What's the sketchiest car you've ever driven in the snow?

"Hey Julie" (hey-julie)
02/04/2016 at 12:15 • Filed to: None

Okay oppos, I’ve been daily driving my 280zx in blizzard conditions the last few days and with summer tires and a 5spd it’s basically just linking drift after drift after drift into a kindof sideways shuffle dance. My rx7 was pretty tricky as wel because it was so damn light. What life endangering vehicles have you taken out into severe winter conditions?

DISCUSSION (55)

crowmolly > Hey Julie
02/04/2016 at 12:16

Trans Am on drag radials. And skinnies up front.

mazda616 > Hey Julie
02/04/2016 at 12:18

A Mazda3 with its factory tires. Goodyear Eagle RS/As. It got hung up in three inches of snow. Literally wouldn't move. Put new tires on it and it became a beast in the snow.

dailydoseofmindlessness > Hey Julie
02/04/2016 at 12:18

SC300 with 285 summer rears going up Falls Creek, Victoria.

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > crowmolly
02/04/2016 at 12:19

This is a horrible idea. And it sounds awesome.

crowmolly > Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap
02/04/2016 at 12:20

Basically it was like an old timey sled.

Urambo Tauro > Hey Julie
02/04/2016 at 12:23

A company truck with bald tires.

And another company truck (same company) with inop washer sprayers.

Kinja'd!!!

Yes, that’s frozen Windex on top of the defroster vent.

Mercedes Streeter > Hey Julie
02/04/2016 at 12:23

My smart on summer tyres masquerading as all-seasons. So much spinning, so many 360s.

Needmoargarage > Hey Julie
02/04/2016 at 12:23

Miata on R-compound tires. (Just around the block...I don’t have a death wish.) However, I have driven that car with snow tires and it’s actually great; the sketchy part is watching all the idiots in huge trucks and SUVs sliding past you when traffic piles up.

66671 - 200 [METRIC] my dash > Mercedes Streeter
02/04/2016 at 12:24

Was tipping over ever an actual possibility?

HammerheadFistpunch > Hey Julie
02/04/2016 at 12:24

Passat b4 with trademark UCA ball joint failure and half of the front tires bald.

Mercedes Streeter > 66671 - 200 [METRIC] my dash
02/04/2016 at 12:26

Only if I hit a curb at high speed. Those tyres were so terrible in wet conditions that it was like driving on ice all the time.

Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow > Hey Julie
02/04/2016 at 12:26

I didn’t drive it, but some kid brought his BRZ on stock summer “Prius” tires to winter rallycross two weeks ago. I was very impressed that he even made it around the track, considering we were driving on a frozen lake.

Last year I swapped back to the Prius tires too early on my car, we had a light snow and my car couldn’t make it up the very slightly (maybe 5 degree) inclined road from my apartment to the main road. haha

HammerheadFistpunch > Mercedes Streeter
02/04/2016 at 12:27

I remember when the smart first came out they made a big ado in the brochure about its shurefootidness in the snow owing to its rear engine and skinny tires. I was really excited about the prospect of short wheelbase, RR layout and skinny tires, then I read a few reviews about the handling, that was the most tempted I had ever been to buy one, but then I put down the brochure and never gave it another thought.

jariten1781 > Hey Julie
02/04/2016 at 12:28

Empty 1980s F-150 farm truck with the 460 and with no tread barn tires. Not-drivable.

Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig > Hey Julie
02/04/2016 at 12:28

A Subaru WRX. On bald tires. It chose to visit three ditches.

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > crowmolly
02/04/2016 at 12:28

How fast did you go nowhere?

Nibbles > Hey Julie
02/04/2016 at 12:29

‘95 Dakota 4x4 with old-ass tires (mismatched, forgot what they were) and serious front suspension damage.

Mercedes Streeter > HammerheadFistpunch
02/04/2016 at 12:31

They’re actually really fine when you give them the right kind of rubber. Having most of the weight on the drive wheels is a huge plus. My current setup is amazeballs in the snow and in the dry. If the car had more power, I’m sure I’d be able to get it to drift like crazy.

crowmolly > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s
02/04/2016 at 12:31

Probably 25-30mph. Didn’t have to go too far, fortunately.

Justin Hughes > Hey Julie
02/04/2016 at 12:32

Saturn SC2 on Kumho Ecsta 712s - a summer tire. A massive pothole had dented my winter steelies in mid-March, so I was forced to swap wheels early. That caused it to snow again. I tried going to work during a lull in the storm, but it started coming down again just as I committed to getting on the interstate. I managed to hop off the next exit and get home, but it was sketchy as hell.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Hey Julie
02/04/2016 at 12:36

Although my Miata is quite the snowmobile in the snow, it still is not exactly the ideal vehicle for driving through a mountain pass at night in the middle of a snow storm. It would have been impossible without the snow tires but even so, it was quite hairy. Here is a google maps link:

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/44.20…

At about 10-15 MPH the whole way, it took quite a while to get through and required constant attention around every turn. Also didn’t help that there was quite a fog covering the area so visibility was low.

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > Hey Julie
02/04/2016 at 12:38

‘86 Mazda B2000 2WD with no weight in the bed and almost-bald tires. It might as well have been the washing machine on spin-cycle. I think I did maybe 4-6 360+ degree spins in less than three miles. And I was being CAREFUL.

MonkeePuzzle > Hey Julie
02/04/2016 at 12:40

What life endangering vehicles have you taken out into severe winter conditions?

Kinja'd!!!

450X_FTW > Hey Julie
02/04/2016 at 12:41

Pre production 2014 grand cherokee test vehicle. Let me explain, since it was such an early test vehicle, there was no traction control, no abs, it was 2WD, and we drove through a whiteout/blizzard for 4 hours while leaving Bemidji, MN at the end of our trip to return to Michigan. That was a vehicle that was white knuckled the entire time while driving in snow.

Brian Silvestro > Hey Julie
02/04/2016 at 12:41

box on P-Zeros

Thomas Donohue > Hey Julie
02/04/2016 at 12:41

I used to put two bags of concrete mix in the back of my 280z during the winter to try to keep the tail from sliding out more than 90 degrees on any giving steering adjustment. That car taught me how to steer with the gas pedal.

AestheticsInMotion > Hey Julie
02/04/2016 at 12:44

Turbo Miata on summer tires, leaking soft top and practicality no rear window (mostly covered in duct tape, damn cracks...). It's been a blast!

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > Hey Julie
02/04/2016 at 12:48

2009 reg cab long box Silverado on factory rubber that was about half gone.

Which, oddly, isn’t to say it was bad. It did quite well despite having to contend with 4-6" of snow. What it would have done in lighter snow I don’t know, but starting from a dead stop was a challenge.

The only reason it’s the worst is because the rest of my snow driving experience is in my own truck. Which is a BEAST in snow.

66671 - 200 [METRIC] my dash > Mercedes Streeter
02/04/2016 at 12:48

Yeah I’ve never driven a smart but is the high center of gravity ever an issue?

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > Hey Julie
02/04/2016 at 12:50

My dad’s Ford Flex on all-seasons. FWD, that thing would not move.

Alfalfa > Hey Julie
02/04/2016 at 12:50

My 96 Tbird was okay until the front wheel wells inevitably filled up with snow to the point where the front tires basically lost contact with the ground.

Mercedes Streeter > 66671 - 200 [METRIC] my dash
02/04/2016 at 12:50

I’ve never found it to be an issue. Body roll is even surprisingly controlled despite the car being a rolling phone box. I mean, the suspension is nowhere near sporty, but it holds its own.

Captain of the Enterprise > Hey Julie
02/04/2016 at 12:52

Crown Vic with bald tires and an open diff, I was REALLY poor at the time.

BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind > mazda616
02/04/2016 at 12:57

I’ve had three cars with RSAs. They suck unbelievably hard in every condition except “desert”.

Sweet Trav > Hey Julie
02/04/2016 at 12:57

1986 Monte Carlo SS -305, auto, 3.73 gears, open diff

Arrivederci > Hey Julie
02/04/2016 at 12:58

Mustang GT with summer tires, Miata with summer tires, Lexus IS with summer tires. I’m seeing a trend here, lol.

banjo cat ghost of oppo past > Hey Julie
02/04/2016 at 13:14

My Amarillo friend’s standard Ford Ranger on beat all seasons during a rare Denver blizzard.

My Audi coupe was in the shop and I had been compelled to seek out baby shields. #college

Jarrett - [BRZ Boi] > Hey Julie
02/04/2016 at 13:16

2007 Ford Ranger on these:

Kinja'd!!!

Jarrett - [BRZ Boi] > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
02/04/2016 at 13:18

That looks like it’d be an absolute riot in the summer.

Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer > Hey Julie
02/04/2016 at 13:18

1980 ish 450 sl on mediocre tires, would not go go forward or turn on ice, lots of torque though.

That's gonna leave a mark! > Hey Julie
02/04/2016 at 13:28

Ford Pinto. Trucks on the interstate passed me.

Tripper > Hey Julie
02/04/2016 at 13:31

Last two winters, E90 M3 on pilot super sports. I got stuck once and had to wait it out, a second time I got stuck and had to beach my car and walk home lol.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Jarrett - [BRZ Boi]
02/04/2016 at 13:52

Well if the pavement was a bit better then yeah. But they had one of these lovely signs mounted:

Kinja'd!!!

Basically “We gave up on road maintenance, good luck!”

Also a bunch of these with the same meaning:

Kinja'd!!!

camaroboy68ss > Hey Julie
02/04/2016 at 13:58

Hmm worst car I’ve driven in the snow....

That’s a toss up between my 98 Camaro SS, 6 speed stick and wide summer tires, wasn’t bad while moving or stopping but taking off was a chore.

The other option is my 33 Ford Pickup, didn't intentionally take it out snow but hit on a drive. The truck is already a handful on dry pavement so adding snow just made things worse

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer
02/04/2016 at 14:00

Was the truck 4WD? Our GMT900 are terrible any traction that isn’t dry. Though the wet weather traction has more to do with the trans getting stuck in 4th trying to merge into traffic, then downshifting to first at 25.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies
02/04/2016 at 14:11

RWD. Could be the fact that the ruts were holding it from sliding, the snow was pretty deep.

mazda616 > BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind
02/04/2016 at 14:29

I was shocked at how bad they were. And this was when the car was practically new. It had 20,000 miles IIRC. I put some new tires on and all of a sudden I'm making it to work during a blizzard and parking amongst SUVs and trucks with ease.

bob and john > Hey Julie
02/04/2016 at 14:31

Roomates 01 ranger. Dieing engine, bald all seasons, no weight in the back, and its a 2wd with no LSD.

The Stig's former college room mate > Hey Julie
02/04/2016 at 15:24

Dodge Charger on 275/35R20 Michelin Pilot SuperSports. Tried to back it out of the garage just to clean up. Almost crashed into the garage 3 times trying to get back in.

TheOnelectronic > Hey Julie
02/04/2016 at 15:40

1974 Challenger on shitty “authentic” tires.

ON ICE.

Chasaboo > Hey Julie
02/04/2016 at 15:44

A customized Dodge van in the ‘70s with an airbrushed copy of Frank Frazetta’s Silver Warrior on the side.

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > Hey Julie
02/04/2016 at 15:48

A 1984 Oldsmobile Cutlass Cierra. On three different tires. The back end would randomly pull out to pass you. The brakes would freeze when it was parked overnight. The steering would freeze when parked overnight. The startup procedure consisted of hoping it would start, turning over with a cloud of black smoke blowing out from under the car, keeping the revs up so it didn’t stall, letting off the gas just enough to get it into gear but not so much that it stalls, getting back on the gas as soon as the transmission slammed into gear while two handing the steering wheel with all your might to break it loose while pulling a u turn onto the road as I was parallel parked facing away from where I needed to go. If it stalled I had to say “fuck it, I’m not going to class today” because it wouldn’t start again for at least two more hours. The brakes freezing overnight was the scariest thing because you didn’t find out they were frozen until you actually needed them. At that point it was two feet on the brakes and pull up on the bottom of the steering wheel with everything you’ve got to hopefully get stopped before something bad happened.

Hey Julie > Chasaboo
02/04/2016 at 17:17

Holy shit for real? I would rock that

Ross Kraz > Hey Julie
02/04/2016 at 17:33

My buddies ‘00 mustang was bad.

Also my $400 ‘93 shadow with shot suspension. On a bumpy highway, in a blizzard, and an asshole semi comes blazing past everyone and makes a blind whiteout. I see brakelights ahead and swerve at 55 mph, do a couple spins, and luckily avoid a ditch and other vehicles, some of which were also spinning.

I switched back to my CR-V for the rest of winter, which wasn’t great either actually.

Dusty Ventures > Hey Julie
02/04/2016 at 21:04

RWD-only Chevy Silverado with a 20° dead zone in the steering wheel towing a rally car on a trailer with no trailer brakes. In a blizzard.