I did a few searches, but couldn't find this discussed before.

For those of you that drive their S in the winter, did you regret it? Did you wish you would have bought a "winter beater" and stored the S during the winter? Does driving in the winter really put much more wear and tear on the car?

I'm having trouble deciding if I should get a great set of snow tires or a winter beater and I'm interested to hear the thoughts of those who drive their car during the winter. I know that with the right tires and a little care, the car will get around find in the snow, but I'm a little more concerned about putting excessive wear and tear on the vehicle.

 

I bought and drove mine in the winter. But I'm in a mild climate.

 

There's a lot of info on this topic if you try searching for "snow tires" or "winter tires".

I got my car in January 02 and drove it straight to a tire shop to get some snow tires. This was my first RWD car but I got thru driving it all winter (which was the worth in recent history) without any problems or misadventures. For two months (Feb/Mar) I was commuting 2 hours one way to work and drove the S even in snow storms.

While I'd never "store" my car away for winter, I'm thinking of getting a beater for the snow days and drive the S in clear weather. The reason is cause it's not worth it putting miles on your car and not enjoying it. Also, most snow tires are compound based that don't do very well on snow 1/2 way thru the tread. So, you might need new snow tires (at least the rears) every season, depending on your commute. Considering that decent snow tiers cost around $800.00, you might as well get a beater for around $1000 to $2000 for snow days.

It'd also depend on how much your commute is. If it's not too much then you would be ok without the beater. If you drive over 20 minutes to work, e.g., you're better off in a beater on snow days, imho.

PS: As for wear/tear, I don't see that as a problem.

 

I drive mine all year 'round 'cause it's all I've got. The stock S02's definitely are not as good in freezing weather as they are in summer, even if the roads are clear. Nothing dangerous, just not as grippy.

Now in the snow they are absolutely terrible. The front's aren't too bad since there are lots of tread gaps, but it is darn near impossible to drive over 25 mph in the snow and keep the rear end behind you. And you can forget going uphill if you don't have a running start. Fortunately we usually don't get more than 3 or 4 days of snow each season where I drive.

Here's my off-road adventure from last year. What you don't see is the overpass I just drove under, where drippage had frozen on the road into a nice sheet of ice. Even with dropping it into neutral before hitting the ice the rear end still wanted to go first, which was fine on the ice - I was sideways but still in my lane. Of course when I hit the clear pavement again it was a little hard to handle, hence the off-road excursion.

The car was stuck there on the shoulder of the Interstate till two guys came along and pushed me onto the roadway. There was not enough traction to get up that hill (the shoulder).

 

I'm about to head into my 4th winter with the S. I got the S ONLY because it could be driven in winter. I don't do garage queens anymore. It's too darn much fun in winter to leave it parked in the garage. Each year, in Calgary, we get a couple more people than the year before who get snow tires and let 'er rip.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by xviper
I'm about to head into my 4th winter with the S.

 

This will be my first time driving the S in the winter... I bought a set of 205 all around of blizzak ws-50..... Wish me luck...

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Sleepwalker

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by mas it's not worth it putting miles on your car and not enjoying it.

 

I'll be using mine this winter. Hopefully its not nearly as bad as last year