I'm from Texas....just recently moved up to Sioux Falls, SD. The Z is my only car at the moment. I'm wondering if I'll be okay to drive it through the winter or if I need to get a 2nd car. From what everyone tells me, they plow/sand the main roads in town pretty regularly (which is all I drive on usually). Oh, and I have the Nismo diff.

Soooo. Should I scrape money and get a 2nd car, or just get some damn good snow tires for winter?

 

do a search on it, there are TONS of threads talking about winter driving Z.

but to answer your question, you WILL need winter tires if you drive your Z in the winter, its not even an option to not get them. I tried last winter and literally got stock in a flat parkinglot with half an inch of slush...not even ice. However with winter tires it is drivable...it still sucks horribly to drive but its at least drivable.

 

I did a search and from what I could tell, with winter tires I should be okay...but I wasn't sure how the Nismo diff will affect things. Some people are telling me it'll help, some are telling me it'll hurt. But, being new up here I havn't had time to figure out which people think they know about cars and which people actually do. Personally I think it'll help, but I was hoping to get some feedback on here from some people with real sports cars (typical I guess...from what I can tell most everyone up here think "fast" means in a straight line).

 

If it's within your budget, do yourself a favor and buy a beater for inclement weather, groceries, Home Depot trips, etc...
Even after switching out the stock Potenzas for some all season Kumhos I still almost lost the car on a rain slicked road and I wasn't even driving fast. Luckily the VDC kicked on and saved me. Plus salt/sand will destroy your paint in the winter

 

It can do both, but it depends on your driving style if it will hurt/help you. I personally like the limited slip in the snow/rain/ice/etc. Though it may come around quicker (the negative) it is easier to control and modulate (the positive). From what I can gather the NISMO unit is probably a 1.5 way (correct me if I'm wrong). I'd say you will be fine with a set of snow tires.

 

After the first light snow storm in New York I went and bought a second car for work etc.. I never put snow tires on my Z, so I can't comment on how much it would help, but w/ stock tires it was too dangerous and way too much tire spin in the smallest amount of snow.. if you can afford it, spend a few dollars and buy a second car. Not only is it great for the bad weather, but it also gave me peace of mind parking at work and keeps the mileage down on my Z..

 

I'll let you know after this winter. (I know that wont help you now). I bought a set of winter tires (Bridgestone Blizzaks) for the upcoming months.

 

Blizzaks FTW. i had them and i made it to work driving 35 miles in over a foot of snow during a blizzard

 

I have dunlop wintersport M3's on mine and they work great. I drove for a week or two on light snow/slush with the stock tires and raised my bllod pressure several hundred points each time--it was scary. Just get winter tires and go slow--it still has a great deal of torque and will spin those tires with ease

 

+1,000...been using Blizzaks on my Z for three years now and haven't gotten stuck once.