The not-so-official Stangs in the Snow thread

[myponyrocks]

I know winter is almost over for alot of us, and some of us have a few more months of snow to go. Every year we get an abundance of snow threads, would a Snow sticky be a good idea? I dunno.

Any way I was thinking people could list thier tires, and driving advice, whatever.

Personally I run Blizzaks (WS-50's, though now 60's are the same price) and haven't run into a problem yet. This year I haven't had any wieght in the back other than my sub/amp. In town Traction Control is turned off as well as on the Highway when I get into stop and go traffic. Other wise any time above 40ish mph TC gets turned back on.

I'd suggest starting out in 2nd gear, gradual starts and stops, no sudden braking yadda yadda. One thing I have learned a few times, is remember you're driving in the snow... DON'T downshift

We don't usually get deep snow here in CO, but we do get a lot of ice, and an abundance of idiot drivers... always watch out for the re-re's in 4x4s that you will most likely be passing in a few miles while they dig out of a ditch.

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I got around the last one, and then up a steep hill, to park comfortably at home.

This brings up another point, hills need speed, you lose traction when you put down too much torque, so you're better off hitting a hill at speed and then gradually slowing down as you go up it, as opposed to hitting it at a low speed and trying to maintain that speed.

So good luck to those of you with a few more weeks of winter driving. And those with different tires or experiance, please post up :SNSign:

(I'm going to return to my drunken billet polishing now)

 

[Dragstr05]

^^ That kind of snow would be catastrophic where I live. Thanks to mild winters here (Stafford, VA) we will probably hit low 50's today with some sun. 1 snow fall this winter so far and that only accumulated to maybe an inch. Got a set of BFG KDWS just in case. The old style BFG KDW's were terrible in anything but dry pavement or rain.

 

[Notchbck93]

MPR: good topic; there does seem to be an abundant amount of little here-an-there snow tire threads and I believe a sticky would be a good idea to help answer redundant questions.

04 GT 4R70W ... all stock

Picked up rims and tires for $275.00: Bridgestone Blizzaks...Fronts are 235/45/17 Rear 245/45/17.

Before Blizzaks: I tried to drive the car with the stock Goodyears and it went no where even with 250lbs in the trunk... Once I installed the Blizzak WS50's... Wow big difference. I even took some weight out of the trunk.

Driving impressions: From a dead stop, on a corner that twists up hill, the car easily picks up momentum without tire spin. My wife even feels safe driving it and that says a lot.

It's a bit hard to tell in the picture above but that's an honest 3-4 inches of unplowed snow on the road.

Driving tip: Being an automatic, I just ease into the accelerator and let the tranny do it's job. If you run into a lane where other plows have pushed the snow into the car will drift a little bit, but were talking 4-6" of snow at 40 mph. Ease off the go-pedal and gradually move into a plowed lane.

I've driven F-150's & Bronco's with 4x4 and I feel just as comfortable behind the wheel of the Mustang during a bad snow. PROPER TIRES ARE EVERYTHING!

Being realistic: now if you wake up and there's heavy drifting and there happens to be 1 ft drifts covering the road... just stay home.

 

[Shiroelex]

Here's my last 'Stang in her first winter, before I had a single thing done to her.

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And here is my current car

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Just kidding. I don't have any good snowy pics of her yet, but I'm sure there will be more good opportunities left for that this season.

 

[cammngt]

damn...That is one thing I', glad I don't have to worry about here in the South. SNOW and ice

 

[Notchbck93]

MPR: I believe this topic would need a moderator... We need to keep topics relevant so people looking for advice wouldn't need to read about a fair share of people who never see snow or who have bought beater cars or want to rant and rave about how their Mustang has never seen snow. Those topics not relevant to actually driving a Mustang in the snow with a description tires used, driving style and any other useful tips could be eliminated to keep this as a useful tool, not another miss-guided thread.

For those who want to brag about living in sunshine: create a topic for Stangs that never see snow: I could put my notch in that topic, but my GT belongs as a tried and true all-weather daily driver.

I've noticed that you seem to loose steam going up hill with your stick, I however, utilizing the same tires, can come to a dead stop on a hill and start and accelerate within reason. Perhaps the cushioning of the torque converter makes the difference in maintaining traction.

Of course you could be riding on ice covered by packed snow further complicating your situation.

 

[myponyrocks]

Nah I don't have a problem accelerating up hills, there's only one that's about 3/4 mile long and a steep grade. But that advice was for people without snow tires.

As to this thread, if a moderator wants to stick it, cool... then we can clean it up, but as it stands right now it needs a lot more helpful info etc... before it would be stick worthy.

I would prefer people keep their beaters and jokes out of this thread though.


On a lighter note, I did run my first winter with Kumho 712's and it was managable in light snow.

One thing I would like to add (being a snow plow operator), unless you are going under 30 mph or if the snow is more than 4"s unplowed... you a better off driving in unplowed areas than directly behind a plow. Our blades temp. melt the thin sheet of snow we can't get and it creates a sheet of ice until our chemicals can take effect. If you have snow tires, driving in the snow is safer than driving on ice.

 

[Shiroelex]

My bad, I thought this was just going to be a photo thread.

I had mentioned in a previous thread that I didn't have that much trouble driving with my 315 BFG DR's in some snow, but now that they have a few burnouts and miles on them, they are TERRIBLE. My mother has Kumho Ecstas on her v6, and they are just as terrible as mine are. Also, weight in the trunk doesn't do crap for me except make it harder to stop.

 

[myponyrocks]

Shiro,

Even with snow tires, there is such thing as too much wieght. IMO 100 lbs is about perfect for the average Stang.

I'd suggest people use those bags of salt or sand instead of unusable wieght in the truck. That way if you do get stuck you have a bag of instant traction to at least get off the side of the road more

We might be getting 4-ish inches tonight, as well as high winds. I'll try to take some pics if we do get a nifty little blizzard.

 

[Black'02]

Ive got the same tires and they work very well. I generally dont use traction control at all. The only issue i have is that the 235 width in the front is a tad too wide so they dont corner too well when there is a lot of snow or slush on the ground. Other then that the rear wheels get great traction and i dont find the need for weight in the trunk. In fact the few times i did put a couple 70lb sandbags back there it took too much weight off the front and i lost alot of steering feedback and it also made the steering problem a little more pronounced. Keeping the gas tank relatvely full is more then enough weight for me.

 

[V6&V8SHO]

Our cars when equipped with the proper tire become a great Daily Driver. I have complete confidence in my car in any weather.

March/April - Nov 1st

Bridgestone Potenza RE5050 pole position summer tires 245 45 17 on Polished 01 Cobra Rims.

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Nov 1st - March/April Vredestein Wintrac Xtreme 225 50 17 V rated on bullit 01 GT rims

The Vredestein tires are my new favorite winter tire as I wore out the blizzaks I used last year and was dissapointed in their flimsy sidewall and dry road performance. Ive had snow up to the side lower moldings of my Cobra and have had no problems in the snow with the Vredestein's.

I drive with the TC on all the time since the Cobra's power start feature won't engage the TC as long as the car is going in on straight line. Only if it detected side slippage it engages. So it works amazing in the snow. Only time I disengage it is if I need to power through a drift.

"An all-speed traction control system (TCS) is standard equipment on all the 2001 Ford SVT Mustang Cobras--a hybrid system that is designed to meet the performance needs of SVT Cobra drivers. The system’s "Power Start" feature allows the driver to spin the drive wheels under acceleration, as long as the car tracks straight." ( I think the Mustang GT's also have this feature)

Here is a pic of my car sitting on blizzaks.

And a pic of the Vredestein Wintrac Xtreme

As you can see in a garage with a temp of 60F the blizzaks get soft. Blizzaks benifit from this in real cold temps. But here in IL we see maybe 2 days cold with snow then we hit 40F and get rain.

 

[jefferz]

Our cars when equipped with the proper tire become a great Daily Driver. I have complete confidence in my car in any weather.

I agree. As long as you have the proper tire and aren't a complete jackass, you can drive them in the winter. Obviously there are better choices, but if it is what you have to do then it really isn't so bad.

I drive my 95 in the winter and it gets around great. I have only gotten stuck once and it was in my driveway! We have had more snow this winter than any in recent memory and it has still gotten around great.

 

[mazen189]

hah dude, those pics are awesome.
but...i dont get snow here in the Beautiful state of California.

 

[myponyrocks]

hah dude, those pics are awesome.
but...i dont get snow here in the Beautiful state of California.

You can't read very well in the state of CA either... Snow info, or go some where else please.



The sidewall issue is a problem with the WS50s here in CO, we can go from -5 to 50+ within a 3 day period. I've heard the WS60's have a stiffer side wall though? Maybe some one can confirm.

I prefer the Blizzaks because they have almost 100% traction at 50% treadlife (advertised) and I've run them to barely legal tread life with great results on anything except ice. (thus my recent purchase of 2 new ones)