How to prep my ZL1 for it's first active winter
 

I gave my car away to my wife..sort of a long story, but it prevented me from having to buy her a 50k SUV. She likes my ZL1, and the attention it gets. I never drive it anyway.

So now that my garage queen is a DD, it has gone very well. The challenge is MN winter is near, and I need to make sure this car is ready for -20 farenheit, snow, ice, road salt, sand, etc.

Here is my plan and questions I would like your input on:
(1) what is the best snow tire/rim combination (I am still on stock goodyear F1), she does not requre a performance tire, I do not care what they look like, just want a great snow/ice very low temp tire.
(2) I was thinking about putting 200# of salt bags in the trunk, is that too much weight?
(3) I am going to spray/undercoat everything, I know some rust going to happen.
(4) Since she will drive <1 mile to work, I was thinking of going 0w-20? thoughts? will be many frequent starts (4-6 per day).
(5) Coolant was checked and tested out to -40 degrees.

She will leave it in Tour mode and PTM in 1, if anybody has any experience in a ZL1 driving through a MN winter, I would like to hear from you.

You make it ready by storing it over the winter!

Make sure you have a good coating of wax/sealant on the surface if the car will get exposed to wet weather.

Good luck.

Your plan sounds more than good.

Find a set of OEM SS wheels and get Blizzaks.

Stick with 5w-30 oil. Synthetic will be fine at those temps.

This, narrower the better and will make changes easier in between seasons. Maybe v6 rims even if narrower, cant remember.

If it has the original battery I would put a fresh one in. Peace of mind.

Put it in storage. Get a low mi. lease on a new Cruse or Malibu for under $200.00 a month. Put storage ins on it and save the money you would spend on tires and wheels.

I approve this message

Replica SS wheels with either Blizzaks or for a little more $$ Pirelli Scorpion Snow and Ice. I DD my 1LE in Ohio and have actually been pleasantly surprised. I usually put 80# of salt over each corner in the trunk. Given your increased HP over an SS, you may need a little more to hook. Trial and error.

:thumbup::thumbup:

I know one thing, check for mice...........They like to leave droppings on the intake cover, you see them get mouse traps......

If you go with oem SS wheels its set for staggered, so make sure that the Blizzak tire models match. I learned the hard way I can't run the DM with the DV and be safe, they yield snow differently.

Another tire option is the Nitto NT90W which has fitment for the staggered

I drove my SS in the winter. Only one winter, though.

Don't add any weight. The natural weight distribution on these cars is nearly 50/50, throwing weight in the trunk will do more harm than good.

I went to my local Discount Tire and picked up the cheapest set of 19" wheels that their configurator said fit my car, and then some 235/55/19 snow tires. I think mine were Falken Eurowinters?

Car handled great. I had no issues whatsoever. Surprised a lot of people how well it did in the snow.

I dont see how this can possibly be the case? Extra weight over the drive wheels is always going to help with traction. 50/50 does you no good just trying to move out from a stop sitting on snow. We arent talking about track handling.