Will I survive this winter?

[nyfries]

I don't think any of the touchless around here has hot water

[Jaywest717]

Originally Posted by Suberman

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.

Thanks. So my other question related to this is: I'm going on a road trip at the end of this month. 1100 miles each way to my destination and back. There is a possibility that I may driving through a winter storm or a snowy area, so what would be best for both the snow and traveling over long distances? Would those tires you mentioned still be good choices?

[AznKirby]

Originally Posted by nyfries

I don't think any of the touchless around here has hot water

High pressure touchless washes should be good enough though, especially if you go on a "warmer" (I see you're from Canada) day

[jarviz]

I feel like it's actually easier and more predictable to have the trac OFF when driving this snow... assuming you know it's gonna lose grip and ready to control it.

Traction Control can have the exact opposite effect if it kicks it in all of a sudden while you're trying to countersteer or slip.

[cjsporl1996]

Originally Posted by jarviz

I feel like it's actually easier and more predictable to have the trac OFF when driving this snow... assuming you know it's gonna lose grip and ready to control it.

Traction Control can have the exact opposite effect if it kicks it in all of a sudden while you're trying to countersteer or slip.

I agree traction control can be unpredictable that is why I don't ever leave it on. Although many don't seen to agree.

We had a fight on this thread about it.

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...95#post1377495

[Frost]

Nokians used to be not so good on ice but the best on snow ... that's changed since:

http://www.nokiantires.com/Fastest-On-Ice-2013

Keep in mind, those are studded tires.

[Brz41]

Add weight (sand, or weights) to the car and good quality snow/ice winter tires.


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[nyfries]

Originally Posted by AznKirby

High pressure touchless washes should be good enough though, especially if you go on a "warmer" (I see you're from Canada) day

Don't know how long I have to wait for that to happen lol.

Drove quite a bit in the icy inner street last night on the stock Michelins. As expect slipping and sliding everywhere. I do find that I like it more with trac all off. I can actually counter steer instead of the tc control turning on violent while I'm trying to countersteer. Learn a lot abt how the frs handle and respond last night haha. I'm certain with a nice set of snowies I will be able to to dd this all yr round and have fun through all seasons.

[Brz41]

Being an ice racer also helps when driving on icy roads :p

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[Suberman]

Originally Posted by jarviz

I feel like it's actually easier and more predictable to have the trac OFF when driving this snow... assuming you know it's gonna lose grip and ready to control it.

Traction Control can have the exact opposite effect if it kicks it in all of a sudden while you're trying to countersteer or slip.

Yes, what you're feeling is the Torsen reacting to the TC. Switching things off makes it all analog and predictable. But, you do need to know what you're doing if you switch it off

[Suberman]

Originally Posted by Jaywest717

Thanks. So my other question related to this is: I'm going on a road trip at the end of this month. 1100 miles each way to my destination and back. There is a possibility that I may driving through a winter storm or a snowy area, so what would be best for both the snow and traveling over long distances? Would those tires you mentioned still be good choices?

Yes. Also, I'm not a fan of WS Blizzaks and the Europeans always pan them as poor handling tires BUT if straight line traction for acceleration and braking on sheer ice is important to you then Blizzaks are in a class of their own. They don't corner and they're hopeless snow tires but ice is their speciality.

The other brands of tires are good all round and very safe winter tires.

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by Jaywest717

Thanks. So my other question related to this is: I'm going on a road trip at the end of this month. 1100 miles each way to my destination and back. There is a possibility that I may driving through a winter storm or a snowy area, so what would be best for both the snow and traveling over long distances? Would those tires you mentioned still be good choices?

I'd recommend a set of good "all season" tires for your trip.

humfrz

[Jertronic]

Being the OP of this thread I'll give an update since I FINALLY pulled the trigger on a winter tire and wheel set up.

To date, only one true snow event in the Boston area has occurred this season, 3 inches, which is still on the ground after 2 days. It's cold, daytime high 30F.

In driving in this small snow event I found my all seasons to handle pretty respectably. The performance was completely safe when using commonsense and utilizing winter driving skills. On back roads that were completely untouched with either fresh or packed snow I ran into some problems. Growing up in both Maine and Mass. I qualify as an experienced winter conditions driver. With the OEM Turanza all seasons you are totally handicapped when starting from a stop, heading up an incline or up a hill. The back end fishtails as you let out the clutch. AT vehicles might fare better in the snow than MT.

Rather than be penny wise and pound foolish and end up with a significant fender bender or worse, I purchased a set of 16 inch steel wheel with Michelin XI3's. My first choice was the ContiExtremeWinterContacts but they were not available. I like that swapping between tire sets can be done in my driveway. The set will also fit on my wife's Jetta which is a plus in the flexibility category.

With the next snow event coming on Saturday for Boston I will have one or two more opportunities to drive in snow with my all season Turanzas. The XI3's and wheels will be in on Monday.

I honeslty believe that if held at gunpoint I could successfully survive the winter on my all seasons. But, with a majority of my work commutes taking place late at night getting the winter tires are the way to go for sure. Also, with the other idiots with little to no commonsense and/or no snow/ice driving experience the sheer defensive aspect of having snow tires is worth it.


http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=725076

This is the winter tire sticky on Bimmerfest that is concise and informative and brief. Check it out.

[Hanni_0176]

Originally Posted by Jertronic

Being the OP of this thread I'll give an update since I FINALLY pulled the trigger on a winter tire and wheel set up.

To date, only one true snow event in the Boston area has occurred this season, 3 inches, which is still on the ground after 2 days. It's cold, daytime high 30F.

In driving in this small snow event I found my all seasons to handle pretty respectably. The performance was completely safe when using commonsense and utilizing winter driving skills. On back roads that were completely untouched with either fresh or packed snow I ran into some problems. Growing up in both Maine and Mass. I qualify as an experienced winter conditions driver. With the OEM Turanza all seasons you are totally handicapped when starting from a stop, heading up an incline or up a hill. The back end fishtails as you let out the clutch. AT vehicles might fare better in the snow than MT.

Rather than be penny wise and pound foolish and end up with a significant fender bender or worse, I purchased a set of 16 inch steel wheel with Michelin XI3's. My first choice was the ContiExtremeWinterContacts but they were not available. I like that swapping between tire sets can be done in my driveway. The set will also fit on my wife's Jetta which is a plus in the flexibility category.

With the next snow event coming on Saturday for Boston I will have one or two more opportunities to drive in snow with my all season Turanzas. The XI3's and wheels will be in on Monday.

I honeslty believe that if held at gunpoint I could successfully survive the winter on my all seasons. But, with a majority of my work commutes taking place late at night getting the winter tires are the way to go for sure. Also, with the other idiots with little to no commonsense and/or no snow/ice driving experience the sheer defensive aspect of having snow tires is worth it.


http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=725076

This is the winter tire sticky on Bimmerfest that is concise and informative and brief. Check it out.

Swapping between sets cannot be done in your driveway, since you have to go to the dealership in order to have them calibrate your tpms sensors...