RWD cars need a set of good snow tires to get through the snowy winter, period. I don't care how good you are, you're still operating your S within the boundary of physics.

With a set of snow tires, you can enjoy winter driving the way it should be.

I think this is a no brainer.

 

For the guy that wanted to drive on the snows till they wear out - get a used and scratched set of OEM 16" wheels, and snows. Leave them mounted. Put them on in November, take them off in early March, or whatever is dictated by your climate. Your snows and summer tires will last longer, you'll save a little on the mounting/balancing, and you will be a whole lot safer.

You can also buy a set with summer tires on it, and presumably since your summer tires are shot, put snows on the rims you currently own.

 

Let's see .............................. we have snow tires on (= sub-par handling), winter driving conditions (= sub-par handling), cold road surface (= sub-par handling), occasional poor visibility (= sub-par handling) - all characteristics that demand slower speeds, more care, much more delicate operation of all vehicle controls.
I think "handling" is one of the last things to be concerned about. If you are, then you are driving beyond the limits as dictated by the motoring environment.

BTW, I've never used any "ballast" in the trunk. If you are new to snow/ice driving in an S2000, then sure, put some weight in there, but just remember, you're going to have to contend with the weight differential between a full gas tank and a near empty one anyway. And how about the difference when you have a 175 lb passenger? That 100 lbs of sandbags doesn't make much difference if you have decent snow tires.

 

If you live in an area that snows and your S is your only vehicle, snow tires are part of the "price of admission."

 

I agree that the weight in the trunk will screw up high speed handling. But I suggest that you save the "performance driving" for some other season.

Keep in mind that moment of inertia also plays into this. The worst car configuration for starting to spin is one with the moment of inertia close to the center(this is what the front/mid engine configuration of the S really does). It does 180's like a top. Rotation is not a good thing on ice and in traffic.

The best car for reducing the rotational tendencies is to have 50% of the weight on the rear bumper and 50% on the front bumper.

The sand bags give me just a little more rotational stability + some bite with the rear and I feel that is more important in winter than being able to negotaite the "twisties". It also helps with engine braking.

I can take the sand bags out if I really want to return to the original config.

All this said, not much you can do at all will help the S02's in the winter. They just turn into bricks. Get some good snows (or at least all season HP tires). And always be careful.

 

Before driving in snow:



After driving in snow:






I woke up Wednesday morning to some flurries in Altus, OK. I had a 2 hour drive ahead of me to OK city to catch a flight home for Christmas. At the time, the snow wasn't sticking, just dusting. About an hour into the drive, it started snowing a bit harder and started to stick in areas. The car felt fine and when coming to a stop, braking action felt fine. Tire traction wasn't too bad. I got on I-44 after going through Lawton. Speed limit is 75mph. I was doing 45-50mph in the right lane where cars had already made tracks in the little bit of snow that had been sticking. There were people flying by me like I wasn't moving. About 20 minutes later, I hear the engine suddenly rev up as the rear end broke loose and the car immediately yawed to the left. I had no warning what so ever. I tried countersteering, but I had nothing. No traction what so ever. What I thought was a little bit of snow, must have been ice. I must have slid sideways for a 1/4 of a mile or so before the car started getting closer and closer to the concrete divider. I hung on to the wheel and prepared for impact (and an airbag) as I clipped the divider. It spun me around a few times and I came to a stop sideways in the middle of a road. There were a few cars coming at me as I sat there so I quickly started her back up and pulled off onto the shoulder. I got out and looked at the damage. The car looked drivable and I was fine, so I got back in and went 15-20mph a few miles up the road to a service area. By that time, plows were clearing the road and putting sand down, so I decided to continue on to OK city. I took these pictures when I got to the airport. To make the day even better, the two hour drive turned into a 3 hour and 15 minute drive, making me about 3 minutes late checking into my flight and they wouldn't let me on the plane. I got onto another flight, scheduled to leave 4 hours later that wound up being delayed another 2 hours. I wound up getting home to NJ at 10pm vs the 2pm. Needless to say it ended up being one of those days you'd be better off just not getting out of bed for. Luckily, there were no other cars around for me to hit and luckily I went to the left to the divider and not the right because there was a 10 foot drop off into a ditch on that side. I probably would have went airborne and flipped going down that thing sideways. Now I get to deal with getting my baby fixed when I get back in January. Fun stuff.

You can see in the pics how LITTLE snow is actually on the ground. Well, that's all it took. Two of the cars that flew by me, a Camaro Z28 and a Mustang GT, were off the side of a road in the ditch a few miles ahead of where I hit the wall. There was also a SLK Benz and a Honda Civic with cracked up front ends on the other side of the road, all within a few miles of where I bit it. Obviously, it wasn't just me.

 

Altus huh? I was scheduled to be there (at Altus AFB) on the 3rd of Jan to do some work. I've seen Suzukas at almost every base I've visited this year .

I feel for your plight. My other car is getting work done, so I'm stuck with the S (with NO snows) and have to do the 224 mile drive to Va from NY quite a few times in the coming weeks, and what happens to you is just what I fear. heck heading down last Sunday night, I hit a 3 mile stretch of I-95 covered in 1/2" of Ice! Traffic was moving at 3 - 6 mph. No kidding. In a way I'm glad I wasn't doing the run later at night as I might have flew into the ice and just spun off and totalled the car.

You really were in a tough position - plane to catch, so no other option. But with the type of funky weather you get in Ok, you are going to have to swing for snows if you make the run up to Ok city in the winter. What happened to you is just not worth it.

BTW - I changed jobs so will not be having the 'pleasure' of comming to Altus - what are the roads like down there? Didn't really like Enid OK - to flat and straight.

 

What tires do you have on it?

I drove in snow and ice most of my life (Regina, Saskatchewan and Calgary, Alberta, both in Canada). During that time I always drove RWD sport and muscle cars (Charger, two Camaros, Supra).

The only time I've ever had the kind of experience you describe is if I made a sudden change in speed (up or down) or direction. And I've driven on some pretty nasty black ice between Calgary and Banff several times, where I felt the wind pushing my car from side-to-side.

 

I've got the OEM RE050's on it with 14k miles on them. They still have plenty of tread left on them and are fine in the rain. Again, I was on level road and not accelerating. Just cruising in 6th gear at 45-50mph while everyone else flew by me doing 60+. The car just broke loose with no warning. When I pulled off the road and stepped on my brakes to bring the car to a stop, the wheels just locked up and the car slid some more. I believe as the front came through, the temperature dropped significantly enough to where the light, wet snow on the road turned to ice. Like I said, it wasn't just me. There were a half dozen cars or so over a few mile stretch of road with the same result. This is my third RWD car (Nissan 240SX and Miata) and I never had this happen to me before, although I never drove the Miata in the snow. The 240SX saw snow, but I didn't have summer high-po tires on it. My mother had a Miata and I drove it in the snow after we bought her Blizzaks and it was pretty good in the snow.

 

[QUOTE=Joe in STL,Dec 20 2004, 09:26 AM] How well do snow tires perform in warm weather?