Snow Driving...Who's done it so far?

MPD47

This may be the funniest post I've seen on the internet. The 370z is more than capable in the snow. Get some decent snows, turn traction control off and go have fun guys. I daily my 2wd truck that has 20" wheels on it and we get arguably more snow than the rest of the country in Western NY (See: Lake effect). Hell, back when one of my friends owned my z33 (and it had twin turbos) we took it ice racing a few times out on frozen lakes.

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gemini09m3

HAHA thats so much fun and I agree with you once you got the right tires on you can have a blast in the winter!!!!!

SeattleLion

Where you live the state/counties/cities know how to manage snow. Here in the Seattle area, the idiots (county and city authorities) wait until enough snow has fallen (a full day generally) to turn to black ice. Most areas won't use salt. They are afraid of changing the salinity of the Pacific ocean. Most of our roads have raised dots in addtion to painted lines, so a plow leaves at least two inches of snow/ice. As a result, the roads are virtually undrivable until the snow melts. Fortunately, this happens after a few days and it doesn't snow all that often.

I'm from New York and am very used to driving in snow. But here it isn't snow, it's ice. Couple all of this with the fact that people here do not have a clue about winter driving. Oh yes, one more thing, the area is riddled with steep hills.

I have all-weather tires. They do just fine in wet and light snow. The OEM tires (which I replaced after 1,000 miles) are not very sticky on wet roads...and our roads are wet a lot.

clayton

I just placed 2 sixty pound bags of sand in the back hatch area.... anyone think this may upset the handling or two much weight on the back cover ? Residing in Ohio the snows can be brutal and since this is my daily driver I am attempting to do all that I can to make it to and from destinations. I also replaced factory tires for Dunlop WinterSport 3D in rear and Dunlop graspic DS3 in front...

AK370Z

I don't see why you should have problem. It's like carrying an extra person (120 lbs). You may lose a MPG or two but you'll have much better rear traction since 370Z rear is so light. Good luck

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spearfish25

Exactly. Unfortunately I don't have the resources to enjoy the luxury of two cars. The 370z will be perfectly fine in Chicago for probably 355 days of the year. For the remaining "bad" snow days, I'll have a set of winter tires or I can borrow my in-law's jeep or take a taxi (probably worse than snow tires in the 370z).

Manual transmissions are historically beneficial in snow...anyone who knows how to handle one appropriately will be a safer driver than a corresponding automatic transmission driver.

spearfish25

I've found the summer tires to be pretty darn good even around freezing when things are dry. I do occasionally get some wheel spin and VDC activation on hard corning or hot acceleration in 1st and 2nd gear when it's near freezing though.

I was wondering why I couldn't get the tires to 'chirp' when shifting from 1st to 2nd like in all the videos, but then I realized it was a combo of the cold weather and the VDC being activated.

SoCal 370Z

Well, the Japan model of our car has Snow Mode with its automatic transmission as shown from an excerpt of their Owners Manual. Remember that they are right-hand drive so the shift layout is flipped. Here is a Babel Fish translation of the page:


Now you know what that blank button is used for, and the word SNOW is lighted in the fuel gauge bezel when the button is engaged. Just one more little perk we get screwed out of with the North American models.

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spearfish25

I'm interested to know what exactly Snow Mode does.

I've read stories that with the stock summer tires you can get stuck in under an inch of snow on flat ground. Maybe it makes the Japanese stock tires bristle with long pointy metal studs... Realistically it probably just makes the car accelerate like a Prius.

Of course that button location is the SRM button on the 6MT (if you flip the US layout to match theirs, otherwise it's the hazard lights).

SoCal 370Z

It usually starts the car off in second gear to avoid spinning, and provide a slower start.

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ChrisSlicks

Not sure why they wouldn't have included it, seems strange as it's just a software mode for the computer.

I think some of the Infiniti models have it, I remember seeing it in my friends M35X.

And yes, on the stock summer tires you aren't going anywhere if there is 1" or more of snow on the ground. All season performance tires are a little better but still pretty useless if there is more than a couple of inches.

spearfish25

I'm still waiting to figure out how to fit rims for my car so I can get a set of snow tires. The short story is that I want 18"s so I can fit Blizzaks, but I have no idea which 18"s if any will fit the sport brakes. Hopefully one day Tire Rack will measure the car.

ChrisSlicks

I think the biggest issue with any after market wheels is going to be the spokes clearing the caliper (whether 18's, 19's or 20's). The wheel hoop itself should clear on most 18's, but there's not much room to spare.

Wonder if anyone tried the base model 18's on the sport? They would make great snow rims if you bought someone's take offs.

marcussoori

As you probably know, you can buy Blizzaks for the 19" sport wheels. Have them on my car in NE and the Z is pretty darn good in snow lower than the clearance of the car.

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DooDooBrown

Just did it in sleet.... Sport package, all stock... Not fun, but it recovers well if you let off the gas..... Couldn't brake more than 5mph, horrible! Do yourself a favor, buy a Jeep!