Question: positraction on snow and ice?

[fumesniff]

i've heard that my 84 vette will fishtail and tend to drop to the low ind of the road on snow, ice and rain- if it gets traction at all... what can i expect while driving on the snow etc? how bad will it be? do i have a deathwish if i take this thing out on ice? what happens on snow at high speeds, and will i be able to go uphill on ice at low speeds? i really want to drive this thing but i'm very worried/ live in illinois.

 

[TedC]

It was really bad on my two Mustang GTs. Even with snow tires. Posi is a great feature when you have traction. Otherwise, the backend slides out. Having wide tires up front doesn't help because they tend to push the snow. Most summer performance tires are not M&S rated, and have been known to "freeze" up below 40 degrees. Come winter, my vette goes into storage.

 

[ZumZum]

Fumesniffer,

I live over in the Decatur area. Believe me, if your vette is not your daily driver don't take it out in snow and ice if you don't have to. They're great in the snow unless you want to start, stop or turn.

If you have to drive it in the snow: Allow yourself plenty of time to get where your going.

Get used to traffic lining up behind you because they will want to drive faster than you feel is safe.

Slow down well ahead of time if your going to have to stop or make a turn because you will have to make turns at a crawl.

If you're approaching a red light, you're better off slowing down and trying to time it so the light turns green before you get there. It's easier to keep the car in motion then it is to stop and get the car back in motion again.

Drive defensively because you don't want some idiot skidding in to your car.

These are some suggestions. Another thought is to get some crappy rear wheels and have snow tires mounted on them for winter use.

Good luck.

 

[G Winter]

The problem is NOT the positraction. The problem is the wide tires. I have had a number of cars with positraction but with narrow tires. I loved it in the winter. I believe if you were to get narrow wheels and tires it would be no problem,matter of fact with the C4 getting so cheap I am thinking about getting a not so nice one and setting it up for winter driving.

Glenn

 

[tonylong]

All the above are right. The wide tires are great on dry, warm hardtop, but they're death-wishy on slippery roads.
I misread the weather once, ended up driving 10 miles home in a light snow, really scary. Wandering all over the road, slipping front and rear, no braking, slid to the side when stopped at a light. Worst ride of my life.
Lucky it was very late on a Sunday night, no traffic, except for the lone State Cop or course. He was helpful and followed along slowly behind me with gumballs flashing. Nice guy.
Corvettes and Snow - BAD IDEA.

 

[CorvetteArchives]

Wusses!

I drive mine every winter..especially skiing! As long as you know/learn how to drive a rear wheel drive car in snow its no problem. One 40 lb bag of sand and stock tires will work fine.
I used Gatorbacks in the past and currently have Hoosiers on it.
When it starts to get deeper 4-8" I have traction cables and it drives BETTER than a front wheel drive car with all season tires. COMPLETE CONTROL!
The fun part is with the traction cables on and when you stand on it... it shoots a "rooster tail" from the back like a speedboat!

The ice IS naturally the tricky parthnoes...but no more than any other car when stopping. From a standstill going uphill on ice or powder might be a problem at times. It definitely is best to keep momentum going.

I recently bought a set of extra wheels (very cheap) and will be putting studded snows on it this year (I now live on a hill). Tire size does need to change due to availability. 235/60/16's are only .06" (six hundreths of an inch) larger in diameter than 255/50/16's and are readily available from many makers.

 

[nelson84]

Yes, those cable chains are a must in deep snow, you might want to fab up a snow guard so you don't drive snow up into the air intake.

 

[PeterG]

I have driven Corvettes and GTOs for over 40 years all around the Chicago area.

I have been stuck only once. That was when I stopped at a stop sign in deep, fresh snow. Yes, I always stop at stop signs.

During winters I drive very cautiously: Using extra caution, accelerating slowly, turning slowly, following cars by leaving plenty of car lengths between me and the car in front.

The key is to learn through experience in the snow and on very cold roads what the car's limits are. With experience you will feel how much you can safely push your Corvette

I really enjoy my Corvettes. Life is too short. I enjoy driving them differently -- with extra caution -- in the winters just as much as I enjoy driving with more spirit in the summers.

 

[hotshotzny]

its all about the tires.... if you have performance tires on it dont expect to make it very far very fast... buy a cheap set of stock wheels, put a set of snows on it and off you go! i put a fairly inexpensive set of hankooks on my mustang and couldnt believe the difference!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/16-C...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

good cheap set of wheels

 

[CorvetteArchives]

Yes, those cable chains are a must in deep snow, you might want to fab up a snow guard so you don't drive snow up into the air intake.

Practical solution from someone who is used to living with snow

I fortunately havent had any problems so far. I'd suspect it would be more of a problem on a TPI car though...it wouldnt just block...it would suck hard....they are more like vacuum cleaners!
There is also the option of hooking up a snorkel like on a Jeep for fording streams....we could hook it up to the disabled Thermac inlet

 

[*89x2*]

I fortunately havent had any problems so far. I'd suspect it would be more of a problem on a TPI car though...it wouldnt just block...it would suck hard....they are more like vacuum cleaners!

Look again at how a TPI draws air. It is from a louvered lid inside the engine compartment. If you can block that with snow, you have bigger problems.

An 84 Corvette draws air from the pressure area near the top of the radiator and the sealed ductwork.

 

[aboatguy]

When I was stationed in Colorado my Vette was my daily driver no matter what the weather

I agree that it is all about the tires.

My car was great in the snow with Bridgestone Potenzas but with Goodyear GSD3s it was not so good.

Old pic of tooling through the snow in my C4

 

[CorvetteArchives]

Look again at how a TPI draws air. It is from a louvered lid inside the engine compartment. If you can block that with snow, you have bigger problems.An 84 Corvette draws air from the pressure area near the top of the radiator and the sealed ductwork.

Your point being? Both are bottom breathers. Block air flow with snow and they'd both starve.
From what I recall (20+ years) the early TPI's didnt have a louver to block water intake. It was added to later model years and suppossed to be retrofitted to older models.
Also many CFI owners have cut the radiator shroud and sealed it to hood inlet making it draw air more directly from below. In original design it could at least scavenge some air from engine compartment if necessary from snow blockage. However, its a pretty moote point since no one has apparently had a problem.

PS are you now stalking my posts because of my opinions in that other thread? :eyeroleYou know what I'm talking about



aboatguy...great pic and Avatar too! Glad to see you take the "Arctic" White to heart! Its like camo...great for the 110th mountain division....all it needs is a ski rack!

 

[*89x2*]

Your point being? Both are bottom breathers. Block air flow with snow and they'd both starve.
From what I recall (20+ years) the early TPI's didnt have a louver to block water intake. It was added to later model years and suppossed to be retrofitted to older models.
Also many CFI owners have cut the radiator shroud and sealed it to hood inlet making it draw air more directly from below. In original design it could at least scavenge some air from engine compartment if necessary from snow blockage. However, its a pretty moote point since no one has apparently had a problem.

PS are you now stalking my posts because of my opinions in that other thread? :eyeroleYou know what I'm talking about



aboatguy...great pic and Avatar too! Glad to see you take the "Arctic" White to heart! Its like camo...great for the 110th mountain division....all it needs is a ski rack!

Actually, you are wrong in how a TPI completely gets its air. You are also confused about the louvered airlid and the plastic (deflector) insert. You are also confused about the spelling of moot. But I am not here to point out all your errors.

Not following you anywhere. Don't flatter yourself :eyerole

 

[CorvetteArchives]

89x2
Isnt that last post off topic since no usefull info was discussed?
I'm not here to be insulted by moderators who should know better!....I just want to KNOW.

Please illuminate why or why not the TPI would get blocked by snow.


BTW, Tire Rack has several manufacturer that would work including Pirelli which look pretty darn sharp! Anyone have any preference for studdable snows on performance tires?

 

[GarageQueen]

In case you haven't noticed, 89x2 removed himself as a Moderator. Mostly, because guys like you didn't get it

Perhaps you should listen to him as he is a Bloomington Gold Judge. Me personally...I owned both an 84 and an 85. I know the answer.

 

[gmjunkie]

I've been driving Vettes in the snow since February of 1970!Never got one stuck in the snow or crashed one in the Snow and Ice either!!
I even gave a nice NC Trooper a ride once out of the Pigeon River Gorge to Asheville in my 78 pushing 1 1/2 ft.of snow after he ran his Crappiece off in the ditch in a Blinding Blizzard!!

 

[tonylong]

89x2
Isnt that last post off topic since no usefull info was discussed?
I'm not here to be insulted by moderators who should know better!....I just want to KNOW.

Please illuminate why or why not the TPI would get blocked by snow.


BTW, Tire Rack has several manufacturer that would work including Pirelli which look pretty darn sharp! Anyone have any preference for studdable snows on performance tires?

I'd avoid studded tires. They're decent on packed snow if they can do their thing and dig in, but on icy roads they slip worse than non-winter tires. I went thru this on my Jeep Wrangler, traded the studded tires off after one bad experience doing 360's on frozen iced over snow. I just keep the GY MTR's (big lugs) for year round and haven't had problems in any weather conditions. After the square edges round off they don't howl at speed either.

 

[*89x2*]

89x2
Isnt that last post off topic since no usefull info was discussed?
I'm not here to be insulted by moderators who should know better!....I just want to KNOW.

Please illuminate why or why not the TPI would get blocked by snow.

Actually, I stepped down as a Moderator. It seemed like the thing to do after reevaluating my time spent here and rewards from some of the debates of last week


To the Mod or Admin who removed the post made at about 6pm (that also came to me in an email), way to go. The double-standards here at the CAC are appalling :eyerole

 

[Mac]

Actually, I stepped down as a Moderator. It seemed like the thing to do after reevaluating my time spent here and rewards from some of the debates of last week

To the Mod or Admin who removed the post made at about 6pm (that also came to me in an email), way to go. The double-standards here at the CAC are appalling :eyerole

Although I wasn't the one who took action, I am aware of the reason. Your friend who joined for the sole purpose of stirring the pot was banned for trolling after comparing the IPs and finding it exactly matched someone who is already a member here.

Would you like me to address his obvious misunderstanding of the reason for your removal at the same time as I restore the post, Chris?

-Mac