Snow Driving...Who's done it so far?

spearfish25

Hey Everyone,

I got my 370z about a week ago and absolutely love it. I thought that I would be outside the Chicago winter, but alas, Chicago has a way of proving us wrong. It's forcast to snow 1-3 inches tonight and perhaps a few more before clearing up Tuesday/Wednesday.

Who's taken their 370 out in the snow thus far and how does it handle? Unfortunately I still haven't been able to track down rims and winter tires yet as Tirerack hasn't measured the 370z yet.

I'm just dreading a bad experience tomorrow...

Operator

don't do it...
summer tires + snow = disaster

serge

Hi,

My 370Z will be my daily driver, and I will definitely need dedicated snow tires. Unfortunately, and due to brake caliper clearance issues, 18" wheels won't fit the Z with the sport package, so I will have to go the 19" way, which means the winter tires will be very, very expensive. I think that the only tire available for the Z is the Pirelli Wintersport. I may end up buying a second set of used OEM Rays to use them with the snow tires.

Akirasoft

I'm actually delaying picking up my Z for just that reason. I'm sure they are going to call me monday and say i can pickup the car but with the snow we're due to get tonight through tomorrow forget that. This is going to be a fair weather car only, it will hibernate in the garage during the winter.

Nikon FM

The 370Z with the Summer performance tires is definetly not a snow vehicle. I've been in 4" of snow and really did not have fun. My concern was bumping a curb or going into a ditch.........with different tires I'd guess snow driving could be fun.

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spearfish25

To simplify matters, I'm considering Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus tires....all-weather ultra performance Z rated tires that might just do the trick all year long. People say they aren't bad in snow. They aren't cheap though...$330 a pop.

Despite Chicago winters being miserable, we only have maybe 10 BAD snow days and perhaps another 5-7 of mild snow. The rest is just wet and I think I'd wear out snow tires if I kept them on for 6 months of the year (snow potential season).

citycat

I'm pretty desperate to find out how people do with some snow and the Z. I'm looking for the car to be a year-round daily driver, too, and here in Detroit we get the same weather you guys do (sometimes not as bad!). I've driven a BMW 330 all winter with dedicated rims and snow tires and it wasn't bad at all. I agree that there aren't many days a year that I'd have to bum rides and I think I'm willing to do that in trade for having a Z.

I highly recommend dedicated snow tires, though, even if you get the high performance ones. I had Blizzak LM25s and Hankook Ice Bears, both of which were great even in the dry weather. Long as the temps are below 45F, you'll be OK with the winter tire tread compound (or so I've been told).

Let me know if you have to deal with the snow and how it worked out, please!

spearfish25

So far I'm dodging this storm by borrowing my in-law's Jeep. A neighbor with a Porsche C4S just said 'forget all-seasons, you need snow tires'. That put a damper on my master plan of all-seasons all year long. Looks like I'll have to get myself some rims, bilzzaks, and a nice torque wrench for all the tire changes I'll be doing. In the late fall and early spring, I don't know if I can really keep the snow tires on the car as the temperatures and conditions vary quite a bit here. Ideally I'd have three sets of rims/tires...summer, a-s for fall and spring, and then snow tires for the dark months of winter. Better buy some lotto tickets...

I suppose the other option is to sell the summer tires that came with the car and replace them with all-seasons. Then I still get a set of snow rims/tires making those two my alternating pair which better covers the spectrum in Chicago.

In the end money is an issue, and I think I'll just have to cope with all-season tires...the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus tires seem to get good reviews and work OK in some snow. That should cover me most days and for the severe snowfalls, I'll either cab it to work and back or make the wifey get me in the Altima .

Ricochet48

I'm also in Chicago too. The OEM wheels on my RSX got stolen 2 years ago, so I opted for 2 sets of wheels. I have 1 set of PZero Nero M+S's (on Volk GT-U's) which I use during the summer. They are arguably some of the best "all season" tires around, but are not really designed for snow. My roommate runs them all year long, and said they are worse than the stock all seasons, but bearable.

I also got a dedicated set of straight up SNOW tires for the winter on a cheap set of ADR wheels. I'm totally fine in the snow with them. I know I'm FWD, but I'd like to think that a good driver could handle the Z in Chicago snow on a set of snow tires.

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citycat

I put some Kumho all-season high perf tires on my BMW and they were HORRIBLE in the snow. Dedicated snow tires kicked butt, though, and I had less trouble than a lot of the pickups and SUVs around here in Detroit.

Spend the bucks on the rims and snow tires. Running snows in warmer weather won't do more than wear them down faster, so you might only get 3 seasons out of them instead of 4. Not a huge deal and not *so* bad, especially if you don't drive like a maniac with them on. I ran my snows from late November to early/mid-April and got 3 seasons out of the Blizzaks. Ditched the BMW before I even put 2000 miles on the Hankooks so I can't comment on wear there.

If you can survive this storm, it's probably close to the last bit of snow we'll see in the Midwest that amounts to anything this year. You've got all summer to save up for Rims&Tires in the fall.

Just my $0.02, FWIW.

wstar

Snow? What's snow? I think I saw that on TV once

FWIW, I've found that the stock tires work excellently in wet conditions. As with any car, you're in trouble if you try to skim any deeper water at speed in normal tires - but for solidly "wet" pavement in light to normal rain, the car stuck to the road like glue (unlike my last car, where highway + rain meant I was the slowest guy on the road out of fear of a sudden loss of grip).

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Anatoray

I got the Z after the last snow of the year here in Louisville, but will most likely be driving it in the one-two inches we get next time around. Like any rear-wheel car, I'm sure the Z needs a good set of all-weather tires at the LEAST. I've only driven rear wheelers, and I must say, all-weathers work, but be prepared to be a grand ma. With winter tires, the Z should be solid with safe driving habits, making your biggest worry the other cars on the road.

AK370Z

The 370Z is really bad in snow. Summer + wider rear tires really makes the car very hard to drive in snow. I was actually stuck with my 370Z in snow and had to take public transportation home . I am never ever going to drive this car in snow. If you want, you can buy some snow tires to put on the car. But since it's a rear wheel drive + lighter than the 350Z and high HP output, it's one of hardest car to drive in snow. Here are some of the pictures from the spot that my car was stuck!

Just Picked up my Monterey Blue 370Z **Pics Inside**

These were taken next day before digging the car out of the snow.

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AB370Z

I don't advise to drive in snow with the stock summer tires...not very safe IMO.

In February, I test drove a 370Z here in Calgary, Canada. The roads were clear of snow at the time but the dealership lot was still pretty full of hard pack snow...there was lots of spinning on the snow just to leave the dealership lot.

spearfish25

Poor little 370, AK370Z!

Thanks for all the replies. It sounds like winter tires will be my best option. Hopefully the snow has left for the season with last nights storm. That will give me the summer to find rims and snow tires. The concensus seems to be that summer tires are an absolute no go, all-seasons are marginal and snow tires make it a reasonable experience.

If anyone knows of cheaper rims that fit over the sport brakes, please let me know. Snow tires for the 19"s are tough to come by, and I don't know if 18" will make it over the sport brakes. Still waiting for someone to take a 370Z to tirerack to measure...