slip-sliding away

[Chuckles]

I don't know which section this question belongs in, so I am putting it here.

I have a '07 Mazda3 S Touring. Our garage is approached through the alley. We have had a good bit of snow lately, and part of the alley has an upward slope, but my wife has no problem in her Honda Civic. The Mazda3 gets stuck everywhere, even on horizontal sections of the alley. The wheels just spin. Of course going up the slope is out of the question until the snow melts. I've tried switching off the whatchamacallit safety feature that kicks in if the wheels slip, but it doesn't make a big difference.

Curiously I can always back right out of the spot I'm stuck in. I then drive forward and start slipping again in the same spot, and again I can easily back out. This is on horizontal sections of the alley, not just up the slope.

Am I stuck (bad pun) with a car that will not drive well on snow/ice? The 3s is a heavy car for this category so I thought it would be better, not worse, than the Civic. Is this possibly a tire problem?

 

[TheDutchGun]

I don't know which section this question belongs in, so I am putting it here.

I have a '07 Mazda3 S Touring. Our garage is approached through the alley. We have had a good bit of snow lately, and part of the alley has an upward slope, but my wife has no problem in her Honda Civic. The Mazda3 gets stuck everywhere, even on horizontal sections of the alley. The wheels just spin. Of course going up the slope is out of the question until the snow melts. I've tried switching off the whatchamacallit safety feature that kicks in if the wheels slip, but it doesn't make a big difference.

Curiously I can always back right out of the spot I'm stuck in. I then drive forward and start slipping again in the same spot, and again I can easily back out. This is on horizontal sections of the alley, not just up the slope.

Am I stuck (bad pun) with a car that will not drive well on snow/ice? The 3s is a heavy car for this category so I thought it would be better, not worse, than the Civic. Is this possibly a tire problem?

Get better tires. Specifically dedicated snow tires instead of all-season tires.

 

[nondual]

Is this possibly a tire problem?

Ding!

The performance tires are horrible on snow and ice.

 

[Chuckles]

Sorry, followup question. I don't know anything about tires. I didn't know my 3S had "performance tires".

I do not really want to get snow tires...my last car ('92 Protege) did just fine without them, as does my wife's Civic. My wife's previous car (a 323, remember those?) was by far the best in ice/snow, because it had thinner tires and so would cut through the stuff like a knife.

Is there a particular type of all-season radial I should be looking for? Not "performance", but...?

 

[nondual]

Sorry, followup question. I don't know anything about tires. I didn't know my 3S had "performance tires".

I do not really want to get snow tires...my last car ('92 Protege) did just fine without them, as does my wife's Civic. My wife's previous car (a 323, remember those?) was by far the best in ice/snow, because it had thinner tires and so would cut through the stuff like a knife.

Is there a particular type of all-season radial I should be looking for? Not "performance", but...?

Oh, my bad. I thought you had an MS3, not a 3S.

I have no idea what tires are on a 3S.

 

[Antonio DiMarco]

It's defintely the tires.

Oh, my bad. I thought you had an MS3, not a 3S.

I have no idea what tires are on a 3S.

My 3S came with badyear's. It took me a week to throw them out and get some Michelin Pilot A/S's. Yeah tires cost money but I have a hard time putting a price on safety.

I live in NE and the 3 has been great in the snow. It's all about the footwear. And weight distribution. Better tires will do wonders in the snow.

Also...not sure if you know to do this but in the snow you should always start-up in 2nd gear. First will just get the tires spinnin'.