How does your Delta handle it?

I ask because it has yet to snow in Connecticut this winter so far. I'm used to having my Monte Carlo with it's big heavy body, FWD platform and big heavy V6 over the front wheels. That thing is a winter BEAST. That thing has outperformed many a 4x4 SUV, and AWD Subarus in the winter. Being I just got the Saturn Ion a few months ago, I've been somewhat curious as to how it will handle the snow. It's also my first stick shift so Tips for handling a stick in snow would be appreciated.

So, how does your delta handle the winter?

 

On bad days, i keep the rpms low, helps to prevent your tires from spinning all the time.
And good tires?

 

i have snow tires and when i drive sensibly i dont slide or spin at all. im pretty low too and ive never gotten stuck, even when i plowed through 2 feet of heavy snow that was blocking a side street due to the snow plows

 

My Monte was one of the best snow cars I've owned. The Cobalt is not. that said I have the factory Contis on there and they sure as hell are not intended for snow. I would imagine that if you had snow tires as Drumrush has you would do ok but the car is still really light compare to that Monte.

 

By the way, I live on a hill, it's not plowed or treated in any way. My Cobalt is currently stuck in my garage as it won't get out of the driveway and up the hill. We've had maybe 3 inches of snow, which has been packed down and frozen over. I wouldn't have even noticed the same thing in my Monte.

 

love my cobalt in the winter, its a rally car at heart

 

yeah its one of the best cars I've had in the winter, I never feel nervous in snow or ice, I have Bridgestone blizzaks to , I'm pretty low and havent hade an issue, the 5spd helps to haha!

 

This.

 

Mine's always done well. I had a minor wreck last year on a patch of black ice, but there wasn't a whole lot I (or the car) could do about it - crested a hill, saw 2 cars already in the ditch and kinda knew what was coming.

 

i too used to have a 99 monte carlo ls. big ass heavy car with a hundered less hp and 400 lbs more than my cobalt. higher profile tires, traction control, that all helped it stick to the road quite well.

my cobalt, now, isn't THAT bad. i havent gotten stuck yet. it will spin the tires no matter what in any type of snow but it hasn't really torque steered because of it yet. continental dws tires, 1st winter they've seen.

 

With my blizzak ws70s I rip around the roads. I love putting it into a full power slide. In my opinion as long as you learn to drive in the snow it doesn't matter what car you drive. I learned to drive in the snow with a big v8 rwd Chrysler.

 

Blizzaks ftw!

 

I live in the hills so my g5 kinda sucks but I tend to not drive much in the snow.

 

I've driven just fine in the snow. It's not the greatest but its pretty good.

 

Nice. So you two know what I mean when I say my '95 Z34 handled the snow like no other. I always had people telling me I needed awd or a 4x4 but never needed it. These were the same people who got stuck coming up my hill every winter whereas my Monte had no trouble. Meanwhile, my dad used to have a 4x4 Ford Ranger XLT V6 (3.0L). It once got out of our driveway, did a 360 and slid down the hill while trying to go up. Monte had no trouble. This was with the bed loaded with sandbags and in 4x4 mode.

That car has spoiled me in the winter, and I live on a STEEP hill (at LEAST a 45* angle).

My Saturn seems an enigma. Some people say they handle like **** in the winter (most people I know who say this own either an I4 L-series or an old SL2), or people who say they're beasts in the snow (owners usually SL2's or Vue SUV's) so nothing I can use to determine how my Saturn will work. I guess what has be somewhat scared is the lower curb weight of the Ion as compared to the Cobalt (Curb Weight, 2692 lbs as compared to the Cobalt's 2783 lbs.... As compared to my Monte's 3306 lbs.). However, I figured the cars were close enough that they'd probably handle the snow similarly, which is why I asked.

And thanks for the tips!

 

I can guarantee that your road is not a 45 degree incline.

 

If the roads are flat my g5 will go anywhere. but my hill back at home at my dads, (hill is at the legal limit for how steep it can be) I had to crawl up it... and barely made it.

 

cobalts only weigh 2783 lbs?? i wanna get my cerr weighed because i've read usually between 2870 to 2950 lbs... then again idk if that means with a tank of gas + driver or unloaded wieght blah blah blah

 

WTF is a delta?

 

Delta = platform. Cobalt/Ion/Pursuit/G5
Just like j-body = a whole fuckton of cars

 

The Monte had 16" tires with huge soft flexible sidewalls and lots of tread. My Cobalt has no give in the sidewalls and pretty much no tread. That's not a recipe for good snow traction

 

Delta: Platform.
Delta 1 cars: Chevrolet Cobalt, Saturn Ion, Pontiac Pursuit/G5, Chevrolet HHR, Opel/Vauxhall/Saturn/Holden Astra, Opel/Vauxhall Zafira
Delta 2 cars: Chevrolet/Holden Cruze, Daewoo Lacetti Premiere, Chevrolet Volt, Opel/Vauxhall Astra, Buick Verano, Opel/Vauxhall Zafira, Chevrolet Orlando

just like the W-body:
W-body cars include: 1988-2008 Pontiac Grand Prix, 1988-2004 Buick Regal, 1988-1997 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, 1990-2001 Chevrolet Lumina, 1995-2007 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, 1997-2005 Buick Century, 2000-present Chevrolet Impala, 2005-2009 Buick LaCrosse.

 

A good set of tires will make the difference. I couldn't get out of the driveway on the stock tires. I put a set of Nokian something-er-others (225/45/18) on the stock rims and it runs awesome all winter long... Even with the snow and -40C temps here in Northern Alberta.

 

My pirelli's seem to be great in the snow. I figured my ss to be horrible in the snow but it drives great in the snow.

 

I see says the blind man