Topic: Sports cars in the snow

[chrischasescars]

Inspired by the AWD debate happening in the Impreza DBDR thread, would you/do you drive a sports car in the snow?

Here are my thoughts: http://thisiswhatithinkofyourcar.com/2012/01/12/what-i-think-driving-a-sports-car-in-the-snow/

[airbalancer]

what is considered to be a sport car?

[johngenx]

I never drove any of my high performance cars in the winter.  The Porsche could have been driven in the winter with the proper tires, but the reason it got stored was the continuous paint damage from the rocks that Edmonton slathers the road with.

I think my older Forester is the ideal winter vehicle.  Light (<3200lbs), lots of ground clearance but still low CG thanks to the boxer engine, and AWD. Chris' comments about light weight are spot on.  Massive vehicles have a ton of momentum and long stopping distances, even on good snow tires.

Regardless of FWD, RWD, AWD, or vehicle type, snow tires are the only way to go.  See my thread on the Seattle folks in AWD vehicles going nowhere thanks to poor tires...

[rrocket]

I want a 911 TT because of the AWD and foul weather capabilities.  So yea, I'll be driving that sucker in the snow FOR SURE!!

Always pissed me off when I had to put away my sports cars for the winter.

[Guy]

Couple of ads on autotrader for GT-R's under $70K. One 09 for lease for $825 per month. Would make a great winter beater! 

[Fobroader]

Hell to the no, I am fully behind the winter beater idea. Something cheap, 4x4, easy/cheap to repair and with snow tires. Why would you want to wreck the fun sports car with rock chips and destroy the underneath with salt and chunks of ice and snow. I bought my old truck for around $1500, spent around that in maintenance and tires and had a great vehicle for winter.....and my Altima had its nice and warm garage for the winter.

[rrocket]

Why would you want to wreck the fun sports car with rock chips

So are you saying you get more rock chips in winter?   

[johngenx]

So are you saying you get more rock chips in winter?   

Our roads are frequently "sanded" with a mix of salt/sand/rocks that means most Alberta vehicles have cracked/sand-blasted windscreens and lots of paint chips.  Winter here is very rough on paint, and cars with low front ends and lots of painted surfaces are easily damaged.

[rrocket]

So are you saying you get more rock chips in winter?   

Our roads are frequently "sanded" with a mix of salt/sand/rocks that means most Alberta vehicles have cracked/sand-blasted windscreens and lots of paint chips.  Winter here is very rough on paint, and cars with low front ends and lots of painted surfaces are easily damaged.

Ah...Ok.  It really depends where you live.  I live in the banana belt, so a sports car year round here is no biggie.  Have not had any real snowfall here..yet.

[dr_spock]

Sure, why not.  It's only snow.  What's there to be afraid of?

[rrocket]

Sure, why not.  It's only snow.  What's there to be afraid of?

Apparently, some people think the car is ruined as soon as it sees snow....

[normancw]

Inspired by the AWD debate happening in the Impreza DBDR thread, would you/do you drive a sports car in the snow?

Here are my thoughts: http://thisiswhatithinkofyourcar.com/2012/01/12/what-i-think-driving-a-sports-car-in-the-snow/

Nice!  How is the Cayman in the snow?  I drove an 86 MR-2 and 92 Miata for a combined 13 winters in Ottawa.  The MR-2 had great traction (with the mid-engine) and tended to understeer in the snow, but could be a bit scary if it started fishtailing. 

With the hard top, the Miata (with a limited-slip diff) was great in the winter.  It was very neutral and predictable, easy to induce and correct an oversteering slide.  Also easy to correct an understeering plow.  With traction and stability control, I plan on driving my next sports car year round (maybe a FRS/BRZ, or a used Cayman/911).

[Snowman]

I'm driving my winter sports car now.

[Mike]

Drove my RX-8 all winter for two years.  10+ KM no matter what the circumstances or weather.


Here is some testing of the winter tires on my first snowfall

http://youtu.be/WXpGIdBkQQU

[Sir Osis of Liver]

There is a GT-R that's rolling on snow tires as well as a Carrera that I saw in traffic a few weeks ago.

[rrocket]

I'm driving my winter sports car now.

That's an economy car with a powerful engine.     

[sailor723]

I drove my '74 TR6 year 'round all through university. With good snow tires it performed surprisingly well.

[Snowman]

I'm driving my winter sports car now.

That's an economy car with a powerful engine.     

You forgot: good handling,sweet gearbox,and awesome brakes  and I don't need a special tool from Ingolstadt to remove my radio 

[Giant Dwarf]

I'm driving my winter sports car now.

That's an economy car with a powerful engine.     

You forgot: good handling,sweet gearbox,and awesome brakes  and I don't need a special tool from Ingolstadt to remove my radio 

Snowy, have you done Subie's short-shift kit?  If not, git 'er done.  Can't believe the difference in shift feel between any other Subie I've tried and my bro's STI with shift kit. 

***

Back to the topic... I drove an MX5 for 4 winters and loved it.  Got stuck only once, though like Rrocket, I'm also a Canadian "deep south" guy who hasn't had the shovel out yet this year.  So much fun blasting and drifting around in a perfectly-balanced car at speeds that won't make you automatically lose your license.

[Arthur Dent]

I drove my old Triumph Spitfire in the snow a couple times. Ground clearance was a major issue.

Drove a '96 Mustang GT with all season times through a couple winters too