Any Michiganders with Winter/Snow experience?

[demarad1]

Hey Folks!

New to the forum....new to Mustangs...

About to put a deposit on a 2016 GT Premium, auto, without the performance package.

Before I get ragged for asking how a sports car drives in the winter...I AM going to get snows for sure.

With that all being said, Ive reached out to a few of you on here for your experiences, and I wanted to get a little more feedback from others.

How does the vehicle handle in snow conditions? I drive 40 mins at 80km/h daily, and want to make sure I'll be able to get to work with snows on the rims....and not get stuck constantly. I'm pretty used to an RWD car, but i've been pampered with my AWD 13' 300 hemi.

Thoughts, experiences, please! And great to be a part of this forum!

Cheers,
Adam

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[shockme66]

Welcome.


I'm new to Mustangs as well, I haven't driven a car like this since I was in HS and that was a sled in the winter. I will be using the Mustang as my DD, and bought a second set of wheels/tires for winter use. Got them on ebay; 18" foundry rims with all seasons on them. These will help protect my 50th annv wheels from getting damaged, but I may need to move to snow tires. I'll give this winter a shot with the all seasons and see how I do.


I think today with traction control, sliding around is more controlled it's just deep snow you have to worry about and ICE.


Good luck and enjoy the car!!

 

[demarad1]

Hey thanks for the reply. good to know i'm not the only one! lol
Enjoy the car....deposit on the new order going in today!

cheers,
adam.

 

[ryant601]

All seasons are barely adequate, I had them this past winter. Can't speak to Michigan, but we have snow over here in NY too.

I will not be doing this winter in A/S. The nannies are a big help, but the shoes are important.

Also, that extra torque with a GT over a EB would further complicate things. Just my .02

 

[demarad1]

Hmmmm ok. I figured the all seasons were not going to do the job for sure. Do you think regular snows should cover it?

 

[Nazgul]

A/S are not meant for real snow. A dusting maybe. If you're going to drive in more an inch of snow get real snow tires.

Good snow tires and common sense will get you through a winter fine. Remember your speed, following distance, and don't make erratic steering inputs.

 

[willmkent]

No experience yet with this s550, but I'll tell you, but a great set of snow tires and then you'll be set, I've driven nothing but rear wheel drive cars in the winter from my current Lexus is300 and my Infiniti G35 coupe , to my old s197 GT

Shows are what makes the difference, then just go and have fun but be safe

 

[ryant601]

Yea what he said. My first rwd car, so I had that to contend with...but I did make it. I'd just feel more comfortable with a dedicated set. Still looking myself.

 

[demarad1]

ok, i think you folks have me convinced that we should be ok with snows, and drive safe!

appreciate the feedback a lot. more is welcome!
cheers,
adam

 

[GB John]

I'll be trying the all season tires first. If it's too much of a hassle, I'll get snows. My last car was a RWD Cadillac CTS and the traction and stability control systems were so good that Wisconsin winters were not an issue at all. The GTO I had before that was driveable in the winter with all seasons as long as they had some tread. When they wore down a bit, it was a handful.

 

[demarad1]

i had a 2009 cadillac cts, which was RWD, i had no issues with all seasons, so i would assume that with moderating the gas pedal a bit more, it would be a similar driving experience. thanks for your experience man!

 

[GB John]

I test drove a Charger with RWD and another with AWD two winters ago on a snowy day. Their traction and stability control systems were inferior to the Caddy. Those cars were extremely tail happy (both of them). I'm hoping Ford's system is a little more helpful in the slippery stuff. If not, I'll get the snows. Anybody got a set of 18" Foundry wheels for cheap?

 

[demarad1]

Yeah I had a rwd 2008 300, sucked going up a small incline....such as a driveway....even with just a coating of snow. The Cadillac was pretty good. Now I have the awd 2013 300 with hemi and I love it. This should be a very interesting change!

 

[willmkent]

I forgot to add **VERY IMPORTANT**

There are "performance snow" tires and "ice and snow" tires...

for MI, you DO NOT WANT "performance" snow, if you are going to rely on the car. you must get a "SNOW ICE" tire. This will give you truck like traction in fairly deep snow. The performance tires are only gonna be decent until you hit some real slick spots or some heavy snow.

I am most likley going to go with YOKO Iceguard tires this time around because firestone doesn't make the winter force tire in size 19 or even an 18.... I know I'm going cheaper with the yoko tire but i can't afford best of the best seeing as how i have to also replace those JUNK pirellis they have on there stock....

a 220 treadwear tire on a daily driver... cmon.....

 

[demarad1]

Great point! Thx for that. I wouldn't have known about that!

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