I've been waiting to respond to a topic like this all year long with my ranting about the tires earlier this year and praise of the LSD option for snow. I got to take the car out in an inch or two of snow last weekend.

The car actually got better traction than I expected. I am a firm believer the LSD helps alot here. I'd like to say I can feel the LSD switch back and forth between wheels at time with the pull of the car, but it's very hard to truely tell and I'm already biased in my head to feel it. I can actually accelerate fairly quickly in the snow actually once I hit 2nd gear.

The tires still pretty much suck which is no surprise to anyone, but they didn't suck as much as I thought they might. They are driveable in the snow if you drive cautiously and have a bit of skill to cover you in case of an emergency if the front tires don't grip around a corner. With a gentle tug on the e-brake or even without, it's pretty easy to get the rear of the car to come around in this car as opposed my cavalier.

Now I do have to be honest, there was only 1-2 inches of snow here, so I'm expecting the handling to decrease even more in a real snow storm. I'm probably going to brave the winter out with these tires as it seems to drive as well as my Cavalier when I left bald tires on there that one winter.

Tires or no tires, I recommend to everyone here(if you haven't already) to learn how your car handles(in snow) in an empty parking lot if possible. Getting used to the feeling of sliding and what to do to recover will help so you don't panic and know what to do if you really start to slide on the road. You may want to take a more experienced friend or family member to help teach you if you're clueless. I am very thankful my dad helped me years ago learn to handle both front and rear wheel drive cars. I've driven over 150,000 miles in the past 6 years and have had a close call or two in bad weather, but did not panic, and was able to steer the car under control again. You're never truely safe, but establishing some driving ability and avoiding panic will give you a much higher chance of being just fine this winter in any vehicle.

 

just got our first snow storm, got anywhere from 2-5", and I must say I had no real problems. Slid a little bit, but hell your gonna slid in any vechile.

 

ha ha...yah its over here in southern indiana now, and is it coming down!!! already 3 inches!
please see my SNOW SUCKS thread.........

 

yah snow does suck

 

Here's a followup:

We got nailed with another snow storm a few days later with 6 more inches. Obviously the car wouldn't move in that. After I shoveled the driveway out, I went out again. The biggest problem with the car is initially getting started. It actually drives pretty well once you can get that initial movement. I'm a little afraid of getting stuck at a stop light or stop sign on a hill one day beacause I can't get going again. Front end cornering could be better. It likes to not turn a little bit. Kicking the rear around with the brake fixes that though.

To clear up the LSD issue. It works all the time. i had my girlfriend watch from outside the car. When I get hung up and can't move, BOTH wheels are spinning.

I also performed the one tire on ice, one tire on pavement experiment and YOU WILL MOVE. The wheel on the pavement starts to get your going, although pretty slow.

So, the LSD is definitley helpful in the bad weather. However, nothing can change the fact that the tires themselves are summer tires. In conclusion, the care is driveable in the snow if you're careful, but I know I will have a little bit of fear of getting stuck on a hill after a stop somewhere all winter. I'm stubborn and don't plan on buying snow tires, so maybe I'll have to learn the hard way.

 

Where is everyone getting these steel wheels from?? I can't find a set to save my life...

 

I have no problem starting in first with my x-ice tires. They stop really nice to. I did have problems getting up my icy driveway the other day had to go in second and still spun. Go figure ice tires are better in snow.

 

I think winters are necessary...

you cant drive safely with max performance summer tires in a reasonable amount of snow / any ice

some people may argue but the first snow in my winters vs the first snow in my summers was exponentially better

it really depends how much you drive and where ...but there is always going to be that day in the winter where you get caught off gaurd and winters could save your cars appearance / your insurance rates/life/everything else riding on your tires ...

for me where I live its a no brainier ..

 

Yeah, stock tires+snow= CRAP, we had a good 6 inches over the weekend and I went to plow snow Friday morning but it took me 5 minutes to make it the 500 feet to the end of my unplowed road. I definitely wish I would have looked around for an SS with LSD now. I am going to put off buying winter tires at all costs but with another coulpe big snowstorms in sight, i may not get so lucky. Boo.

 

http://www.1010tires.com/TireSizeCalculator.asp
Try this calculator tool. If you put in your stock tire size and the new size you are considering it will show you how far off you can expect your speedometer to be.

 

its a good investment ..they dont just last one season afterall ...not to mention how fradgile our rims are I would hate to see what the salt does to the gunmetal finish ...