Winter driving

[BmacIL]

I had a couple spots where the rear kicked out a little on my winters with two 70lb sandbags in the trunk, one over each wheel well and in snow mode. I either gave it a little too much gas or these Sottozero 3's are going to give me grief later this winter when we start getting the 4-6" snowfalls.

Performance winters don't have quite the grip of a studless ice & snow but still much better than A/S. You should be ok, just be gentle.

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[metalhead79]

Performance winters don't have quite the grip of a studless ice & snow but still much better than A/S. You should be ok, just be gentle.

That I'm aware of. We don't get a lot of snow here, just really cold temps. I thought performance winter tires would be the best all around given the weather conditions we typically see here.

Aside from the couple issues, they did really well in the snow.

 

[e30og]

to the OP, Ground clearance!

This car will actually perform admirably in winter but if snow gets too high it doesn't even matter if you had an AWD SUV. A foot or more of snow (thats a rough guess), even the mighty Mustang has its limitations. This past winter an old, Chevy Tahoe got me through the kind of snow cops on chains were having trouble with after the rods got plowed once. I passed by so many beached cars, including a new Toyota Highlander and pretty much any SUV you can think of. The Tahoe had tall ass tires (on what looks like 5 inch rims haha) and enough ground clearance to make you wonder how it was ever legal in its day. That was the only day in my life I have been on I-95 and there was not a single other on either side for periods of 5-10 minutes

So yes you can drive the 'Stang in the winter with the proper attention and good tires, but there is nothing you can do about accumulation.

 

[DarkestHour]

I didn't get to drive until today. Car did great at near zero degree temps this morning on poorly plowed roads with a hard layer of snow on them. When I came home I tried to gas it a bit and the car handled itself extremely well.

 

[krishelnino]

I am on V6 and was running the PP staggered wheel setup before. I traded off my wheels for the stock 18" wheels with Pirelli A/S. Yesterday was the first time I drove my Mustang in snow storm in Detroit. It wasn't too bad as I was driving very carefully maintaining a safe distance and speeds which I felt were safe. The one thing I can say is be very very gentle with the accelerator pedal. I had no issues getting out of my drive way also which was surprising. If you are stuck, don't accelerate much it would only make it worse.

 

[The Great Gazoo]

two things i've been struggling with the most driving in the snow/ice is on hills.

I haven't tried too many hills with mine - still running the P Zero Nero A/S. I switched off with the wife and have been taking her AWD Escape since she has no hills to get the kid to school.

Unless you live in the lower mainland around Vancouver you can't appreciate the steepness and quantity of the hills we have around here. Like on Royal Oak in Burnaby which has cleats cemented into the sidewalk to give pedestrians traction going up the hill.

 

[northstar]

I didn't get to drive until today. Car did great at near zero degree temps this morning on poorly plowed roads with a hard layer of snow on them. When I came home I tried to gas it a bit and the car handled itself extremely well.

Yesterday wasn't great.. The worst part is drivers who seem to have zero common sense.

My winter trunk consists of 2x 70 lbs sand bags, salt and a small shovel. Anyone who sees snow should carry these - if not for you, a guy who needs it one day.

With my blizzaks though, my car feels quite good in anything I've seen.

 

[Hack]

percentage-wise, how much snow do you see vs. wet/dry pavement with these tires? because that was the problem i was experiencing with mine... i was not getting more than 20% snowfall during the winter season and the pavement just ate them up :(

Thinking about it more, possibly temperatures also have something to do with the rate of tread wear. I would assume we have colder winters here in MN. This morning it was -12 F, for instance. Even snow tire rubber compounds are probably somewhat hard at that temperature.

 

[magnetic16gt]

Yesterday wasn't great.. The worst part is drivers who seem to have zero common sense.

My winter trunk consists of 2x 70 lbs sand bags, salt and a small shovel. Anyone who sees snow should carry these - if not for you, a guy who needs it one day.

With my blizzaks though, my car feels quite good in anything I've seen.

Got about 9" in MI over the weekend. Very impressed with how well the Blizzaks handled. I felt more confident than with my wife's FWD Escape with all seasons.

Side note: I've kept my fun car tucked away for the winter for 6 years...it felt so dirty to have to scrap my windows...but it felt soooo good as well.

 

[montreal ponies]

Now that takes guts....your most likely the ONLY person who would drive a GT 350 in snow.. Kudos you to sir

Hats off to [MENTION=12069]Hack[/MENTION], that's the only GT350 i've seen in the snow thus far.

I could never see myself driving my GT350 in the snow with all the crap they put on the roads.

 

[technocrat]

some great advice in this thread

I have some basic questions

Do the base models come equipped with mirror warmers?

Does the snow mode in premium models make noticeable difference?

 

[invaliduser]

I don't know about the mirror warmers on base models. I've never found the use for mirror warmers since my first car a 2009 Focus (with no warmers), 2013 Focus (w/ warmers) 2013 MKZ (w/ warmers) and now my 2016 Mustang (w/ warmers).

Snow/rain mode definitely cuts back on throttle. I'm not sure if it'll help as we haven't had snow yet. But it might help at the initial pedal press not to throw up the RPMs quickly.


I threw on a set of 245/45/19 Nokian Hakkapellita R2s on ecoboost PP wheels I traded my GT PP wheels for.
Problem is they're probably too damn skinny for the GT PP. I braked hard one day because of someone on the wrong side of the road and I know I locked up the wheels since ABS came on and it wasn't slippery out.
Then when I accelerate I have to be careful not to shred the soft compound rubber off.

I love snow and winter driving but now I can't wait til it's over so I can have my fat summer rubber back.

 

[BmacIL]

I don't know about the mirror warmers on base models. I've never found the use for mirror warmers since my first car a 2009 Focus (with no warmers), 2013 Focus (w/ warmers) 2013 MKZ (w/ warmers) and now my 2016 Mustang (w/ warmers).

Snow/rain mode definitely cuts back on throttle. I'm not sure if it'll help as we haven't had snow yet. But it might help at the initial pedal press not to throw up the RPMs quickly.


I threw on a set of 245/45/19 Nokian Hakkapellita R2s on ecoboost PP wheels I traded my GT PP wheels for.
Problem is they're probably too damn skinny for the GT PP. I braked hard one day because of someone on the wrong side of the road and I know I locked up the wheels since ABS came on and it wasn't slippery out.
Then when I accelerate I have to be careful not to shred the soft compound rubber off.

I love snow and winter driving but now I can't wait til it's over so I can have my fat summer rubber back.

245 width is fine for winters. You don't want wide tires for winter, as the narrower they are, the easier it is to pass through snow. Obvously they have to be reasonably wide. I'm on 225/55R18 Blizzaks and they work great.

 

[NoVaGT]

I'm surprised at the anxiety folks seem to have about driving their Mustang in the winter.

They're cars, just like any other. The main difference is that they come with tires that aren't very good for the white stuff and ice. Simply get a set of proper tires, and you're GTG, like any other car.

 

[CarterRuss]

I threw on a set of 245/45/19 Nokian Hakkapellita R2s on ecoboost PP wheels I traded my GT PP wheels for.
Problem is they're probably too damn skinny for the GT PP.

Tires should be fine. I put on the 255/40R19 so only slightly wider. Very pleased with the Nokians. Drove through my unplowed road yesterday with ease.

I'm surprised at the anxiety folks seem to have about driving their Mustang in the winter.

I think for some (assuming here) it's the first high HP/TQ RWD car in the winter, at least for me. Put on proper rubber and put my mind at ease after the first drive.

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