I drive my Z every day in the winter. I have Blizzak's and it handles the conditions much better than my previous FWD Acura CL.

As people stated here earlier, NEVER drive the Z in wintry conditions with the stock tires. It's a death wish.

 

i really dont think any of us who garage our cars are comparing it to a ferarri. for me its a safety issue. do i garage the Z for the winter and drive a beater, or spin out every other day and hit random trees?

i sure as hell dont think my Z is comparable to a ferarri, but its nice enough where i dont want to risk it getting beat up....like what happened to this guy...

 

There's something wrong with this picture. Getting an old beater and directly comprimising personal safety for the benefit of some metal? If I'm going to be accidentally hitting trees, I definitely want to be in my 350z.

Frankly, I'd rather drive my 350 in the winter than my wife's Volvo wagon (which has Blizzacks as well). There's more airbags, the car is far more telepathic on what's it's doing, and it has the handling/power/braking to more easily get out of situations.

I could easily afford a reasonable winter car but why bother? Besides the fact that it's wasting money, I wouldn't be able to enjoy the car year round. That sucks!

 

Where's a good place to get some cheap steel wheels to throw some winter tires on? Tirerack.com is a little lacking.

 

I actually got my set from the local Infinity dealership. Same set they sell for their G35 coupes.

If your local dealership doesn't have them locally, contact Talon Tire. I think a local got a set from them even cheaper than Infinity ($900 Cdn).

 

First of all, you learned your lesson...now buy a set of winter tires. The Z is a very capable winter car in Toronto with winters. If anyone would know it is me since I have done 2 winters in my Z in Toronto.

Second, you are going to get away cheap. The part that needs to be replaced is only like $60. Very lucky. Besides that you may need a wheel it it is bent. Also, check the wheel bearings, they may need to be replaced, may not. Besides that you should be fine. I had the exact same damage on my car.

Let me know how it goes.

 

Salt causes rust and I would just as soon keep my Z for a long time. So in the winter I drive a 1994 four wheel drive pick-up.

 

salt only causes rust if you don't wash it off...i wash the salt that I get on my z off every week. I didn't have problems with either of my supra's or my acura using this method and don't expect to have any with my Z either. Just keep her clean!!!!

 

Actually salt is only corrosive to the car when it is wet, not when it dries on the car Letting it sit on the paint wont hurt anything.

 

I've had the same unfortunate accident. Hit curb on right side in the rear. Had to have the lower arm replaced as well as the wheel. I've since driven about 300 miles and I get a very whobbly feeling from that side still. Am I just thinking about it or could something else be wrong ?

 

I went to Active Green & Ross and paid $800 ($650US) for Pilot Alpines on 16" rims.

 

I can fit 16" rims on my car, I have the enthusiast package, no big brakes or brembos, I already have 16" snow tires sized 225/60/16's sittin in the garage from my old Camaro SS, if I could reuse the tires and grab some steel wheels that would be sick!

 

Puff.
Have someone look at the hub and wheel bearing. Both are not too pricey and that is your best bet.

 

they have already replaced the rod, now they are waiting on the suspension case. I also hit the front tire as well but i dont know how badly it was hit, ill haveto wait till they put it down and test it, so far the dmg is around 50+250 + labour w/e that will come to... so its not too bad. hopefully they wont find anything else wrong with it.

 

i had a similar accident due to bad weather...just gettin the car back to normal now. would have had to replace the rims but I just bought some volks instead, replaced rear hub, knuckle, upper and lower control arms b.c insurance was paying so just to be safe. Also recently went ahead and replaced the front upper control arm and knuckle b.c. the car was still pulling to the right. Everthing is fine now but it turned out to be like a $5000 incident so good luck. Last year I tried driving the Z in the snow on stock tires, it was horrible. I have the michelin alpina's(I think that's what they are called) on some cheap 17" rims and they look pretty good and make a world of difference.

 

Ouch!!! I feel your pain. I've had my '04 ZR in storage since November and can't wait to drive her again. We have a short drive season up here, but I get 10 times more drivin' fun in the summer when the rubber meats pavement again, so I'm still way happier than the guy with a Sunfire! lol. Was going to take a pic outside with the top down and a toque and winter parka on, but some-one might think I was really drivin' it.
If it's your winter ride, DEFINITELY put some good winter rubber on. It's safer for you, your "Z" and the other folks on the road.
Cheers. AFT

 

Black steel rims on a Z??? Say it ain't so... Then again I'll have my rims on for a good 6 months each year... I got some cheap ASAs from TireRack... I think they were $155 each? I think there were some cheaper ones for $139... you can probably even go cheaper if you don't have to fit them over Brembos.

 

Move to Florida and you won't have to worry about snow tires or salt!

 

I was just thinking the same thing with California.......AND you can have the Terminator as your governor too!!

 

I bought Pirelli Snowsport 240s in stock 18" sizes. Great in light snow and cold weather. Handle nearly as well as the stock Bridgestones; I love 'em.

Even though I live as far south as TN, we still have a lot of winter mornings in the teens (Faren.), especially near the KY line where I live, and the stock summer tires were getting squirrelly just due to the cold, even w/no precip. whatsoever on the ground.