Any New England winter drivers?

[Hack]

I have a set of Blizzaks and I've run them for the past 5 winters on various different Mustangs. Still lots of tread. You don't need sand bags in the car if you buy a good set of snow tires.

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[Bravo]

20 inch tires are gonna be super expensive.

Unless you have a Performance Pack with the big brakes... I'd buy a cheap set of 18 inch steel wheels to use in the winter.

^This. If you're in a state that warrants winter tires and you're running anything over 18s, but a dedicated set of wheels. The cost difference in 18" and 20" rubber will pay for the wheels, and you'll appreciate the extra padding while covering deteriorating winter roads.

Regarding the move south comment - trust me, that's crossed my mind more than once (usually every year around the middle of January). At this point, I've committed to settling down, finding a good job, and starting a family in northern New England. I'm here to stay for the foreseeable future, and am just trying to justify driving a fun car year round.

 

[sebounet]

I live in Quebec, lot of snow (check my picture), i have a 2016 GT convertible.
No problem, without any weight added to the trunk.
I have hakka 8 non studded tires.
The snow mode helps a lot to control the power to avoid sliding. Although in some situation i needed to put the traction control to off.
I put my self in some difficult situation to test the winter capacity. I stopped in a middle of a hill with slush. Not a big deal. TRaction control at off, little slide sideway and thats it. You just wont take off like a subaru, but it can beat FWD car. It is really surprising

I have done two lessons on ice and snow track with a professionnal pilot, and it's worth . The limits of this car on snow are further that we can think

 

[Bravo]

I live in Quebec, lot of snow (check my picture), i have a 2016 GT convertible.
No problem, without any weight added to the trunk.
I have hakka 8 non studded tires.
The snow mode helps a lot to control the power to avoid sliding. Although in some situation i needed to put the traction control to off.
I put my self in some difficult situation to test the winter capacity. I stopped in a middle of a hill with slush. Not a big deal. TRaction control at off, little slide sideway and thats it. You just wont take off like a subaru, but it can beat FWD car. It is really surprising

I have done two lessons on ice and snow track with a professionnal pilot, and it's worth . The limits of this car on snow are further that we can think

Can you elaborate why you take traction control off? I only ask because I have to do the same thing in my VW - traction control on my vehicle attempts to stop wheel spin at all cost, meaning I can literally be left stranded on a hill with no power.

Also - everyone is saying no sand bags...I have to believe that you guys are right, but man that's just tough to believe. I still think I would put a few bags back there for peace of mind. The roads get absolutely awful up here during a storm and a day or two after.

 

[sk8erord]

Can you elaborate why you take traction control off? I only ask because I have to do the same thing in my VW - traction control on my vehicle attempts to stop wheel spin at all cost, meaning I can literally be left stranded on a hill with no power.

Also - everyone is saying no sand bags...I have to believe that you guys are right, but man that's just tough to believe. I still think I would put a few bags back there for peace of mind. The roads get absolutely awful up here during a storm and a day or two after.

The car is very near 50/50 weight distribution - adding sandbags to the rear doesn't do much, and I've been told it can actually cause problems with steering in the snow, but I wouldn't know about that. I don't do it, and I had no problems going uphill in the snow here in the Utah mountains with winter tires.

 

[H44]

20 inch tires are gonna be super expensive.

Unless you have a Performance Pack with the big brakes... I'd buy a cheap set of 18 inch steel wheels to use in the winter.

Do I need to get mustang specific 18" steel wheels or can I just get any cheap set off eBay (sorry kind of a noob to wheel stuff).

 

[NoVaGT]

Can you elaborate why you take traction control off? I only ask because I have to do the same thing in my VW - traction control on my vehicle attempts to stop wheel spin at all cost, meaning I can literally be left stranded on a hill with no power.

Also - everyone is saying no sand bags...I have to believe that you guys are right, but man that's just tough to believe. I still think I would put a few bags back there for peace of mind. The roads get absolutely awful up here during a storm and a day or two after.

You've answered your own question on the TC. It cuts the power when you need it, and a bit of wheel-spin can be useful at times.

As far as sand bags; it's un-necessary, does un-necessary punishment to your rear suspension, and the weight acts like a pendulum. The rear can get swinging out and it will be harder to catch it with added weight back there.

It's not the 1950s anymore. Sandbags are useless. Tires are everything.

You really have to come to grips with what putting a good set of M&S tires will do. It's a huge difference. Massive.

 

[Bravo]

You really have to come to grips with what putting a good set of M&S tires will do. It's a huge difference. Massive.

I'll definitely remember the M&S tire recommendation (though I'll likely end up with Hakkas or Blizzaks).

Can anyone confirm if the driving in Snow/Wet mode will help modulate the traction control to gain grip, or does one have to turn off TC even with snow mode on?

Also - how quickly can you turn off TC? I know that on VWs, it has a dedicated button, so it can essentially be disabled instantly once you feel power being cut. I'd hate to have to go through a bunch of screens and only get "more stuck" on a hill.

 

[Hack]

I'll definitely remember the M&S tire recommendation (though I'll likely end up with Hakkas or Blizzaks).

Can anyone confirm if the driving in Snow/Wet mode will help modulate the traction control to gain grip, or does one have to turn off TC even with snow mode on?

Also - how quickly can you turn off TC? I know that on VWs, it has a dedicated button, so it can essentially be disabled instantly once you feel power being cut. I'd hate to have to go through a bunch of screens and only get "more stuck" on a hill.

I don't turn off TC in the winter. I like having the driver aids in low traction situations. It's never caused me a problem, and there has been at least one time where the TC actuated a single brake on the car to straighten it out and prevented me from leaving the road. I agree with the previous poster that snow or weather mode helps significantly as well.

 

[MSMStannyl]

You should be fine as long as you do 2 things:

A) Good set of snow tires, as others have mentioned.

B) Ensure that there are no crowds of innocent pedestrians around. Somehow, crowds of innocent people seem to get our cars out of control faster than a patch of black ice....

 

[Bravo]

Do I need to get mustang specific 18" steel wheels or can I just get any cheap set off eBay (sorry kind of a noob to wheel stuff).

You don't need Ford wheels - look at TireRack and put in your vehicle info for a winter tire/wheel package. They'll make sure that the setup is made for your specific vehicle before shipping it out (they'll pick it up and fix it for free if it's not).

One thing to remember - If you buy a winter wheel setup and don't put TPMS sensors in the new wheels and have them programmed to match existing sensors, you'll be staring at a dummy TPMS light all winter. I usually prefer looking at the light vs. paying the extra to put sensors in and re-program every season.

 

[Bravo]

I don't turn off TC in the winter. I like having the driver aids in low traction situations. It's never caused me a problem, and there has been at least one time where the TC actuated a single brake on the car to straighten it out and prevented me from leaving the road. I agree with the previous poster that snow or weather mode helps significantly as well.

Oh I agree about leaving TC on - my only concern is that in situations where is must be off in order to get power to the wheels again, how quickly can it be disables, and does it modulate automatically while in snow mode.

 

[Hack]

Oh I agree about leaving TC on - my only concern is that in situations where is must be off in order to get power to the wheels again, how quickly can it be disables, and does it modulate automatically while in snow mode.

I've never had to turn TC off to get power to the wheels in any of the Mustangs I've owned.

 

[sebounet]

Can you elaborate why you take traction control off? I only ask because I have to do the same thing in my VW - traction control on my vehicle attempts to stop wheel spin at all cost, meaning I can literally be left stranded on a hill with no power.

Also - everyone is saying no sand bags...I have to believe that you guys are right, but man that's just tough to believe. I still think I would put a few bags back there for peace of mind. The roads get absolutely awful up here during a storm and a day or two after.

Traction control stop the spinning very quickly. Sometimes in a little deep snow or sludge you need to evacuate the snow for the tire to reach a gripper surface or harder. Otherwise you will stay on the same place . Try it , one time and you will understand that sometimes a little wheelspin is usefull.

 

[sebounet]

I've never had to turn TC off to get power to the wheels in any of the Mustangs I've owned.

It s because you have never driven in real winter condition.

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