can u drive a 370z in winter?

Inspector71

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...

cajunz

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

jlazer

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. Well good luck with that have a great safe winter ..

naydene

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!!!

awesomez

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.

FuszNissan

You will need snow tires. I had an 03 Z and with one inch on the ground I couldn't go too far.

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Mergnthwirker

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

BjjKing

why is narrow better? u can always change from wide to narrow right? Also, there are some days in toronto where it is just cold and its not snowy, but like another poster said ITT that snow does build up in the wheel wells and makes it difficult to drive. I drive a lot so this is an issue for me... would a beater for the winter be necessary or would u guys think the Z can get u through the harsh toronto winter... for those of u who dont know what toronto winter is like, think buffalo i guess

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

Mergnthwirker

You would think Swedish cars would be great in snow given their origin, but my recent experience would argue otherwise. I learned the hard way that a FWD Saab won't go up steep hills in the winter b/c the "traction control" works by applying the brakes to transfer the torque to the side with more grip. Good in theory, but going uphill by applying the brakes... not. so. much.

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

Pharmacist

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?

cave vulture

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..........

shabarivas

with 275s on the rear you will kill yourself in snow

shumby

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.

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MacCool

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.

kenchan

the thing i HATE the most about driving my hobby cars in the snow is dat i may have all the traction and driving skillz, but i feel like a sitting duck with all the dumbf- idiots driving all season and summer tires in the deep snow~