The forecast called for light flurries and possible snow showers today well it more than snow showers it piling up out there. I was planning on ordering my snow tires today and did. I decided to take a little spin just to see what its like driving with stock tires and it sucks. I ordered blizzaks and am hoping they make a world of difference. But my ? is it better to drive with traction control on or off because i pretty much had a rough time in both. I managed to just make it home. Any feedback is appreciated, my snow tire will be here 8th or 9th

 

I hear everybody ordering up snow tires for these cars. Is foul-weather traction really THAT much of an issue for the Cobalt SS??? Or are people just taking precautions? I used to drive my old '78 TA WS6 400cid 4spd (sig pic) through snow and ice all the time and not once have I ever had a problem. I find it hard to believe that this FWD car has a tough time, especially with ABS and TCS.

 

You know i thought the same thing like it would be manageable, I mean i was planning on getting snow tires to be safe. And after today i wont risk driving on stock tires in snow unless it was pretty much absolute necessary to go somewhere. But i do live in a very hilly area so maybe a little worse for me, but my advice if your gonna drive it through the winter don't even think just buy winter tires now and save yourself the headaches

 

The tires on your car are summer only so they'll provide very little traction in the snow.

 

ABS and TCS are liabilities in the snow. People buy snow tires for this car because a) all-seasons are garbage and b) the car's standard tires are high-performance summer ONLY.

Take it from someone who gets more snow than you Americans can dream of - keep the TCS off. Every car has a second, better traction control system... It's called your right foot. The TCS system in the car will simply cut power when you get wheel slip and cause you to bog down. Modulate the throttle to keep proper traction.

 

yea with traction control on i went nowhere and with it off it spun but it was either spin and start getting momentum or park and start walking lol

 

This is just it. You need some wheel slip to get going, especially up hills.

 

^^^^ listen to him, keep the tcs off and be easy on the throttle.

yes ive driven my vette in the snow my ta in the snow and everything else, these cobalts are really that bad in the snow, i went out and bought a second car just so i dont have to bother with the cobalt at all this winter

 

force, what kinda snow tires are you running, you think blizzaks will do the job?

 

I'm sorry, but you're wrong. Cobalts are amazing in the snow with proper snow tires. ANY car can be perfectly safe in the snow with winter tires.

Between my Gislaveds and the LSD, my SS/TC runs rings around just about anything when the roads are snow-covered and icy.

My dad has always run Blizzaks and he's had no issues. What are they? I never really liked the WS-60s, I found them way too soft.

My snow tires are Gislaveds. They're imported from Sweden (Continental owns them), but they're pretty rare and difficult to find. Not only are they cheaper than the major brands, they're way better. I'll never get a different set again. You could try a Volvo dealership if you want to look into getting a set.

 

yea they are they ws60s, what do you mean they are to soft, just wear faster then others?

And how much your winter setup coast wheels and tires

 

By soft I mean they're pretty floaty at high speed given the soft compound and sidewalls - nothing dangerous, just don't go around taking corners quickly.

My setup cost me $1,150 for the wheels and tires.

 

alright good to know well i already ordered them but if i dont have another viechle next winter ill look into getting the tires you spoke of, did the ws60s do alright in snow for you though?

 

ok let me rephrase what i said....

cobalt ss's are horrible in the snow, the worst car ive ever driven in the snow with stock summer high performance tires on them.
better?

any cr is going to be better in the snow with snow tires... that point was made in the bgining of this thread. someone asked if these cars were that much better with the snow tires on them....

i was stating that without them they are horrible

 

I just got Nokian WR G2 tires on my car. Night and day over the stock P6's


I get around awesome! Put it in "D" and go! Traction control works GREAT!

 

With the stock summer tires, I struggled getting my car up my driveway when I brought it home. Granted there were about 5 inches of unplowed snow but that wasn't a problem for the old Jetta I was driving before my SS/TC.

The Cobalt is awesome in the snow even just with all seasons. Leave traction control off- it really is a liability and just use as little throttle as possible to get some momentum. In Minnesota we get some pretty decent snow every winter (can't measure up to those Cananda guys tho) and the balt is one of my favorite fwd cars to drive when it snows.

 

the only advice i have is just dont blast it everywhere.. its safer at times to just shift down(smoothly) instead of breaking...
snow tires will help for sure, traction control is meh... its not 4 wheel drive soo i wouldnt bother =\
i drive an auto and even going down to 2nd then 1 helps since when its slushie your wheels "lock" and thats when you slide

 

Well, obviously ANY car that has SUMMER high performance tires is going to suck in the snow.

What Force meant is that you're generalizing your statement to the cobalt, when its the type of tires that are at fault not the car.

 

buy winters... the SS stock tires suck in the snow... and traction control is a hinderance when trying to get going.... sure ya won't spin as much but sometimes spinning a bit is enough to get ya going. avoid hills without the snows good luck!

 

I like to turn the traction contol off in the winter. Its more of an annoyance than anything. My SS doesnt have TC of course but my fiances GTI does. But Blizzaks are the **** in the snow! I love em'.

 

I did fine in Ohio and Michigan last winter with all season tires and the TC off. TC on just doesn't work.

Driving in the winter with summer tires is just stupid and people that dumb deserve to wreck. Too bad they will probably hit someone else along the way.

 

So far Im loving the TC on with the snows. Though I haven't tried any hills yet, so my opinion may change.

 

The stock tires on the SS/TC are summer ONLY performance tires; they provide good grip in warm weather on dry pavement, they don't provide grip on snow and ice. Lesser known is the fact that the tires do not perform well below 50 degrees even on dry pavement; the compound gets hard in the cold and loses grip, and you can feel a difference.

In snow, excessive wheel spin may be necessary to get your car moving from a standing start; if your traction control is on it will fight against wheel spin and will actually keep you from moving. Once you are up to speed you can turn it back on again and it will only help you in most conditions, except maybe on a steep incline.

Traction control, stability control, and ABS mean nothing in the winter and you will crash if you are on summer tires. Those systems can only work to the best of the tires gripping ability.

Get winter tires for your car. These cars have a lot of torque for winter conditions and can be difficult to drive. The car has more torque available than the ground has traction, winter tires are your best tool to combat this dilemma.

 

Uhhhh... some of Us American's don't need to dream of snow. It's called lake effect. Where i live (south of Buffalo) we average between 180 and 200 inched a year.

 

I ran my car in 4-5" of snow this past Saturday. Im on SS/NA's with Blizzak's, car got around great!! I left traction on and it was nice and controlled. Happy I got some snow's!! LOL!