Hey guys. This is my first winter coming up in the Z. Coming from a 3.5L maxima I remember traction being a little rough in the snow. How many of you Mid-A drivers continue driving your Zs during the winter months? For those who do drive in the winter what are your biggest hurdles and whats a good snow tire. I dont plan on driving in deep snow just back and forth to work on the highways and my little side street. I dont wanna be naive but are our cars really that bad in the winter?

 

Yep you are right on the money w/ what you have heard, our cars are awful in snow/ice...granted I was driving on stockers last winter! My Z is my DD, and last winter the biggest problems I had happen were when I started moving and when I tried to take navigate turns!

Moving from a dead stop, I put it into 2nd and gently applied throttle until I was about 2000 to 2500 RPMs then let off the clutch slowly until caught smoothly...that seems to eliminate alot of the torque! If I tried to do the same thing in 1st I would just spin out and loose control of the back end!

As far as navigating turns just take it real REAL slow and try follow other peoples tracks!

Tires...eeehhh...I found that the stockers aren't that bad but there are far better tires out there that perform well in snow/ice! After doing some research this summer, I am going to go with the Toyo Proxes 4 as a general all purpose...it seems to be one of the best tires for the harsh conditions this area sees in the winter time and still provided really good traction for spririted driving in dry conditions.

Disclaimer: This is just my opinion, I am in no way or form a professional in the area, I am just pickin up on how my car performed last winter and what I research online!

 

It's not as bad as what people think

just never go fast, always start off 2nd gear so you won't acceralate as fast. and don't drive while it's snowing since there will be no one to salt down the roads. be very cautious since snow and ice does throw you off since you are RWD. I drove plenty of times to school and stuff knowing it had snowed(not while snowing though). The salt takes care of most of it.

The problem is the salt, it can damage your car over time. that's the main concern of alot of people. just be very careful and it shouldn't be that bad.

 

just my opinion though

 

is the salt issue speaking in general terms of salt being bad for cars or 350zs in particular. I know with my other cars i ran through an auto car wash at least once a week during the winter and i never noticed any rust issues forming.

 

for cars in general...

as long as u wash the car ur fine...if the salt stays on for a long time..it's suppose to eat paint over time..also causes rust issued..i never noticed it in mine either..but thats wat its suppose to do

 

The 350Z will fool you in the snow. You can be cruising at 20 MPH and everything is cool. Then suddenly the Z goes where it wants and you are not getting it back. Its a frightening experience.

 

just dont take the chance..
i did last year.. oh man was that a bad day..!

 

Sounds like fun! j/k! yeh the idea of spending 500 or 600 on a beater is becoming pretty appealing considering that everyone I talk to says its not a good idea to drive the stockers in the snow.

 

by the way nice car cover! where'd you get it?

 

the Z stays in the garage usually starting beginning of december until end of february unless we have a nice day here or there. In my opinion, driving in the rain is scary enough but Like David says, it can be even worse in the snow, I learned my lesson in 2004 and bought a DD.

 

I've had my share of a scary ride last winter in the Z. The rear broke lose a few times (4-5 ) on the highway as fresh powder flowed down. I drove about 40-45 mph in a 65 zone and I was the slowest car for the most part. I got really lucky when traffic came to a halt due to an accident and the roads were wet here with some slush here and there. Would have been very dangerous if I hit that area around 40+ mph. I drove a good 45 miles that way. I pulled into my neighborhood street (30/35 mph speed limit) and I was going about 10-15 mph max. I did a 180 in the middle of the street. WTF? I drive 45 miles on the highway and this happens to me in the middle of a neighborhood street? Anyways...I was counting my blessings and still am!

Winter time = rest time for me

 

Winter is no fun here for the Z, especially after owning my 03 Base. I got stuck in my parking spot on a regular basis.. I was getting pushed out one day, and the back end slid/ pivoted on the front tires, and I scored a nice fat ding in my rear fender from the bumper of my roomate's truck. Another time I got stuck over at Safeway, just driving through the parking lot after it had snowed enough to dust the lot!

Terrible, terrible experience in the snow, so this time around I did it right, and now have a beater car. You guys think beginning of Dec is a good time to lay her to rest?

 

Ok, I am in Colorado, not the east coast, but we get plenty of snow here, and my G35 coupe TT is no problem in the winter....with the right set of snow tires!

Honestly, it's all about the tires. Regular all season tires are not meant to get below freezing temps. When they get cold, they get rock hard and loose a majority of their traction. Snow tires, on the other hand, are meant for cold temps, and stay soft and sticky at cold temps. Conversely, you don't want to heat up snow tires too much (don't drive them on an 80 degree day!!!); they will still perform fine, but you will greatly decrease the life of the snow tire. Tread depth is also important, but not as much as the rubber compund. Snow tires will have more agressive tread, but not incredibly so; you won't look like you are driving on 4x4 tires!!!

I use Dunlop Winter Sport M3's in the winter; they are whats called "snow performance" tires. Snow performance tires give up a little bit of their winter grip in order to ensure they still have high grip for warm (not hot!), dry conditions. Last winter in Colorado, we had one of the worst winters in over 10 years, according to the locals. I had no problems with traction at any point. Admittedly, I wasn't trying to drift around the corners, and drag race in the snow, but as long as I was driving intelligently, I had no problems. The few times I did have problems had nothing to do with traction, and everything to do with the 2-3 foot snow drifts in the road. The G (and the Z) is a low car, and works really well as a snow plow when the snow is deep...

 

^ Exactly! Do yourselves a favor and buy some decent snow tires. I ran the Bridgestone RE960AS's last year and had no problems in light snow. Albeit they are all-season performance tires so you can't really expect much more than that.

If you want to go anywhere in your 350Z in the winter (assuming you have the ground clearance) then get the Dunlop Winter Sport M3's.



Guys with trucks, Evo's and WRX's will be like WTF?! when you pass them and get up hills they can't.

 

+1 on snow tires as mine is my dd and i use bridgestone blizzack,s on the factory wheels.It may look ugly but it get,s me around.

 

People do not seem to understand you do not need an SUV and AWD to get around in the snow. Get some good snow tires and drive carefully and you should be fine for the majority of the snowfall we get in this area.

On a side note, does anyone know of a tire manufacture that makes 19" winter tires besides Bridgestone?

 

I am from IL and I drove my G on the same set of 20's that I drove Skyline drive in..spinning = no traction....low RPM...High gear and patience. I didnt have much problems at all....then again..driving sidewayz is fun for me.

I would buy a beater #1 honda, small tires FWD
I would buy a set of snow tires #2 like Nihilation suggested
I would call of work when it snowed #3


All of the options above are cheaper than you wrecking your Z or G!!!!

good luck!

 

yeh what you guys said makes sense. Thanks for the input. After pricing snow tires leaning towards the beater because every set of snow tires was in the $700-$1000 range. I might as well get a beater for that price.

By the way anyone know any really good cheap places or websites to order a set of Blizzaks?

 

Speaking from years of experience , I have driven my 94 Supra, and other cars I have had ( Porsche 944, Porsche 928, Firebird, Capri, Mercedes and even and Austin Healey 3000 ) in the snow. I bought a 03 350Z last year and had to drive it home 10 miles with only about an inch of snow and it is BY FAR the worst car I have ever driven in the snow! Buy a beater and park that Z.