So true. A cowboy friend of mine explained to me that the advantage of four wheel drive is that you get stuck that much farther from help.

 

All other things equal, on snowy icey roads, 4WD/AWD is best, FWD is second and RWD is last. That's for going. For stopping none of the above matters, ABS is the way to go. DON'T pump ABS brakes. Skinny tires are better than wide tires. Check out the rally cars racing through snow. Weight over the driving wheels helps but weight that can shift around, like in the back of a pickup bed, can be a detriment. Going slow is the best strategy for staying out of the ditches. Actually, staying home is the best strategy.

 

Thank you Mike and Jeff in appreciation of your replies to my orig post.

Also, my apologies for omitting to say..."good to hear you weren't hurt and the S was in decent shape" to the starter of this thread.

 

Proper tires for winter driving have the snowflake symbol on them. Most all-season tires do not have this symbol (with the exception of Nokias). It's just not about traction and tread, but the ability of the tire compound to remain pliable in extreme cold temps. This is why SO-2's feel like rocks in temps anywhere near freezing. Any S2000 meant for winter driving will have a good set of snows and a 50-lb bag of kitty litter in the trunk just in case.
Born and bred in Maine driving RWD's for decades. They can be fun with the proper set-up but experience in these type of conditions means little when one's car is out of control, otherwise, the only people you'd see being pulled out of ditches in snow belts would be young teens. Nobody is immune to the dangers of ice and freezing rain, etc.
I never drove my S2K in snow because there are simply too many used Sentras available for $1000. It wasn't worth keeping $1K to risk repeating the pic above. Buy a FWD beater, add four snows and keep the S2000 planted unless the roads are clear. You won't sweat the weather reports that way.

 

Well put Russ...now to find a used Sentra

 

Thanks for all the advice. I actually did not know that the SO stood for summer only. I guess I didn't research enough about the car. But it was a good lesson learned and glad I didn't and even happier that my car didn't get hurt. But I don't have to worry about driving in snow anymore. I'm getting the car shipped to Cali either tomorrow or wed. It kinda makes me mad knowing that I could have dropped off my car on thursday (no snow) but was too lazy and decided that I would have enough time on friday before any snow hit the ground. Again, another lesson learned. Do not procrastinate when it comes to the s2000. Anyways, thanks guys and enjoy the x-mas season. I know I will be with the top down (finally) cruising the smooth and dry streets of Cali

Rich

 

jankemi is right. That's why you hear so many different rules once you passed the limits of adhesion. The best thing to do is take it out in a parking lot in the snow and practice.

The kumho 712's get me around my neighborhood pretty well, unless the snow has packed into ice. On the highway the 712's are good until the snow begins to pack into ice. At that point I can feel the rear end twitch left to right. Even at speeds below 30mph, in a straight line, the rear can break loose.

I believe the twitchy sudden loss of stability is the result of the limited slip. In non-limited slip cars when one wheel losses traction and spins under power, the other wheel still provides a measure of directional stability idling along with the surface. With limited slip, once one wheel looses traction, power is still applied to the other wheel, which, in icy conditions, will loose grip also. At that point the rears provide less drag than the fronts, so the rear tends to want to pass the front.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by GTI 20v

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by 'smyroad

 

Glad everything turned out OK.

I learned this lesson much easier myself (thank the maker). The first winter I owned my car it snowed enough to leave a dusting on the roads...in GA this is rare. There was about 1/3 - 1/2 an inch on my driveway. I figured surely don't drive in the snow doesn't mean snow that barely covers the ground. Well...all it took was to back out of the garage and onto the snow. The car slid about 20 ft. backwards out into the street. It took me 20 minutes to sweep the snow off the driveway so I could pull it back in the garage with the absolute knowledge that an S2000 with S0-2's in the snow may as well be driving on oiled teflon.