How was driving in the winter?

[Phlyguy]

With Winter temperatures measured in single digits, even on dry pavement (albeit heavily salted and sanded at times) driving on these Pirelli P Zeros was akin to driving on Rocks! The tire compound never did become remotely pliable and the overall ride even after what seemed like a prolonged warm-up time was more harsh and severe than anticipated. Fortunately now that the Arctic blasts that permeated the region seem to be staying north of the Continental divide, we can now enjoy the vehicle a lot more. Still, a new set of Michelin Pilot Super Sports are going on after the taxman gets his due!

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[eric n]

You know, it's that time of year when the days are a hair shorter, you buy lots of presents for each other for Christmas, and the air at night is a touch colder so you need pants instead of shorts.

On the plus side, the car does run a bit stronger, and there doesn't seem to be as much pollen coating the inside, so it's more fun to leave the top down all the time...

Oh yeah. I like that time of year!

 

[Asharus]

i was fine on my yokohama advan sport a/s tires. i tried to make it with the pirelli p zeros, but it was tough to move in slush and would get stuck.

i was going to buy a coworker's 2003ish ford focus wagon as a winter beater, but my wife shot down the idea of a 3rd car.

im glad she did though, now i can enjoy my car year round.

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

I was perfect all winter with Michelin X-Ice Xi3's. It felt like I was driving on pavement when I was going through six inches of ice and snow.

I drove this past weekend on all-seasons in a snow storm on Long Island, and it was a little slippery-slidy, but putting it in Snow/Ice mode really does make a difference.

 

[MrPotato]

I use a floor jack, air rachet, and compressor in my garage. Takes 10 minutes at most.

How practical & challenging is this for the mechanically inept?

 

[Spartan]

Does not matter what car you have. Everything boils down to tires. The correct winter tires and any car will drive like a tank.

All seasons are a compromise, mediocre summer performance and mediocre winter.

Almost every car should have dedicated summer and winter tires.

What's your definition of mediocre? There's a reason they are called all-seasons. Had them on my cars/SUVs forever. never had an issue in the summer, never had an issue in the winter.

I just don't agree with statement that they are mediocre because lots of reviews/ratings on Tirerack say otherwise. If they were mediocre then we would always be running dedicated summer and dedicated winter (like they did before AS existed).

There's a reason they are called all-seasons. They work pretty well in all seasons.

 

[nbad]

I use a floor jack, air rachet, and compressor in my garage. Takes 10 minutes at most.

Is a specific tool recommended to swap the lugnuts? It seems like most shops use impact guns rather than air ratchets.

 

[Qel Hoth]

Is a specific tool recommended to swap the lugnuts? It seems like most shops use impact guns rather than air ratchets.

If you have a second set of wheels all you need is something to loosen and tighten lugs, be it an impact wrench, air ratchet, or just a good old tire iron, , a jack and preferably jack stands, and a compressor. You get the tires mounted and balanced at a tire shop and take the wheels home, when it's time to switch over you just jack the car up, swap the wheels, check inflation, and you're good to go.

Also if you have locking lugs you will need the tool to remove them.

If you want TPMS on the second set of wheels it's a bit more detailed and expensive, but if not all you're doing is changing wheels.

 

[Asharus]

What's your definition of mediocre? There's a reason they are called all-seasons. Had them on my cars/SUVs forever. never had an issue in the summer, never had an issue in the winter.

I just don't agree with statement that they are mediocre because lots of reviews/ratings on Tirerack say otherwise. If they were mediocre then we would always be running dedicated summer and dedicated winter (like they did before AS existed).

There's a reason they are called all-seasons. They work pretty well in all seasons.

because of the existence of automotive internet forums.

someone on the internet said that all seasons are not worth a damn because of how superior winters and summers are and started calling them "no seasons".

then everyone just rolled with that.

 

[ridenfish39]

I've been driving my 12 GT through Philly winters with no problem on Pirelli Sottozero snow tires and 200 lbs in the trunk, plus I always keep the tank on full when it snows. The stock Pirelli all seasons were bad in the snow. Getting moving was tough even with weight in the trunk. True snow tires are a night and day difference.

 

[JohnDoe]

I've been driving my 12 GT through Philly winters with no problem on Pirelli Sottozero snow tires and 200 lbs in the trunk, plus I always keep the tank on full when it snows. The stock Pirelli all seasons were bad in the snow. Getting moving was tough even with weight in the trunk. True snow tires are a night and day difference.

You put the tires on dedicated rims or just have a shop remount the tires for you?

 

[ridenfish39]

You put the tires on dedicated rims or just have a shop remount the tires for you?

I have the snow tires on the stockers, SVE drifts I painted bronze with summer tires. I was caught in the snow on the summer tires once, I could barely move. It was the longest 4 mile drive of my life LOL

 

[Hack]

I think my 2015 GT is plenty of fun even on snowy and icy days. I have a second set of rims from my Brembo 2011 GT with Blizzaks on them. The snow tires are better than all seasons. You can definitely get by fine with all seasons, though. I just like to drive a little faster than I should in the winter as well as the summer, so snow tires are worth it to me. Part of having a performance car is wanting it to perform well year round.

I swap the rims in my garage with a floor jack and breaker bar. Doesn't take very long. Not worth the trouble driving somewhere to swap them IMO. I usually do my own oil changes when the weather is decent, so that might give you an idea of how patient I am with waiting for someone else to work on my car.

 

[MrPotato]

I think my 2015 GT is plenty of fun even on snowy and icy days. I have a second set of rims from my Brembo 2011 GT with Blizzaks on them. The snow tires are better than all seasons. You can definitely get by fine with all seasons, though. I just like to drive a little faster than I should in the winter as well as the summer, so snow tires are worth it to me. Part of having a performance car is wanting it to perform well year round.

I swap the rims in my garage with a floor jack and breaker bar. Doesn't take very long. Not worth the trouble driving somewhere to swap them IMO. I usually do my own oil changes when the weather is decent, so that might give you an idea of how patient I am with waiting for someone else to work on my car.

Wish I knew how to do these things, but I missed that day in man class. :( Any tips on how to learn?

 

[Qel Hoth]

Wish I knew how to do these things, but I missed that day in man class. :( Any tips on how to learn?

Do you have any mechanical ability whatsoever and can you follow instructions?

If you can answer yes to both, then youtube and google are your friends. <Car_model> + oil change will get you videos and instructions on how to change oil for that car, same for pretty much any common maintenance tasks.

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