Winter Performance

[ratz1984]

I am curious as to what everyone thinks of the winter performance on the final generation Protege and Protege5's. I have owned my 5-speed 02 Protege5 for 3 winters and have found it to be an awful car in the snow. I even put snow tires on in my first winter with the car and the traction was still terrible. I am now using Falken Ziex 912 All Seasons. The car brakes and steers fine, but when trying to start from a stop or accelerate with even the slightest press of the pedal, I get an outrageous amount of wheel spin. The right tire spins nearly uncontrollably in these instances, with little to no noticeable input from the left tire ever. I understand the car doesn't have an LSD but no other car I have owned or driven with a FWD layout has handled snow so poorly. Unfortunately my daily driver / winter vehicle is no good in the snow, so I am thinking of replacing it.

Please post any thoughts you have, or just share your experience with how your Protege handles in the snow.

 

[RMW Guy]

I'm very happy with my P5 in the snow. I spin the tires a bit from a start but I just short shift into 2nd and feather the throttle until I get traction. Without traction control it can be tricky.
The Falken tires you installed are awesome, by the way. I installed the same on our 5 series wagon and it was unstoppable in rain, slush, and snow.

I have Dunlop Fierce tires on the P5 and they are very good. I had no problems getting around this week even in the snow we had in Michigan.

 

[oldskool3]

It's by no means the greatest winter car. I have nokian hakka winters and I still get lots of wheel spin from a stop. Its been one of the worst winter cars I've driven although I've only ever had cars I consider great in winter conditions. The build quality really shows as well in the winter as it seems to make a infinite amount of creaking noises when its cold outside. That being said, I have never gotten stuck anywhere and if you learn to feather the gas well when snowy you get used to driving it and it doesn't seem all that bad.

 

[GeorgeBrotege5]

i love my car in the winter, and we get some serious winter, but i agree on the wheelspin issue. however RMW guy has it right, just takes some good footwork and i find i pull away from most people at even the most glazed intersections.
I have toyo observe garrity kx's and my suspension is lowered susbstantially ( but far from slammed) and i heart my mazda in the snow =b

 

[RABID_MP5]

Man I had some Falkens on a 626 like 5 years ago. Can't remember the exact model but were M+S rated. UNBELIEVABLY BAD in winter for non-summer tires. Otherwise good tires.

 

[Stickman]

Past vehicles were 91 & 97 civics. Talk about terrible in winter.
In comparison, P5 is a world better. Ballanced slide.
Even w/ Dunlop SP5000's, I've gotten through light & heavy snow in the past 5 yrs,
although 30 mph or slower.

 

[MaxPower]

The Falken ZIEX ZE-912 are DANGEROUS in the snow/ice/slush!!! This is not just my personal experience with two different cars with them... Consumer Reports also rated them very poorly in snow/ice traction compared to other UHP all-season tires.

If you get new, good quality (yes, snow tires vary in performance) snow tires on the Protege5, you'll be just fine.

 

[RMW Guy]

The Falken ZIEX ZE-912 are DANGEROUS in the snow/ice/slush!!! This is not just my personal experience with two different cars with them... Consumer Reports also rated them very poorly in snow/ice traction compared to other UHP all-season tires.

If you get new, good quality (yes, snow tires vary in performance) snow tires on the Protege5, you'll be just fine.

My experience witih the Falkens was vastly different. We got caught in an ice/slushy snow storm the day after I installed the tires. The car felt stable and we had no problem whatsoever. The car was RWD but did have traction control. I have recommended these same tires to friends looking for a high performance all season tire.

 

[denim]

I currently have the Flakens on my car, but that is what I bought the car with. The Continentials will be replacing them in a couple of months. We have gotten plenty of snow in the last couple of years, and when the roads were not 2' deep, my very heavily lowered 93' Brabus with strictly summer rubber, was actually superior in the snow/ice. I think it comes from the sheer weight advantage, some 1300 lbs. approx.

 

[reut1]

ive got general altimax arctic snow tires on 14" steelies and I find the car to handle amazing in the snow. havnt gotten stuck yet except in areas where all cars would get stuck. still drive in the snow covered lane on the highway at 50+. however, I LOVE driving in the snow so my opinion of how it does can be a bit biased

 

[tweety2300]

I agree not worth a damn in snow I've got riken raptors and its so bad I don't even use first I just go straight to 2nd starting out its going to spin though its not awd or 4wd but could be worse could be rwd try that out in the snow and you'll love your protege. Just remember could be like me and not have abs and live in a poorly plowed/ hilly area

 

[Balls]

This is my 3rd winter with my p5 and I finally put new snow tires on it this year. I am using Nokian Nordman2 and they make a huge difference. However, the car still is not the tank that my 97 Maxima was in the snow. Gonna chaulk it up to overall mass of the vehicle for that.

 

[patriot]

Snow? What's that?

hehe...

 

[HighSpeed]

I drove 24hours through a winter storm in my MSP on all seasons. It was scary but really not that bad. ICE......forget it, nothing does well on ice. Snow on the other hand was fine. I think the LSD helps alittle though, I can tell a difference as compared to my old honda in the snow. I got stuck once in the snow, and that was when I pulled into a McDonalds with over 13 inches in the parking lot. I just couldn't get out so a nice gentlemen helped me with his blazer. Other than that, I went through 4 snow cover states, cautiously, without issues.

 

[CTt3P5]

Only issue I ever had winter driving was with some worn Kumho AST's....couldn't get out of my neighborhood with a 1/4" of the stuff on the ground. That following spring I bought 14" Blizzaks and have had no issues since. They are on their last legs and I've experienced a little more slipping/sliding when either starting or coming to a stop this year which is expected.

 

[mattomatic]

im fine with my p5 in the canadian snow, my bald blizzaks still grip in the snow fine, no spinning out unless i make it

 

[tweety2300]

I drove 24hours through a winter storm in my MSP on all seasons. It was scary but really not that bad. ICE......forget it, nothing does well on ice. Snow on the other hand was fine. I think the LSD helps alittle though, I can tell a difference as compared to my old honda in the snow. I got stuck once in the snow, and that was when I pulled into a McDonalds with over 13 inches in the parking lot. I just couldn't get out so a nice gentlemen helped me with his blazer. Other than that, I went through 4 snow cover states, cautiously, without issues.

I dissagree my moms awd vibe has no issues in snow ice or sleet it won't spin on a flat sheet of ice unless you make it. And itl make through 2 ft of unplowed snow and ice with no issues id rather have it than a snow mobile so SOME cars do ok on ice...just sayin if you want something just for snow look into an 04 vibe/matrix awd

 

[ijbrekke]

When I lived in MN (way back in the day), I was alarmed at how much of a difference getting my wheels aligned properly made in overall winter traction. Any alignment issues are magnified 10x on snow and ice, and while I couldn't detect anything out of the ordinary on dry pavement with my old Integra, once I had the alignment adjusted the car's winter driving dynamics improved a great deal.

I know it seems a little weird, but it's not too expensive, and it's good for your tires long-term wear patterns anyway. Just try it.

 

[SASK P5]

I hate my p5 in the winter I can brake traction so easy it isn't funny even with winter tires. My 81 thunderbird did way better in winter than my p5. Im guessing cause it weighed alot more and had posi-trac. So I was never just spinning one tire. If the p5 had an LSD I think it would do alot better. This is one of the reasons I'm selling it and getting a wrx. Awd!!

 

[canadian357]

I've gotta say I'm not all that impressed. I've driven muuuuuch, muuuuuch worse, but I think out of all the cars in my family (2007 Accord, 2007 Focus, 2000 CR-V, and of course, my sh*tbox 87 Accord project) the P5 is tied with the Accord, and it even has ABS. Granted, my front tires, although snow tires, are nearing the end of their life, this is my first winter in this car, and we just got totally butt-****** by snow.