheels it has (but as roddy said, the speedo will read incorrectly). Tires of a much larger diameter than stock can also cause premature wheel bearing wear.

[DaJo]

Originally Posted by whtchocla7e

Do we need to have something re-calibrated when putting smaller/larger wheels on the car?

If you are talking about the tire pressure sensor...Then yes; in that case... If your stock wheels on your vehicle are equipped with the TPMS (AKA Tire Pressure Monitoring System), then yes, you would need to swap that over and re-calibrate the system.

[Silp3]

worry about the snow when it actually comes! Just prepare yourself with decent snow tires. I think these cars will do just fine in the snow. The only concern is the clearance. If there is enough snow, and I mean the good snow (the heavy, wet deep snow), these cars wont move much considering how light weight they are. Besides, if there is THAT much snow, best to kick it at home!

[JWA]

I'm buying my BRZ as a foul-weather companion to my Exige, so it will see full time use in the winter. We don't get constant snow here in SE Wisconsin, so I generally prefer a set of Performance Winter tires over full-on studless ice and snow tires. Mounted on a second set of wheels of course. With decent tires this thing is going to be a ton of fun in the snow! Modern winter tires are amazing.

[jmaryt]

Originally Posted by DaJoian

Mine will be a year round car as well... Slap some good winter tires on (not all seasons) and you should be good. Just make sure you go easy on the gas and roll off 2nd gear for better traction.

Oh, and welcome to the forums! :happy0180:

yeah! not tryin' to be cute,but that was my intention!
rolling off 2nd in the slick stuff has been standard procedure for over 45 years now! she's got enough (torque) down low to let ya do that with out slippin'
the clutch! the reason i ask about 'all seasons" is because i am thinkin' i can get by if i just encounter "light snow",and as i am retired have no need to travel for work,and lookin' to save some scratch! as i price out tires,i am findin' "dedicated" snows are NOT much more so i'll get a set of those instead! as mentioned,much safer on this car!.. thanks for the invite! happy to contribute!

j.t.

[jmaryt]

Originally Posted by Books

Yep, mine is my daily driver. I am planning on getting winter tires and hoping for the best. Our last winter was pretty tame so I suspect this winter is going to be ferocious. Good luck to all of us in New England.

yeah! i suspect we are gonna need it!.could get hammered! we are due!
any body have any experience with "general" arctic studded tires for ice and snow? seem to get pretty good reviews on the "rack" ,and they are under $100.00 a pop!

[jmaryt]

Originally Posted by Mishimoto

I hear great things about the Bridgestone Blizzak.

yeah! i had a set on a "miata" back in '05,and they were great ,however
they had a very soft compound,and they wear rapidly on snow free surfaces,so ya gotta get 'em off as soon as possible when the weather breaks!

j.t.

[jmaryt]

Originally Posted by ichitaka05

I'll leave this vid here...

this is so 'kewl" but are these guys runnin' "dedicated" snows? .or what?
i don't see anything that tells me if they are,or not!.nice vid!

j.t.

[jmaryt]

Originally Posted by whateatsrabbits

Im DD'ing mine 2 and Like most of you Im going to need some snow tires. We should try and get a group buy going, like 4 snows on steelies. because I dont want to spend much. Also need to find the smallest steel wheel that fits the car. Smaller wheels = cheaper and cheaper tires.

good point! i feel the same way! it's like ya gotta get the 'snows" but ya want to keep the money down,and still get the job done! damn! wish i could use 'all seasons",but the damn car is just too light! ya don't have enough weight
(ballast) to allow for all-season tires,and dedicated snows have much better "bite" in a light weight car!

j.t.

[jmaryt]

Originally Posted by Chuynh207

I remember the blizzard we had last October. I drove around in my STi afterwards, with the stock summer tires on. It was no biggie lol.

I convinced myself, and after looking at multiple reviews, will be buying the General Altimax Artic tires for this winter. I'll be driving very conservatively, so if I still end up crashing or losing traction quite a bit, I'll post up a warning.

yeah! iam lookin' at those too! pretty good reviews on the "rack" they seem reasonable,but hopin' some guys have experience with them here so i can determine if they are any good before i commit to them!

j.t.

[ill86]

Originally Posted by Kayeri

A new law mandates winter tires in Quebec. My thinking is the price difference between cheap chineese plastic tires and top of the line ones is less than than getting towed out of a ditch, paying for the deductible, and raising your insurance.

You can't afford NOT to have good tires.

I ordered me some Nokian Hakkapeliitta 7 (studded). Heard some great things about them.

My God.. you will be happy with your choice.
Grip will be found..

Go Habs!