Toronto350Z

My car is just about hybernating.. so.. I had fun tonight.














In any cases...

DO NOT DRIVE YOUR 350z IN SNOW CONDITION WITH THE STOCK TIRES. You will kill yourself. seriously...

VandyZ

iTrader: (2)

Looks like fun! I just settle for rain when I do that!

bobbyz

iTrader: (1)

As a fellow Canuck, I have to say that driving in the snow the past week has been a blast in the Z. The VDC is great and in a parking lot, if you turn the wheel and floor it, it will not let you spin. You have to be a real moron or try really hard to make this car spin with VDC on. Then, when you want some fun pretending like you are a rally car driver, turn it off and the car is really predictable while doing drifts. Also, in deep snow it is easy to get stuck with VDC on. Because it will not let the wheels spin, you will find yourself just stuck there giving gas with no response. Turn of the VDC and spin out of there.

Turcoupe

I don't know about Canada, but hre in New Jersey when any type of snow falls so does about 1,000 tons of salt from state dump trucks. Driving your Z in the snow here is out of the question.

fatZo

If your Z is not equipped with winter tires, I'd highly suggest not driving it in snow or icy road surface conditions. The rear has no grip whatsoever, and you may easily find yourself waltzing in the middle of an intersection.

bobbyz

iTrader: (1)

Cant argue with that fatZo. What I meant is that the Z is no worse off then any other RWD car if fitted with snows. Very capable.

Maximam

Nice, I love the last pic!

Vlad

Why didn't you set lower sutter speed... then we all could see what you were doing!

SLR rules!

lawnmowerdeth

Managed last week just fine, no VDC, stock tires. (Had no choice!). Then again I grew up in Wisconsin. And last winter's car was a BMW Z3. Now THAT is a death machine in snow. At least the 350z can turn!

bobbyz

iTrader: (1)

Toronto350Z.
Check out the regional forum. I would love to hear the car without the pre-silencer.

paul lombardi

DO NOT DRIVE WITH STOCK TIRES IN THE SNOW!!!!!


just got my car back from the shop with 1100 bucks worth of damage. Changing to GT-4 with proxes in the spring. Saving my stock rims to put on blizzaks





pl

acid burn

I have to agree the stock tires are terrible in winter. I felt the rubber stiffness at -10 degrees C. The sidewalls were nice and soft; the tread patches were hard as a rock.

The weather has been really nice here lately and all the snow has melted. (Again! Woohoo!) The streets are _completely_ dry, but when I hit the road I can light 'em up like on ice. I have to drive for a few kms to heat them up before I can drive normally.

What crappy tires!

Pilot Alpins coming soon... S-03s next summer.

Vlad

No matter where you grew up, you are aiming for big troubles. It's just plain stupid to drive Z stock tires on snow/ice. I don't see much difference with walking on mine field. You can make it if lucky enough, but I'd bet on opposite. And growing up in Wisconsin isn't that helpful for walking on the mine field. I'm saying this because I've tried stock on snow once. The car wouldn't go faster than 5mph, and rear was swinging all the time. Even going slow and careful I did a couple of 180s. So nobody can persuade me "it's okay, you just have to be careful". Put car in the garage and wait till Blizzaks arrive.

Dolby109

I tried that last fall, and landed myself a ticket.
Not just any ticket eather. A ticket for Careless Driving! For doing donuts in a very large, and completely vacant parking lot.
At least it was vacant, untill the cop pulled in.
Probably to take a nap or something, as I was pretty well hidden from the road.


On another note...it isn't *that* hard to drive a RWD car in the snow, as long as you know what your doing.
I mean, just go easy on the gas and its just fine.
And traction controll is no fun. As long as the streets are vacant enough I love to drift around every corner...havn't lost controll yet.

rouxeny

Hmm, most of us, despite what we thing about ourselves, are not rally car drivers.

The Z in snow is very bad. Even in the rain, with the TCS off, it can catch you unawares.

Kraigman

Yep - you are fooling yourself if you think you are okay driving in snow because "you know what you are doing." You are wrong. You are at the mercy of the road conditions despite your speed, despite your skills. The wrong combination of conditions, in my case ice and a very slight turn and decline, and you can easily lose the rearend and hit a curb. I dinged my left wheel and tire just after Xmas and I was going all of 5-10 mph. Rearend slipped out and no amount of compensation would allow me to straighten out. The car was completely unresponsive. You may be able to make it through the Winter, but you are at greater risk no matter what your driving skills are.

gsilvano

I agree - the stock tires are suicide in the snow. I bought my Z on 12/23/2002 and we (Boston) got walloped with a storm on the 24th. It sat in my garage for 8 days because I couldn’t get it down my driveway – which is at a 2 degree incline!

I got a set of Pirelli 210 Snowsports and it’s an entirely different car. I don’t think the tires have spun a *single* time since the SnowSports have been put on. And they are phenomenal on bare pavement, too. No noise whatsoever.

If you live in snow country, get those tires. You won’t regret it. They’re rated to ~130MPH.