Advice needed on winter driving and different types of cars.
 

I was prompted to question you guys after being stuck in the snow yesterday for an hour and finally being pushed out by my brother in law's Jeep uphill and on a sheet of ice. It was impressive what the Liberty could do and pathetic how little the GTA could do. It got me thinking.I've only had fbodies since I started driving and always worked close until the last year.
With all this snow and terrible vehicles to drive in what would you guys do.

My new Camaro stays in, my 99 may be sold to make some options possible, and my 91 is barely passable in any sort of snow as it sits.

1. Suck it up and just keep using sick days as needed.

2. Invest in a set of dedicated winter tires and 15' wheels for the GTA

3. Buy an economical fwd sedan

4. Buy a used awd sedan Subaru, Speed 6, G35x etc-are these that great in snow or are they marginally better than a regular fwd sedan.

5. Just get a 4x4 Jeep Cherokee Sport or Blazer to deal with any weather condition mother nature can throw at us.

Thanks in advance for the input and hope it may help others who may be in the same situation.

get a nice older 4wd suburban.... cheap... great in snow ( i havent put mine into 4wd yet) lol

I'd choose #5

Anything has to be better than what I experienced yesterday my only thing against going straight to a 4x4 is mpg and aren't parts and labor on anything that breaks a lot more $$$. I'm still doing research on everything too.

you need a truck Jim... f-bodys and snow just dont work well, but snow tires will help.

I have a 90 accord for every day driving. Good in the snow (i do need new tires tho) and great on gas

cheap economical fwd car for daily use :nod:

Dedicated winter tire/wheel setup if you don't mind the car driving through the bad weather/roads.

Otherwise get a cheap/reliable fwd car.

unless you need a truck, an economical FWD will do just fine in this area. it's not like we live in the hinterlands. my civic with 4 snow tires got me through all winter weather. I went to Vermont like every other winter weekend to ski in the car and it was great.

My son got stuck in our DRIVEWAY with his G8 GT. The summer tires were just spinning even with the high tech traction control. I have had a 2001 Neon since I bought it in 2004 and even with Uniroyal Tiger Paw all season 15" radials, it has gone threw every snow we ever had in this area with no problems and gets 32 mpg on the hwy. If you buy a cheap FWD coupe or sedan just for the winter, you can always sell in the Spring for what you paid for it. :nod:

Honestly, I have zero sympathy for anyone who lives in NJ and runs a DD with summer tires in the winter. It's not like winter surprises us. It gets cold, it snows and sleets. Either spring for snow tires or at least compromise with all seasons. I used to run summer pirellis until it got cold, say 40* or less in the day, so maybe mid December. Summer tires can act very skittish even on cold dry pavement, their compounding is not equipped to handle cold. Been there, done that, never again.

Snow tires really give you a great excuse to buy really nice summer wheels and use the OE wheels for snow tires. :)

Yeah I have no real need for a truck, but I sure was impressed with what his little V6 Jeep Liberty did yesterday. It is a thought, but the upkeep and replacement parts discourage me. My GTA has all season Yokohamas I put on it last season on the 16x8 wheels, but I don't know how much better the car could do with say blizzaks and 15x7 wheels. Can anyone share if they've gone this route.

As for the fwd I don't think I'd be comfortable in too many smaller cars so I would be leaning towards an intermediate and I don't want bottom of the barrel either. Something not too new and something not duct taped together either. It would still most likely be better than what I've been driving mpg wise.

For an awd sedan I'm not sure how much better they are than a fwd I've never driven either in bad weather. Can anyone compare for me. There are a few I like, but are more expensive and would have more maintenance I'd assume.

i bought a blazer... why drive the nice cars when the roads are covered in salt and its crappy out... not to mention how bad drivers become in any weather

A proper set of winter/snow tires will give you a whole new respect for their design over all season tires. Buddy has a set on his G8 GXP W/ 400+ rwhp and he gets around just fine with the snow. Granted he can easily overwhelm the tires if he wanted but the safety factor is there. This will be cheaper than buying a used econocar or truck w/ 4wd since a new car means insurance payments, upkeep etc. You can do all the math to figure it out including fuel mileage and everything else.

Go with winter tires/wheels. It's the cheapest option. When my dad had his '06 GTO he had snow tires for them and never had any problems in the snow. Just make sure to get all four.

I'd get another affordable, reliable vehicle you can DD -best thing I ever did.

FWIW I have a 05 Subaru Legacy and it's great.

i was gonna get an EVO for the awd benefits but never got around to it and now my friend has one and says it doesnt do to well in the snow. Seems the awd subies are where its at, for awd cars.

i did the beater 4x4 thing(2 actually and both are currently in-op) and also the economical fwd nice car. My Cruze has been doing fine in the snow this winter so far.

up here at least, i wouldn't daily drive my V even with snow tires, they use real salt up here and a lot of it. Cleaning gets to be a real pain.

Would you be selling the GTA if you were going to get another vehicle for winter driving? If so, that helps offset the costs of another vehicle. If not, you may want to consider snow tires/wheels for the winter. I drove my supercharged 93 Z28 as a daily driver and the 00 SS with regular tires. Neither did well in the snow so I would stay home. But these last 2 winters are pretty extreme and that's why I got the Z71. If you do get something else, check the brake lines closely! :mrgreen:

My brother has an '08 AWD Impreza WRX with snow tires and he hasn't had any problems this winter. Last year he drove it all winter with the summer tires and he said it was a PITA. its an m6 BTW

~Matt

Subaru - The King of AWD

My friend has a worked Audi S4 with a full set of winter tires and he gets around everywhere.. that is, where ground clearance is available. AWD cars are expensive and don't get good gas mileage, especially hurts the wallet with gas over 3$/gallon.

The econobox fwd car will do well on most surfaces as i've learned in an older Altima compared to my Camaro. Then again, the benefits of the 4x4 and ground clearance will help alot. We've got a month to go in the snow season anyway..

We are supposed to get another storm Tuesday so you'd better act fast!

~Matt

you can pick up a 90's cherokee for really cheap, with the right tires it can go anywhere

EVOs really arent all there cracked up to be in the snow i dont think. my friends got a worked even and granted he has a lot more power and breaks loose but it was so bad in the snow. i got a bone stock 99 audi a4 with all season tires on it and the thing is a animal in the snow! ive driven it threw unplowed parking lots no problem. audi awd is a very very good system

Hell yeah!

Look for the slant 6 those engines are impossible to kill -many of my friends use those jeeps to tow as well.

Yeah, those old 4.0s are amazing engines. My brother brags about it with his Wrangler