Does anyone drive their Z in the winter time? If so how well does it do on slippery roads :O

 

^^ I drive the Z in winter and never have a problem. Of course I mount snow tires on all four corners. The Z handles great on slippery surfaces and in the snow if you mount the proper tires.

This has been discussed/debated many times, so you might want to do a search to get more details.

--Spike

 

 

No chance in hell, I drove my Z last winter, got stuck in a pretty bad storm with about 10" of snow, will absolutely never ever do that again, phucking thing wouldn't stay straight, had to roll about 12mph with it in 5th gear the entire time, couldn't even get in/out of my driveway on some days, am picking up a jeep wrangler as 3rd vehicle in the fall for winter driving, Z's getting parked for those months.

 

10" of snow is a lot, there aren't many cars short of a wrangler or hummer that you could even attempt at driving in those conditions.

the key is to drive smart. doesn't matter if your car is FWD, RWD, AWD, you HAVE to drive smart.

A buddy of mine used to plow roads during storms for a while and pull cars out of ditches and tow them to body shops, etc. He said that about 90% of the cars he pulled out of ditches were either SUVs or Audis or Subarus, or other AWD cars. Seems that people get a false sense of security with those cars and think they can handle anything so they drive like *******s in weather conditions that don't permit it... and pay the price in the end, or could cause someone else to pay the price.

IMO driving smart is your best bet, along with winter tires, and you'll be able to get from point A to point B in your Z.

 

Definately agree 100% man, I could get from point A to B, but while doing so, I was a basketcase having all the salt, cinders, and piles of snow from other vehicles ram into my Z, I wash/wax it religiously, and am a freak about the paint, that will NEVER happen again, there'll be a 3rd vehicle, no way around it, if you love your Z as much as I love mine, you wouldn't drive in that shyt

 

I'll have no choice sometimes, its my daily driver, can't afford a winter beater.

 

i live in northern new jersey/NYC area. although it didnt snow too often, the days that it did, i could not drive my car around (w/ stock bridgestones). also, a couple of days after a snowstorm, you have to watch out for ice formation on the roads. particularly when parked. i remember it took me 30 minutes to get out of parking spot on the street because there was ice underneath my car. it took 3 people to push it out, and i had to rev my engine to around 6000rpm to get it to break loose, not to mention that when i finally did get out of the spot, i was almost 90degrees perpendicular to the street!

 

…Try running that Wrangler with summer-performance tires in the winter on frozen roads with snow and ice. You won’t get any better results. The only difference would be more clearance. On a frozen roadway, the Wrangler with summer tires won’t drive nearly as well as the Z with 4 snows.

As I said above, it’s all about the tires. Any modern car equipped with the right tires for the current conditions is perfectly safe.

--Spike

 

Why the *** would I buy a wrangler specifically for winter as a 3rd vehicle and then throw performance summer tires on it? The jeep I'm looking for is gonna be a 5 thousand dollar pile of poop that I don't care if I hit an abominable snowman with

 

Now say "sorry" for assuming

 

I understand your point, but it doesn’t make sense if you look at your argument in its most elemental state.

Here’s a counterpoint: I have a new Jeep that costs more $$’s and is worth much more than my 2003 Z. So which car should I protect: The more expensive Jeep (which I really like) or the less valuable Z (which I also like a lot)?

Both cars run equally well in the winter on frozen roadways with snow and ice. The Jeep has all-season tires, but gets by because it has QuadraTrak II all-wheel drive. I put 4 snow tires (Dunlop snow tires, 225/55-17”) on the Z, and the car handles flawlessly in the worst of conditions.



In the spring after driving all winter, I mount my summer-performance tires and summer wheels, and have the car detailed to remove all of the bad stuff you mention in your post.

In late fall just before winter and snow, I mount my 4 snow tires and winter wheels, and have the car detailed to apply a protective layer before subjecting the car to all the bad stuff you mention in your post.

Truthfully… after doing this for the last 5 years, the Z looks new when I clean it up for the summer months… no rust and normal great-looking paint. I believe I see more damage to my Z’s paint in the summer when I get about a million bug-splatters and flying stones and gravel from dump trucks.

--Spike

 

You're one of those guys that no matter what anyone says, you're gonna argue your point, aren't you?

Cool, you drive the Z this winter in the snow/ice/sleet, and I'll drive my piece of ***** jeep freezing my **** off with winter tires on it, see ya in the spring when I pull the Z's cover off it

 

Nice Redline, btw.

 

Not sure what you mean here.

I drive my z year around in a cold climate. I've done this for 5 years now and never had a problem. My point is simply that doing this requires 4 snow tires and diligent attention to cleaning and detailing to preserve the car.

For sure I do not want to drive a crappy car just because it is cold and winter. I like nice cars and comfort, and see no reason to abandon this simply because it is cold or the roadways are frozen. I work hard so that I can have this "luxury."

--Spike

 

Hey man, we still gonna exchange xmas cards this year?

https://my350z.com/forum/lounge-off-...rive-fail.html

 

For sure we should exchange Christmas cards… but don’t do this personally by driving your Z equipped with summer-performance tires over to my place this winter on frozen roadways with ice and snow just to deliver a card. That would not be safe for you.

And… forget coming over in that Jeep Wrangler you are planning to drive this winter. I don’t want a rusted piece of crap parked in my driveway.

--Spike

 

I just talked to a guy about a 97 wrangler, gonna see it menana

Will be sure to park it in your neighbors yard

Cheers