RabidRat

Hey guys,

I'm moving to Waterloo for a job soon, maybe permanently. I need to decide within the next few days if I'll have to sell my AP1 and get an STI or Evo to replace it, or if maybe I'll be able to manage.

I own a set of snow tires and I keep a set of chains in my trunk, but is that going to be enough for residential roads that might not be plowed, and the roads getting onto the highways?

I'd be commuting mainly between Waterloo, Guelph, and Toronto.

It'd also help if you guys could mention if your s2k is your daily driver or if you have winter beaters to get you through the snow.

Thanks!

shamusodoofus

Others may tell you differently... But I have managed to daily drive my S2000 every day in the winter last season (including during the storms). I even had all season tires on and never got stuck once. I currently commute from Guelph to Oakville on a weekly basis (which is about halfway from Guelph to Toronto), and plan to continue doing so in the winter in my S2000. From what I have heard from locals though is that Guelph/Waterloo tend to get more snow than Toronto/Oakville but I would imagine it can't be that much more.

From what I have learned, as long as you drive according to the conditions you will be fine. A set of snow tires I have heard from everyone make a world of difference in winter driving. I would say you should be fine if you slap on the snow tires and managed to drive in Vancouver winter.

There is one thing that some people may also tell you... I'm unsure how often and how much salt they use on the roads in Vancouver, but here in Toronto they use a TON of salt. If I were you, I would also consider some preventative measures for salt.

s2kcolin

Throw the chain away! There illegal here. But yes it's just the salt that kills everything around here.

therein60mins

STI's are pretty sick?

zeroptzero

get a cheap fwd beater and drive the crap out of it. I think fwd is a better option than 4wd/awd in many situations including highway driving.

RabidRat

Why do you say that?

Aaron19

if you love your s2k, and want to keep it.. just get a really cheap beater for the winter. i think the s2k is drive-able in the winter with good snow tires and proper driving. but if you want to keep it clean and salt free, store it and buy a $1000-1500 beater. or, if you find the car impractical and you want to drive 1 car all year round.. get an STi. but i could be bias. :|

as for how FWD is better in most situations over AWD.. i don't get that.

Ryan2949

South Ontario isn't that bad, up here in the north we get some pretty good snow. No need to sell the S, just get a beater like the others are saying. You'll most likely save money since Evo's and STI's are expensive here in Ontario so you can have 2 cars instead of 1 for less than it would cost to sell your AP1 and buy one of them.

zeroptzero

not most situations , I said many situations. AWD/4WD works great in getting traciton off the line starts, works great in deep snow, not my favourite for typical highway driving and icy conditions you mostly get in our parts. Along the 401 in Southern Ontario a good fwd vehicle is all you pretty much need, with less tendancy to get the rear end squirrely on you if you hit a patch of ice. I do a 4 hour highway drive once a week for my work (2 hours each way). About 2 years ago in the biggest snow storm I've ever seen there were about 40 vehicles in the ditch along my commute. Out of the 40 vehicles about 95% of them were awd/4wd, almost none were fwd autos. I had a 4wd SUV the last few years, gave it up for a fwd SUV with stability assist and I see no benefit of an awd/4wd system in terms of safety in winter driving conditions. If I was heading up north in deep snow conditions it might be worthwhile but typical 401 GTA or Southern Ontario driving seems unecessary to me.

FineTunedPerformance

Its pointless to say FWD > AWD in any condition. I think what you are seeing is a result of the ego boost it gives the driver (the feeling of traction while accelerating). I see soccer moms flying my me on the highway in Yukons all winter. The accidents all happen when you need to stop or maneuver the car and the only thing that matters at this point is the tires and the speed (the AWD car is usually going faster).

On topic: I use an old Suzuki Sidekick as a winter beater. It has optional 4x4, RWD = Hooning around, good on gas and they are cheap to pick up and maintain. I am sure you could manage in the S2K but all that salt....