what do my fellow ms3 drivers do in the winter time?

[Super Unique]

There is a good chance you will die. soft summer tires have no tolerance for cold. How far north will you travel? If you are going to Georgia you might be ok in winter. if you are going to Maine Winter, which is further North you could die. and you really should rent a car. just kidding about the dying part. but only kinda. if you have not driven up our way, I would hate to see folks have a bad experience. Error on the safe side on your trip imo

I am quite familiar with winter driving, having lived at one time in upstate NY for 15 years, just have never attempted it with sticky summer tires. Driving in the ice/snow isn't worrying me as much as how slippery the summer tires will get in colder temps. as in letting go with zero warning. I have decided to get new all season tires for the trip. Now I have to decide which tire will replace the stock tires best and offer good value for the money. I am currently leaning towards kumho spectra or perhaps yokohama avids. I had the yokohama ones on a previous car and they wore very well while giving adequate grip. I am just worried going to an all season performance tire will lead to uncontrollable wheelspin on launches.

 

[skubidoobie]

Living here in MA I have to get a dedicated set of wheels/tires for my zoom zoom. Probably going 16" alloys with some Blizzaks, they are a good price and get excellent reviews. Town Fair Tire here in town is pretty good so I'll probably see what they can do for me. Although Tire Rack usually has a better selection of wheels...
Edit:These would look cool White Rims

 

[NiteRunner]

There are no all-season tires that will handle nearly as well as dedicated winter tires [period]

... It's a $20,000 fwd car it's perfect for winter. That's one of the reasons I got a new car so I wouldn't have to drive a beater in the winter when it would really hurt if it broke down. I put my snow tires on the MS3 and I have no worries about getting stranded on the side of the highway since it's brand new.

You guys should check out tirerack. No I don't work for them, but they have more reviews than you can imagine, on every tire, by every car owner. That's how I found my Bridgestone Dueller Revos for my truck and the Fuzions for my Accord. They have a ratings chart for all qualities of tire performance. You're right that dedicated winter tires are better, but I used my high performance all season Fuzions in a foot of snow no problem with a FWD.

If you're considering hard core winter tires, leave enough room for a set of chains to clear, you might need those too.

 

[kneedragger241]

Easy......

I live in New Orleans.

So you installed pontoons on your car?

 

[skubidoobie]

If you're considering hard core winter tires, leave enough room for a set of chains to clear, you might need those too.

Chains are a little excessive, studded is a better option if you really need to go that far. Tire Rack will stud winter tires for you at $15 a tire when you purchase studable winter tires.

 

[FritzTCoyote]

Another option if you are looking for a Winter Beater:

Have you seen how cheap used SUVs have gotten?

Sure you gotta pay a couple of grand up front, and then a hundred bucks every fill-up, but if you are dealing with Serious Snow a 4x4 with Big All Terrain Tires (a couple of hundred bucks per corner) is a good way of getting through it.

Mandatory Safety Reminder: Your Iowa-Class SUV does not handle like a sports car.
They handle like a Truck.
They are Nearly Unstoppable in the Snow, and, sadly, Really Hard to Stop even when you have both feet slammed down on the Wide Pedal.


But hey, they are the hot ticket for deep snow. Often they have quite the selection of comfort options too.

 

[ericrapp]

I am looking at a 89 mazda 323 GTX all wheel drive for solving the the weather our winters bring

 

[gtlaw]

I am looking at a 89 mazda 323 GTX all wheel drive for solving the the weather our winters bring

aren't we all... good luck

 

[blue-sun]

Picked up my wheels/tires today. I'll post a pic tomorrow of them either on my car (if I decide to mount them already) or just in front of the OEM wheels for an idea of how they will look on the car.

 

[ericrapp]

aren't we all... good luck

Actually i am looking at one Sunday. any heads up besides a crank pulley wobble, that I should look out for? it sounds a little shady but how can I not look at it. Sorry to get off track but this could be a wonderful or bs. Help is appreciated as things might move quickly if it appears real.

 

[ericrapp]

yep. staying off track i have an appointment for tomorrow. Please email me anybody who can keep me straight on this car. I am researching hard but just found out friday about the offering. hate to miss this. Thanks, Eric

 

[bacarl]

Are you guys using the stock lugs on winter steelies? I have neither my lugs nor my wheels available to look at today...

 

[clos561]

i drive smoothly in about 70-80 degree weather, florida ftw (humpleg)

 

[madvillian]

while you're struggling to stay on the road in a snowstorm, im here in arizona lounging out in the 70 degree weather laughing at you.

 

[blue-sun]

Are you guys using the stock lugs on winter steelies? I have neither my lugs nor my wheels available to look at today...

My winter wheels came with aftermarkey lug nuts.

 

[Young Roids]

Are you guys using the stock lugs on winter steelies? I have neither my lugs nor my wheels available to look at today...

you will most likley need new lugs since the stock lugs are very short and will probly bottom out.

 

[ericrapp]

while you're struggling to stay on the road in a snowstorm, im here in arizona lounging out in the 70 degree weather laughing at you.

Well in five years you people will have no water. Snow and bad weather can be a riot if you are prepared. In a good snow storm up here, the towns kinda shut down for awhile at least and you can speed and rally drift every turn with ebrake and become an amateur rally driver!

 

[blue-sun]

Here's a quick iPhone pic of the wheels I took tonight while cleaning the garage/taking garbage out.

 

[Young Roids]

^those have an expensive look to them.

 

[blue-sun]

^those have an expensive look to them.

yup, which is why I picked them. I looked at some more basic (ugly) looking rims from tire rack that I was gonna get instead but for a few bucks more (under $50 total IIRC) I found these at the right time!