I’m looking for a new daily driver and winter car, I’m tempted to go rwd after having so much fun drifting in the snow with just the gay fwd e-brake drifts.
So I’m wondering how bad is rwd for a winter daily driver in Buffalo? With good new snow tires and weight in the trunk to help if necessary. Is it practical to get around in when the snowfall gets heavy? I was thinking maybe a 240sx.
Thoughts?
for rwd cars + snow, its actually more tires & the driver… any vehicle can make it in the snow as long as you dont have shit ass tires and know how to handle a vehicle in those conditions…
snow fun ftw
:word:
It’s not too bad.
my sister has a 01 IS300 she has driven every winter without incedent (but its got trac/abs). so i guess it can be done.
up untill the 80’s everyone drove RWD in the winter, with good tires and some skill it’s far superior than fwd. FWD didn’t come about becasue the masses asked for it.
People are always rocking MBs/Bmws in the winter.
If a yuppie in one of those can do it so can you
i feel like i have more predictable control over a RWD car in the snow anyways, even with AT and crappy tires. i don’t like FWD in the snow, i never know where the shit’s going to end up when i start sliding.
Personaly I love FWD. I can use the ebrake to correct oversteer, and use throttle to correct under.
But then again I take the AWD off the road for the winter:banghead:
i drove an s13 the past 2 winters, its alot of fun but when lets say you are late for example, and are pushing it, ive had a couple of incidents where i spun out. (snows on back, half tread kelly chargers on the front)
im driving a 95 jetta this winter though, and from what ive seen so far its really boring and unpredicable in all the wrong ways
i drove a z28 with bald summer tires in the winter for a month, and that was ridiculous but fun. also had a fc with summer tires, rwd bonneville, and 2wd blazer. they were all completely fine.
depending on the weight of the car, tires, and whether you have a lsd, you might get stuck easier in deep snow with rwd, but from a driving dynamics perspective rwd is much better in the snow than fwd if you know what you are doing.
That’s odd, most people use the ebrake to induce oversteer to come out of an understeer situation, and if the back become squirrely (oversteer) most people use the gas to pull out of it.
Above 30 mph and bellow 1/4 throttle (repsonsible winter driving) there is no difference between FWD, RWD and AWD. And under braking, where most winter accidents occur, they all behave the same.
I dont think i would ever take a 240sx in the snow. Not just because its RWD but because nissan + snow = rot.
ive driven my 240 in the snow for 2 years now. snow tires are a must on a lightwieght rwd car. also, dont put any weight past the rear axel.
My dad has an F-150 that we just threw some 4x4 landscape timbers in the bed and he makes it fine with shitty all season tires. Gonn have to get some decent snows on it though.
This will be my 5th winter driving RWD cars. Good tires are key. And learn to drive it properly if you’re not already familiar with RWD. I used to be able to drift my old Pontiac everywhere without losing control. I prefer them for control in the snow over FWD.
i put mine through 3 winters without issue. 240’s are pretty low, so you gotta know when to say when if it starts really coming down.
id actually prefer the s14 over the rsx.
I’ve been driving bmw’s in the winter for 3 or 4 years now. relatively light (~2700 lbs). just put good snows all around, and i put a system in the trunk for winter
its f’ing awesome. so much fun, predictable, manageable.
So what exactly would you say caused those spinouts?
Why? Should you add any weight, and if so where?
Does adding weight help by increasing traction to drive wheels? Or keeping the rear planted? Or just more overall weight is always better in the snow because less tendency to slide etc?
I have no experience with it, what would you suggest? Just practice on snow in a parking lot?
Thanks for the responses.