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SamirD
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Shylynn wrote:Def gonna get her a good set of tires for the winter,thats what i bought her for lol. I dont plan on doing to much I just cant leave her stock, gotta have lil custom touches here and there. She will be stock-ish lol
I highly recommend General Altimax Arctics in 215/60/16 (you'll have to get a set of 16s). We were driving at 2x the speed of most traffic with complete confidence with these in the MKE winter. And this was our first winter driving season.

If you have to mod, try to stay away from performance or electrical mods. Cosmetic mods don't hurt the cars reliability as much. 8-)
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Shylynn
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Thanks for the recommendation, only thing she's got for performance is a k&n drop in air filter. She doesn't need to be a power house just get me from home to work in a foot of snow in the winter lol
2010 Kizashi "The Daily Driver"
2006 350Z "Because Racecar"
SamirD
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Shylynn wrote:She doesn't need to be a power house just get me from home to work in a foot of snow in the winter lol
We had what was apparently a really bad winter here in MKE. And once we were outfitted with snow tires, it could go anywhere on roads, including unplowed ones. You just have to watch trying to drive through foot high snow--you get stuck, as I learned the hard way. :oops:

The only thing I will say about the awd is that it won't save you from understeering into something, even when the rear has grip. It's counter-intuitive to me, but it's the way it works.
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KuroNekko
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SamirD wrote:
Shylynn wrote:She doesn't need to be a power house just get me from home to work in a foot of snow in the winter lol
We had what was apparently a really bad winter here in MKE. And once we were outfitted with snow tires, it could go anywhere on roads, including unplowed ones. You just have to watch trying to drive through foot high snow--you get stuck, as I learned the hard way. :oops:

The only thing I will say about the awd is that it won't save you from understeering into something, even when the rear has grip. It's counter-intuitive to me, but it's the way it works.
AWD is great until you hit clearance issue from the height of snow. In this regard, SUVs are better for places with some serious snow fall and unreliable plowing.
If you think AWD with snow tires are good, you've never been offroading in the snow.
My Suzuki Sidekick with 4WD low, snow tires, and chains happily plowed through trails AWDs like my Subaru would be hopeless on.
Ah, I really miss being a mountain hick sometimes.
2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS 6MT (Black)
SamirD
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KuroNekko wrote:
SamirD wrote:
Shylynn wrote:She doesn't need to be a power house just get me from home to work in a foot of snow in the winter lol
We had what was apparently a really bad winter here in MKE. And once we were outfitted with snow tires, it could go anywhere on roads, including unplowed ones. You just have to watch trying to drive through foot high snow--you get stuck, as I learned the hard way. :oops:

The only thing I will say about the awd is that it won't save you from understeering into something, even when the rear has grip. It's counter-intuitive to me, but it's the way it works.
AWD is great until you hit clearance issue from the height of snow. In this regard, SUVs are better for places with some serious snow fall and unreliable plowing.
If you think AWD with snow tires are good, you've never been offroading in the snow.
My Suzuki Sidekick with 4WD low, snow tires, and chains happily plowed through trails AWDs like my Subaru would be hopeless on.
Ah, I really miss being a mountain hick sometimes.
That makes sense with a 'real' SUV. Many of the SUVs today don't have better ground clearance than a car--you can tell when the suspension is showing. :lol:

But I'm sure it's amazing what real rigs can do in the snow. I remember the last 'snow day' we had in HSV and this rock crawler rig just flying through a foot of unplowed snow on the roads. All while we were having fun trying to unstuck a Subaru or two. :lol: Such fun times.
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KuroNekko
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Yeah, SUVs are better in the heavy duty stuff whether snow, mud, or dirt. Not only for ground clearance, but for approach, break over, and departure angles. This is why many SUVs don't have long front bumper overhangs.

That being said, in light snow, ice, or plowed roads, AWDs are actually better. They have better weight distribution, lower weight, lower COG, more advanced power distribution to wheels (versus traditional 4x4 systems), and also have thinner tires. Thinner tires actually help traction in snow.
The biggest myth people believe about driving in snow is that their huge full-size pick-up with 4x4 is better than a "dinky" import with AWD.
With poor weight distribution, these heavy trucks with wide tires can do far worse than smaller cars with AWD, especially on hills where gravity works against them more. Back in my mountain living days, I've driven past many stuck on hills while my Subaru zipped along. Smaller cars with AWD also stop better in snow.

I always considered small traditional SUVs like the Suzuki Sidekick, Vitara, and Grand Vitara as really good mixes of SUVs and small AWD cars. They got the SUV benefits of low range 4x4, ground clearance, and the angles, but also have the benefits of better weight distribution and lower vehicle weight.
2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS 6MT (Black)
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Shylynn
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I don't plan on flying around in the snow at 80mph lol. The Z does well in the snow until it hits 3 inches or more, not practical when I have a 45min commute to work. Plus the other idiots on the road are what scares me, so many times I've had the cocky a holes in there big suvs fly around because I'm going slow in the right lane to avoid sliding. I like the Kizashi but if someone hits me in the snow in it I wouldn't care much, some hits me in the Zv and its gonna be world war 3 lol...the Z is my baby.
2010 Kizashi "The Daily Driver"
2006 350Z "Because Racecar"
SamirD
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KuroNekko wrote:Thinner tires actually help traction in snow.
And this is one of the biggest reasons I went with thinner tires for our snow set. It's all about PSI. The more pounds per square inch, the more friction you have between you and the ground.

The same applies for the rain too, which is why hydroplaning can be easier if you move up to larger tires without getting a better tread pattern for wet weather.
SamirD
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Shylynn wrote:The Z does well in the snow until it hits 3 inches or more...
On our setup, 3 inches wasn't even noticeable. Unplowed 6 inches wasn't even too noticeable. 8-)

Now, this wasn't highway speeds though. I never took the highways during the winter. There were waaaaay too many people that crashed into someone else. Every morning after a decent snowfall, I could actually count the carnage on the cars at my wife's work. :o
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LPSISRL
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SamirD wrote:
KuroNekko wrote:Thinner tires actually help traction in snow.
And this is one of the biggest reasons I went with thinner tires for our snow set. It's all about PSI. The more pounds per square inch, the more friction you have between you and the ground.

The same applies for the rain too, which is why hydroplaning can be easier if you move up to larger tires without getting a better tread pattern for wet weather.
I'd say it's about contact patch which is why manufacturers tell you what PSI to use. The size and type of tire is matched to the vehicle weight for optimum contact patch, heat buildup, tread life, rolling resistance, etc. The higher the pressure, the smaller the contact patch and worse traction in most conditions but better MPG since your rolling resistance is less. And it generates less heat. Unless when you say, "PSI" you mean tire on the road as opposed to the pressure in the tire...
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