Anyone considered siping the tires (putting small cuts in the tread)? Many a/s and winter tires come from the factory siped. Discount tire co. jocks siping but I wonder how effective siping is after production . . .

 

The Z is like any other car. Driving on the included summer tires is a death wish. Get some proper winter tires and you're good to go.

The only problem with the Z is it's low ground clearance. I will drive mine in the winter, but on days with deep piles of fresh snow it will stay parked and the other car with a "normal" ground clearance will get driving duty.

 

If you use the Blizzak tires you will have no problem with traction. The only problem you have will be clearence. If you get into 4" or more of snow and stop, you will have a tough time getting started again. I am planning on driving my car all winter. As I have stated before, both my parents have Q45 with the Blizzaks and they have no problem driving in the snow or even in icy conditions. Those cars have a ton of power and torque and the stick to the road. The blizzak have a very soft rubber compound that actually grips to ice. In addition, with TCS and good driving skills, you should have no problem with the Z in the winter. I see more SUV in the ditch than any other car and that is mainly due to driver error. As for the salt, take your ride to a wash once a week and spray off the car and you should have no problems with salt.

 

any word on tire widths? oh and around here i only need the larger roads to get around and they'r always clear but they do get icy and small amounts of snow at times,, never more than 2 inches or so.. but the ice can certainly be a problem

 

Why would anybody drive their Z in the snow? Obviously it won't
do well, and it's REALLY bad for the car. (Especially the salt).

For around $3000 you can get a reliable (old) car to drive
just on bad-weather days.

I have a 95 saturn SL2 for just this purpose.

 

Nissan was thinking you were in the market for a sports car. Sports cars value handling and dry traction above all else. I am perfectly happy having tires that are crap in snow.

As stated before, that is what SUVs are for.

 

The Z is a wonderful car for the winter. It will handle much better then this "beater" everyone is getting and you know what. It will actually start in the -10 degree morning unlike that beater. The Z has a block heater, heated seats, heated side mirrors, TCS and VDC, ABS. Best of all, it is a Nissan/Infiniti and will not "decay" any more then my fathers QX4 does in the winter. Maybe he should store the QX4 for the winter because it costs more then a Z and the weather and salt will make it look bad. Why did I buy a Z? TO DRIVE IT. Not to look at it in the garage. Will I drive it in a snow storm...NO. But on that crisp sunny winter sunday, I'll be cruising in my Z while all of you are ducking in your beater when you see someone you know because you are imbarrassed to be seen driving that P.O.S.
And I will be driving with my Blizzak LM-22's
225/45/18 AND 245/45/18 that I special ordered with Bridgestone Canada and will be here next week
Later BoyZ