I survived winter (I think)

[MacadamianNut]

I did something very foolish when I got my Camaro back in September: I severely underestimated the issue I would have driving it in snow. I underestimated this because my previous car was a Scion TC, which was only problematic to the point of being a minor annoyance the past few winters I've experienced here in Northern Indiana. Being the car newbie I am, I didn't see how the difference FWD vs RWD in snow/ice would be so drastic. I also had stock tires on the Scion...

So I went into this winter with PZeros. First snowfall hit at night while I was at the movie theater and it has been pure hell ever since. Slipping and sliding all over the road from the get-go (fortunately pretty much nobody else was on the road that night). I went to the local dealership to ask about snow tires, but at that point they told me they were on national backorder.

This winter was probably the most severe winter my area has experienced in 30 years. In the twenty years before I started attending my school in 2010, there was one day school was cancelled due to snow/ice. They also cancelled school back in 2010 for one day. Since January of this year, it has happened 4 times and twice there have been alerts where it was illegal to be out on the roads unless it was an emergency, which I've never seen before in my life.

I've gotten stuck at least 20 times so far (usually in a parking lot trying to park which was the case during my most recent incident on Tuesday morning), and the most embarrassing one was when a UPS delivery guy stopped and spent 15 minutes helping me to just get out of my neighborhood onto the main road.

But thanks to sandbags, a snow shovel perpetually placed on the backseats, Stabilitrak, and a lot of luck, I did not once get into an accident or almost get into an accident. I've checked the weather and it looks like it's going to finally start getting warm though I expect a couple more days of heavy snowfall out of the blue because the Midwest is weird like that.

I will never make this mistake again and I'm fortunate nothing bad happened because of it (nb4 another winter storm hits 2 weeks from now and something bad happens)

tl;dr I'm stoopid

Bonus car pic of when winter was problematic but a breeze compared to January-early March: http://i.imgur.com/MYqIhDR.jpg

[Decepticon1069]

Originally Posted by MacadamianNut

I did something very foolish when I got my Camaro back in September: I severely underestimated the issue I would have driving it in snow. I underestimated this because my previous car was a Scion TC, which was only problematic to the point of being a minor annoyance the past few winters I've experienced here in Northern Indiana. Being the car newbie I am, I didn't see how the difference FWD vs RWD in snow/ice would be so drastic. I also had stock tires on the Scion...

So I went into this winter with PZeros. First snowfall hit at night while I was at the movie theater and it has been pure hell ever since. Slipping and sliding all over the road from the get-go (fortunately pretty much nobody else was on the road that night). I went to the local dealership to ask about snow tires, but at that point they told me they were on national backorder.

This winter was probably the most severe winter my area has experienced in 30 years. In the twenty years before I started attending my school in 2010, there was one day school was cancelled due to snow/ice. They also cancelled school back in 2010 for one day. Since January of this year, it has happened 4 times and twice there have been alerts where it was illegal to be out on the roads unless it was an emergency, which I've never seen before in my life.

I've gotten stuck at least 20 times so far (usually in a parking lot trying to park which was the case during my most recent incident on Tuesday morning), and the most embarrassing one was when a UPS delivery guy stopped and spent 15 minutes helping me to just get out of my neighborhood onto the main road.

But thanks to sandbags, a snow shovel perpetually placed on the backseats, Stabilitrak, and a lot of luck, I did not once get into an accident or almost get into an accident. I've checked the weather and it looks like it's going to finally start getting warm though I expect a couple more days of heavy snowfall out of the blue because the Midwest is weird like that.

I will never make this mistake again and I'm fortunate nothing bad happened because of it (nb4 another winter storm hits 2 weeks from now and something bad happens)

tl;dr I'm stoopid

Bonus car pic of when winter was problematic but a breeze compared to January-early March: http://i.imgur.com/MYqIhDR.jpg

Haha Welcome to my first mistake too! I purchased my Camaro originally as a daily driver car, and up north in my town we get at least 6 months of winter, and usually 6 - 10 feet of snow throughout winter. I also braved the Pireli Zeros and made it through the first year...but never again! The biggest thing that upset me was the rock damage on my rear quarter panels. That's something you won't notice until the snow is officially gone and you get your car washed...those grippy tires grabbed all the sand and gravel that the city put down on the ice and lightly sandblasted a few of the lower sections of my paint behind the wheels. So be warned, this may be something you'll have to deal with once spring is truly here.

[MacadamianNut]

Oh man, I didn't even think about that . But yeah they put down a ton of sand and gravel, especially in my neighborhood.

I'm planning on getting her detailed in May

[Flashpoint135]

The only mistake was expecting to be able to drive P-Zeros in the snow. They are summer tires that are not supposed to be used below 40 degrees. If you put snow tires on you would be fine. I've driven through three winters in NY including this week's major blizzard.

[scooter6]

Find yourself some 18" heritage rims on Ebay or the forums here and put some dedicated snow tires on and you can plow snow with your front bumper. I drove onetime on the PZeros and that was enough for me, found some heritage rims with the all season tires, put those on and it was fun to drive in snow . Yes the salt and crap they throw on the roads catch's the rockers and gills pretty good.Get some splash guards that will help that.You could also buy an old rusted beater for winter like I did since I went to an SS. Good luck Scooter6

[JCO2185]

Blizzak snow tires are your friend! I have driven my car through 4 winters and never had one issue. I bought a separate wheel/tire combo from Tirerack back when i got the car in 09 and always put them on right when it starts getting cold out.

[ckaram]

We're practically neighbors...I live in your same town. Third winter with my SS LS3 and winter tires.

As terrible as this winter has been, I have only NOT driven the car on 1 day--a day where I needed to transport nurses to work in unplowed neighborhoods with a foot of snow.

As said, invest in Blizzaks or Pirelli Scorpions (my preference) and you're good to go!

[MBS]

Originally Posted by JCO2185

Blizzak snow tires are your friend! I have driven my car through 4 winters and never had one issue. I bought a separate wheel/tire combo from Tirerack back when i got the car in 09 and always put them on right when it starts getting cold out.

^^^^^ Same here I did the same thing and have never had a problem , easy to switch and really no lost in investment , I am ready to put the all season ons , then hopefully some summer tires if I can afford a new set.( I got the Rims ready to go.

[Muscle Car Lover]

As a Camaro shopper this spring I am really relieved that the snow tire swap is the ticket to driving in winter. Really getting excited now.

[CCS71]

I am glad to hear input from those of you who live in the north and use your Camaro as a DD. Before my Camaro, I've only owned FWD cars. I already felt that caution was being thrown to the wind, but decided not to push my luck by getting the RS package or the SS trim. (Translation: 18 inch wheels with all seasons) OP, I feel your pain about the awful winter, and it affected my purchasing decision when selecting options, BIG TIME.

[Manbearpig]

This was my first winter with the Camaro out at school with me in Chicago.

Winter tires make an unreal difference, the car makes a great snow driver. It's heavy all on its own. I never had an issue getting to and fro during any storm this year. Usually would pass most traffic pretty easily.

[MacadamianNut]

Originally Posted by ckaram

We're practically neighbors...I live in your same town. Third winter with my SS LS3 and winter tires.

As terrible as this winter has been, I have only NOT driven the car on 1 day--a day where I needed to transport nurses to work in unplowed neighborhoods with a foot of snow.

As said, invest in Blizzaks or Pirelli Scorpions (my preference) and you're good to go!

Ah cool, I've seen a few other Camaros driving around the area (primarily on days when the roads weren't covered). Nice to hear it's manageable in this area with snow tires even though the city is sometimes slow clearing the roads.

But yeah thanks guys. I'm going to look into buying some Blizzaks this spring or early summer if possible so I don't run into that problem again

[Flightwolf]

I live in Northern Indiana also. Its been a nasty winter! My Camaro lives in the garage all winter and I drive my 4x4 3500 Chevy truck. I've got a set of steel wheels with tpms that I would part with.

[NovaDaddy]

Should have ordered from Tire rack or something online. They had snow tires available the whole season.