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I don't own a Z but I am in negotiations to buy one. I would have to surrender my Pathfinder so you can imagine how important this post is to
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#1 (permalink) |
Enthusiast Member
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Lee's Summit Missouri
Posts: 337
Drives: 2015 Pearl White Z
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I don't own a Z but I am in negotiations to buy one. I would have to surrender my Pathfinder so you can imagine how important this post is to me. I would have to drive in the winter. Missouri winters are milder compared to where I grew up (Maryland) but, we typically get rain that turns to ice that turns to snow. Two inches of that stuff is bad. If I get the car, I'd have no choice but to drive it. Fortunately I am a teacher. If it gets bad enough to close school, I don't have to go to work. That usually means I go hiking as my favorite time of year is winter and I love the temp outside to be between 0 and 32. Drives my wife nuts how I can hike for hours wearing a heavy shirt, hat, gloves, and no coat and come home warmer than her. My calendar has three seasons, fall, winter, and fall...
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#2 (permalink) |
Base Member
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Vernal, Ut
Posts: 92
Drives: '09 370Z MB 6MT
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Come first snow, mine goes into the aircraft hanger for the winter until the roads are clear and the salt has been washed away next spring. Back to driving the Honda
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#3 (permalink) |
Base Member
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Montreal
Posts: 3
Drives: x 350z / Corvette
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To nice to be driven in the the cold , dirty, slushy, gritty, winter. Not to mention some idiot will probably slide into you the first freezing rain.
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#4 (permalink) |
Base Member
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: NJ
Posts: 1
Drives: 2010 370Z Touring
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I'm from Jersey & last year I rode around all winter (when I was actually able to get my car out of my driveway) with my summer tires. However last year we had a really bad winter. So there would be weeks I wouldn't be able to move my car from the parking spot. I never had issues with clearance when I was actually driving the car . This year I plan on getting some snow tires & a beater for the really bad storms. All you can do. Either that....or get an all year round car which I'm sure you won't!!!
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#5 (permalink) |
Base Member
Join Date: May 2009
Location: VA
Posts: 199
Drives: 09 370Z Touring 7AT
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My advice is get an all wheel drive G37.
Yes any kind of non OEM part will depreciate the car... unless you know you can find a mod junkie to buy it when you decide to sell it. |
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#7 (permalink) |
Base Member
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Connecticut USA
Posts: 243
Drives: '09 370Z PW MT6 S
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I drive my Z year-round in the Northeast U.S. Having the Limited Slip (sport pkg) and dedicated snow tires makes it possible. A Pathfinder will have better traction, but may not stop or handle any better, especially if using all-season tires. I see a lot of upside-down SUV's when I drive to Vermont ski areas in the winter.
Dedicated snows are the key to true winter happiness with the Z. I would never try to drive the Z in snow without real snow tires. Blizzaks seem to work very well, in the *narrowest* size you can get to fit. Narrow is MUCH better than wide in the snow. So a set of 18" base wheels (see other posts here for examples) are a good idea too, cuz you can get narrower tires on 'em. There are several types of snows you might consider. The performance snows tend to have much better dry road performance, but for true confidence, you should optimize winter/ice traction, so avoid the performance ones if possible. Blizzak non-performance rubber has dual-tread compound using a multicell technology which really works well on ice (but wears like butter on dry pavement). Unfortunately, I haven't found any of these multicell compounds in the sizes we need. Neither the LM-25 nore LM-60's have it. The alternative is micro-siping, where the manufacturer cuts little slices into the tread all over. The theory is that this exposes lots of little edges of rubber which improve adhesion on ice. I had several sets of Michelin Alpin Ice tires which use this technology, and they are clearly better than standard snows for ice/snow-covered roads. They squirm more on dry pavement, however, and I think stopping distances are longer, so like everything else, it is a trade-off. Nokkian and Gislaved have some expensive tires using this technology as well. Remember that the only thing holding you on the road (regardless of AWD/FWD or RWD) is that little patch of rubber on each corner. There have been some other threads on this topic. It boils down to using common sense. The Z has about 4-1/2" of ground clearance, and snow can build up in the wheel-wells. It is useful to remove the wheel spats if you do a lot of driving in loose snow. Around here we get maybe 7-8 true snow days with deep snow. These are good days to wait until the roads are plowed before venturing out. Otherwise, just be careful out there. Hope this helps! HJM |
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#8 (permalink) | |
Base Member
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: toronto
Posts: 11
Drives: 2002 volvo v70
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I'd also like to add that for the winter right now i drive a 2002 volvo V70 station wagon with all season tires and its just enough to get me through the winter.... how will the Z stack up to it? thanks |
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#9 (permalink) | |
Base Member
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Connecticut USA
Posts: 243
Drives: '09 370Z PW MT6 S
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Anyway, narrower winter tires tend to "cut thru" the snow to the pavement whereas wider tires tend to float on top. Running 225/45-18's all around on stock wheels. Would like to go even narrower. Of course these tires suck on dry pavement, but if it is your only means of transport and you MUST go in snow, it will work fine. Just my $0.02 HJM |
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#10 (permalink) |
A True Z Fanatic
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Posts: 1,249
Drives: 09 370z Sport 6MT
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I also have the Z as my only car, and will also be driving in Toronto winter. Yeah, get some used 18 inch rims, and snow tires and go for it. I'm personally gonna go shopping for my winter wheels and tires in a few weeks. Does anyone have advice regarding which brand of snow tire would work best on the z?
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#11 (permalink) |
Enthusiast Member
Join Date: May 2009
Location: pennsylvania
Posts: 427
Drives: 370z tour,sport,auto
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A dealer told me this story...... During a moderate snowfall last winter they needed to move a Z from one lot to another across the highway. It took over an hour, and was not a pleasant experience..........
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#13 (permalink) |
Captin Canuck
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man alot of you guys abviously don't know how to drive in winter. Winter tires and you are good to go. will it be the best thing in the snow no. but you will be fine. just not aon the big storm days but that is just common sence.
__________________
Originally Posted by SAM@GTM Engine detonation is not normal and it should never never happen, and whoever told that need to do something else for living . Sam |
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#14 (permalink) |
A True Z Fanatic
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Midwest
Posts: 1,349
Drives: 370Z PW 2014
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I'm from Minnesota. Pretty good idea how to drive in the snow and I know from experience that it's possible, but not pleasant, to kludge around in a Z in the snow. It ain't fun, and I bought the car to have fun. Mine goes in the garage with the first snowflake and I drive the 2500 Sierra HD. That first snowflake is the exact point where the 3/4 ton 4WD pickup truck is more fun to drive than the Z.
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#15 (permalink) | |
A True Z Fanatic
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Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
How to take care of your 370Z during winter. | Knux | Canada | 20 | 06-28-2010 10:09 AM |
What do you drive in winter? | wanta370 | Nissan 370Z General Discussions | 61 | 08-27-2009 08:45 PM |
wheels for winter | BOBz | Wheels & Tires | 0 | 08-20-2009 11:44 AM |
Winter driving and the Z | matt2112 | Nissan 370Z General Discussions | 14 | 05-07-2009 08:49 PM |
Winter driving? | shumby | Wheels & Tires | 6 | 12-18-2008 08:20 PM |