Newbie to RWD and Ice/Snow, any suggestions??

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Zhangy

if ur on stock tires, dont drive it on more than 5cm of snow. if ur have snow tires the number becomes ~10cm

If you are on stock tires don't drive if under 7C degrees (44F) even if there is NO snow. Snow is not the issue with summer tires the cold is.
With snow tires the number becomes closer to 14 inches (35cm).

[flyboy]

I am keeping the snow tires on till it gets warm. I did read about the temperature about 7 degrees celcius where the snow tires are more effective. The summer tires would jst be like more like plastic on those conditions. Ill try to avoide the small squalls.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by flyboy

I am keeping the snow tires on till it gets warm. I did read about the temperature about 7 degrees celcius where the snow tires are more effective. The summer tires would jst be like more like plastic on those conditions. Ill try to avoide the small squalls.

Well if you would stop sending your cold air south and Texas would stop sending their warm air north then we wouldn't end up so much snow!

[86Boyz]

buy another car to use as a winter beater like an old 350Z

[Guru Woodman]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

We are way down on snow this year. That was about 3 hours worth. We call it a "light squall".

A squall? T'is but a light powdering, a mere brush of snow..

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Guru Woodman

A squall? T'is but a light powdering, a mere brush of snow..

If they only knew eh? I am lucky that my car sort of sits between two houses and it doesn't get so drifted over as yours did there. Bet you cleared it off and drove away though!

[Overdrive]

Everyone's entitled to their opinion, but don't let anyone derail you from the (occasional) use you have e planned for this car in the winter. You have good thoughts in mind, and I think you'll be fine. It's your car, paid for with your money. Do with it as you like. Not everyone HAS to drive a POS beater in the winter.

I have Blizzaks on 16 inch steelies, and they work like a charm. Sure, you lose some of the sporty handling because you've now got heavier wheels and more sidewall on your tire, but you'll appreciate the fact that you can actually move in the snow, and you're not gonna be looking for sporty handling right then anyway. There's no real issue with dropping down an inch of diameter with a properly sized tire to match. Some markets around the world have 86s/BRZs with 16s on them.

Anyway, do get a bettery maintainer for your car while it sits. I know Deltran's Battery Tender usually comes with a connector that you can leave permanently attached to your battery so you can leave that under the hood safely, and plug into your tender without having to use Gator clips or the lighter socket adapter. You can just pop the hood, hook up, and then bring the hood down so it is open but latched, and your battery will stay fresh. Word of warning, make sure you plug the battery in as soon as you're parked in the garage. If the battery cools down and ends up frozen, you do not want to attempt charging a frozen battery. If you start charging it before it can cool that far though, it'll be fine.

For driving, if you're not experienced with RWD in the snow, slow EVERYTHING down. It's an exercise in patience and finesse, and even more so when you're in a RWD car. You can totally drive like a maniac, but eventually physics is going to catch up with you and your dice rolling. Anyway, smooth, slow inputs, no jabbing pedals or jerky steering movements, start in 2nd gear from a stop to cut down on wheelspin (if you have an automatic, just press the Snow button when you hop in and you're all set there), give yourself plenty of room in front of and next to you so if/when the other people lose it you have time to react and escape without extreme movements, let the ABS and the other nannies do their job and leave them turned on (unless you're dug in or buried and need a little wheelspin) and just take your time. You'll get wherever you're going as long as the snow isn't half the height of the car. The nannies will make for some odd noises when they kick in, and they sound kinda bad when they do, but the car is fine and not breaking, trust me.

Oh, and make sure you clean off your lights if the car gets snow covered while you're out before you drive off, especially the rears. LEDs don't heat up like old school halogens do, so the rear lights won't melt the snow on them from their own bulb heat. You want to make sure people see your lights.

I just drove through my first good snow with mine a few days ago and it was fine. Took my time, made small corrections when the rear stepped out (usually when starting from a stop on hills and getting a little wheelspin), and the car crawled along just fine. The only reason you might look into studded tires is if your area is prone to a lot of ice on the roads, then you'll want those. Otherwise, just get Blizzaks, don't drive like a nutjob, and you'll be fine.

Clean the car up when you can to keep the salt and grime off it, and enjoy.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Overdrive

Anyway, do get a bettery maintainer for your car while it sits. I know Deltran's Battery Tender usually comes with a connector that you can leave permanently attached to your battery so you can leave that under the hood safely, and plug into your tender without having to use Gator clips or the lighter socket adapter. You can just pop the hood, hook up, and then bring the hood down so it is open but latched, and your battery will stay fresh. Word of warning, make sure you plug the battery in as soon as you're parked in the garage. If the battery cools down and ends up frozen, you do not want to attempt charging a frozen battery. If you start charging it before it can cool that far though, it'll be fine.

What is this "garage" thing you speak of?
45 years worth of cars in winter and I have never frozen a battery on an operational car once. Have never used a tender either. A battery needs to be completely dead flat before it will freeze. I had my old 58 Ford sit in the driveway for 5 years and I started it about every 2 months. That battery sat in the car every winter and when I finally sold it it still started first crank every crank.

[smg1138]

Do you guys do the pedal dance when it snows? Whenever I try to drive in snow, the traction control light comes on constantly. Seems like I do better with it all turned off.

[Guru Woodman]

I never really understood the whole 'buy a winter beater' thing. It would mean that I would have to drive a P.O.S. for 6 months of the year, which is effectively have of my lifetime driving time.
And I would have struggle with crappy heating, windows that fog up and the chance that things break and it leave me stranded somewhere.
I even use my stock wheels for my winter tires, so I can buy some spiffy wheels for my summers. Like @Tcoat says, I just wash my car every chance I get. The wheels hold up fine. And even if they don't, it is not like we have some expensive exotic sports car. It's a cheap and fun Japanese RWD scoot, with a LSD no less. It's actually slow speed fun in the snow.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by smg1138

Do you guys do the pedal dance when it snows? Whenever I try to drive in snow, the traction control light comes on constantly. Seems like I do better with it all turned off.

I leave the nannys on unless headed into the deep stuff then just hit the button. They have saved my ass a few times when I got a little carried away.

[Overdrive]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

What is this "garage" thing you speak of?

The one the OP said he has and intends to use for his car, Tcoat.

As for dead batteries, if you plan to own a Porsche, prepare to get very familiar with that concept. They're notorious for killing their batteries from sitting because of how much crap stays running and drawing power while the car is shut down. Sometimes it can happen in 2 months, sometimes 2 weeks, sometimes 2 days. And it goes "D-E-D" dead. So yeah, I throw mine on the maintainer all winter, and during the warmer times of the year where it will see some use, I usually hook it back up if it's been sitting unused for two weeks or more (yes, it happens, because reasons, not because I don't wanna drive it). I learned my lesson early on and keep the car battery topped up after a few instances of coming out to a totally dead battery. I wouldn't want to take a chance on whether or not said battery is frozen when I find it dead, but that's just me.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Overdrive

The one the OP said he has and intends to use for his car, Tcoat.

As for dead batteries, if you plan to own a Porsche, prepare to get very familiar with that concept. They're notorious for killing their batteries from sitting because of how much crap stays running and drawing power while the car is shut down. Sometimes it can happen in 2 months, sometimes 2 weeks, sometimes 2 days. And it goes "D-E-D" dead. So yeah, I throw mine on the maintainer all winter, and during the warmer times of the year where it will see some use, I usually hook it back up if it's been sitting unused for two weeks or more (yes, it happens, because reasons, not because I don't wanna drive it). I learned my lesson early on and keep the car battery topped up after a few instances of coming out to a totally dead battery. I wouldn't want to take a chance on whether or not said battery is frozen when I find it dead, but that's just me.

When/if I go Porsche it will be in a nice heated storage space with no battery in it for the winter.
Or
It will be with me in a nice warm place for the winter where freezing batteries are not on the agenda.

[FR-Sky]

Originally Posted by flyboy

@ToySub1946 I don't think they salt the roads in Anchorage anymore, it is so cold here. I know, I will try to not drive it as much in winters though.

@FR-Sky How do you like the 10series? I am guessing the dash electro luminous SCION stopped working for you too. The dealer didn't even knew something like that existed.

Just let you know there is a button under the steer wheel that can turn it on and off. Maybe it is off. @@ You should try it, maybe you are the lucky one too ^^

p.S this is a magical button that other FRS dont have !!!