Had my first winter driving experience

[fionic]

Yup, sorry, for some reason I thought you got aftermarket 18's. I actually have a backup set of 235 blizzak's on my 18" stock wheels, but have not needed to use them, plus it's nice not to have to worry about swapping wheels and tires and loosing the looks of my aftermarket setup, so I went with a compromise setup I can run year round: 19x9.5 RTR wheels w/275/40 Conti DWS tires. But your setup is perfect for snow.

Couldn't justify the cash for new wheels at the time. So I figured I would wait til spring to get some lighter ones.

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[fionic]

My car was waiting in Dearborn for about five weeks (Nov 5th to the middle of December) waiting for transport to Florida. This is what my exhaust looks like. Every other Mustang I've seen is clean as a whistle. The Mufflers are fine, but every extrusion scratch and weld joint and hangar is covered in Rust! With all of you up North on Salted Roads, are you seeing anything similar?

I'll check after work.

 

[Norm Peterson]

Even if I was appearance-driven, I'd be saving the "nice" wheels for summer/3-season tires and warmer weather. Depending on how bad the area was for snow and such, I'd be running all-seasons or dedicated winter tires on the stock wheels.

But being performance-driven, I'll run the tires the seasons generally call for rather than sacrifice either top summer performance on the one end or winter capability on the other.


Norm

 

[Demon Coyote]

I drove my GT PP in the snow for the past two days and I'm surprised at how well the car handles in the slow. Obviously I was being careful and not reckless but the car is very easy to control if you do manage to mess up a little bit and very easy to catch. Part of that is because I have winter tires on (my first ever set of winter tires) which have made a significant difference based on my past experience of driving all season tires for the whole year.

For winter I have the following set up:

AMR Wheels (No TPMS):

-19x8.5 Front with Hankook i*cept evo w310 Tires (245/45r19)
-19x10 Rear with Hankook i*cept evo w310 Tires (255/40r19)

My car has a full exhaust, tune, intake, and eibach sportline lowering springs. Even with all that I have no trouble driving around and this is Chicago winter we are talking about lol. Driving mode is set to normal, steering is set to Sport. (No need to set it to wet/snow unless it's insanely bad outside I guess). In general so far so good and I am very happy with the way the car handles with the winter tires I have. Cheers!

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

Drove today in the snow. All I can say is... seriously, winter tires are AMAZING.

I've never used winters before; always stuck with all-seasons. After a few problems during blizzard conditions last year, I decided I'd give the winter tires a go, and... all I can say is, wow. WOW. I'm running Michelin X-Ice Xi3 tires all around, 235/50R-18's. The difference between them and all-seasons is night and day -- driving on a couple inches of slushy snow felt like driving on dry pavement. They're almost TOO good, because I was tempted to take some turns faster than I'd otherwise consider because they felt so grippy.

I think I'm spoiled forever; there's no way I could go back to using all-seasons on snow again.

 

[BmacIL]

Drove today in the snow. All I can say is... seriously, winter tires are AMAZING.

I've never used winters before; always stuck with all-seasons. After a few problems during blizzard conditions last year, I decided I'd give the winter tires a go, and... all I can say is, wow. WOW. I'm running Michelin X-Ice Xi3 tires all around, 235/50R-18's. The difference between them and all-seasons is night and day -- driving on a couple inches of slushy snow felt like driving on dry pavement. They're almost TOO good, because I was tempted to take some turns faster than I'd otherwise consider because they felt so grippy.

I think I'm spoiled forever; there's no way I could go back to using all-seasons on snow again.

Yep! The light has been seen. Anyone that keeps championing all seasons for a regularly snowy location hasn't driven on winters.

 

[Hack]

My car was waiting in Dearborn for about five weeks (Nov 5th to the middle of December) waiting for transport to Florida. This is what my exhaust looks like. Every other Mustang I've seen is clean as a whistle. The Mufflers are fine, but every extrusion scratch and weld joint and hangar is covered in Rust! With all of you up North on Salted Roads, are you seeing anything similar?

I couldn't tell you about my car specifically; it's too cold (supposed to get to -15 tonight) and snowy to get out there and lay under it. Rust does happen especially fast if you get the metal salty and then expose it to very warm and humid conditions. When it's super cold like it is here right now the rust is slowed down a little. Exhaust will rust fairly quickly though.

 

[PJE]

The main issue I have in SE Michigan is due to my car not being garaged... The windows freeze up and don't allow the door to open/close properly.

I've started dropping the windows 5-10mm before I get out which overrides the auto drop/rise and I can then open the door without pulling the glass from underneath the trim. I just have to make sure there is still an adequate seal.

I've never liked using deicer, but was wondering if it would release the glass before I open the door.

 

[Stam616]

Anyone have a V6 with snow tires? I'd like to hear how that car handles in winter driving since that's what I will have for next winter

 

[PJE]

Anyone have a V6 with snow tires? I'd like to hear how that car handles in winter driving since that's what I will have for next winter

I don't have a V6, but my base Ecoboost is likely to be pretty similar as it has the same wheel size (51A style) and suspension setup. I fitted 235/15r18 Michelin X-Ice3 tires and I've been very happy so far. I haven't had to drive in deep snow, but it handles everything else well.

 

[14MustangV6]

The main issue I have in SE Michigan is due to my car not being garaged... The windows freeze up and don't allow the door to open/close properly.

I've started dropping the windows 5-10mm before I get out which overrides the auto drop/rise and I can then open the door without pulling the glass from underneath the trim. I just have to make sure there is still an adequate seal.

I've never liked using deicer, but was wondering if it would release the glass before I open the door.

I use silicone lubricant on my 2014 and it seems to solve the problem. Dealer should have it, but you can also get it elsewhere. Spray it at the top and bottom of the window and it works for quite a while.

 

[Aaleck]

I figured more of you wouldn't be driving their new mustangs in winter... I hate rust.

 

[Stam616]

I drove my GT PP in the snow for the past two days and I'm surprised at how well the car handles in the slow. Obviously I was being careful and not reckless but the car is very easy to control if you do manage to mess up a little bit and very easy to catch. Part of that is because I have winter tires on (my first ever set of winter tires) which have made a significant difference based on my past experience of driving all season tires for the whole year.

For winter I have the following set up:

AMR Wheels (No TPMS):

-19x8.5 Front with Hankook i*cept evo w310 Tires (245/45r19)
-19x10 Rear with Hankook i*cept evo w310 Tires (255/40r19)

My car has a full exhaust, tune, intake, and eibach sportline lowering springs. Even with all that I have no trouble driving around and this is Chicago winter we are talking about lol. Driving mode is set to normal, steering is set to Sport. (No need to set it to wet/snow unless it's insanely bad outside I guess). In general so far so good and I am very happy with the way the car handles with the winter tires I have. Cheers!

Question- with no TPMS does your light go on all the time on the dash? Always wondered if I goybdedicated snow wheels, if I could get away without th sensors

 

[Norm Peterson]

I use silicone lubricant on my 2014 and it seems to solve the problem. Dealer should have it, but you can also get it elsewhere. Spray it at the top and bottom of the window and it works for quite a while.

Interesting. Thanks.


Norm

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

Question- with no TPMS does your light go on all the time on the dash? Always wondered if I goybdedicated snow wheels, if I could get away without th sensors

It flashes a warning on startup and you hit OK and then ignore the idiot light.

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