Defeated by a light snow

[Maxcam]

I lived in Derby, oh about 47 years ago. Still have 1 family member left there in town.
Cute little town, I hope you enjoy living there.

[thahemp]

Originally Posted by Maxcam

I lived in Derby, oh about 47 years ago. Still have 1 family member left there in town.
Cute little town, I hope you enjoy living there.

I do. I have tried to move away several times... always seem to find my way back here.

[Rdphish73]

Bridgestone Blizzaks....FTW.

[JeSSter]

I'm on my third winter in SE Michigan on Blizzaks. Had your situation occur in November 2010 about a week after buying. Had the Blizzaks delivered to the house from Tire Rack about a week later. Will never drive with summer tires after November 1st and before April 1st in Michigan regardless of how many nice days there are in that window. I'm at 73K on the car now, and the Blizzaks actually save a bit of money as well, they are much cheaper than the 20' Pirellis.........

[thedelrizz]

I too was caught stuck in the snow. I went to visit my gf and an inch had built up before I even noticed it had started to snow. I tried to get on the roads and get home and switch cars. I made it all 10 feet past the building security gate before I was stuck. Luckily the security guard came and gave me a hand to get it into the underground.

I have had 2 third gens that I drove in the snow when I was younger and thought this would be no problem, boy was I wrong. snow tires are a must.

I would have rather stayed in my car out in the snow then spend the next several hours of my gf ridiculing about how "impractical" my car is...

[Babylamb]

Originally Posted by thahemp

Thanks. I must admit... I'm a little embarrased. I almost didn't post. It's easy to "know" something and not KNOW it until it happens to you. I figured this might help the next person realize that those tires really can't work in snow. Utterly impossible.

I should have saved you a trip and made a post when it first happened to me back in November with these tires.

[MBS]

Originally Posted by thahemp

Well I learned a hard lesson today. I got stuck against the curb in 1.5" of snow on maybe a 10* incline. The snow came a little earlier than I thought it would. I figured I could at least have my car till lunch, then just drive the wife's AWD car for the next couple days. I am still having a hard time coming to grips with how sh!tty our cars handle in the snow with the stock Pirellis.

I've had a bunch of FWD cars with no limited-slip differential and an S-10 with no LSD and I've lived in Kansas all my life. I have never been so hopelessly defeated by the snow before! I've always been able to get through it by keeping my speed up, feathering the clutch, etc... That wasn't happening this time. Mercilessly beaten by 1.5" of snow.

Anywho... we spun the car 90 degrees by spinning the tires and pushing sideways on the back of the car, then pushed it into a good samaritan's driveway to the back of their property to get it off the street. I'm glad they were willing to let me shack up for a few hours. I picked it back up this evening with no issues. They plowed the friggin street 10 minutes after I got my car off the road. Nice timing.

Lessons learned:
1) Snow tires are a requirement... not just a good idea.
2) The car has no way to pull it with a strap.
3) Get over it and take a car made for snow. It's not worth the risk!

It is a snow car . all you got to do is take a hour and switch out your tires once in the fall and once in the spring , Instant snow car

[byrosol]

Originally Posted by thahemp

Well I learned a hard lesson today. I got stuck against the curb in 1.5" of snow on maybe a 10* incline. The snow came a little earlier than I thought it would. I figured I could at least have my car till lunch, then just drive the wife's AWD car for the next couple days. I am still having a hard time coming to grips with how sh!tty our cars handle in the snow with the stock Pirellis.

I've had a bunch of FWD cars with no limited-slip differential and an S-10 with no LSD and I've lived in Kansas all my life. I have never been so hopelessly defeated by the snow before! I've always been able to get through it by keeping my speed up, feathering the clutch, etc... That wasn't happening this time. Mercilessly beaten by 1.5" of snow.

Anywho... we spun the car 90 degrees by spinning the tires and pushing sideways on the back of the car, then pushed it into a good samaritan's driveway to the back of their property to get it off the street. I'm glad they were willing to let me shack up for a few hours. I picked it back up this evening with no issues. They plowed the friggin street 10 minutes after I got my car off the road. Nice timing.

Lessons learned:
1) Snow tires are a requirement... not just a good idea.
2) The car has no way to pull it with a strap.
3) Get over it and take a car made for snow. It's not worth the risk!

I absolutely hate the stock tires that come with these cars, that was one of the first things I changed on my car.

General Tire G-MAX AS-03's are awesome, they are all seasons and I've driven in the snow many times and have not had a single problem with traction. These things grip the road like none other.

[suplex]

thahemp:

In the event that you decide to go the route of getting a set of snow tires mounted on wheels already (for an easy bolt on - bolt off application) I did some math using an online tire calculator for you to downsize your wheel and tire size for better snow handling.

Your car either has P245/45-R20 (Front) and P275/40-R20 (Rear) if you have the 20" Wheels, or you have P245/40-R21 (Front) and P275/35-R21 (Rear) if you have the 21" Wheels.

If you downsize to P245/55-R18, which ironically is the tire size of a 1LT model with no R/S Package, then you will be driving a real 59.9-mph when your speedometer says 60-mph (if your original Wheels are 20") both front and rear wheels.

If your original Wheels are 21", then the 18" Snow Tire Size will be a real 59.8-mph for the Front, and 60.1-mph for the Rear.

Also, considering you probably won't even come close to 60mph in Snow, numbers that close (for how off you'll be with a smaller wheel/tire size) are actually very good. You clearly won't regret a Snow Tire Package, if you feel you get enough snow to warrant one.

[MiracleAces]

They are awful in very cold weather as well. Below 40 degrees and it's like driving on smooth plastic tires until they warm up.

[ExCrystal]

If you don't usually get snow, then don't worry about getting snow tires. They work wonders, though

...But I only have them on my rear tires, so when I make a turn, I don't turn - I go in a straight line lol.

[thahemp]

Originally Posted by suplex

thahemp:

In the event that you decide to go the route of getting a set of snow tires mounted on wheels already (for an easy bolt on - bolt off application) I did some math using an online tire calculator for you to downsize your wheel and tire size for better snow handling.

Your car either has P245/45-R20 (Front) and P275/40-R20 (Rear) if you have the 20" Wheels, or you have P245/40-R21 (Front) and P275/35-R21 (Rear) if you have the 21" Wheels.

If you downsize to P245/55-R18, which ironically is the tire size of a 1LT model with no R/S Package, then you will be driving a real 59.9-mph when your speedometer says 60-mph (if your original Wheels are 20") both front and rear wheels.

If your original Wheels are 21", then the 18" Snow Tire Size will be a real 59.8-mph for the Front, and 60.1-mph for the Rear.

Also, considering you probably won't even come close to 60mph in Snow, numbers that close (for how off you'll be with a smaller wheel/tire size) are actually very good. You clearly won't regret a Snow Tire Package, if you feel you get enough snow to warrant one.

Good info suplex. I was looking into 18" wheels just because they're so much cheaper! Thanks.

Originally Posted by MiracleAces

They are awful in very cold weather as well. Below 40 degrees and it's like driving on smooth plastic tires until they warm up.

Indeed. I have to be careful even on dry pavement when it's cold. Plastic is a pretty good description of their performance in cold weather. Just gassing it in 2nd is a good way to get sideways.

[thahemp]

Originally Posted by byrosol

I absolutely hate the stock tires that come with these cars, that was one of the first things I changed on my car.

General Tire G-MAX AS-03's are awesome, they are all seasons and I've driven in the snow many times and have not had a single problem with traction. These things grip the road like none other.

How do those tires stick when it's warm outside? All of my future mods add power, so I'm a little weary of going with AS tires. I'd hate to lose traction in the summer as easy as I do in the winter!

[MBS]

Originally Posted by thahemp

How do those tires stick when it's warm outside? All of my future mods add power, so I'm a little weary of going with AS tires. I'd hate to lose traction in the summer as easy as I do in the winter!

Your best bet is a 3 tire set , All-season for spring and fall , Summer for well summer , and snows for winter ,rims for each set for easy on and off, still cheaper than buying a winter beater If you plan on keeping the car then you will have the best of all 3 seasons and car will give you the best performance with the proper tires and rims