Effortless snow driving!!
Registered User
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 562
Likes: 19
From: St. Louis
I run dedicated 17's with snows in the winter, 19's with Summers in the warmer weather.
Once you go this route, you'll find that All-Seasons pretty much suck in comparison.
They're not that great in the snow and ice and do not compare to an ultra-high performance summer tire during the warmer times of year.
I also held onto my OEM 17's, in case they ever come in handy.
Once you go this route, you'll find that All-Seasons pretty much suck in comparison.
They're not that great in the snow and ice and do not compare to an ultra-high performance summer tire during the warmer times of year.
I also held onto my OEM 17's, in case they ever come in handy.
About to pick up a set of Blizzaks for the winter coming in STL and am looking forward to driving my G in the snow for the first time
Aeson, you have any problems with that front lip in the snow? Just got mine and am debating whether or not to just wait until the spring to put it on since it's gonna get all nasty in the winter months and could hit a chunk of ice or something. I'm dropped on 370z springs so I'm sitting almost as low as you
What I am getting at is that regardless of your tire choice, you HAVE to remain diligent and drive with caution. Far too many AWD/4WD vehicles believe they can drive in snow/ice conditions similar to the way they drive in dry environments and end up in accidents. Rubber on ICE has little to NO traction, therefore it is up to the driver to control the vehicle. Simply because you throw snow tires on a vehicle does not equate to safe travel if you don't adjust your driving technique. My advice was NOT to drive on summer tires, it was simply sharing my experience with a less then perfect (no snow tires) setup. My X with all season tires drove with ease through 5 inches of snow and I agree, snow tires would improve traction even further but some of us cannot justify the cost. I should have elaborated my point further - you apparently didn't understand it.
As I said, you should be fine with DWS tires. A friend has DWS tires on his M35x and it has made it through the toughest midwest winters with EASE. Give them a shot in a few snow storms and if you feel unsafe then go ahead and install dedicated snow tires.
As I said, you should be fine with DWS tires. A friend has DWS tires on his M35x and it has made it through the toughest midwest winters with EASE. Give them a shot in a few snow storms and if you feel unsafe then go ahead and install dedicated snow tires.
A lowered, RWD, car, with all seasons is just not a smart idea where we live. If we lived in a more temperate climate with less snow, i'd be inclined to agree with you. But the driving characteristics of a RWD G and an AWD G in the snow, is night and day difference if your not running correct tires.
You justify the cost once you own them. Until then, you sit back and go "I am fine" but you will never realize how much better the car is. And driving summer tires in the snow is just plain idiotic. The rubber compound freezes, and the tires are useless.
Heres a video of my RWD on summer tires on a packed snow culdesac. Yea, **** didn't work.
Heres a picture of the same car and my continental extremewinter contacts.
Last edited by Wannabe6MT; Dec 8, 2011 at 12:57 AM.
Yeah my car is a RWD 6spd, not an all wheel drive. That is my concern. If I had an x I wouldn't be worrying on the DWS's.
AWD and RWD are 100% completely different in the snow. Sorry, can't compare them. To say an x drove through 5 inches of snow, is like saying my rwd is able to drift. Of course it can
AWD and RWD are 100% completely different in the snow. Sorry, can't compare them. To say an x drove through 5 inches of snow, is like saying my rwd is able to drift. Of course it can
Aeson, you have any problems with that front lip in the snow? Just got mine and am debating whether or not to just wait until the spring to put it on since it's gonna get all nasty in the winter months and could hit a chunk of ice or something. I'm dropped on 370z springs so I'm sitting almost as low as you
I've also had no issues since the drop, but I am much more alert to things in the road during the winter as well.
So far, so good, but I could see the car becoming a snow plow if we had more than 4" of unplowed snow on the roads. Thankfully, the plows stay moving and keep the roads pretty clear. The only real issues come up when the plows dont do the back roads and the cruddy slush builds up between the tire ruts. That crap in the middle of the road can get deep and start to touch the belly of the car. It does hit the belly before it hits the lip, so the lip is not my biggest concern.
I'm on Blizzaks which are freaking awesome in the crap so if I find myself on poorly plowed roads, I actually put my tires into the crud and let the belly of the car ride over the tire ruts. I get through effortlessly and nothing touches the car.
This is on Eibachs in a little more than 4" of snow. You can see that the car bottomed out on the snow and packed it down, but the lip is still not touching the snow in the front...
From the side....
This shows that the side sills will hit at about the same height as the OEM lip, if not a little bit lower.
From the side....
This shows that the side sills will hit at about the same height as the OEM lip, if not a little bit lower.
Heres a video of my RWD on summer tires on a packed snow culdesac. Yea, **** didn't work.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDgYf...w&feature=plcp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDgYf...w&feature=plcp
Registered User
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 402
Likes: 9
From: south jersey
I'm on my 7th year with old 17" Blizzak LM22's on my rwd. My car is currently in the bodyshop from an accident this past October. I'm not looking forward to a winter with deep snow as my setup is barely adequate to get me through. I will have to put more of a premium on careful driving technique. Plus, it's scary to drive out there in traffic when it's super slick. So many near misses! Be careful this winter fellas.
Registered User
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 654
Likes: 8
From: NY
I never had a set of dedicated snows and was OK through 8 year of some horrid upstate NY winters on all-seasons/FWD. After swapping out my balding GY Eagle GTs for Michelin MXV4s, feel even more confident for the coming winter, especially with AWD. Not without reason, I feel more confident on snowy roads with the G than I felt in any of my cars. Would it do better on dedicated snows? Sure it would, but in my area (downstate NY) IMHO they are optional. Agree with G force that other drivers are the main concern on the roads in the winter, especially in the areas where people aren't accustomed to driving in the snow.
well i live in chicago and my 04 G35 coupe 6mt was great in a winter on Yokohama YK520 all season tires. But the first winter was on ContinentalContiPro was hell and half. My 05 G35 sedan is fine in a winter too on a YK520s just drive a car like u would in a winter with CAUTION. This winter i will try something new a set of winter tires on 07 G35 sedan 6mt.
All great points. I've just purchased a set of oem Sport 18s and all-season Kuhmo lx platinums. After reading these posts however, I will keep my original 17s just in case. I have not yet driven in the snow, but with a 30+ mile ride to work, all it takes is the first snowstorm to make me deide on putting the 17s back on with snow tres.
I think it's a little funny that some of you guys justify not getting proper tires by saying things like, it's the 'other guy' that you have to watch out for. Did it occur to you that, to me, you are the 'other guy', lol.
With winter tires on, I can likely maneuver to avoid your driving mishaps due to you having the wrong type of tires on your car. That's just my opinion though.
With winter tires on, I can likely maneuver to avoid your driving mishaps due to you having the wrong type of tires on your car. That's just my opinion though.
