370Z Winter Driving
 

Some idiot ran a red light yesterday and totaled my 06' STi. I'm thinking about replacing it with a 370Z but I live in Michigan and need to know how it handles in the snow with winter tires. I went and test drove one today and fell in love with it, as long as I can drive it in the winter and the insurance company totals my STi I'll get one.

The Z in the snow does not do so well which is strange since those 19" wheels ought to help, but I'll let the non California folks chime in on this.

If you got winter tires and the snow isnt too deep, then the Z is great. Only issue i had was the VDC and i disconnected the harness for it. Now its probably not as great as a AWD like your STi, but it handles great with the right tires.

The Z is perfectly drivable in snow if you mount winter tires. DO NOT drive in snow with summer tires! There are many, many threads on winter Z driving if you use the search function. The main limitation is the ground clearance which turns the Z into a snowplow if the snow is more than 4" deep. I had no problems at all last winter. This winter had record levels of snowfall and a couple times I had to swap cars and keep the Z in the garage (eg during the 20" snowfall blizzard last month). Some will suggest you buy a POS $1000 junk car to drive in the winter. If you have parking space and the extra money, that's a good option. However, you can certainly get away with the Z in the winter as long as you're willing to have an alternate plan on those rare, freak snowfall occasions. If you're in a rural area that's poorly plowed and has very deep snow, I'd strongly recommend a second SUV beater for the winter instead of the Z. Winter is tougher on cars with the potholes and road salt, but weekly car washing with an undercarriage spray has kept my Z looking pristine.

As a winter Z driver, these are the issues. Period. Anything else people say is just their own conjecture and you should probably ignore it. I'd ignore snow driving opinions from people living in California :). (yes, I might be a little jealous)

Can't wait to get those snows off huh, spearfish? :D

I'm in Kentucky and we don't get near the snow you do in Michigan, but I put Bridgestone Blizzak LM-60s on my Z for the winter and I couldn't be happier. Driving sensibly on the Blizzaks, the Z has been the best sportscar I've ever had in the snow and actually better than some FWDs I've driven.

I was taking my Z out for a spin in about 5-8cm snows with winter tires. I can tell ya, you will be drifting all over the place.:tup:

That's a cute bunny younter (avatar) :D

Spearfish, do you have the sport package? I'd imagine the LSD would come in handy in winter weather.

Can't speak for Spearfish but I had no issues with snow here in Boston. I have a Touring/Sport Package 6MT with Blizzak LM-60s and the only thing you have to watch out for is clearance like Spearfish said, although I'm guessing that would be an issue in the Evo/STi as well. Really, the Z handled much better than 90% of the cars out there: snow tires on RWD beat all-seasons on FWD any day.

I picked up a set of smaller wheels as well (18", 225) with the snow tires and I would suggest you do this as well for a better bite. The standard 19" 275 Sports Package setup might be pushing it in the snow.

Definitely get a ClearBra or a regular one to protect the bumper from all the sand and salt, and wash at least once a week with an undercarriage blast.

Yeah Dave, I have the sport package with LSD. I'm sensing the sport LSD is crappy anyway, but it probably helps somewhat.

I run the LM-60s on 18" cheap aftermarket wheels (still look pretty good though). I went with a 225/50/R18 square setup so I can swap them front to rear as the rears wear faster. The LM-60s are directional though, so no left-to-right swapping allowed.

And yes, Kenchan, I can't get the Blizzaks off soon enough! I'm thinking of doing an early swap this Sunday and then crossing my fingers that the snow is behind us. A bold move by a bold man.

I'm with Spearfish and gpolak, the Z with a proper set of shoes is more then capable of tackling a midwest winter. TireRack offers nice sets of 18" rims and 225 tires for about $ 1200, check the wheels and tires section for reviews. I also agree on the clear bra suggestion, kept my cars nose nice an shiny.

Fixed :tup:

Yah, im going to summers on my dd over the weekend too. And scheduled to pull out my z for the first time in 2011. :p

Wrong friend, Old Man. I have a nice full head of hair. Adam however...