Winter Driving with the SHO

[zeus268]

So the cold weather has finally arrived here and it's given me a chance to test the SHO on icy roads. The AWD system seems to be really good and I'm quite surprised at the Michelin Primacy tires as well. They're actually not that bad in light to medium snow and icy roads. I know that the weather is going to be getting a lot worse and I usually have a set of winter tires for my vehicles however I think I'm going to stick it out with the Primacy's and see how that goes.
Here's what it looks like at my dealership right now...... Can we setup a SHO convention in California or Florida perhaps?? I WILL be there!

 

[Phoenix]

Nothing in Quebec yet

 

[buff30SHO]

If anyone knows winter I'm sure you guys up in Alberta know it. It hasn't snowed here in Wisconsin yet, but the AWD and Michelin Primacys did just fine here last winter. The worst conditions I went through were last March along the front range of the Rockies on
I-25 between Colorado Springs and Denver. It was 5 deg F. after snowing the night before. The first part of the snow melted in warmer temperatures when the storm started and later turned to ice with more packed snow on top of that. There were a lot of cars and trucks off the road for about a 50 mile stretch. The AWD and Primacys did fine at about 35-40 MPH. That's probably more detail than you want to know.
Thumbs up.

 

[zeus268]

If anyone knows winter I'm sure you guys up in Alberta know it. It hasn't snowed here in Wisconsin yet, but the AWD and Michelin Primacys did just fine here last winter. The worst conditions I went through were last March along the front range of the Rockies on
I-25 between Colorado Springs and Denver. It was 5 deg F. after snowing the night before. The first part of the snow melted in warmer temperatures when the storm started and later turned to ice with more packed snow on top of that. There were a lot of cars and trucks off the road for about a 50 mile stretch. The AWD and Primacys did fine at about 35-40 MPH. That's probably more detail than you want to know.
Thumbs up.

Glad to hear it! I'm very impressed with the Primacy's so far as well

 

[zeus268]

Yuck...... but I guess winter is coming after all.

Thankfully nothing here in the Chicagoland area yet, but I'm sure that won't last for long.

I guess though snow is better than dodging this--------> :rainshit:

True, but I would probably get better traction on the :rainshit:

 

[YZF-Ford]

So how well does it cut AWD donuts?

 

[fast Ed]

Wow, you live in Edmonton and aren't going to put 4 winter boots on it? Hopefully you get through OK, just realize that AWD doesn't help you stop any better ...


cheers
Ed N.

 

[Phoenix]

Wow, you live in Edmonton and aren't going to put 4 winter boots on it? Hopefully you get through OK, just realize that AWD doesn't help you stop any better ...


cheers
Ed N.

Yup , thats why over here in QC , winter tires on passenger vehicules are MANDATORY from december to march. If you get caught - its a 200-300$ fine.

Its pretty good to know that the other guys around you are not running on crappy all season tires. And it seems to work because you rarely see anyone running on them anymore.

 

[SuperHO]

major hoonage pics better be had in this thread after the first major snowfall or someone's gettin banned.

 

[Fordnatic]

I'm still running on the factory Eagle F1 Supercar tires. Not by choice!! They are awful in the ice and snow. Stupid dealer has been promising me tires since the first week of Sept. Long story short, they finally re-ordered the wheels and second day air freighted them, supposed to be here in a day or two. That will be a relief.

 

[zeus268]

Wow, you live in Edmonton and aren't going to put 4 winter boots on it? Hopefully you get through OK, just realize that AWD doesn't help you stop any better ...


cheers
Ed N.

Hey Ed,

I've lived in Edmonton all of my life so I think that I'm a fairly good winter driver. No accidents yet (knock on wood)
Regarding winter boots you are absolutely right. A/S tires are no comparison to a good set of winter tires and I know that AWD is not going to help me stop. I do plan on getting a set for the SHO however I was curious as to how the Primacy's perform having never used them before. They are pretty good but not a true winter tire.
I think that a good part of winter driving is using your head, anticipating what other people are going to do and being overly-cautious as compared to the other seasons.
Give me a rear, front or AWD/4x4 vehicle and I WILL be able to drive it in the wintertime with no problems. That comes from experience though....

 

[zeus268]

-28 degrees Celsius in Edmonton this morning. I'm thinking it's time to book a flight to Mexico......

 

[firebat45]

I'll second the experience over snow tires (though both is best!). I've been driving around a Contour with all seasons on it still, it's got terrible traction compared to winter tires, and I haven't had a single close call yet.

In fact, seems like half the accidents are idiots in jacked up pickups/SUVs that think they can drive like it's summer, since they have 4WD. It's all about knowing the car's limits.

I once heard a interesting argument against AWD/4WD, at least for going up hills. In a 2wd vehicle, once you lose traction and can't accelerate, you can still brake, since you have twice as many tires braking as you do driving. In a car that drives all wheels, you can get further, but once you lose traction, it's all gone.

 

[zeus268]

I'll second the experience over snow tires (though both is best!). I've been driving around a Contour with all seasons on it still, it's got terrible traction compared to winter tires, and I haven't had a single close call yet.

In fact, seems like half the accidents are idiots in jacked up pickups/SUVs that think they can drive like it's summer, since they have 4WD. It's all about knowing the car's limits.

I once heard a interesting argument against AWD/4WD, at least for going up hills. In a 2wd vehicle, once you lose traction and can't accelerate, you can still brake, since you have twice as many tires braking as you do driving. In a car that drives all wheels, you can get further, but once you lose traction, it's all gone.

It's been a little nuts here in Edmonton after we got a HUGE snowfall the other day. Hopefully you've made it through ok thus far???
I'm still running the Primacy's and the more I use them, the more I like them.... The amount of snow in parking lots and around town is crazy and the AWD on the SHO has performed very admirably so far. I haven't even come close to getting stuck once yet!
And I second the sentiment on the idiots with jacked up trucks around here driving like there's no snow or ice on the road.... it's often that you see those guys in the ditch wondering "what happened??"

Give me a cautious driver with a brain over a ***** with winter tires any day of the week.....

 

[mjhpadi]

-28 degrees Celsius in Edmonton this morning. I'm thinking it's time to book a flight to Mexico......

Well, as Jimmy Buffett says: "They're freezin' up in Buffalo stuck in their cars while I'm lying here 'neath the sun and the stars!" There's a lot to be said for the islands in this weather even if you don't like diving, drinking, sunbathing, and night life.