MSPD3 Owners: How is it in Big Snow?

[opfreak]

I currently have a sunfire thats going to be replaced in the next year.

I live in milwaukee wi, and the past 2 days made me really think about a 4wd car. The 1ft+ snow during the day, + drifts, made it hard to get around (and I have blizzaks). Even with the snow tires if one breaks free it doesnt matter any more, the car just turns into 1wd with one tire spinning the other waiting for the spiders to burst.

with the LSD in the mspd3 do any of you have problems in bigger snow? (I would get snow tires for sure if I got a mspd3, theres no way i'd live even if the roads had packed snow).

my fear is with all the power in snow like I had this week i'd be stuck at work, or at home.

 

[BlackCherry06]

the LSD would definitely help, but being judicious with the throttle and using higher gears will help a lot as well. Using higher gears keeps the engine out of its powerband and keeps spinning in check. Don't gear up so high that it lugs the engine, but use medium throttle inputs in a higher gear to power through the deep stuff.

 

[GoFast]

its really not too bad at all. just get some good winter tires and do like blackcherry said!

 

[SharkDiver]

Mine does great in deep deep snow with my goodyear F1 all seasons.The stock tires did not do so well to say the least.

 

[TheDoc]

Stock tires are absolutely worthless in anything more than a coating of snow. It simply does not belong on the road.

I still have the stock tires and.. the most painfully honest answer I can muster, is in the picture below (taken two nights ago).

 

[opfreak]

Stock tires are absolutely worthless in anything more than a coating of snow. It simply does not belong on the road.

I still have the stock tires and.. the most painfully honest answer I can muster, is in the picture below (taken two nights ago).

thats about what we had 2 days ago. On roads not plowed (but semi driven over) my sunfire could make it through, with the snow tires. But by my parking lot, where the snow was almost untouched it had problems.

I'd like to know if with snow tires, i'd be stuck in snow like that pic.

 

[happy and angry]

Get some good winter tires, and the Mazdaspeed3 does great in the snow. We've been having a lot of snow up in Ottawa this year, and so far I haven't had any problems. A week ago we had a snowstorm that had my car up past the doorsills in snow, and I pulled out of my parking lot with only a few problems. When you're starting to get that much snow, almost any car has trouble. I'm talking snow just under half the diameter of my tire deep, here. I had to rock it back and forth a bit to get through the worst of it, but it was smooth sailing otherwise.

A note: when the snow is under 4 or 5 inches, the traction control can really help. More snow than that, and when the TCS closes the throttle plate, you'll bog and nearly stall the car, even with your foot on the gas. I've found it easier to get out of snow filled parking lots with the TCS turned off, but that's probably because I've a lot of practice with it.

 

[Young Roids]

The manual says that as well. To turn off tcs if you are stuck in the snow.

 

[opfreak]

thanks for the help guys. Wont cross it off the shopping list now.

 

[chufa]

My MS3 with Blizzaks drives better in the snow than my former Audi S4 with Dunlop Winter sports tires.

Edit: forgot to mention that the Audi has Quattro!

 

[Ryz]

Good tires will do you more good than AWD. There was and STI and an EVO in the shop when I got my winter setup. They couldn't go anywhere without winter tires either.

 

[henderan]

I agree, Winter tires are a must for this car, and this drives through the snow better than I could have imagined (I was bracing for the worst when i bought it). Better than my old maxima with all seasons, and better than my rental Kia optima. The traction control must help quite a bit as well.

 

[ottawaP5]

I'm really impressed with this car in snow I have to say...I've driven it in snowstorms with almost no problems.

The weak point in this car is that it is low to the ground so it has a tendency to get hung up easily. I got stuck in my driveway once pretty badly, took me an hour to get the car unstuck. What I found out is that they put some flaps just before the front wheels for aerodynamic purposes. These flaps tend to grab the snow and make it difficult to get unstuck. Besides that no problems.

 

[WHT_SPD3]

Hey,
I'm surprised how well my MS3 does in deep snow and snow storms. We've been getting a number of storms here in Toronto. I have cheap snow tires (215/55/16) and i still get a good amount of grip. Accelerating is not a problem even for us, just need to ease on the accelerator on 1st.
I find the DSC and LSD works well, and its good to have that DSC off button located close to you whenever you need it.
As other owners have said, I also find the car is low, but for me its also because my tires at 16 inches actually dropped the car's height/ground clearance. So the MS3's ground clearance is my only concern, but I've had no real problems. Can't wait till winter's over, my MS3 and I are both aching for warm, dry roads, and those stock 18s put back on (drive2)

 

[sparkplug]

OttawaP5 you are the other black Mica that I have seen out here. I am in Gatineau.

I have to agree with the ottawa boys I have good winters and it has been better then my old honda accord I had. It seems to do well in snow even if the bottom of the car is touching snow.