Even an SUV is undrivable in snow with summer tires. I have seen a lot of people wreck Evo's or STi's because they drove their cars with summer tires and thought it would be okay because of AWD. NOT. Summer tires have ZERO traction in snow. All seasons might be okay, but they are said to lose the snow traction after about a year of use. Winter tires are the safest bet when it snows. Hell, summer tires start to lose traction when it's sub-40 degrees.

BTW, if your brakes locked up and you slid, it's not the car's fault. Brakes locking up has nothing to do with RWD or the vehicle itself. It has to do with tires, which were no good in snow. There are many people who do well in the snow with winter tires with G or Z. I'm personally picking up Bridgestone Blizzak LM-22's for winter setup.

 

hellllllzzzz yah.. i can agree to that.

my evo is totaled because it slid off the road NOT even in snow but in rain.. I was planning to change out my tires to Snow's but 2 days before my appointment it rained had to go to work.

It was less than 40 degrees out that morning, I had Yokohama Advans too very expensive performance tires. Below 40 these tires get hard and lose a lot of traction.. caused Hyroplane.. and bye bye Evo..


The winter before that I got to change out my snow tires a little earlier with snow tires BIG difference, I was cruising during blizzards with that car and everyone looked at me like wow... ran circles around everyone.

 

The brakes locked up, because the VDC got confused about traction and applied brakes to all four corners. This happened to me while on a downward onramp when I got stranded with my summers on. If this happens at a reasonable speed, you are going to slide. All-seasons are better than summers, but not as good as a good set of winters.

 

I know I know I'm crazy, but I don't have 1500 bucks to shell out on a winter setup. I'm just gonna keep the pilots on and try not to drive in the winter. For only 3 months of possible snow to me, it's not worth it. If I crash it, then that's what I have insurance for, then I'll get rid of it. I know I'm crazy but I'm also thinking that I never ever bought a winter setup for any car, and I'm also sure that there are plenty of people out there with cameros or stangs that don't buy winter tires and are fine. Anyway we'll just have to wait and see.

 

Have you always owned RWD cars? Where do you live? I get 3-4 months of snow & got myself a winter setup. Not sure how you got a # of 1500. I just went w/ a set of 16" steel rims, some decent looking hub caps to cover them up and a set of snows.....I think it cost me a little more than 1/2 that. Good luck if you keep your stock tires on while driving in the snow. I haven't driven my stock Turanza's in the snow to compare it to the claims I hear, so not sure how bad they really are.

 

3-4 months of winter is 1/4 to 1/3 of a year. Winter tires are worthwhile investments considering just that. I'm not planning to get caught in the snow unprepared and wreck the G... I already got caught in one once last year and I could have wrecked it... I spun out and slammed into a snow pile... got lucky and escaped with only minor scuffs on rear bumper. I'm NOT doing that again this year. Plus the wear I save on expensive summer tires are also worth the price. Winter tires are usable for few years as I only drive about 10,000 miles per year, which means only 3000 miles or so during winter. I think I'll get about 5 years of use out of a winter setup.

 

it is better, with snow tires it will fishtail a bit in heavy snow, but it will move and as long as you dont drive too fast for the condition it's pretty ok, with 60 kg sand bags in the trunk it actually feel a lot better.
rear wheel drive in snow isnt a good idea but with snows on it's ok, and deosnt matter 4wd or FW with summer tires in snow it will sucks

 

Which all season tires were you using?

 

I'm not sure if you ever looked for ones on sale...heck, I'm selling a mint set for $750 tommorow. They still look literally brand new but I can use my girlfriends car this winter. Someone lucky guy is picking them up tomm.

 

bridgestones, im not sure what spacific type cause i had jus put them on i had them since last years winter and i didn't drive when it snowed really, maybe its lost some of its traction.

 

well, my snow tires coming in 2 days, but it's snowing tomorrow. 3-4 inches, I am little scared hearing you guys talk about how bad the snow is for the G with summer tires.

 

You can fill your trunk with sand if you want, your tire choice will still make more difference on overall handling than extra weight in the rear.

As for FWD vs. RWD, all of the same forces, laws of physics, steering geometry and chassis dynamics apply whether you are driving on snow & ice or a dry race track. Your traction limits are the only difference between the two. Would FWD be your first choice for a race car? If you took a F1 race car on the rack with crappy touring tires on it, would you blame the bad handling on RWD?

It comes down to putting on the best tires for the conditions, then driving within the limits of the traction that they give you. I'm talking about overall handling - accelerating, turning and braking, not just whether you can mash the gas in the middle of a corner without doing donuts. All other things being equal (total car weight, wheelbase, tire size, etc.), rear wheel drive will perform as good or better than front wheel drive on snow & ice. All wheel drive is another animal altogether...

 

U know I totally agree with your statements,

you not blowing 1500 on the winter setup,

1) Save wear on your summer tires.

2) Your safety. If you are safe, you can make money to buy as many G as you want. not just 1500

3) You can always sell the winter setup later down the road.

4) Do you know how painful going through insurance is? I've been there and done it. It wasn't a pleasant experience.

Good luck!

 

I would not attempt to drive my G in 3-4" of snow with summer tires. We are getting the same snow storm here starting this afternoon into tomorrow and I drove my 2002 maxima to work today. My G is in the garage staying warm and dry.

 

same here I just ordered mine, picking up my car for the first time today.. although "most" roads are clear, it's still extremely cold and I feel nervous driving it for the first time without proper winter tire set up, I just need to bring it back to my apart, and then bring it back later in the week to my parents house about 40 miles away in the country side to put on my snow tires.