How is your 370z in the snow?
 

Do you guys even drive it or keep it in the garage? Obviously I'm not going to drive it while there's a snow storm or 5 inches of snow but I may need to use the car if it's a couple of inches and/or a day when there is a couple of inches of slush on the roads the day after snowing. I'm probably not going to get the sport package because those tires look like they have zero chance if it were to flurry. Do you guys have a separate set of winter tires?

I am just asking because I am looking to purchase a car in the next couple of months (used of course; preferably certified). I've always wanted a BMW 335i but the cost of ownership is so high especially with all the high maintenance costs when BMW's turbos and in general aren't even that reliable in the first place. That's when I decided on the BMW 328i RWD with a 6MT but they're so hard to find. 99% of them are automatics. So I decided to keep on looking around for alternatives and I never considered a 370z but after watching Top Gear and 5th Gear, it seems to have gotten really good reviews. The looks are stunning and I can see Nissan is gunning for the Cayman S which is a pretty good thing. The only "bad" thing, I'm sure you guys have heard this before, is the loud road noise and lack of rear seating but I don't really mind. The interior is also light years ahead of the 350z.

I'm not a showy person and I've never received a ticket/citation so it's not like I'm going to street race this thing. I'm 22 and I usually drive my parents' 10 year old Volvo S80 so I may need to get used to twice the power. I just graduated college and I've been working 80 hour weeks so I think I may be going through a quarter life crisis. I'll be paying for everything with my own money.

its not....

i guess me never driving mine in the snow is not at all helpful to this thread... ok i'll stop talking now...

I have a beater for the snow. z is not good in snow

My car does great in the winter ... she's always under the cover in my garage lol!

My buddy has winter tires and he says its fine in the winter. I'm pretty sure had a couple salt bags in the back. Plus, this year we barely had any snow in Toronto.

i live in the mountians outside denver at 9000ft. The Z is my only car....i put blizzacks on it and its fine....snow isnt the issue, clearance becomes the issue. as long as you are not a moron and drive reasonably in the snow, its just as good as any rear wheel drive car. Which is to say, less good then a front wheel and lesser still from an all wheel.

I don't drive my 370z in winter, but I used to drive my 350z all year around.

You need a set of good snow tires, not Hankook, at least Bridgestone or TOYO.

Like steve1ddd said, traction is not really a problem, but clearance is, 2 - 3 inches is not a problem, but more than 5... you gotta be careful.

The VDC is excellent, not only twice I mention in this forum I was benefited from it helping me get out of a crash.

Overall, if you are thinking about driving the Z on snow, I'll say as long as you put on a set of good snow tires, you'll be fine.

A side note to you, if you are going to drive the Z on snow, make sure you will have an under-car wash for it often enough to make sure no salt or dirt stick on the car. :tiphat:

There is winter in the northeast? I am still on summer tires, just drove 1500 miles this winter on them.

All jokes aside, get snow tires and you will be unstoppable.

I was suprised by how well my Z does in the snow with a set of Blizzaks. For full disclosure I learned and used to deliver pizzas with rear-wheel drive cars when I was in high-school, so I have a lot of experience and confidence in my winter driving ability. As has been said, the clearance is the issue and there is a splashguard just before the front tires that will get ripped off if there is any significant amount of accumulation. The bad news is it costs $400 to replace, but the good news is that it is completely useless as it only covers three bolts. I just remove it in the winter when I put my snow tires on and put it back on in the summer.

As far as stopping and turning, I feel safer in the Z with Blizzaks, VDC and ABS than I did in my Tacomas with all terrain tires. I just don't get up to speed as fast. The Z is my daily driver which I do drive in the snow regularly.

hey dude, we need the car be Stoppable. LOL

not good in the snow at least with sport tirees , i drive it in the winter but if it snow i go to enterprise and rent me a car

my 370z is sideways in the snow

same here in connecticut we barely had snow , we having temperatures in low 50s and high 40s , its gotta be global warming, loving it cuz i get to drive the z more :happydance:

Don't be an idiot like me and drive your car in the winter on stock tires, i ended up in a pole about a month ago because of that

OP,

I literally had this exact same question about a year ago when I was thinking about purchasing a 370z. I thought maybe I could drive it the snow but luckily for me It worked out where I had kept my other car as a winter beater (and it was a beater) and I drove that most of winter .

To answer your question can you drive the z in snow?:

On stock tires, absolutely not. I learned this first hand. This car will not go anywhere on snow or even light ice on stock tires. Do not do this... Extremely dangerous.

If you buy snow tires, yes, I just purchased a set of used blizzaks tires for my Z and I just drove about 2-3 inches of snow just fine. Now for anything like a foot or more I'm not sure because it has not snowed that much here yet.. But yes with the correct tires you can.

Snow+VDC Off=Winning

My suggestion, DO get the sports package 370Z. You'll love those big brakes and nice little add ons available on the sports package. THEN,

Buy a set of dedicated winter rims/tires:http://www.the370z.com/wheels-tires/...cs-ak370z.html

These will take miles off your summer tires (you can go more summer seasons with same tires) and will give you serious traction in snow. I am a big time blizzaks fan. I'm LM-25 but they are discontinued. You'll be fine with the LM-60. With these tires, you can clear as much snow as your front bumper will clear (which is about 4-5"). Anything more, you start to scrape front bumper. Also, make sure you get narrow rims and tires (that'll still clear the AKEBONO in sports package) for snow.

Good luck. We are always here to help you.

+1 car is great in the snow when driven as you should in the snow anyways. Plenty of people here in Germany use their RWD Beemers in the snow. Snow tires and responsible driving in less than 5 inches is no big deal at all. Ive got Blizzaks and ours is a daily driver.

^^snow plowing Z :bowrofl:

BTW AK, yours are not lowered am i right? that'll surely be an issue for lowered vehicles :shakes head:

Normally stays in the heated garage during winter.

Thanks for all the help everyone! You're all just giving me more confidence in buying the 370z over the BMW hahaha. And yeah, the northeast has been pretty weird. I think our winter peaked in late october or something like that? It's been close to spring weather every since then lol

That video is pretty awesome too. I see that you're from NJ too and where I live in NJ (bergen county), that's really as much snow as I would get during winter anyways.

Cheers everyone!

If you have winter tires and disconnect the VDC, its perfectly fine. Had mine out in like a foot of snow in -59*C weather...handled perfectly once i learned where the harness was for the VDC. Even with it turned off, the thing would kick in all the time and piss me off. I defently felt safter/more in controll with it disabled. The key though is to have good winter tires.

Please, don't suggest people to turn off the VDC, it is useful if you got onto an icy surface.

I drive in the snow and mostly clearance is the issue. I have continental all seasons which I also had on my G35 coupe. They do, like you would guess, better than summer tires but not as good as winter only tires. I'll most likely get a rim/winter tire set for the next winter. Again, I got around fine in our (very low) 2 snow events this winter. With the G I got around fine in several snow events over the years. You just can't fly around like you are in a truck.....

:iagree: :tup:

Well i dont know about everyone else, but VDC caused more issues then anything. Trying to get out of my parking lot or leaving from a red light, tire spin a tiny bit...vdc kicks in and kills all power. I go to take a turn, *** end swings out abit...vdc kicks in and screws me right up, even though im in 100% control. Thats on dry pavement, snow and ice. I felt alot safer having the vdc disconnected, then it kicking in every time i go to move or take a turn.

Since i havent driven my evo in the snow yet, i cant say for sure. But i'll probably turn the traction control off on that as well.

I really don't know why people question the Z's ability to navigate in snow. Obviously clearance will be a problem but think about how many years people had to drive rear wheel drive cars in all kinds of weather and terrain and for a long time without snow tires. Observe the usual precautions for driving any vehicle in the snow and you will have no more problems than anyone else.

http://www.the370z.com/nissan-370z-g...k-lm-60-a.html

You can turn VDC off but you have to understand throttle control. Leave VDC on if you are not sure.

I understand sometimes VDC seems stupid, you can't bring the tail out or whatever. You are right, if you stuck in snow or traffic light, you have to turn it off to get the car out. But if you got onto an icy surface, VDC is the only thing that can straighten the car for you, it is something counter-steer or throttle cannot do.

Please, I say this because VDC saved me twice, first time was when my Z approaching when I saw 2 cars had collided, all the sudden my car started sliding towards them, the ramp was black-iced and I was going only 40km/h.

You can bring out your counter-steer or throtte control or WRC skills, but you cannot apply brakes individually like VDC.

That's how I was saved by it the first time.

So yes, you can't use VDC if you are stuck in snow, but once your car start moving, you might want to have it on.

For the price it will cost you for a good pair of snow tires, buy a winter beater and keep the Z all nice and warm for the winter.

Keep in mind that the 370z paint is CRAP and scratches very easily. You might find yourself stuck behind a snow plow spraying salt and junk everywhere and it will beat the hell out of the paint. Also, the Z as you know, is low (cause it is a sports car and all) and if you have more than 4 inches of snow, you will be helping your town out by plowing the roads with your front end.

IMO it is a bad idea all around to drive this car in the winter.

Buy a beater.

I agree, but for some people buying another car is not practical. since they would only be using it a couple times a year (only when it snows).

Buy a more expensive car if you want a garage queen, just get some snow tires and go zoom zoom

:iagree:

I have sport package 370Z. I got a second set of wheels (cheap, black painted 18") and tires (Blizzak LM-60) and everything has been great through my first winter in Mass.

Stock sport tires won't budge on a dusting of snow and the tires turn into hockey pucks from being so cold.

Was 1400 for wheels and tires all mounted and shipped from sponsor Tirerack. Just factor that into the price :)

Remember skinnier tires are better in snow. Also if you get wheels/tires all the same size and width, they can be rotated. Some people get spacers to bring them more flush with fenders. I say leaving it alone helps keep the dirty snow inside your wheel wells !

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:iagree:

Bad idea. No big deal if you are driving a 8 year old honda civic fwd or something. Even in Michigan, where I grew up, we all drove in the snow, and even with fwd cars you will inevitably get into a bumber bender. It's unavoidable if you drive in snow regularly. If you live anywhere that has more gradients than hwy overpassess, never take out a rwd car unless you have SNOW tires, even then you're taking your chances with all the other morons, and there's lots of em out there.

ironically poor people tell me that all the time. :icon17:

The moral of this is it depends on how much snow your area gets also. If I lived in Michigan, I would have a nice older truck for winter. The 370Z generally does fine in my area though. I have insurance for fender benders.

If you really loved your Z, you'd never show it snow.

They probably have a point given most SUVs cost as much as the Z

If I really loved my Z, I would drive it every opportunity I could get. ;)