Hard Core Winter Driving.

White_GT_CS said:

I'm in Edmonton as well.

What tires are you running in winter?

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My winter setup is:

Bridgestone Blizzak LM-32 (255/40R19) mounted to a set of TSW Nurburgring RF Matte Bronze 19" x 9"

Good, but not great

Before getting a '16 GT, I had an E46 M3 as a DD. I drive with Blizzaks during the winter, but the Stang does not handle anywhere near as well in the snow as the M3. Maybe it's the traction control on the M3. I drove it from Chicago to Denver and Vermont several times during the winter and it handled like a champ, often passing pickup trucks and SUVs that had veered off the highest.

During my first winter with the Stang, I spun out on the freeway after the rear broke loose on a curve. It was probably my fault as I should have loosened up on the throttle in a 435 HP car in the snow. I don't think the M3 would have done the same thing. In any case, I drive in snow/wet mode now and ease on the throttle whenever there's snow.

Overall, the GT is much more fun to drive as a DD.

///Mustang said:

During my first winter with the Stang, I spun out on the freeway after the rear broke loose on a curve. It was probably my fault as I should have loosened up on the throttle in a 435 HP car in the snow. I don't think the M3 would have done the same thing. In any case, I drive in snow/wet mode now and ease on the throttle whenever there's snow.

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When you lost control of your Mustang, were you in wet/snow mode?

Bravo said:

When you lost control of your Mustang, were you in wet/snow mode?

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I was in normal mode when I lost control.

///Mustang said:

Before getting a '16 GT, I had an E46 M3 as a DD. I drive with Blizzaks during the winter, but the Stang does not handle anywhere near as well in the snow as the M3. Maybe it's the traction control on the M3. I drove it from Chicago to Denver and Vermont several times during the winter and it handled like a champ, often passing pickup trucks and SUVs that had veered off the highest.

During my first winter with the Stang, I spun out on the freeway after the rear broke loose on a curve. It was probably my fault as I should have loosened up on the throttle in a 435 HP car in the snow. I don't think the M3 would have done the same thing. In any case, I drive in snow/wet mode now and ease on the throttle whenever there's snow.

Overall, the GT is much more fun to drive as a DD.

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A 5.0 has 100 more hp and 150lb-ft more torque, the latter of which will make a bigger difference than hp in the snow. That gen M3 weighs 300lbs ish less, but that helps it skip over the snow a tad better and does not make up for the power deficit compared to a GT.

That is an oranges to apples comparison IMO.

///Mustang said:

I was in normal mode when I lost control.

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I have even lost control of a Focus driving 45 in a 55 highway. Back swung around due to sleet and curvature of the road etc., it can happen in any car and I was being careful in it. Just learned to be easy on the gas, dont upset the car when you're at speed or on a curve. Smoooooooth

You were also driving in Chicago I'm assuming? One part of the equation is how well your car performs in the snow, but the other part that people rarely address is how well / quickly roads get cleaned up in your area.

While Chicago is capable of removing snow, it won't be cleaned up nearly as quickly as it would in the far north east.

We can have 2ft of snow fall here in 2 days, and it would be rare to have more than an inch of snow on state roads at any time.

e30og said:

A 5.0 has 100 more hp and 150lb-ft more torque, the latter of which will make a bigger difference than hp in the snow. That gen M3 weighs 300lbs ish less, but that helps it skip over the snow a tad better and does not make up for the power deficit compared to a GT.

That is an oranges to apples comparison IMO.



I have even lost control of a Focus driving 45 in a 55 highway. Back swung around due to sleet and curvature of the road etc., it can happen in any car and I was being careful in it. Just learned to be easy on the gas, dont upset the car when you're at speed or on a curve. Smoooooooth

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I agree---very different cars. I'm pretty easy on the throttle on curves after this incident. It's pretty easy to break the rear loose with our cars.

Bravo said:

You were also driving in Chicago I'm assuming? One part of the equation is how well your car performs in the snow, but the other part that people rarely address is how well / quickly roads get cleaned up in your area.

While Chicago is capable of removing snow, it won't be cleaned up nearly as quickly as it would in the far north east.

We can have 2ft of snow fall here in 2 days, and it would be rare to have more than an inch of snow on state roads at any time.

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Yeah, this is in Chicago. The road was fairly clear, but temps were in low single digits, so rubber was stiff.

So, stupid me, thinking winter was over, put the car on the road and took it to the northern tippy tip of New York. I put brand new all season tires on it (General GMAX AS05’s), and we get hit with freezing rain.
1) The tires have ZERO grip in this shit. I’ll have to drive 10 mph to our company crash pad 6 miles away.

2) Freezing rain presents an issue in that you can’t open / close a door gracefully as the window cannot go down a tick to release.

Not loving this feeling rain in southern Ontario. At this rate it will be may before the car comes out :(

HealToeHero said:

Not loving this feeling rain in southern Ontario. At this rate it will be may before the car comes out :(

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Summer has been cancelled.