Winter Z Drivers
 

Hey all,
This doesn't REALLY belong here, but I wanted opinions from local drivers - not people that deal with 6 feet of snow in Michigan...

Does anyone daily drive their Z all winter, if so - I assume you run snow tires; how is the experience?

FWIW, my current car is a mazdaspeed3 - I have a separate set of wheels and snow tires, and with that setup in spite of the turbo torquiness it's not bad to drive in the winter. Just wondering if the Z is totally impractical in this regard.

Thanks!:happydance:

I drove it in the first snow storm two weeks ago with LM022 snow tires. It worked okay and it was fun to drive, but it didn't drive anything like my FWD CUV or Prius. Keeping moving isn't the problem, getting started is. Also the Z has a pathetic defroster and LSD, it makes it not fun to drive in teh winter. I think you can definitely get by in our area, but I wouldn't trust it in deep snow

That'll be my first winter with the Z ...
I've got some new All Season, and will use them with the Snow...
Hope it won't be too bad :/

I bought my Z during a snow storm and drove it home from PA to MD with no problem. As long as you have the proper tires and drive slowly/carefully you will be ok. Of course with a sports car like the Z, ground clearance will be an issue if we get a lot of snow accumulation on the roads.

Agreed! Before my Z I had a Pontiac Solstice GXP (lowered) and ran it all year. Like any car that low, if the snow is over the hood, it just plows through the snow, but I was running the IceGuards snow tires in the winter and had no issues at all. In the snow, one trick, especially on hills, might be to start off in 2nd gear to get goiong. Also you have to keep in mind how snow tires perform and how the temps effect them. Once I put the snow tires on, I dont' typically drive over 70MPH and I stay out of the left lanes when possible. I also give myself extra room between cars. But thats me. I learned to drive in the snow in the Mid-west where 5 or 6 inches a day is not uncommon. The best advice...get out into an open parking lot and test the tires, the car and see how it performs in such conditions. Kind of like being on a wet track. Can also be a lot of fun. Just be careful. :tup:

Oh. another trip I've done to keep the ice/snow from building up in the rims is to clean and wax them after you put them away for the SUMMER. This way,when you pull them out for the Winter, they are all set. My last rims would collect snow and throw the cars ballance off really bad. After Waxing them the next year; almost nothing.

Keep your traction control on and leave your lead foot at home. Don't take unnecessary trips anddon't go out if more than a few inches is forecast.

Drive slowly..

Snow tires + rwd with a limited slip diff = great in winter. The only thing that will stop you is ground clearance.

Meh. Turn traction control off and always go out when there is snow on the ground. MAD FUN. :tup:

Lol, if you want to steve it.

Hell yeah! :icon18: :tup:

:facepalm:

I REALLY couldn't agree more here. Have some fun dude. Im dying for PA's first snow haha.

Anyways first winter with the Z. I def need new tires. I will be yet again going with summer performance tires even for the winter. I could care less about a little snow. I care more about the salty roads and paint damage from them but really if it snows I plan on just using my time off I have built up at work. :tup:

Awesome. Thanks for feedback guys - I am finishing up parting out the ms3 and waiting for the Z I want to appear at a good price. Going for that CWP, sport + touring, manual obviously... Sounds like a good set of winter tires and I'll be golden.

On the ms3 I have some "sport" winter tires - so cornering and braking is closer to an all-season, but plenty of tread and stellar in the snow - last winter with 1" on the ground and snow falling I was still confident @70mph going down 95..

this in any car is irresponsible, you've clearly never been in an accident. I don't care that you put yourself at risk doing such a thing but you're putting other innocent people on the road at risk then...I see "confident" pickups with 4 wheel drive quite often on the sides of the roads because they pushed it too much in the snow.

/StepsOffSoapBox

I dd my z, I have a set of summer performance tires with rims and a set of winter performance tires with rims. Getting around in the winter with the winter tires is doable, I do not purposely drive the car in the snow. the point is if it starts snowing while I'm at work I can get home relatively safely (compared to the summer tires) before there gets to be moderate accumulation. Yes I've driven home on the summer tires in this situation before and I made it okay but I drove sideways the entire time.

I definitely wouldn't recommend 70 mph with any amount of snow on the ground! Very easy to lose control and if you do you're not going to slow down very quickly... you'll hit something HARD!

Just as an update. Itssnowing today and guess who took his Z to work? This guy! Anyways,slow accelerations and maintaining steady speed is always the key. We dont have quite an inch on the roads...mostly slush but I never spun or slipped once. I did exactly the speed limit however. Still on my summer tires as well. Will keep everyone posted.

All we got here is rain all day.

I don't know if the 370 is any better in the snow than the 350 on stock tires, but the 350 is was absolutely a no-go with any snow or slush on the ground. I got caught driving my 350 to work when it started snowing and with about .5" accumulation and traction control on, the car was driving sideways just to go straight and I was having to start from a stop in 4th gear very carefully.

Keep in mind this was with stock Bridgestones. I am sure with snow tires that it would be fine, no worse than a BMW or other RWD cars.

I only bought my 370 in April '12 so I haven't had it out for any inclement weather yet. Instead of snow tires I'm just looking to buy a crappy $500 pickup or SUV.

I see you're in NOVA. Check the link in my sig!

RE11's b1tches....

Another Kirkster spotting! :eek:

You finally back in town?

* Praying with my new 18 all season *