Winter... To drive the Z or not to drive the Z

nmjaxx9

Beater! End of story.

Mrmaasta

I have a truck for winter....driving the Z around would beat the piss out of it. If you can find a beater for winter, you will not regret it.

Canadian

chii370

get an old 04 or under subi RS impreza. You will never need another snow car in your life. 1/16th the cost of its stupid overly inflated price big bro WRX and STI. you dont need 305 HP IN THE SNOW. 190 is just fine. :P

ACKD

Easy choice, get a beater. Rock chips alone makes it not worth driving the car in the winter.

kenchan

I drove my G one winter with lm60's. Did well, but felt like a sitting duck. + accelerated wear vs hibernated car by 3yrs. not doing it again.

JDs370Z

You own the Z to drive it...right? Drive it and enjoy it! Personally, I enjoy the strange looks when I'm driving through snow, with Blizzaks on my Plasti-Dipped snow rims, of course. Sure...there is a chance of damage from impacts or corrosion, but drive smart, keep your insurance in check, don't drive if it's too bad, and keep your Z clean.

Winter wheels and tires used = 800 - 1000 dollars
Reliable Winter Beater = 3 to 4k, add taxes and title fees, insurance, maintenance, gas, etc.

Good luck and enjoy!

Attached Images

z in the snow 2.jpg (57.9 KB, 38 views)

forza370z

Get a beater if you care about your z.

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4r3s

I've been doing the summer/winter tire setup for the past few years. It is definitely doable in light amounts of snow but it is nerve racking. I bought a house last year so I now have a garage to park the Z in and I cringe every time I have to drive it around in just rain since it is my DD. I've decided that I would prefer a second vehicle to be my winter car to keep the Z nice and so I can actually buy things a bring them home like say a garbage can.

You'll be fine in most situations with the winter tire setup if you treat it as a means to get home if the weather starts to get bad. After all its a RWD car, no tires will ever change that and RWD cars are relatively way more difficult than FWD or AWD to handle in poor weather. It will not make you like an SUV where you can go out in a reasonable snow storm to pick up milk and bread. If you can afford a beater car, that is the best route to go in my opinion.

janglez

get the beater...drove an rx8 in the winter for 4 years from 2004 to 2008...had all season tires put on it...still sucked in the snow...anything more than 2 inches was almost impossible...so, get the beater more for safety reasons but the 4 winters really did a number on the rx8 too...just not worth it...my z will never see the snow or the salt

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Elan

Haha oh boy you chose the wrong username!

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Riptide67

I drove my 350Z in the snow once.....once.

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kfull

Nice! I've got the same wheels and tires as you for winter It all comes down to the individual. Some want to keep their z as pristine as possible, which is totally cool. Some want to just constantly be driving it (like me) Some don't want the hassle of having another car, some don't mind. Neither side is right or wrong, just comes down to the person, their needs, wants, and situation.

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DLSTR

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This^. I have Blizzaks and they work. I also get to enjoy the car on nice winter days as well...at speed with those Blizzaks. A beater is a great idea as well but the Z is well built and runs better driven. You cant go wrong in either case. Follow your heart and budget.

b15

I posed the same question around August and ended up buying a second car. I'm sure the Z would get around just fine on snow tires in light snow, but more than 3inches or so with inclines and I see it having issues. Snowfall is pretty unpredictable in Chicago in addition to the massive amounts of salt they put down so in the end I decided it was best to get a second car.

There's all types of beaters you can get depending on how much you want to spend. I searched for a couple months and ended up with a 2003 Camry v6 in pretty good shape, clean in and out, low miles and up to date maintenance for only $5500. If you really want to be cheap you can find civics/corollas for 3-4k. Body won't be in the best of shape but mechincally, these cars are hard to kill.

ajc1884

I live in central PA. I do not drive when the roads are wet or snow covered. I keep the super sport tires on and drive drive when its above freezing. I drive slow though and stay off the highways, supersports dont like the cold too much.