And they said it wasn't a practical winter car...

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DarthSwinger said:
Do any of you run dedicated snow tires?
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I don't. But I also don't drive in the snow frequently, the picture above was more of a "caught by surprise" situation than an regular occurrence. I guess technically my Toyo Proxes 4's have a M&S rating, but I think that's pretty generous of the rating system.

inkjunkie said:
Good in the snow?? Talk about delirious..Guess some of you folks have never driven a 4x4...Would not make it out of my 'hood in an A-body right now. Both ways out are iced over...and have some steep inclines. If I stop on the one of them, even with 4 wheel drive I have to back down.
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TrailBeast said:
I just got back from a 6 block trip one way to my service call and there is about 4 inches of snow on the roads.
Ink, they drive as well as any rear drive cars do (I think that was the idea)

The sure grip would be nice, but it can also get you in trouble since in the snow they tend to wash out sideways easier when it does break traction.

And of course I saw the usual ******** doing 40 in a residential 25 with fresh snow on the streets.
(In a Honda Accord not a truck or 4x4)

Most don't realize that 4x4 doesn't do a thing for braking on slick surfaces either, as 4 tires sliding are four tires sliding with any vehicle.
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Right on Trailbeast. Unless you're in a 6x or a semi, everything has 4 wheel brakes. The advantage of 4x4's is being able to go slow and maintain traction. Just ask any of the WRX guys stuffed in snowbanks right now.

I grew up driving plenty of 4x4's. And I also learned how to drive 2wd's in crappy conditions. Sure, when the snow gets deep you're going to need a 4x4. But if you're not pushing snow with the front valance, you can make it work with a rear wheel drive car. A 4x4 makes it a heck of a lot easier, but 2wd isn't a show stopper for a lot of conditions. Heck, my fwd SRT-4 was a BEAST in the snow. But, only up to about 4" of the fresh stuff because after that the bumper would start pushing snow. If it was packed down already no problemo.
 
This was last year and before I recall. No issues.

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I drove that yellow duster 42 miles round trip 5 days a week for 2 solid years including rough colorado winters with no snow tires. Made it everyday without a single incident. Its not so much the vehicle as it is how you drive it.
 
Mine was great until I went to wider back tires. Once I drove it to school and a storm came in. Dumped about four inches and it took the dart about twenty minutes to go a few miles. My mustang and ranger were much worse though.
 
For decades all the vehicles I drove up in northern BC on the Alaska highway were 2wd rear drive, most without limited slip. 8 months of nasty winter up there. Everyone did that. 4wd was not common until years later. Any car with decent winter tires did fine. With a set of chains we would even go off road. The only really bad vehicle was a 2wd pickup but we drove those too with some weight in the back. You did have to learn to drive. I like the predictability of rear drive in a slide on ice.
 
A lot depends on if you roads are built like Paris Hilton or Dolly Parton.
When the batteries were bad in both my 4X4 vehicles during Snowpacalypse last winter I took The Dodge to Autozone to get a new battery for the CRV with no problems.
Your results may vary.
Just watch those short wheel based vehicles.
 
Yeah, I just replaced the battery. Really i only have 3 good tires too, the news ones are going on the Keystones. The bad front is a remnant of when this thing had a massive toe out problem. Even so, it's never left me stuck somewhere.
 
the first winter I had my Stealth I left the almost-bald Comp T/A's on it that were on it when I bought it. Best moment was when I pulled up to a red light beside a Hummer during a blizzard, and the rednecks in the Hummer were laughing at the guy in the sportscar. Until I walked away from them after the light changed.

I'll take AWD for my first option for winter driving(even if snow slows the 0-60 down to about 6 seconds lol).
 
I run some goodyear 195/70/14 snow tires that I 'procured' from the USPS auto repair center, the LLV's (the white USPS trucks) are all equipped with them.

I drive my '74 swinger to work every day, it can be a little iffy in the pouring rain, but otherwise it's just fine. I am going to buy some bags of cheap-o cat litter to stick in the trunk for traction though.
 
All the cars I ever owned during my time in Ohio were driven in the snow.

Knowing how to drive into and out of a slide is a very valuable skillset to have no matter what the conditions.

I never had tire chains or studded tires, and rarely snow tires (couldn't afford them).

Sometimes I did carry a bag of cat litter in the trunk (ballast and traction aid), and I've used the floor mats under the tires for extra traction as well.

Most of those years I was still a teenage driver, too.

I usually end all the "Northern bad driver" conversations down here with "Ever driven on snow or ice?" If you tailgate or pull out in front of someone (both are rampant where I live now) on snow or ice, you'll likely die.

Something in FL that surprised a lot of people, is that in my Super Bee with 3.55 sure grip 10 inch wide tires and careful thought about where I was driving, turning and stopping, I was able to follow the jeeps and other 4x4's through the sugar sand pretty much any where I needed to go.

I got a lot of- "You drove THAT back in here?"
 
Have to admit I used to look forward to driving in the snow with my a-bodies. Usually less cars around and just beautiful to drive in.

A few townships in northern and western Jersey just plowed and packed the roads. So those never got cleared to the pavement even after the snow stopped. I'm sure that's no longer acceptable with the influx of new folks. Now just about everywhere around here there's so much salt and brine its just a mess. And too many people thinking they just have to have to be out on the roads
 

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Yup, been driving As almost continuously since 1969. Occasionally an F. Had a 71 Monaco for a bit. I know, not an A, or an F. But that long WB sardine can went anywhere. At least til it got hung up. My current winter beater is an F, and a pegleg. I am a firm believer in snow tires and studs. And preach it to my kids.
 


I'm driving my Valiant every now and then, studded Nokian Hakkapelittas. Still like my Audi quattro for traction :D
 
The tires I've been using aren't even M+S rated. I had the Hak's on another car for a while. If the dart can get me home in the kind of storm we had here in CO last night, it'll be alright.
 
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