For all the winter drivers, check this out. Opinion please...

[markuszoom5]

I just bought this at WalMart for $20. I wonder if it will work? http://www.argonaut-traction.com/

 

[Tama666]

Those will work to a point, IE your not too buried in snow. Your floor mats would work the same way in a pinch.

 

[minimo3]

I keep a set of my old SUV rubber mats in the trunk - the ones with the spiky side on the bottom (to dig into the carpet). They work great for digging into the snow and providing traction when placed underneath the driving wheels. The mats + a small folding shovel have seen me through 30+" snowstorms in my RWD car.

 

[skyhawk]

I just bought this at WalMart for $20. I wonder if it will work? http://www.argonaut-traction.com/

I have these.

We used it only once... with a rented uhaul van over a level icy road. The thing can easily come from one side of the tire,
slide underneath of the tire, and out the other side. van didn't move.

With a combination of the boys pushing the van and these mats , we finally got out.

Maybe these mats work on snows, but for 'frozen-solid-ice' road surface, the will just happily slip underneath the
spinning tire from one side to the other.

I think having a bag of sand/gravel ready will work better at making the iced road less slippery. A shovel is a must
too.

Another thing with these mats, is they look awfully dirty after one use. But they are still in my MZ5. I want to
see one more time if they actually work.

 

[DKaz]

If you have to deal with that much snow, just get winter tires. This stuff is pure marketing. The best way to not get stuck on the side of the road is to not end up in there in the first place

 

[markuszoom5]

Easy to say...hard to realize

If you have to deal with that much snow, just get winter tires. This stuff is pure marketing. The best way to not get stuck on the side of the road is to not end up in there in the first place

The problem is that, yes, my dealership offers a set of 16" AR rims with winter tires for $1995 mounted but the problem is the $2000. I got the MZ5 really cheap, with a 5 year warranty bumper-to-bumper, and with a trade-in, under $15000 with everything including tax, title, interest, other fees. That is a bargain for a brand new car (last year model), I could have probably got a AWD or 4WD car for $3000-$5000 more, but my goal was to get the cheapest car with the most room. I am in upstate new york, and we get lots of salt and snow, the cars rust, then they look like crap, until I can move down south I am not buying the car i want. My goal is to not get stuck with the smallest amount of extra money spent. I will try the mats, if they don't work it will be AAA, then I might give in and get the dealer's winter package.

 

[was98strat]

OK, winter tire set fo the Mazda5 should cost even half that.

1) you dont really want to run nice rims in the winter anyway! the salt and Sand will just kill the AR's anyway!
2) you should be out the door for around $800 with good winter tires on steelies, not the coolest looking, but hey it's winter and they're gonna be in the snow anyway!
3) winter tires extend the life of your "summer tires"

I'm on my 5th winter with my Pirelli Winter Carving snow tires and Love them! I probably have 2-3 more winters on them before I need to renew the rubger on them!

 

[DKaz]

$2,000 is ridiculous. In expensive Canada I was $950 OTD at the stealership tires and steel wheels. I second the steel wheel recommendation but seems like Canadians are warmer to the idea of steel wheels in the winter. Alloy wheels corrode in salt and they're more expensive to fix if they get bent, that is if they're even worth fixing.

Anyway Tire Rack or Discount Tire. You can get tires and alloys for under $1000.

 

[Wishmaster]

Oh man, c'mon... take the crappy late night info-mercial products back to where they belong - Walmart!

You're an adult right? Ok good, now that you're all grown up, time to put some real winter tires on your car before you kill yourself or someone's kid. At the first site I checked out - discount tire, I clicked on the first set of quality winters I found + some steelies - total all-in = $700 + free shipping. Any local tire shop (non-stealership) will have similar deals.

Now that you've got those winters on there, time to also create yourself a little "get unstuck or gunna be stuck for awhile" kit... because as we all know, winters or no winters, s*** happens. In the winter you should always have some kind of chains with you, but it's also worthwhile to have the following: Small folding shovel, small bag of kitty litter (non-clumping), extra pair of gloves, flashlight + batteries, couple candles + lighter, couple space blankets, couple cans of beans + can opener. There are many more things you can and probably should add (flares, first aid kit, tools, etc) but if you pack this stuff right it will all fit into the back cubbies and spare wheel well... so there's no reason not to have this stuff.

(and ps. just so you know, AWD/4WD doesn't help a car stop in snowy/icy weather... they need winters just as much as a two wheel drive car)

 

[CanuckMazda5]

These things are a scam. Should be investigated for lying to the consumer.

 

[Premacy5]

For $640 shipped you could get 205/55R16 altimax artic on steel wheels without road hazard.
http://www.discounttiredirect.com/d...gesBySize.do?yr=2007&type=wt&rd=16&vid=011015
The cheap package above are not listed so you have to make your own package.