as winter approaches and i become more and more nervous about driving my Z, i began thinking. with the proper snow tires (blizzaks) why would the Z be any worse than alot of other rear wheel drive cars with alot of TQ and horsepower. most BMWs, G35, lincolns, cadilacs, and pickuptrucks, ect. i see people driving all those year round. we also have the advantage of almost perfect 50/50 weight. and lets forget about how low it is to the ground. i'm not planning on using it as a snowmobile. i was just wondering why everybody keeps saying "THE Z IS THE WORST CAR IN THE WINTER!!!" and please don't give me your winter horror stories if you are driving on the stock tires. i'm talking blizzaks here guys. and seriously with all respect, i REALLY don't want to drive around in a beater car at all. i do understand why some of you would do that but its not for me. i'm not worried about rust, i'm worried about dying. thanks.

 

i dont want the bottom to get rusted from the pittsburgh snow salt combo

 

what he said
plus theres more of a chance somebody loses it on ice and slams into you. and you can get a beater for about the same price as a set of blizzaks

 

Glad I dont have to worry about what you guys do.

 

*

 

Don't warry. It's not any worse than any other RWD car. Actually it's not bad at all. Just put on blizzaks, and don't do crazy things. Winter isn't for spirited driving. Winter is a line of cold days that devide one racing season from another. Be smooth and you'll be fine, even on ice. I went through 2 Michigan winters with no problems.

All the horror stories came from people who where trying to drive on ice with stock summer performance tires. It's a guaranteed way to wreck the car.

 

Whats snow?

 

It's a white stuff that come from the sky and keeps you from spirited driving.

 

I currently own a modded 2003 WRX, BUT i have owned a 1998 Z28, and drove through 2 winters, in Montreal, Canada (with some good winter tires, mounted on steel rims). It's no big deal. As long as you drive smoothly, it's no worse than other rwd cars / pick-ups etc. Oh, about the corrosion thing, a good rustproofing (undercoat) should be sufficient. In my case i'm not much worried about the rust because i only keep my cars 3-4 years.

I don't see myself spending big bucks on a nice car (like the Z) only to have to drive a beater for 4 months. That's like one third of the year being miserable ! Come on !

 

Here's the thing. Cops drive (or did drive) big ole, 5000 lb Crown Vics and Caprice Classics with the monster interceptor motors in them all year round. They have to be able to go anytime, yet they are/were RWD. With snow tires and some weight in the back, RWD cars work in the snow. I think a lot of people with Z cars (because of the price) don't know how to drive yet and are either trying to drive in the snow without snow tires or driving in the snow like they do the rest of the year.

A Z with snow tires and 50-100 lbs of stuff in the rear will be much safer in the snow if you're paying attention than someone in a huge SUV doing 10 over on the highway thinking that it's safe cause "they have 4WD".

 

i'm liking what i'm hearing. i LOVE the car. if it holds its own in the snow, it will be the perfect car.

 

The one thing to remember is that, even with Blizzaks, the tires are so wide that in snow they will behave like a flotation tire on a pickup, rather than a thinner tire which would dig down to something solid (if it's down there!!)
Very little chance you'll dig down to blacktop- you'll wind up driving on packed snow and the sipes on your Blizzaks will hold traction.

 

I loved the Z in the snow. With its near perfect weight ratio, I feel it did better than my 2001 Dodge Dakota 4x4. Sure, I couldn't go racing around in the snow like my friend in his WRX, but the Z still got me everywhere I wanted to go.

 

As previously stated, it shouldn’t be hard driving a Z that has proper tires (i.e. Blizzaks).

The problem is with the other morons driving out there in bad weather. Your snow tires won’t be any protection from some moron running into you.

Secondly, I shudder to think of all that crud (salt & chemicals) under my Z that I can’t wash off.

How often does it snow where you live? Streets are usually clear within 24 hours after a snowfall in most cities in the Midwest. I was unable to drive my Z for about a total of 10 days last winter.

Just stick with a beater. My baby was in a nice warm garage last winter. During a bad snowstorm there is nothing more satisfying than to come home to your nice clean, warm Z sitting in the garage. Watching TV during a blizzard, seeing all the bad wrecks & cars in the ditch, you will realize you made the right decision.

 

I drove a '96 mustang GT thru a couple Buffalo winters without any sort of traction control.

How? Blizzaks of course...those things work great.

The Z shoulf be fine. Ground clearence is your problem.

I've always had a winter beater since I graduated college tho.
Save the car!

 

I vote beater for the winter... here in Boston, we have more BITTERR A$$ cold days then we do snow.. So i have figured, (considering the last 3yrs) that we maybe have 3-4 weeks worth of days with snow ont he ground.. Im not counting plowed streets.. So for those 3-4 weeks, id stick with the beater...

Yea thats all well and good getting Blizzack's but they are not going to stop the sandblasting effect on the finish. Esp, the amount of sand/salt they dump on the road when even a HINT of snow is in the forcast... Along with the chemicals... deff make sure to spray off the underside of the car with the hose before garaging it.

BEATER ALL THE WAY..!!

Sully

 

i'm not worried about rust. it is a modern car. modern cars rust alot less than the ones in the 80s. they use better materials. i drove a 1994 nissan altima before the Z and it had 110,000 with no rust. is salt good, no way. does it mean the car will rust in 8-10 years , no. plus we have underside car washes here in cleveland. if i use one once a month to clean the bottom all will be well. and if someone slides and hits me, thats what insurance is for.

 

IMO the only way a rear wheel drive car should even attempt to drive on the snow is with studded tires or preferrably chains, especially on hilly terrain. Only on flat ground do you stand a chance with just snow tires. And yes the ground clearance is another negative to the Z when driving in the snow.
I would vote for the front wheel drive or 4 wheel drive beater all the way.

 

I vote to get a beater, I just bought one today, a 92 Prelude for $1500. It's a POS but it runs good.

 

U mean like this one?
(photo taken inside my car on the morning of Jan. 16, 2004)