Mustang winter drivers

[Fly2High]

I understand all that, and I know they are using much better grades of steel now days, but I grew up in the Cleveland area and the road salt will eat away at it eventually, no matter how well it's made or whatever grade of carbon steel is used. The only hope of keeping the car rust free long term (10 + years) is to keep it away from the salt. If ford decides to make the next mustang out of 300 series stainless or aluminum then I would get a set of winter tires and just drive it year round. But for my 17 it will stay stored every winter. In about another 10 years or so, the mustangs that were DD's in and around the rust belt ( Milwaukee, Chicago, Indy, Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Buffalo) will start to show signs of the dreaded cancer that all steel cars get that are daily driven in the winter.

True, but all those who drive them daily would have had far more fun miles than you. And after ten years, you still have a ten year old car.

Even well taken care of, seals dry out, rubber gets brittle, gaskets leak, wiring gets brittle, rodents can cause damage, rotors rust, tires can get flat spots, etc. Not everyone who drives a car seasonally takes care of the car properly in the off season.

Sponsored

 

[Biggins]

Here in Montreal, i've seen Porshe's, BMW, TESLA in winter that are more expensive then a Mustang with Nokia tires or Blizzak.

I call them ‘Chinese ditch finders’! Why have an expensive car and put crap tyres on. They are asking for trouble!

 

[I Bleed Ford Blue]

True, but all those who drive them daily would have had far more fun miles than you. And after ten years, you still have a ten year old car.

Even well taken care of, seals dry out, rubber gets brittle, caskets leak, wiring gets brittle, rodents can cause damage, rotors rust, tires can get flat spots, etc. Not everyone who drives a car seasonally takes care of the car properly in the off season.

True, but having a 10+ year old car that is rust free or damn near in the rust belt does a lot for the value. Seals, tires, etc. can all be replaced, but extensive metal work and then paint can get real expensive real quick. In 20 years or so I could easily ask 10K more than the market value because I saved the potential buyer 20K or more in metal work and paint.

 

[Grimmer]

Haha poor thing is covered.
Is it not worth using the snow/ wet mode? Is there much of a difference?

My car is manual, so the rain/snow mode basically slows down the quickness of the throttle response. It is also alleged that the nannies tighten up their tolerance for shenanigans. I experimented with it a little in the summer time. Pushing the throttle in to a point and holding it there would result in a slower response but it eventually would get there. This could be helpful if the driver has a twitchy foot, but using smooth minimal input changes results in pretty much the same outcome. However, it sounds like the rain/snow mode has more effect on the automatics.

My car goes pretty well with the Blizzaks on it, even in normal mode, so I haven't bothered to use the rain/snow mode (and haven't missed it). But as previously mentioned, I haven't had to deal with more than a couple of inches of fresh snow and slush so far. And it seems to me that nanny corrections are mostly academic in slippery winter conditions, since the available rubber to the road traction is already impaired to the point that the window for computer correction is very small (if any at all).

As for the difference... I'm just shooting from the hip here, but let's call "Track mode" at or very near 100% with regard to how quickly the throttle body follows the driver's input to the throttle pedal. I would estimate normal to be about 80%, most likely more for emissions than anything else. I would put the wet/snow mode down in the 50% range. I haven't messed with the Sport+ mode enough to quantify (I usually just skip straight to Track mode), but I expect that it lands somewhere between normal and track and may have more to do with the nannies and steering feel. In any mode, if you press and hold the throttle pedal half-way down, the throttle body will eventually be open half-way. In track mode it is Johnny-on-spot with a noticeable difference over normal. It takes much longer for it to get there in rain/snow mode, which gives a slower smoother acceleration. The driver can accomplish the same thing by not stabbing the throttle in bad weather conditions. Might be a different story for the automatics though.

 

[Burgo]

What's up guys! Was curious to see how many people out there drive their Mustang in the winter as I do. I live in Canada and still drive mine. People think I'm nuts because it's back wheel drive... (especially the Subaru owners). Didn't want to own one and store it 4 months out of the year. Anyway, for those out there post a pic of your pony in the snow!

Doesn't the inside of your footwell get covered in slush/mud and stay wet all the time, how do you guys that drive in the snow all the time deal with that?

 

[JohnDoe]

When I had my 2018 Mustang GT, I had 4 Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2 tires on it, drove the car in Normal mode, and it performed above average.

You have to understand, the car is still RWD with very little weight over the tires being powered. This shows in deep snow. Turning and stopping, the car probably did way better than most of the other cars on the road with all-seasons or worse. Going above highway speeds on the highway with some light snow or slush, the car felt like it was still on dry pavement. However, even with the snow tires on, once the car got stopped in some deep snow, you're not going to get the car moving again quickly when that light turns green. Also, if it is icy out, slushy out, or deep snow, I wouldn't stop on an incline if you don't have to.

Even in this kind of snow here, once stopped, it took awhile for the car to get moving again:

a bag of salt in the trunk solves that issue for me real quick.

Doesn't the inside of your footwell get covered in slush/mud and stay wet all the time, how do you guys that drive in the snow all the time deal with that?

even if it does, it doesn’t really affect anything. Only thing that’s happened with the wheel well area for me is snow getting packed inside the rims and causing vibration. A few pokes with a stick solves that

True, but having a 10+ year old car that is rust free or damn near in the rust belt does a lot for the value. Seals, tires, etc. can all be replaced, but extensive metal work and then paint can get real expensive real quick. In 20 years or so I could easily ask 10K more than the market value because I saved the potential buyer 20K or more in metal work and paint.

Resale value is the last thing on my mind when I think about my future 10 year old mustang lol. That’s long gone out the window. I’d be more worried about the next powertrain repair, how much that will cost, when will it happen.

 

[Mavro]

My car is manual, so the rain/snow mode basically slows down the quickness of the throttle response. It is also alleged that the nannies tighten up their tolerance for shenanigans. I experimented with it a little in the summer time. Pushing the throttle in to a point and holding it there would result in a slower response but it eventually would get there. This could be helpful if the driver has a twitchy foot, but using smooth minimal input changes results in pretty much the same outcome. However, it sounds like the rain/snow mode has more effect on the automatics.

My car goes pretty well with the Blizzaks on it, even in normal mode, so I haven't bothered to use the rain/snow mode (and haven't missed it). But as previously mentioned, I haven't had to deal with more than a couple of inches of fresh snow and slush so far. And it seems to me that nanny corrections are mostly academic in slippery winter conditions, since the available rubber to the road traction is already impaired to the point that the window for computer correction is very small (if any at all).

As for the difference... I'm just shooting from the hip here, but let's call "Track mode" at or very near 100% with regard to how quickly the throttle body follows the driver's input to the throttle pedal. I would estimate normal to be about 80%, most likely more for emissions than anything else. I would put the wet/snow mode down in the 50% range. I haven't messed with the Sport+ mode enough to quantify (I usually just skip straight to Track mode), but I expect that it lands somewhere between normal and track and may have more to do with the nannies and steering feel. In any mode, if you press and hold the throttle pedal half-way down, the throttle body will eventually be open half-way. In track mode it is Johnny-on-spot with a noticeable difference over normal. It takes much longer for it to get there in rain/snow mode, which gives a slower smoother acceleration. The driver can accomplish the same thing by not stabbing the throttle in bad weather conditions. Might be a different story for the automatics though.

Thanks for all the info.

 

[Burgo]

even if it does, it doesn’t really affect anything. Only thing that’s happened with the wheel well area for me is snow getting packed inside the rims and causing vibration. A few pokes with a stick solves that

Cheers but I was talking about inside the car in the footwell area under the pedals, snow on your shoes then it just drips off onto the floor all the time making that area constantly wet.

 

[Nate_V8]

What's up guys! Was curious to see how many people out there drive their Mustang in the winter as I do. I live in Canada and still drive mine. People think I'm nuts because it's back wheel drive... (especially the Subaru owners). Didn't want to own one and store it 4 months out of the year. Anyway, for those out there post a pic of your pony in the snow!

I DD mine and I'm on the shore shore Montreal. what area you from?

I should have taken a picture after our dump over the weekend. Surprisingly I was one of the few people who didn't get stuck in the parking lot lol. I will be getting a winter beater one of these winters though, no way in heck can I drop the car with how much snow we get.

Why is everyone's cars so clean though? Please don't tell me you guys go to auto car washes to have rough dirty ass bristles beat the shit out of your paint lol

 

[Jcode68]

Got the rubber mats from the factory.

First mod for my Bullitt was all season tires. The second was Weather Tech floor mats. They fit really nice and keep any slop off the carpet.

Justin

 

[Mavro]

Cheers but I was talking about inside the car in the footwell area under the pedals, snow on your shoes then it just drips off onto the floor all the time making that area constantly wet.

We have rubber floor mats that hold the water.

 

[Mavro]

I DD mine and I'm on the shore shore Montreal. what area you from?

I should have taken a picture after our dump over the weekend. Surprisingly I was one of the few people who didn't get stuck in the parking lot lol. I will be getting a winter beater one of these winters though, no way in heck can I drop the car with how much snow we get.

Why is everyone's cars so clean though? Please don't tell me you guys go to auto car washes to have rough dirty ass bristles beat the shit out of your paint lol

Lol go to no touch car washes in the winter time. Petro Canada's is good.

 

[ChaoticFury09]

Lol go to no touch car washes in the winter time. Petro Canada's is good.

Hate Petro car washes. Would rather go to Esso or Shell.

 

[Mavro]

Hate Petro car washes. Would rather go to Esso or Shell.

How come? What's the difference?

 

[ChaoticFury09]

How come? What's the difference?

Maybe they are different in your area but all the ones near me have the stupid rails near the rims, and they are not touch-less. They are the stupid bristles that always scratch up cars.

Sponsored