Snow question
 

I planned for my first question in here to cover a great deal more than what I'm about to ask, but alas, I've found myself in a tight spot today and need some help!

. I'm a 24 year old girl with limited car knowledge, so please pardon my ignorance :)

I just got a 2009 370z after someone totaled my 06 tiburon. I adore this car so far, but I digress. Today I drove to school (approx five minutes away on highway, 10 or less on alt route). It was really nice yesterday and so naturally I was really surprised this morning when I arrived to school and it started snowing.

I don't have any special tires and really need to drive home before my next class (I'm wearing heels and need flats for a lab, but again, I distress
Lol) my boyfriend can take me back, but I don't want to leave the car at school.

I guess my question is, how grim is my situation? I've
always driven really well in the snow and take my time. I never had an issue with the tiburon, although I think that's front wheel drive, right? How might these two cars differ?

I also haven't had much experience driving a manual until getting this car. I'm doing really well, and a handful of experienced drivers told me they were surprised I was new to driving one. I'm still worried how that might affect my ability to drive well in the snow.

Lastly, I haven't gotten a chance to see how hard it's coming down or weather it's even sticking at all. It say it could vary from being just wet roads to an inch or so.

Any advice is appreciated!

Get yourself some snow tires if you plan to drive it in the snow regularly.

Be careful out there and don't do this!

http://doylez.com/img/snow4.jpg

^LOL or at the very least, if you do do that take some pictures of it. That takes some talent! haha

wow total fail...

mr.gale will never visit this thread. let me ask him. :icon17:

Doesn't sound like you have much experience to drive a RWD sports car in the snow. It's very different from a FWD car due to the diff of weight distribution. In short, be gentle on the throttle. It might help to get your car going from the 2nd gear instead of 1st. Avoid inclines as possible and definitely get some good snow tires. This thread will be helpful for you.

http://www.the370z.com/nissan-370z-g...k-lm-60-a.html

I'd leave the car until the roads get better, not worth attempting to make it home.

Mitch, do you have one of those fancy Google links for driving a sports car wait... any car, while wearing heels?

The thrill of the hunt! :bowrofl:

Liar! :rofl2:

:bowrofl::bowrofl::bowrofl:

:icon18::bowrofl::roflpuke2:

Post some pics of you with your Z so we can help :tup:

hey layla- the tires that come with the Z are NOT suitable to drive in snow... even with the VDC (traction/yaw control) turned on.

pick up the car when the roads are clear. i am not kidding.

GL! :tup:

:icon18:

Mitch is all dude. He's just really good with fancy Google link things.

:iagree:

:worthless:

Mr.kenchan was 110% correct. Thread didn't make it through my iggy list filter. I only popped over because of his link in the other thread. :tup:

Man, so many wise-*** comments in one thread. Just help her out and be done with it.

Put simply OP, the OEM tires are designed for summer driving. Once the temperature drops to freezing, the rubber hardens and loose a lot of grip. Any snow on the ground is only going to make it worst. Once they clear the road, you'll be fine...but I would go easy on the throttle. It's not impossible to drive with summer tires in very light snow, but I would avoid it if you can. A dedicated winter setup is best as some have suggested, but you can also your tire setup to All-Seasons if you're mostly doing normal daily driving.

already did, post #14. or take me out of your iggylist and you wont miss the goodness. :rofl2:

LOL I didnt realize she was a female, I thought we were just poking fun at a guy. Not that a chick couldn't handle it or anything. :D

:rofl2:

I do not think I could if I tried.

Never having driven in snow myself, I comment, living so close, couldn't she just drive at a snails pace, up one gear all the way home? Perhaps using her flashers to let others know she is in a jam. I do not envy her position.

A 370Z is absolutely fine to drive in the snow with winter tires. I have Bridgestone Blizzaks on. The car is predictable, and handles very well. (Last Monday I was driving to work in knee high snow in the unplowed side streets and even with a low skirt on the front (of the car!) because I have the sport model, the car was fine.)

A 370Z is absolutely unfine to drive in the snow on the summer tires. If you Do have to drive it I agree with the previous advice to take it as slow as you can, put on your flashers, and go easy on the throttle.

mr.tam- i dont know where where the op is, but in my area, if there's a car that was going down a snowy road at a snail's pace, guaranteed rear-ended.

if there's any on-ramps, it's like watching an ant trying to get out of an antlion's trap. :icon17: it's a very very sad sight.

It took my Z over to best buy for an appointment after about an inch of snow. I have Michelin Super Sport tires. All I can say is I wouldn't do that again. It's only a couple of miles away, but I got stuck three times in the parking lot there. Best to get a set of winter tires. At the very least a good set of sporty all season radials.

Figures. Flashers apparently make a target out of it. I knew that their was more too it, than is obvious to a Californian. Enough from the ignorant.

I also figured that when the OP admitted to a boyfriend, she'd left be on her own. Glad to see a gentleman or two.

Thanks so much to everyone for their responses! I think I definitely might need to invest in winter tires at some point. I feel a bit foolish for buying a car that should probably not be used as the primary vehicle, but I couldn't resist. I'm obstinate.

Though I did google this question along with browse the forum for similair questions, I hoped to get the chance to both introduce myself and get a more personalized response by creating a new thread. I like forums for the fact that you can interact with people :)

I realized the snow looked a lot more intense from a second story window than it really was. It ended up being basically rain. I took it very slow in case it was icy, and people were definitely annoyed by me. :) It's better to be melodramatic than find myself in a lovely position as the one showed above lol.

And I have not yet mastered driving this car in heels. I will though, mark my words!

And thanks for the info on snow tires. That makes me feel like if I get them this car will be a little bit more realistic as my primary vehicle. Hopefully there won't be too much winter left though :/

if you get more than an inch of snow you'll want to run snow tires. if less than an inch or your area has good snow plow service, you might be able to get away with tires by Continental called DWS. D = dry, W = wet, S = snow.

I actually tested this tire on my front wheel drive dd this winter in our snowbelt state, and it's been doing pretty good. not as good as snow tires in deep snow, but quite good.

here's a good site to get your tires.

Tire Rack - Your performance experts for tires and wheels

also check out locally:

www.discounttire.com

for snow tires i recommend the Bridgestone LM60.

Congratulations on the safe trip and :welcome:

My wife had no trouble driving the Z in 5" heels... manual transmission :stirthepot: :icon17:

It seems Blizzaks are generally the snow tire of choice around the forum, but don't take this Texan's word for it. If you can avoid driving in the snow for the rest of the winter season, you may be able to put off new tires until you need them or until next winter. At that point you may just want some high quality all season tires if you don't see too much snow or can avoid driving in it (i.e. public transportation or boyfriend drives you).

Or as Kenchan recommends the Conti DWS :tup:

That's what I used before the Blizzard, the roads had about 3" at the time

mr. jar - if it's very light snow less than 1inch, i think the Z can handle it no problem with the DWS. my dd's front wheel drive, so it can handle a lot deeper snows even with the DWS.

but anything deep, i recommend the LM60's for the Z. :tup:

The key here is, what tires are on your Z?

It's a 2009, so it's very possible that the original tires have been replaced by now. The OEM tires on the 370Z are "summer" tires, and they are ridiculously useless in the snow. Not just tricky to drive in the snow, downright dangerous. Especially if you have hills, you're basically doomed. Park it until it melts. Leaving it in a parking lot overnight is a far better option than crashing it on your way home. Or having to leave it in a ditch overnight.

Go look at the tires. Make note of the name on the sidewall or take a picture & post it. That would let us help you more.

If the previous owner replaced the OEM tires with all-season tires, you stand a fair chance of doing "OK" in the snow, assuming the roads are generally plowed (and your tires aren't bald). Compared to your FWD Tiburon, the main difference is that the back end of the Z will want to rotate whenever you give it gas. The car will *want* to spin out with every hill & crown in the road surface. You must carefully modulate the throttle and steer into the rotation - back end swinging to the right, turn the wheel to the right. One tip, try starting from a stop in 2nd instead of 1st. Yes, it's a bit harder on the clutch but it's a bit easier to get moving on an extremely slippery road. Sometimes in 1st you will just sit & spin. Braking is mostly the same with RWD, but give yourself a TON of extra room and go SLOW. Especially if you're chancing it with the summer tires - you have almost ZERO braking ability. Seriously scary. The Z has wide tires, summer or all-season, and they're not ideal for snow.

But yes, dedicated snow tires are probably the best way to go in the winter. Same rules as above apply, but you've got a bit more traction to play with.

If this is really your first experience driving a RWD car on snow, I would highly recommend that you drive around the school's parking lot for a while to get the hang of how the car behaves. Give it some gas as you turn and watch what happens. Be honest with yourself and your skills as to whether you can make it home. And have a plan for if you get stuck.

Good luck! :tiphat:

I will simply suggest a set of good snow tires for this 300+hp RWD sports car. :tiphat:

This helps in the snow

http://imageshack.us/a/img846/7505/20121106123749.jpg