horrible snow day bad experience !!!

wdkwang

i don't know if i'm reading that right but are you suggesting throwing 600lb worth of sacks in the trunk? that's a **** ton of weight for the z's trunk.

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2011 Nismo#91

And this is why I don't like driving in bad weather, well NJ didn't even get bad weather, it was just a dusting of snow and sleet (mostly rain in the end). Yet people are still spinning their cars in circles and think its fun.

henryy370z

i need florida weather in new jersey!!!

CDepp

You're reading that properly. I grew up in southern Illinois and spent 2005-2009 in Cleveland driving rwd cars and trucks. I was at work on days where 4x4 owners weren't and I have never had issues. With the wider tires, a slight over inflation will decrease the rear footprint and cause the center of the tire to dig more. The weight helps keep the *** planted, although it can make it a little more sketchy when trying to stop on a downward slope.

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m4a1mustang

That's way too much weight to put in the back of the Z. Total overload of the chassis. It would be extremely dangerous.

The solution is a proper set of winter tires, and you're GTG.

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Augustus

Sucks that folks were pissed off at the OP. Around here folks usually band together to help one another when the weather gets rough.

I got caught in a blizzard last week in my Z. I made the mistake of thinking I could beat the snow home from the work Christmas party but the party ran long and the storm hit early. I'm 35 and I've driven all manner of front, rear, and AWD cars in the snow, so it's not a new experience for me. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, the Z + stock Yokohama Advan's made for the most useless car ever. I would guess that those with 19" sport-package tires would be in even worse shape in the snow. I'm all for having a little fun in the snow (I miss my WRX.... ), but the the complete lack of traction was ridiculous and dangerous.

While drivable where plowed & flat, hills were out of the question and the rears would spin at anything more than idle. Braking is seriously compromised. If you're less experienced at RWD and/or winter driving, it's an accident waiting to happen. Don't do it. I got hung up on a snow berm where they'd plowed an intersection, which required a sheriff deputy and a couple of good samaritans to push me out. Not enjoyable. Especially for them, with 50mph winds whipping around. At least the deputy was cool about it.

Once was enough for me. Lesson well-learned. Until I can replace the stock tires with some good high-performance all seasons or spring for a dedicated winter tire set, my Z's staying the garage when it snows.

One sliver lining, I did finally have a chance to really experience the ABLS (anti-lock brake limited slip) system in action. As a non-sport Z with an open diff, ABLS does do an fairly decent job of balancing torque between rears in extremely slippery conditions. I was reasonably impressed with it.

m4a1mustang

To those that have space to keep a spare set of wheels/tires around, I highly suggest a dedicated set of winter tires and a dedicated set of summer tires.

All-seasons are "no-seasons." A jack of all trades but master of none.

Snow tires really aren't just for snow. "Performance Winter/Snow" tires will give you maximum cold weather, dry pavement grip relative to a summer or all-season tire, while providing significantly better snow/ice performance.

The best thing about having a summer/winter setup is not having to compromise. You don't have to give up summer grip so you can have marginal winter grip. Instead, you get maximum summer grip and maximum winter grip. Have your cake and eat it too.

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R0bDC

Lets talk about hills, I went to San Francisco on Tuesday and I came across this hill it was insane my car was having trouble getting to the top, then there was a red light and I was right in the middle on the hill, keep in mind it was raining pretty bad. So light turns green, car in front of me goes, I wait a few seconds, there is no cars behind me thank god! I take off in second gear and the back tires start spinning from the rain I'm assuming and I stall the car. Second try I take off in first gear, wheels start spinning and i stall, finally I switch to second gear and I WANT GO GET OFF THIS HILL, so I step on it the wheels start spinning again but I mange to start moving forward. It was intense, not something I want to do again. But I constantly go to San Fran and I need to learn so when into I don't have the fear of coming across some of these hills. Any recommendations on what gear to take off from? Or how to handle those situations? And tell me about experiences that u had And how you dealt with them.

CDepp

Preferred method.

I hate to disagree, but I'm not sure how you calculated that. I've put a lot more in much less of a vehicle. You're talking top speed of 20mph (at most) in conditions where you'd have to apply this to keep from losing grip on inclines. And, unless you're hopping curbs every 100 ft, the chassis will do just fine with 600lbs distributed at 420 in the rear and 180 in the passenger seat flooring. (400lb/in. compression on rear stock springs, less on sport springs - offset by any drop). Stock, I have 1.25" clearance in the rear, with no spacers, meaning I can drop the entire 600lbs in the back without any damage (tucking rubber though). And, because the conditions are that bad, there's no way the car would be going fast enough to necessitate reflex speed of the springs to avoid a shock crush point.

EDIT: However, with the risk to damage (as m4a1 points out), especially for a mod'ed Z, it would be better if you just used another vehicle, public transpo, or get a rental ($10/day + gas in some areas).

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CDepp

Besides, m4a1, who cares if our Z looks like a ghetto-lowered ride, WE HAVE TO GET TO THE GYM!

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2011 MB Base+S M6 | Invidia Exhaust | TommyKairaHebiBeibi | H&R Spacers 15/20 | GTR Start | 305hp/240tq

Augustus

Perhaps m4a1mustang is going by the GVWR tag on the driver's door. On my '11, it states that the maximum passenger + cargo load is 432 lbs.

So, 600lbs in the trunk + driver + fuel = a seriously overloaded Z, according to Nissan. No doubt that much weight helps traction. I offer no opinion as to how that affects one's car, but you are almost doubling the "official" capacity with a ~780lb load of concrete and driver.

CDepp

I don't disagree at all with the Nissan recommended use. As I always try to remind people, 'don't always use the advice in forums' for their own application. I don't believe I would EVER drop 600lbs in my car either. Putting in 4-6 bags is just a really heavy passenger (unless you can find a really big friend to ride with you). I actually agree with m4a1 on the 'potential' to ruin a Z. I just see it happening driving in the conditions and the actual ratings of the stock suspension in the Z. If you slide into a curb, even at a safe speed -10mph) with all that weight, however, that would be a blown axle for certain.

The idea is to get weight towards the rear of the car and to increase the pressure per inch of contact. Even 240lbs is better than none. It's the same reason trucks have cinder blocks/bags of sand/concrete in their beds in the winter.

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blue660r01

You lack skill.

henryy370z

your a herb

XwChriswX

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