Winter Driving

[matthook]

Does anyone here drive there Camaro in the winter with winter tires? I know its not really recommended to drive it in the winter but I'm wondering if its done much, i'm from the Toronto area

[The Stig]

I know it's not the same as Canada, but I'm in NW Pennsylvania so we get a decent amount of snow. I have the Pirelli scorpions for my winter tires and have yet to have a problem driving in the snow. Be it slush, snow, ice, etc. I just have to be a little more reserved on the throttle.

[skuttduck]

I drive mine here in Lansing, MI. I was discussing the winter driving with some Canadians in Oshawa.

Since I don't have to drive North to get to Canada (just east) I can share my experiences with you.

[Saint Alban]

I'm in New York City and I drive with my winter tires as well. I tend not to drive with any significant snow on the ground though (especially after putting my front lip spoiler on), unless i have to. Mainly because other people drive like idiots around here when it snows heavily. They dont seem to understand physics. I got the winter tires because the ones that come on the car stay hard and tend to spin when temperatures get below 40 degrees, but like Steiger mentioned, know your limits and go easy. You won't spin out and do a 360 unless you were really trying.

[matthook]

Great thanks for your quick responses. Im planning on getting one in March so ive been wondering if i shoudl be keeping my Grand Prix GT for the winter or not, but if it seems safe enough i'd like to just use the camaro obviously, and pay less insurance than insuring both vehicles.Skuttduck, do you have any experiences you could tell me about?

[Meltdownaverted]

I live in Alberta and even drove to Ontario for Christmas last year, there's notthing wrong with driving you car as long as you get some winter tires, I used to drive my CTS in the winter and no one would look at me twice, no with the Camaro I get asked if I'm crazy all the time.
You live in the city you shouldn't be worried about plowing drifts with you car, so I can't see you having issues.

[Meltdownaverted]

Can't tell me this doesn't look like fun


what will happen if you don't get winter tires

[rmpackers]

Originally Posted by stieger

I know it's not the same as Canada, but I'm in NW Pennsylvania so we get a decent amount of snow. I have the Pirelli scorpions for my winter tires and have yet to have a problem driving in the snow. Be it slush, snow, ice, etc. I just have to be a little more reserved on the throttle.

[SQUALO]

Originally Posted by matthook

Does anyone here drive there Camaro in the winter with winter tires? I know its not really recommended to drive it in the winter but I'm wondering if its done much, i'm from the Toronto area

There's a few GTA folks who drive their cars in the winter, I'm NOT one of them.
They all say the same thing; equip the car with real top quality snow tires (don't skimp on price) and the car handles like a dream, especially with all that weight.

[skuttduck]

Originally Posted by matthook

Great thanks for your quick responses. Im planning on getting one in March so ive been wondering if i shoudl be keeping my Grand Prix GT for the winter or not, but if it seems safe enough i'd like to just use the camaro obviously, and pay less insurance than insuring both vehicles.Skuttduck, do you have any experiences you could tell me about?

It is the best winter car I've ever driven in the snow. I got the 20" Pirelli scorpion ice and snow tires.

My other cars were a 1983 Pontiac Bonneville. A 1989 Toyota Corolla All Trac, and my 2000 Camry

The Corolla was pretty sweet too.

Deep snow over 6 inches can be tough, but you can do it. Turn off the traction control to let the tires spin down enough to get traction, when it bites again, turn on the traction control.

I was able to get the car moving in the February blizzard we had by doing this. Once the car got moving I didn't want to stop.

If you acclerate too fast with rear wheel drive it will want to spin you around. The Traction control and Stabilitrack stop that.

I drove once on an unplowed but driven on road. There was a spot of ice. I had no traction there. But the car is a tank on the road in the winter and will go through snow just fine.





Last but not least, if it is a heavy wet snow, this can accumulate in the stock 20" rims, and cause your car to be off balance. So just be aware of that and get the snow out of there if it is near 0.

[skuttduck]

One last thing. I've noticed as the temperature drops, I have to index the drivers window more.

The information center will tell you to open and close the drivers window.

It hasn't done that all summer, but does it a bit more in the winter.

[matthook]

Thanks for everyones stories and opinions thats great news, and yes I'm expecting and prepared to get many "are you crazy why would you drive that in the winter"s

[matthook]

Also i actually posted this in another part of the forums, but does anyone know is the imperial metallic blue is going to be available here in Canada for 2012? all the dealers ive talked to checked their 2012 ordering page and its not included on there yet, but it has been confirmed to be sold in the U.S. for sure.

[scuba264]

I was impressed with just my all seasons last year. Now I bought the car at the end of December so I had like 100% of the tread on the tires and I made it up my hill home with a few inches of snow.

Definitely wouldn't drive it with all seasons regularly though, I have a set of winters in the garage. I've seen a lot of post with people saying they drove all winter so I'm not worried. If you KNOW how to drive in the snow I think it'll be fine. I lived in Pgh, State College, and Johnstown Pa...I've got experience. If you're careful it won't be a problem.