SAD (seasonal affective disorder)

[poncho@home]

I store my summer toy every winter and have been doing so for nearly 30 years. I always had a winter beater dating back to my motorcycle days and continued with every summer car that I have owned.

Here in the Montreal area we get snow on the ground from typically late November or December until March/April. Roads are salted, snow banks take days to get plowed away by the authorities.

These days, I prefer having an AWD car with proper winter tires to tackle all this. Luckily I am in a position to afford that.

Also, not driving my summer toys for those months allows me to rediscover them all over again every spring.

To counteract S.A.D, I use the winter months for new mods ;)

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[NoVaGT]

Control your foot regardless of power. One of the most incredible advancements in big power these days is DRIVABILITY AND THROTTLE CONTROL. Everyone nowadays brags about power AND drivability. It's absolutely doable. Don't confuse "can't" with "no desire to." Don't want to drive your Mustang in the winter? Fine, no big deal. I don't anymore either. But don't tell people it CAN'T be done because that's utter bullshit.

Yeah, more power isn't an issue. Never has been, never will be. He just wanted to brag a bit.

 

[NoVaGT]

High in the 80s in Houston this weekend. No need to put up the 5.0 for the winter in Houston. I assure you I will run the AC in December and January here. Then the next day need the heat. Lol.

A personal aside;

I was in Houston from just before Thanksgiving, to just after New Years last year. The first two days were great, then it snowed and stayed bitter cold for the rest of the time I was there. I also got very sick, maybe the flu, and it seemed like 1/2 of Houston had it too.

And WTF is with the roads there? They were like an obstacle course.

 

[jake_zx2]

It's certainly worse than any other vehicle I've ever driven in the snow. I'd rather drive my Escort in the snow than my Mustang

 

[SVT-DADDY]

How so? Be specific.

Absolutely worse that an Accord or Camry! Not even in the same league as my other vehicles which are 4x4's and a 6x6!

1. higher power to weight ratio
2. Wider tires
3. lighter tail end
4. RWD

I've driven all over the North East and into Canada for the last 25 years and there is no way a Mustang is as good in the snow as the fwd 4cyl cars you mentioned. Can they be driven in snowy conditions yes, but not the best tool for the job.

Yeah, my Mustang isn't as good as a snowmobile in the snow......so I guess you were right all along.

Now your speaking my language, but even this sled isn't great in deep snow. Set up more for the ice.

 

[Houston Kid]

A personal aside;

I was in Houston from just before Thanksgiving, to just after New Years last year. The first two days were great, then it snowed and stayed bitter cold for the rest of the time I was there. I also got very sick, maybe the flu, and it seemed like 1/2 of Houston had it too.

And WTF is with the roads there? They were like an obstacle course.

Last winter was a crazy cold one for sure. I think it snowed 3 times. Never stuck but snowed none the less.

 

[SVT-DADDY]

Do me a favor go back and find the post where I said it couldn't be done.

Already been done.

Control your foot regardless of power. One of the most incredible advancements in big power these days is DRIVABILITY AND THROTTLE CONTROL. Everyone nowadays brags about power AND drivability. It's absolutely doable. Don't confuse "can't" with "no desire to." Don't want to drive your Mustang in the winter? Fine, no big deal. I don't anymore either. But don't tell people it CAN'T be done because that's utter bullshit.

 

[NoVaGT]

Absolutely worse that an Accord or Camry! Not even in the same league as my other vehicles which are 4x4's and a 6x6!

1. higher power to weight ratio
2. Wider tires
3. lighter tail end
4. RWD

I've driven all over the North East and into Canada for the last 25 years and there is no way a Mustang is as good in the snow as the fwd 4cyl cars you mentioned. Can they be driven in snowy conditions yes, but not the best tool for the job.

A Mustang is not much worse than a Camry or Accord. The only difference is tires, and that's it. Put the right tires on, and it's fine. I'd figure a Mustang with the correct tires is 90% as good as a Camry or Accord. And to say a 2 wheel drive isn't as good a 4 or 6 wheel drive is......ridiculous. Of course they are better.

And please, for the love of God, stop talking about power. It's not a thing. It's doesn't matter if your precious Mustang makes 3000HP, it doesn't make it bad in harsh weather. Unless you think you can go around mashing the throttle in bad weather.

Let me ask you; how much wintry driving have you done in any modern Mustang?

 

[SVT-DADDY]

A Mustang is not much worse than a Camry or Accord. The only difference is tires, and that's it. Put the right tires on, and it's fine. I'd figure a Mustang with the correct tires is 90% as good as a Camry or Accord. And to say a 2 wheel drive isn't as good a 4 or 6 wheel drive is......ridiculous. Of course they are better.

And please, for the love of God, stop talking about power. It's not a thing. It's doesn't matter if your precious Mustang makes 3000HP, it doesn't make it bad in harsh weather. Unless you think you can go around mashing the throttle in bad weather.

Let me ask you; how much wintry driving have you done in any modern Mustang?

1. You said the Mustang was just as good, now we are at 90%?

2. I think you have horsepower envy, I only mentioned my cars power once. Even in perfect conditions a higher powered car is harder to drive. Why do you think cars set up for AutoX and Road courses are not sporting outrageous power numbers.

3. Ton's of experience.... I started with a 1990 GT, traded that for a 1997 Cobra which both were my only car for some time. I've 2012 GT in the family that see's the road in all conditions but full on snow(all seasons on that one.... big difference). and I've had G35's G37's, 2wd pick up's, you name it. I can drive the shit of of a rwd car in the snow but my question is why when I have better tools for the job.


Just to be clear I said cold roads and summer tires don't play well together. I didn't even mention Mustangs specifically in my first post. You must be trying to rationalize not having a winter car because you started in like I said it couldn't be done.

Today for example it's 40 degree's and cloudy here. I was hoping for a nicer day to take the car out but honestly I'd rather hit the remote start in my Yukon.... get into a nice warm truck and putz around. Could I have driven the Mustang...sure. Go down to the garage warm it up, spend all day driving carefully because the roads are cold. Whats the sense, can't really enjoy the car like that.

As a matter of fact my father in law has our 2012 out today, but again that car has all seasons which make all the difference in the world.

Again my post was about the tires.

 

[sdiver68]

Let me ask you; how much wintry driving have you done in any modern Mustang?

I've done a ton of winter driving in RWD sports cars and sport sedans.

Yes, a RWD car with snow tires is better than almost any other car with all-season tires.

However, if both cars are on same all-season tires, the RWD car will be significantly less capable. FWD and skinnier tires make a huge difference.

 

[Mr. Met]

I drove down to South Carolina in March to pick up my Mustang. It had 6k miles and the dealer told me the guy who owned it never even drove it in the rain. After a 12 hour drive back I parked it in front of my apartment and went to bed. When I woke up it was covered in snow.
I will be driving it year round but luckily we can get two feet of snow and all the roads are clear within a day or two in the city. Because of that, and the rare instances when its 70°, I decided against winter tires.
I do enjoy having the Expedition for the big storms though. Its nice to be able to just pull out while everyone else is shoveling.

 

[Dave TBG]

It's not that some cars are better than others in the snow, it's all in the skill of the driver. I've always seen the first snowfall of the year to be an excellent opportunity to practice car control, go find an empty parking lot and have some fun. Anybody with even a little HPDE experience should realize that the dynamics are exactly the same as what you feel on the track, it just happens at lower speed and the limits are reduced to the point where you can safely drive near your limit on your way to work.
My 2wd 1978 Suburban wasn't the best in snow but it was still adequate to take to Vermont for ski trips. OTOH, the best car I've ever driven in snow was my Porsche, track set-up and all, on snow tires, it was a beast in snow until the snow got deep enough that the front end became a plow. I've had my share of front drivers, mostly VWs, Sciroccos, Jettas and a Passat, the Porsche was better.
In the end, I bought my Mustang to be a year round daily driver. It's not some hard to find classic, it's a current production model. If something happens to it I can order another exactly the same. I like living in an area with 4 distinct seasons, I enjoy each and every one for various reasons. I also can't imagine living more than an hour from an ocean, I'm a boater and hate having to put the boat away from thanksgiving to groundhogs day. I'm driving my Mustang year round.

 

[jake_zx2]

I've done a ton of winter driving in RWD sports cars and sport sedans.

Yes, a RWD car with snow tires is better than almost any other car with all-season tires.

However, if both cars are on same all-season tires, the RWD car will be significantly less capable. FWD and skinnier tires make a huge difference.

Let's put it this way...

If you put racing slicks on a stock civic and ran it on a tight racetrack against a stock base ecoboost mustang, the Civic would probably turn a faster lap time...

But that doesn't make a civic a better track car than a Mustang

 

[Johnnybee]

I owned a '91 Caprice Classic. 4,080 lbs riding on 225/70-15 all seasons. It did have limited slip, as it had the tow package. Nobody ever questioned me driving it in the winter. Why wouldn't I drive my 2018 EB convertible at 3,712 lbs riding on 235/55-17 Nokian R3 winter boots, and its wet/snow mode, in the snow? My first car was a '74 Gran Torino sedan, which I drove through one winter on bias ply tires (granted, they were brand new), so maybe it depends on how you were brought up as to what you think is rational/irrational for driving in snow.

On the other hand, I'm a closet parrot head and am wholly convinced I was born 20 degrees too far north. If I had freedom of movement to the sunny south, I would have been there 30 years ago.

 

[poncho@home]

I owned a '91 Caprice Classic. 4,080 lbs riding on 225/70-15 all seasons. It did have limited slip, as it had the tow package. Nobody ever questioned me driving it in the winter. Why wouldn't I drive my 2018 EB convertible at 3,712 lbs riding on 235/55-17 Nokian R3 winter boots, and its wet/snow mode, in the snow? My first car was a '74 Gran Torino sedan, which I drove through one winter on bias ply tires (granted, they were brand new), so maybe it depends on how you were brought up as to what you think is rational/irrational for driving in snow.

On the other hand, I'm a closet parrot head and am wholly convinced I was born 20 degrees too far north. If I had freedom of movement to the sunny south, I would have been there 30 years ago.

Freedom of movement...try living in Montreal. Wife and I are sick of Canadian weather October to April. We would be living south if it was a simple move(no special work visa) and they had universal health care with a better public education system. Canada should just invade Florida and annexe it Canada!

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