You guys up here in the Northeast who are driving your G's.... make sure you have your winter setup on by now. We're supposed to get superblasted by a good 12+ inches of snow on Friday.. at least here in Mass.

Why the heck do these storms always need to fall on the weekend? Seriously.... almost every major storm we've had in the past 2 years has happened on a Friday afternoon/evening or on a Saturday or Sunday. I'd rather deal with commuting to work in snow, rather than wasting a weekend night stuck at home bored and in an environment where there are no new people to meet.

 

Getting back to the original topic - I spent some quality time in a parking lot recently testing 190lbs in the back (right over the axle), vs. no added weight. I couldn't tell the difference when trying to induce tail wagging and launching from stand still. Keeping the gas tank full when snow is expected is probably all I'll do.

For winter I'm running a set of OEM 17's with OEM Bridgestone RE92A A/S rubber. I don't think these carry the M+S cert, but tirerack reviewers rate these on a par with the RSA's for snow conditions. I believe police interceptors run RSA's during the winter.

For a city dweller that has correct technique and experience, I really think the G35c with A/S tires is very manageable. I love driving way too much to put up with a truck or beater during the winter. G35 or bust!

 

Driving a truck or beater is still considered driving, you know.

What I love about my truck, is that I get the fun of doing donuts while in RWD when it's snowy out... and then I also get the added fun of being able to shift into 4WD and go snow-wheeling offroad through like 12-16" of snow without getting stuck.

Plus... you don't have to stress when it snows out, because you can get through just about anything and at the same time, avoid damaging the G35 with a crash, road salt induced rust and damage, ice chunk damage and paint scratches, potholes messing up your rims and tires, damage to the front bumper and fenders from low ground clearance, and the added personal safety of having the best tool for the job.

On top of that, if you have 2 cars(a truck/SUV 4x4, and your G35), you can still opt to drive either one whenever you want. If the truck doesn't get your rocks off when driving in the snow... then take out the G35. It's probably only a matter of time until the initial fun-factor of the G35 in snow starts to get old and you break down and just hop back into the truck/SUV so you can get to where you need to be in a safe and timely fashion.

Sure, it costs more to have 2 cars, but nobody ever said owning a luxury/sports car was a cheap option to begin with.

 

I drove my 1973 Dodge Charger one winter in Northern lower Michigan...no significant problems...though it snowed almost every day from November until June (it seemed).

Yesterday I couldn't get the g35 up the hill leading into my subdivision in N. Kentucky until I eventually gave up on the VDC and shut it off. With two inches of snow and whatever factory tires this thing has, it was going nowhere but backwards while trying to climb the hill with VDC on. Everytime I'd get just the slightest bit of forward momentum going, the VDC would apply a brake at one of the wheels to correct a minor slew...killing all forward progress.

After shutting VDC off, I was able to spin the rear tires up to between 80 and 100 m.p.h. and slowly crawl/fishtail my way up the hill.

This is with two inches of snow on the ground.

I think I'd have no problem at all with this car in N. Michigan...as long as the snow didn't get more than four inches deep on the road. Most of that state is flat.

I think where I live, the only reasonable option for using this car in the winter is buying a special set of tires for the season. I've never owned a car that I had to do that for...though I've never lived in a place with hills to climb.

 

All I know is that I was keeping up with FWD Altimas and Camrys on my A/S in last night's Chicago rush hour storm which brought 5 inches of snow.

Actually I saw a couple Acura TLs fishtailing trying to impress me.

I agree that in icy snow, you need a pretty good running start with performance A/S tires to make it up a fair incline.

 

I usually don't throw any weight into the trunk. Never had a problem for the past 2 winters. Common sense and skillful driving..

 

Chicago is pretty flat. I think the Charger would do just fine there.

Sounds like it's a good thing that my twenty minute visit of ORD took place early in the morning instead of later in the day yesterday...though I still picked up some ice during my efforts.

 

I am about to move downtown to chicago, and i am currently driving my 1 and only ride, an F150 i bought just for new england winters. I am worried enough about the truck fitting into city parking, but now i hear that the city/state is soooo broke (about $1 Billion in the hole) that they are not plowing streets with overtime, so no plowing until after 7 AM daily, and even then the side streets are cloged and drifting. Like tonight, we are under a possibly 12 inch storm warning.

I am considering the 37 X vs. MT right now, I am guessing I had better hold on to my F150 if in fact they will not be plowing. Tell me the best rated tires pull you guys out of un-plowed streets? Thanks Gov'ner Rod, I hope he gets a big cell mate in singsing.

So, what to do, i guess because i have to drive out of the city daily, i have to be able to drive thru those un-plowed streets, how is that working for you guys with non X G's in the city?



always have to thow in the .

Too many decisions, maybe i will just wait until spring and stick with the pickup, it is alot of fun in 4 wheel w/ empty snow filled parkinglots.

 

Flat as a pancake in the city proper - but there are some hilly areas like the Barringtons (suburbs about 25 miles NW of O'Hare), and other burbs that border the Fox River Valley.

Good thing if you aren't visiting ORD tonight.

 

having the sport suspension and wide hankook v12s, this car is tough to control on packed snow and ice. but i didnt buy it for that, i plan to put it away soon and just drive my truck in the winters. if you drive it in the snow and on ice, get winter tires for sure

 

as you guys know, we got hit w/a pretty bad storm today here in the Boston area. This is my first winter in the Coupe, and my first time testing out my Dunlop Winter sport D3's on 17's. I was pleasantly surprised. Of Course I was skidding a bit, but not nearly as much as i expected. I also live up a hill, and when i got to the bottom of the hill, there where 3 front wheel drive cars with all season tires. (I chatted w/ them a little before attempting the hill) I tried to go up, and didn't make it. I reversed down, got a but more speed, and made it through. I looked back and they where all waving , in awwww. I bet their jaws dropped. So yeah i would definitely recommend some winter tires.

 

if i had money for a winter set right now i would grab some. i go to school in a place that just got hit with 17-23 inches of snow. ive got oem 19s on and i tried to get around w chains, lol and no go. G is parked for the winter.

 

I'm in downtown Chicago and drive 30 miles out of the city for work every day. I'm running a regular g35 w/ blizzaks and haven't had too many problems to be honest. I've yet to see a street that hasn't been plowed, despite what you may have heard.

The worst was actually during the storm on Tuesday night when the plows couldn't keep up with the snow being dumped down. Little snowbanks were forming between the lane dividers on the highways and they were high enough to cause problems when I wanted to change lanes due to the low ground clearance on the G. Beyond that, it was mostly smooth sailing.

 

I towed a G35 Coupe Friday out of my industrial park with my Tacoma. He had his stock Potenzas on his car and was stuck in the road with only about an inch of snow on the ground.

I also towed an RX-8 yesterday out of the road in Boston... he also had the same tires on his car.

I thought this was a kinda funny coincidence that both cars had the same tires and were stuck in the middle of the road in not-much snow, when everyone else was able to motor through it just fine.

Haha... moral of the story, don't even think of trying to drive in snow with those stock summer performance tires.... or you will die. That is all.

 

to those who have winter setups.
i plan on getting 18s for my winter setup.

would you all recommend 18x8 for all 4 wheels for my coupe?
what about 18x8.5?

on a side note, how do i know what kind of offsets would allow the wheels to sit nicely in the wheel well?