Smart move. If you've never had dedicated snows, I highly recommend Bridgestone Blizzaks. You can get an uber ice tire or a "winter performance" version with less ice traction. Either way, you give up some handling and dry road capability but what they do on snow/ice is amazing. It could save your life.

 

BINGO

I did my share to play in snow with snow rally in europe(not the pro but did it for years. How many cars you see in snow/ice rally with RWD. hmm... non why ....do I have to tell you?

Why? Not because of superior skills. Because every car I own (except the Vette) has two sets of wheels and tires. Performance rubber for spring, summer, & fall. Dedicated winter tires (mostly Blizzaks) for ice and snow. The tires make a huge difference in stopping, turning, and acceleration. And I know how to use them too.

Interesting. So you think with x on snowtires and me driving you can beat me with your rwd on winter tires. I would love to see that. I can put my pink slip on that one. You can come here if we have a winter we had last year and we can do it. Are you comming? If you win I even pay you the gas to get here.


tg

 

I have a dedicated set of WS-50 Blizzaks on fairly nice wheels for my winter setup.
The car is an absolute tank in the snow.

I agree that all cars are equal while coasting and braking and that the AWD really only shines while under acceleration, but having good snow tires definitely helps in the slowing and turning as well.
Anyone who knows anything about driving in New England (10% of us ) know that you must slow before the turn and then power your way through it. This is a major reason as to why cars slide off the road... poor driving skills.

I'm not getting involved in the X vs S in snow arguement, but I'm certain that I know the outcome every single time.
With that being said, I didn't get into an X for snow racing.

 

I'm too lazy to read all of the posts, but after I've driven both cars, I have to say the X feels really mush compared to the S. The Suspension IS different. The way the springs/struts are set up is different. The X's already have the front suspension braced to the chassis where the RWD models do not. Little things like this do make a difference. Also, in several races, I see the X's just not being able to hang with the RWD models.

 

No, my point was that most people do not bother to put snow tires on their AWD wonder machines. They leave the OEM all season or summer tires on. And that makes them not so all-powerful in snow.

A traction control system can only work with whatever grip the tires can provide. AWD with crappy tires is worse than RWD with excellent tires. That was my point.

And yes, AWD with snow tires will likely beat RWD or FWD with snow tires. No question.

As for racing you, you'd lose on summer tires.

 

Driver plays a big part as well. I knew my Celica and Acura inside and out and had a great feel for the road in both. Whether it was in Boston or Minnesota, on most snowy days I was outdriving the SUVs and 4x4... not that they were not more capable people, but the people driving them did not know how to drive them.

Also something you learn from the race track... I can take someone on a 110 HP SV650 and put them up against a 150+ HP GSXR 1000, and the more experienced racer on the SV can smoke the gixxer because they carry more speed entering and exiting the corners.

 

I don't know about you guys but racing season is in the non-winter months an as such, I based my decision on a car that performs best during those months.

Performing optimally 3 out of 4 seasons > Performing optimally 1 out of 4 seasons.

Winter tires can give you more than enough mobility in the winter to get by and still have a bit of fun doing it.

 

Again it is only true if the weather is perfect for you. For me doesn't matter.

If you have a summer like we had hear. You would lose 90% of the summer time with your summer tire.

I do agree if the conditions are perfect I might loose might not. If I put summer tires on well it is a different story. I would love to post a race but I can't. It is X vs S. You'd be surprised.

A traction control system can only work with whatever grip the tires can provide. AWD with crappy tires is worse than RWD with excellent tires. That was my point.

That's funny. Why would you compare that way? It is like prius vs porshe.

C'mon you can do better then that.

tg

 

A quick question. Why do you think they put the Attesa in the GT-R? Why not the RWD?

tg

 

Hmmmm In a long distance race, the Prius might not do so bad. All depends on the number of times the Porsche has to refuel.

 

hahahahah

good one.

Although my money is still on the porshe. Most likely he can afford to pump gas in his car. That's why he bought the porshe.

tg

 

As a fellow canadian, I would like to chime in ...

If I lived in florida or california, it would not take me 0.5s before I would chose the RWD...not that it has better driving dynamics (which is debatable, just think about many of the uber sports cars that employ AWD), but for 'funner' driving dynamics (nothing beats the fun of a RWD in a turn on dry pavement), and for less wieght=increased hp/wieght.

That being said, in Canada, we have winters that last upto 6months, and summers (like this years) where we must have had rain every other day...and the rest of the year when the sun is actually shining and the roads are dry, you are probably stuck indoors in some office anyways.

So AWD is not a choice...but a must....I would rather get 95% of the fun in my G35x (as compared to a RWD) during the rare times when you hit a nice stretch on dry pavement, and enjoy the rest of the year (including the winter, with snow tires of course)....than go through one winter here with a RWD even with snow tires...regardless what you say about the benefits of AWD only being in acceleration, heading into a snowed in suburban road in my X is alot more confidence inspiring...and all it takes is seeing all the other FWD and RWD (with or without snow tires) stuck and you would choose the same, just think about being in the nice toasty interior of your X as opposed to shoveling the snow around your perfectly capable G35S with snows.

This is coming from a guy who drives a RAV4 AWD with dedicated snows during the winter, and is planning to store my X....but atleast I will have the choice when my RAV4 finally retires, to drive my G all year long.

In this case, there is no question, the RWD G35 on dry pavement will whip me and all the other G35X in the world (if all factors in consideration are equal), that I am not arguing....but in the 'real' Canadian world of rain, snow, gravel, and kids, and the commute to/from work....X FTMFW, and a Porsche for the rest of the days .

LONG LIVE THE G35 in both RWD and AWD....this car is a freakin' monster.

 

You are correct. I'm in Chester county. Plenty of rolling hills out here. Well, I didn't have "summer" tires, I've always had all season tires. But yes, I never did try winter tires. I'm too lazy to put on another set of rims/tires (and cheap). It's not like we usually get a lot of snow days. But, the ones that we do get caused problems for me with RWD where I live. That first year in my old 2003 G35 I thought it handled fine in snow. But that was before I moved to Chester county.

 

Well said.

road and track tested the S vs X.

Rear Drive vs. All-Wheel Drive: That Is the Question

For fun, we brought a rear-drive Infiniti G35 to our autocross and compared it with its all-wheel-drive G35x brother, in both wet and dry conditions with VDC yaw control switched off. We assumed the rear-driver would be quicker in the dry, given its ability to hang out its tail and help the driver tighten his line. But in the wet, we were confident the all-wheel-driver would have a tremendous advantage, hooking up better out of turns. Here's what we learned:

Well, we were wrong on one front, right on the other. Based on group average times on the dry autocross, the awd G35x proved itself faster, surprising us with its rear-biased manners and lapping nearly a second (0.9 sec.) quicker than the rear-drive G35. In the wet the G35x fared even better, 1.3 sec. quicker than the rear-drive G35.

Credit goes to the electronically controlled awd system, which maintains a rear-drive bias while endowing the car with improved stability. Don't get us wrong, the G35x still liked to hang its tail out, but the driver didn't need to be quite so careful with the throttle to keep the car's back end in check. In the rear-drive G35, the driver had to be far less aggressive with the throttle (and quicker with corrections) to post respectable times. Wet or dry, the awd G35x was far easier to drive quickly.


Of course those guys don't know how to drive.

Of course it feels different to drive the AWD it is more stable,safer and easier to drive. It does not FEEL as fast.

tg

 

If it feels fast around the corners, you're doing it wrong.