Defeated by a light snow - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

thahemp · 02-20-2013, 05:46 PM

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!

marticus24 · 02-20-2013, 05:49 PM

Those stock Pirellis on your RS are SUMMER tires... they will NOT grip in snow... at all. I've heard pretty good things about how well these cars handle with all seasons, even better, with a good set of snow tires.

Glad you were able to get taken care of though without injury to yourself or damage to your car.

INTIMIDAT3R · 02-20-2013, 05:49 PM

Stock Pirelli's are SUMMER ONLY tires. I'd never take my SS out in the winter with them.

However, I have no trouble getting around in my 2LS with the stock 18" BF Goodrich all weather tires. Best car I've ever had in the snow.

thahemp · 02-20-2013, 05:52 PM

Yep. They are definitely summer only tires.

DJ UNKNOWN · 02-20-2013, 05:56 PM

I agree they suck in the snow....

dkp2LT · 02-20-2013, 06:06 PM

Quote:

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!

AdamZ? Is that you?

I heard Wichita had 4+ inches today. Not sure what we will get tomorrow but I pulled mine out and drove because I figured today would be the last for a while... She's now tucked away in the garage until the roads are all clear.

thahemp · 02-20-2013, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dkp2LT

AdamZ? Is that you?

I heard Wichita had 4+ inches today. Not sure what we will get tomorrow but I pulled mine out and drove because I figured today would be the last for a while... She's now tucked away in the garage until the roads are all clear.

Yeah. It ended up dumping on us completely asynchronously to the weatherman's predictions.. surprise, surprise. It was hard to tell how much snow was actually there because it all blew into drifts. I'm glad mine is back where it belongs! Hopefully you guys don't get the snow/sleet mix we're supposed to have tonight...

Caddyroger · 02-20-2013, 06:25 PM

Like some has said it not the car it the tires. I have general all seasonal tires on mine. So far I have not got stuck like I did last year. They hold the road at 30 degrees and wet. Only had about 2 inches of snow it did very well.

thahemp · 02-20-2013, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caddyroger

Like some has said it not the car it the tires. I have general all seasonal tires on mine. So far I have not got stuck like I did last year. They hold the road at 30 degrees and wet. Only had about 2 inches of snow it did very well.

Yeah that became obvious pretty quickly. With the tiny amount of force required for them to push me forward/sideways/wherever they wanted, it was clear how little traction these tires were generating.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Comrando

I hit the convenience store one day during a light freezing rain. The streets were fine but as soon as I went up the drive I knew I was in trouble. The lot was pitched pretty steeply towards the street and the parking spots. I felt lucky to just get past the storefront without sliding into a parked car. I wheeled around the back where it was pretty flat before I stopped.

I went back last week after a snow, the whole lot was iced but I took the G6. The clerk looked out and asked where was the Camaro. I said, "In this lot?

"

I need some winter tires

Me too! My next 1000+ purchase, however, is going to be headers and cam, so it looks like I'll be stuck driving the wife's car in the meantime.

ICTsccaCamaro · 02-20-2013, 06:42 PM

Yeah the snow came hard today hope it lays off for tonight and tomorrow

GotGame55 · 02-20-2013, 06:48 PM

I'm making a trip to Wichita, KS on Sunday. I hope all the snow is gone by then. Ill be in deep doo-doo if snow is still there.

Frid · 02-20-2013, 06:53 PM

I think Adam's video should be a sticky so others don't take those Pirellis for granted lol

SnowVert · 02-20-2013, 07:39 PM

High performance summer only tires suck in snow... Shocking I know... I'm too cheap to buy a set of winter wheels and tires myself so I just try to avoid snow days. Which has become difficult this winter. It seems like every day or two we have had the chance of at least a dusting. Spring can not come soon enough

San Carlos HotRods · 02-20-2013, 07:53 PM

In So.Texas , our winters it gets into the 70's ....... Never snows n very rare it gets colder than that ...

02-20-2013, 05:46 PM	#1
thahemp Geek Drives: 2012 Black LS3 Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Derby, KS Posts: 4,343 View My Garage	Defeated by a light snow 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! __________________ 01000111011011110110111101100100001000000110110001 11010101100011011010110010000001110111011010010111 01000110100000100000011101000110100001101001011100 110010000001101111011011100110010100100001 x = ac97968bd3df8f968c8cd3df998a9c94d3df9c8a918bd3df9c 909c94df8c8a9c949a8dd3df92908b979a8ddf998a9c949a8d d3df8b968b8cd1 x = ~x

02-20-2013, 05:52 PM	#4
thahemp Geek Drives: 2012 Black LS3 Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Derby, KS Posts: 4,343 View My Garage	Yep. They are definitely summer only tires. __________________ 01000111011011110110111101100100001000000110110001 11010101100011011010110010000001110111011010010111 01000110100000100000011101000110100001101001011100 110010000001101111011011100110010100100001 x = ac97968bd3df8f968c8cd3df998a9c94d3df9c8a918bd3df9c 909c94df8c8a9c949a8dd3df92908b979a8ddf998a9c949a8d d3df8b968b8cd1 x = ~x

02-20-2013, 06:25 PM	#8
Caddyroger Drives: 2011 RJT Camaro LT2 RS auto shift Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Washington state Posts: 1,861	Like some has said it not the car it the tires. I have general all seasonal tires on mine. So far I have not got stuck like I did last year. They hold the road at 30 degrees and wet. Only had about 2 inches of snow it did very well. __________________ Caddy

02-20-2013, 06:42 PM	#10
ICTsccaCamaro ITCRNRS Drives: 2018 ZL1 1LE Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Wichita KS Posts: 1,575	Yeah the snow came hard today hope it lays off for tonight and tomorrow __________________ 2018 ZL1 1LE Ordered 6/29/17 Built 11/6/17 Delivered 12/7/17, Summit White, PDR, NAV, https://www.youtube.com/c/tylerpotter SOLD: 2014 Summit White 1LE 2SS/RS, Recaros, NPP, NAV, KONI Yellow's SOLD: 2012 Black 2LT/RS, Fully 1LE swapped, Brembo swap

02-20-2013, 06:48 PM	#11
GotGame55 Haters gonna hate? Drives: '04 Chevy Dirtymax Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Diesel Life Posts: 642 View My Garage	I'm making a trip to Wichita, KS on Sunday. I hope all the snow is gone by then. Ill be in deep doo-doo if snow is still there. __________________ '04 CCSB Duramax

02-20-2013, 05:49 PM	#2
marticus24 Drives: 2012 ZL1 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Metro Detroit, MI Posts: 604	Those stock Pirellis on your RS are SUMMER tires... they will NOT grip in snow... at all. I've heard pretty good things about how well these cars handle with all seasons, even better, with a good set of snow tires. Glad you were able to get taken care of though without injury to yourself or damage to your car.

02-20-2013, 05:49 PM	#3
INTIMIDAT3R Account Suspended Drives: '11 2SS/RS L99, '12 2LS LFX Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Malmac A.U.N. Posts: 2,122 View My Garage	Stock Pirelli's are SUMMER ONLY tires. I'd never take my SS out in the winter with them. However, I have no trouble getting around in my 2LS with the stock 18" BF Goodrich all weather tires. Best car I've ever had in the snow.

02-20-2013, 05:56 PM	#5
DJ UNKNOWN Drives: 2011 Red Jewel RS Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Indpls, IN Posts: 559	I agree they suck in the snow....

02-20-2013, 06:53 PM	#12
Frid Drives: '11 Camaro 2SS/RS LS3 Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Lexington, SC Posts: 3,483	I think Adam's video should be a sticky so others don't take those Pirellis for granted lol __________________

02-20-2013, 07:39 PM	#13
SnowVert Drives: Inferno Orange 2013 SS/RS LS3 6M Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Minnesota Posts: 684 View My Garage	High performance summer only tires suck in snow... Shocking I know... I'm too cheap to buy a set of winter wheels and tires myself so I just try to avoid snow days. Which has become difficult this winter. It seems like every day or two we have had the chance of at least a dusting. Spring can not come soon enough __________________ With this in the garage, I smile every day 6/29/2012 New 2013 ordered... 8/21/2012 New 2013 picked up!!!

02-20-2013, 07:53 PM	#14
San Carlos HotRods Don Juan De Caro's Drives: 2012 2SS RS TF3 6M w/ Hurst Pkg. , Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: EDINBURG TEXAS Posts: 172	In So.Texas , our winters it gets into the 70's ....... Never snows n very rare it gets colder than that ...