snow time
 

I am living in Texas, but I have some possibility moving to North/East where there will be snowing a lot.
How do you handle snow?
I think even if you put on snow tires, it won't be as safe as AWD.
Should I consider trade-in for EvoX?

Go straight to a hummer !

Seriously, if you look at the tire section of this forum, a lot of people are running on 225/50/18 on their Zeds and have no trouble in snowed up roads. Of course, you need to keep it easy on the throttle and know what you're doing but it's easy enough to handle for anyone whos driven in snow before.

Interesting threads for you to read:

http://www.the370z.com/nissan-370z-g...ne-so-far.html

http://www.the370z.com/wheels-tires/...k-i-pikes.html

http://www.the370z.com/wheels-tires/...es-wheels.html

http://www.the370z.com/wheels-tires/...cs-ak370z.html

225 and 245 on 18s and my Z handles 1/2 inch this morning like a champ.. was actualy able to accelerate rather hard without an issue... I was pleasently suprised... most NE snow storms shouldbt really be a problem..

I would find a cheap subaru legacy or FWD reliable car before I traded in the Z for a evo X . Two totally different cars though.

:iagree: OP, read those 4 threads and you should have an idea how to tackle northeast winter (coming from a guy who lived in Northeast for decades )

Good info and links from ZedZed.

Just as a perspective I live in the North East, I put snow tires on all my Winter vehicles. All my cars are RWD, with the exception of one which is FWD which I hate driving in the Winter. I don't drive the Z in the Winter but that is purely to save it from the salt, if it were my only car I would have no problem driving it through the Winter with snow tires, I would just wash it regularly.

Just remember AWD doesn't do squat for braking, it's all about the tire. They typically keep the roads plowed pretty well up here, it's only the very heavy storms that they get behind and you'll find some back roads with 3-4 inches of accumulation.

Here is what to do with your Z :tup:

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/s...DSC00015-1.jpg

Then buy a cheap beater to get around during winter ;)

^a luxury I dearly wish I had.

Why would you do that? You bought it to enjoy it so....drive it year round and if in 3-4 years if it gets a little worse for wear buy another.

^^ Like many others, this is my "hobby car". I do enjoy it very much. I just prefer to keep it away from the winter road salt here in Germany. Plus, driving my old G35 here was not fun on snow ;)

I got to drive my Z yesterday when the weather was nice. If it is dry and there is no salt on the roads I will drive the Z, otherwise I drive this :tup:

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/s...y/DSC00782.jpg

Looks very nice tucked away in a safe place. I agree with you. My Z only comes out on nice days. You can't safely have fun with it in the bad weather anyways.

It depends where you will be living. If you are living in or around a city you might be able to get around with snow tires, but if you are doing more than just driving around town I would consider getting a second car ( or perhaps something besides the 370z). I've lived in the Northeast all my life and there are to many factors that play into the "should I drive my Z in the winter". Here in Boston we can get anything from 2-3 inches to 12 and above. That being said, our cars are really light and when the road is cold with slush and ice, guess what, you barely have any control. This is especially true if you are driving on the back roads or highway driving at high speeds, its just not worth it. When you live in the Northeast you have to prepare for bad driving conditions (mainly because our weather meteorologist suck) so having a sports car gives you very little options when you look outside your window at work at 5pm and theirs six inches of snow on the ground. If you are moving to the Northeast, especially in the suburbs or above Mass, like NH or VT, get a four wheel drive or AWD and you wont have to worry about anything. Or you can just get a second car. Hope this helps

Can we please dispel this idea that AWD or 4WD is somehow the end-all of snow safety? In many ways, it's more dangerous since it helps you 'go' but does nothing to help you stop or turn. If you buy an Audi with quattro or a 4WD Jeep Cherokee but have bald tires, you're still fu*ked. AWD just makes you less likely to get stuck in snow, and that's never been an issue in my Z with snow tires.

Aside from the the dangers of actually driving your Z in the snow, prepare for it to be destroyed by the salt on the roads - not only from a corrosion stand point, but it will chip the hell out of your paint.

What do I do for the winter??? I take my Z and put her here.
http://i329.photobucket.com/albums/l.../untitled1.jpg

Then I hop in this bad boy. LOL
http://i329.photobucket.com/albums/l...d/untitled.jpg

I understand that not everyone can afford to do this. But I look at it this way. Who knows when the next time I will be able to just dump 10k down on a 2 seat sports car??? This Z is gonna have to last me a long time. And by not subjecting it to the crappy winters we get here is one way I can make sure she looks and works like new for many many years. We just got about a half-a inch of snow and Long Island went crazy dumping tons of salt and sand everywhere.

Oh and that old Forester in the Back ground was my old DD. I spun a bearing on her on the way back from PA, Just hit 180K RIP old friend.

i have a FF dd with snow tires.

and yes you are right. in deep snow, snow tires do not work so well on RWD.

That's not really true at all. Snow tires work just as well on a RWD car as a FWD provided that roughly 50% of the vehicle weight is over the drive axle. I'd rather fish tale a little than understeer off the road. I drive a RWD truck through Winter with snow tires and it has no problems with 6-inches of snow, obviously ground clearance is an advantage in that kind of vehicle.

:iagree:

is the salt really THAT bad? i mean, i've always been under the impression it is, but as long as you rinse off the car once week i can't imagine a car made in 2009/10 thats going to turn into a rust bucket after a few winter seasons being properly maintained. aren't cars nowadays designed to be pretty resistant to corrosion provided you treat them properly?

+1, I think salt is only bad for your suspension, not the body of the car really.

I can't agree with Chris more about the FWD vs RWD. While FWD keeps most drivers from spinning out, they just slide into things or off the road instead. My Z has been getting a bit of work done and I'm driving a POS FWD car. I've been caught off guard with understeer a few times now. I'd much prefer a little tail-wag than the "Oh $hit, I'm not turning" feeling.

Jeff, corrosion isn't a huge deal at all. A weekly washdown with a nice undercarriage rinse keeps everything pretty much corrosion free.

Your right, the car is not gonna rust away. Thats not why I dont like drive my car during the winter. But you got to think of everything else that the salt is getting to. Interior, Rubber around the car, Wheels, Plastics. Its also hard to rinse your car down if its been below freezing for several days. Its not gonna wreck your car but, the car that has never been subjected to winter driving is going to be in better shape below the car and on the body of the car. Thats just me. I know it sounds weird but my Altima that I owned for 3 years also never saw snow and she did not have a spec of rust under her.

You're joking right? "Destroyed by the salt" :ugh2:

I really don't understand people who write such things? Does the Z corrode quicker or more so than any other car? I seriously doubt it.

"Salt can chip the hell of your paint"? again, what absolute tosh :ugh2:

If you occasionally wash your car, including the bottom side of the car, during the winter there is no reason for corrosion to occur. I've driven my Audi in winter conditions for years and never got ANY corrosion happening on any part of the car.

You have to stop with your paranoia and encouraging false beliefs to spread.

understandable, you should do with your car what you feel comfortable with.
^ this is the point i'm making. you sold the car, never drove it in snow, got whatever price you got for it, and i'm sure that wasn't contingent on whether you drove it in the snow. I'm sure the next owner drove it in the snow, so for all intents in purposes, it didnt really matter whether the car saw snow or not.

i just find it hard to believe that the salt could cause enough corrosion to a new car that it would be a problem within any reasonable amount of time. if i planned on keeping a car forever, i wouldn't drive it in the snow or let any salt touch it, but i don't plan to. i remember you saying you have gone through a lot of cars in the past few years, and my point is just that if a car isn't going to be kept for like 10+ years, the winter salt shouldn't really be a huge factor in whether or not it gets driven.

in a few years, if and when you sell your z, the would be buyer probably won't pay much of a premium for the fact that it wasn't ever subjected to winter salt and it wont matter to you anymore that the car wasn't exposed to salt b/c you wont own it anymore.

i see a lot of people who have never driven there cars in the rain or snow or if there is folioage on the ground, and they go to sell it i wonder why it mattered that the car stay perfect. they have taken every step to ensure the car will last FOREVER, except after 3 years they sell it, so why does it matter? i want my car to last me as long as i want to keep it, and i want it to be in good working order when i sell it, and no road salt is going to really get in the way of that.

not attacking or anything jjust making conversation and putting in my :2cents:

obviously, there are some reasons i dont seefor why certain people feel the need to not get their cars wet, cold, or dirty, but in my mind, washing my car fixes all of that. i guess maybe not for other people.

tosh:bowrofl: I like that British word ;)

Obviously the car wont wither away, it is personal preference for some who choose to keep their Z garaged. Salt is corrosive point blank. If you take care of your car correctly during the winter than more power to you.

Here are some tips for protecting against salt damage:

Protecting Your Car from Road Salt

^good link thanks :tup:

Washing the car with WARM water in the buckets makes it much less miserable when its cold out. But makes you have to pee a lot:p

anyone have any tips or special brushes they use for snow removal? my car stays in the garage at night, but i drive it to work. i imagine those regular bristles will scratch the paint pretty easily.

I think using a leaf blower would be a great idea! Only if the snow is really cold and dry though :( Otherwise you could use a boar hair brush to wipe the snow off :confused:

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pub...P_P105Ulc_AUFb


:ugh2:

there's your problem.

my Fit with snow tires will do circles around your 370Z with snow tires in snow, while my 370Z is spotless 100% salt free. :tup: :rofl2:

yea but you have like 7 cars haha.:tiphat:

I'm with you. My Z stays salt free and gets to have a break in the miles department while I cruise around in my Versa and do e-brake spins :tup:

e-brake dorifuto while 370Z is spotless = FTW! :tup:

I think many people are missing the point here, why are we debating about salt and corrosion when this guy moving from TX wants to know if its safe to drive his Z in the Northeast? The answer is YES-it can be safe to drive however you will need snow tires and you have to figure out where and how much driving you will be doing. If he works on the road or has a long daily commute and it snows more than 5 inches, your going to be in trouble. Going up a snowy hill in a Z with snow tires will give you some trouble as well. If he drives outside of the city whether its Boston, Providence, Portsmouth, etc and drives on the back roads when its snowing heavily, YES you will be safer in an AWD. AWD and FWD with proper tires will give you more control in treacherous weather versus a light sports car with RWD and snow tires. If you plan it right you can drive the Z with snow tires in the Northeast, just plan ahead when we get snow and make alternative transportation plans. If you dont want to worry about any of this and feel like its time to get a new car, then go for it

Maryland (baltimore) and Pennsylvenia are most likely the states I will be moving. I am not so sure yet- I'll find it out before April and will move there around August. I have no clue about their snowing statistics, so any inputs will be welcomed.

BTW, thanks for all who posted my thread. It really helps me to make a decision!

Maryland is no big deal, they don't get big storms very often and if they do they call a state of emergency and close down. Philly gets about the same, around 20 inches a year.

Western PA on the other hand can get a fair bit of snow depending on where you are, especially in the mountains. Pittsburgh gets around 40 inches, Erie gets almost 90 inches due to lake effect.

If I go to phily, Erie is the city. damnnnnnn

Z is the only car i have...

Look I have been posting about my winter tires and I live in Minnesota. You will be fine as long as you use common sense. I am lucky to have an old accord to drive if the snow is really bad but if you get a really bad snowstorm it won't matter. My dad has a truck and it was struggling in 18" of snow because the side roads weren't getting plow very often.

The easiest way to know if you can make it through the snow is if it is deeper than the bottom of your car you will get stuck. If you don't want a salty car than don't drive it in the snow.

If you do drive it in the snow try and find a car wash that offers unlimited for a monthly price. We have a good touch free one here that offers unlimited monthly washes for a straight fee. No idea if where you are moving has anything like that but all things to keep in mind.