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How many RWD sports cars made it through winter?


AndonD454

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http://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic/watch-aston-martins-race-in-snow--proving-the-miracle-of-winter-tires-145220084.html

 

I've heard this theory plenty of times.. If you fit your RWD car with good snow tires, it's just as good as most FWD and some AWD cars. However, this winter was particularly snowy, and before I go trading my winter beater for new wheels and winter tires, I was hoping a few of you could brag about an RWD daily racecar that didn't get stuck all winter. For some reason I'm still pretty skeptical about the snowiest days..

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I drove my C230 all winter. No snow tires. No problems at all. Small wheel base, not a lot of power. It did amazing.

 

I would not however, attempt to drive my Firebird during the winter without snow tires and weight in the back. My previous one didn't make it out of the driveway a few years ago without getting stuck.

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'92 SC300, Sport tires. With Traction Control on I never have issues (although getting out of deep/slick spots can take a second or two). Turn Traction control off? Instant death trap...

 

 

 

and was driving a lincoln continental everytime i fished with him.....

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If you already have a winter beater, leave it alone, do not sell it for a set of winter wheels and tires. Having a winter beater is the better option.

 

That said, my winter beater is a 400-hp Cadillac CTS-V and my wife's is a 306-hp Nissan 350Z; both have winter tires. No problem with driving in the snow. Both of us have been driving RWD vehicles in winter for more than 10 years. Previously, I drove a 2WD ECSB GMT800 on all-terrain and my wife a BMW E36 M3 on various winter tires.

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I have never had a FWD or AWD anything. Various trucks on all season tires, an old Miata a couple winters ago on Blizzaks, and I have always gotten through winter just fine. Would I drive my Mazdaspeed Miata coat it with salt and risk ripping off the air damn, no. Would I drive my Camaro and never get anywhere, no. A lot of RWD cars do fine, but if the car handles rain well, it'll handle snow on appropriate tires well. For example my Camaro would slide around in the rain easily when it was stock, even with snow tires I doubt it would be very good, however a Miata is still really controlled in the rain and having driven one on snow tires I can say that it will work fine.
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Drove my mustang the first winter i had it with shitty all seasons on ot, did fine minus being stuck a few times. The last winter i had my v6 camaro i drove it with nearly bald summer tires and didn't die in it, my saab has spoiled me on AWD now though
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I drove a 99 Mustang V6 with all seasons through a winter about 10 years ago. It was a nightmare. I couldn't make it up Powell Rd one day, so I had to back down the hill while everyone was trying to go up. It was awful, and so was the car.
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My 99 Mustang GT I drove as an all year DD for almost 10 years and seldom had a problem. Never once used winter tires, most of that time was with Conti Extreme contacts or something similar.

 

When you DO break loose you just have to have the brains/guts to work with the slide and you are fine.

 

However the 4Runner is much more useful in the snow :)

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This is the 2nd season I drove my 02 Z28 through the winter. This winter has been much worse than last year, but it still did fine. I have a set of Blizzaks for it which make all the difference in the world, as if you haven't heard that.

 

It's not my "nice" car, but it's not a beater. I bought it used with a few issues, but I thought it would make a fun daily. Has a few bolt-ons and a tune by DTM. 340rwhp and 355rwtq iirc.

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Off topic a bit, but I drove my lowered 99 Civic Si on summer tires all winter with no major issues. When the snow was deep, I drove the Bronco. Neither got stuck, but going back south in a winter storm with the Si was nearly the most retarded thing I have ever done. I could barely move. Regardless of what anyone says, you DO need 4WD or AWD down there if you want to make it into any driveway. Up here, not so much. I could easily drive a 2WD vehicle year-round up here.
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The way I see it - front-wheel drive cars weren't really even widely in existence (apart from a few outliers) until around 1980. So for nearly 100 years, people drove rear-wheel drive vehicles year-round. And this was before ABS, before traction control, and on rotten tires with stone-age rubber compounds and zero technology advancement. And they got along fine.

 

If grandma could get around in her 1967 Pontiac Catalina, then I'm sure we'll be OK.

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Is it really worth rusting out your nice car just to say you did it?

 

Boom.

 

If you care about the car, keep it out of the salt. Anything can "work" with snow tires, but if you can afford a toy, you could also afford a beater IMO. If you have a job that requires you carry customers/clients and need a nice car for winter, you should make enough to afford a nicer beater. :)

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Boom.

 

If you care about the car, keep it out of the salt. Anything can "work" with snow tires, but if you can afford a toy, you could also afford a beater IMO. If you have a job that requires you carry customers/clients and need a nice car for winter, you should make enough to afford a nicer beater. :)

 

I'm not saying you're wrong, but a consistent washing regimen can keep the rust off too.

 

The M3 I posted about earlier has been a winter car since 2003 and there's not a spot of rust on it.

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'92 Camaro with all seasons. Been through multiple winters with it. Ground clearance can be a problem in deep snow but other than that it does fine. It's rusted to hell though :(

 

One of my favorite winter drivers was my '91 S10 (4.3, 5-speed, 2WD) with snow tires on the back. It was an absolute beast in the snow.

 

Like Andy pointed out, people have been driving RWD in the winter for a century.

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I'm not saying you're wrong, but a consistent washing regimen can keep the rust off too.

 

The M3 I posted about earlier has been a winter car since 2003 and there's not a spot of rust on it.

 

Considering its been below freezing for the entire winter-unless you have access to a heater wash station and like every door/window you have being frozen shut with some frequency-I'd say aint nobody go time for that.

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Considering its been below freezing for the entire winter-unless you have access to a heater wash station and like every door/window you have being frozen shut with some frequency-I'd say aint nobody go time for that.

 

Kelly BMW has been kind to him, point taken.

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The way I see it - front-wheel drive cars weren't really even widely in existence (apart from a few outliers) until around 1980. So for nearly 100 years, people drove rear-wheel drive vehicles year-round. And this was before ABS, before traction control, and on rotten tires with stone-age rubber compounds and zero technology advancement. And they got along fine.

 

If grandma could get around in her 1967 Pontiac Catalina, then I'm sure we'll be OK.

 

Yeah, but for the last 100 years people are not driving vehicles with low profile tires that are a foot wide either. Skinny tires worked great in the snow.

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