Towing and Driving in snow/ice

[Corvette_Diva]

Hey everybody,

Just recently joined because I have a few questions.

I have a 1996 Corvette coupe and I am likely going to be moving to Wisconsin next year after graduating college to be with my significant other. I realize that the car I have is not exactly the most adept for snow and moving cross country, and had I anticipated moving out of California, I would have gotten myself a nice Jeep Wrangler.

I don't really want to sell it, so I'm here to ask for advice on "winterizing" my car (I guess thats what you call it? It doesn't snow where I'm at in California) as well as some driving tips. I've never driven in snow or ice before, and I recognize that my car might not be the best for learning because its so light and has so much torque in the rear. Is my car going to be ok in snow as long as I watch out for pot holes and don't floor it?

What can I do about salt? I know that stuff is pretty nasty to cars, would rinsing off the bottom of the car after it drives on salted roads help preserve it?

Do I need chains or special tires?

Also, the second topic of this post is towing. My car has a tow hitch. Obviously, once again, my car isn't the most suitable for a cross country move. There's no way I can fit all my crap in there. The car itself will be cramped enough if I'm able to bring my dogs (one is a 100 pound german shepherd). Will it be ok towing a small trailer cross country?

Its really beginning to sound like I might be better off selling it and getting myself that Jeep. ;squint: I'm so attached to my vette though lol

 

[Hib Halverson]

The best bet for operating a Corvette in the snow is winter tires on all four corners. Set up like that, a Vette makes a passable "snow car" as long as you're on plowed roads or unplowed roads with snow only as deep as the distance from the bottom of the front air dam to the road. The problem can be finding winter tires in the sizes you need.

You cannot put chains on a Corvette.

If Wisconsin uses salt, you'll need to regularly pressure blast the underneath of the car to wash the salt away.

As for towing, a C4 is an iffy tow vehicle because of limited cooling and lack of rear ride height. If the car is at its gross weight rating, ie: filled with you, your dogs and other stuff, trying to, also, pull a trailer will leave you marginal as far as braking safety, cooling and rear ride height. That said, if you insist on taking that risk, I wouldn't attempt to tow more than 500-700 lbs. I'd suggest raising the rear of the car 1/2-3/4-inch. I'd, also, suggest running the parts of your trip that require climbing large hills--such as Cajon Pass leaving the L.A. area or the grades you may find along I-40 going east towards Oklahoma, or the grades you'll find on the route that takes you north on I-15 to I-70 and then east to Denver--at night when it's cool out.

I would think that a better way for a move like that would be to ship all your belongings to Wisconsin ahead of your departure, then make the drive with just a few days worth of clean clothes and your dogs.

 

[Corvette_Diva]

Yeah, I thought about that as well. I don't have THAT much stuff. If I am able to bring my large dog, there won't much more than 300 pounds since the dogs 100 and I'm 100 and then an extra 100 for clothes, the other dog, and anything else I need to take. So the inside weight shouldn't be an issue with towing if thats what I end up doing.

So, the snow tires, I'm guessing you only use them in the winter and you can swap them out for regular tires during summer?

 

[vetteboy86]

First off welcome to the CAC!!!

Secondly, don't sell the vette unless you have to. I do not drive mine in the winter. Not because I couldn't, but because I do not trust other drivers around me. I consider my vette irreplaceable. I have been caught in snow many times. It is doable.

Is the vette your only method of transportation? There are companies that will ship the car for you insured.

 

[Corvette_Diva]

Hi Vetteboy, thanks for the welcome

Yeah, I really don't want to sell it XD That car is my baby. Lotta good memories in that car lol. I wish I had a second car, but thats just really not an option right now. I'm barely 20. At this point, I'm not even sure how I'm going to afford the insurance on it once I move out. My parents are still paying for it as long as I live here. Lets just say that the insurance company does not like people my age driving a car with that much power. Only option I see would be getting less coverage. I wish I got some good student and good driver discounts...I've been driving since 16 and my record is spotless. Maybe if I beg, my mom will keep helping out XD

I think thats for another topic though.

Anyway, yes, the vette is my only way of transportation. Its my daily driver and has been for 2 years now.

The only other thing I can think to do is rent the smallest uhaul truck available that I can hook the vette up to and just tow it that way. Idk how I'm gonna drive one of those things though WHILE towing a car behind it.

 

[slovetteman]

Hey everybody,

Just recently joined because I have a few questions.

I have a 1996 Corvette coupe and I am likely going to be moving to Wisconsin next year after graduating college to be with my significant other.

Here's an idea....Why not have your significant other relocate to Sunny California? ~~~ you won't have to worry about snow tires, salt on the roads, or towing anything! :L

And......

 

[Z07coupe]

Corvette_diva
Slovetteman has the right idea, and Hib gave you good advice.
So if this guy is worth it, and you must, go ahead and move to Wisconsin. Don't sell the vette. I lived in Oconomowoc from '04 to '06.
I had a 93 and my wife drove a 92. We simply parked them through the winter and snow season, and drove 2 4wds for the winter. That was the best way to handle our situation.
Wisconsin was just made for Corvettes and Harleys. There are a million miles of great country cruising, with zero traffic - which is something you may never have seen. We loved to cruise the country and, of course, Friday night fish frys. You will have a wonderful road course (Road America at Elkhart Lake) to visit, and the people are midwest friendly. If you only have a few hundred pounds of excess, box it up and ship it. Then enjoy the ride with your two dogs. It will be a fun trip.
A one way haul rental with a trailer will probably cost more than UPS. Or pack a box, or get a couple trunks from Goodwill and pack and ship them.
Wisconsin also has many active Corvette clubs.
Good luck and have a safe trip.

 

[Rex S]

As far as the trailer goes, you might want to look at buying one. When my son moved to CT from TX we rented a UHaul for his tool box and some other big, heavy items. On the return move it was about $100.00 more to BUY a nice, new, small trailer. While we kept ours you could sell it when you get there and maybe break even on the move.

Driving in the winter will require good snow tires as stated. The very wide tires on a Vette are the problem in snow as they tend to float rather than dig in. Go slow, use the brakes very easy, keep the windshield washer bottle full of WINTER solvent (this may be hard to get in CA as it is here in TX) because Vettes being so low they get all the crap thrown up by passing traffic, learn to drive way ahead of yourself.

When towing DO NOT let the car use 4th (overdrive). 4L60s are not rated to tow in OD and doing so will burn out the transmission.

 

[bs78]

I have lived in Wisconsin all of my life, and my suggestion would be get something as a beater car to drive in winter. You will have about 4, maybe 5 months of driving in snow and ice every winter, and it will be a very scary ride in a vette. I would not give up the vette, it will be an absolute joy to drive here the rest of the year, just park it for the winter and suspend the insurance coverage until spring.

 

[Corvette_Diva]

I suppose it'll depend on the costs. If I can get a second car, doesn't have to be nothing fancy, just a car that works, then I will at this point. Although I think I'm wishing I had that 4wd jeep wrangler even more

 

[Red Vette]

Welcome to the CAC and I hope that you get some good advice; Hib's is the best. As for snow tires, if you decide to get them (once you reach your destination), go to a shop that has experience with the tire pressure sensors. If your corvette has them, then the tire shop can easily damage them. They are no longer available from GM, and are hard to come by via the internet. The sensors are in each wheel (each wheel has its own coded sensor e.g. there are 4 different sensors, one specific for each wheel) are mounted by a metal strap on the inside of the wheel around the circumference. If you do not have the tire pressure sensors, you can ignore this post. The cost of snow tires for a vette are not cheap if you can find them and then you have the added cost of mounting-dismounting them each season unless you have spare wheels (these cost a lot also). The cost of the snow tires etc could easily be as much as an old beater for winter driving. Hope things work out for you, and let us know your decision.
Barrett

 

[93Rubie]

If you are concerned about insurance I'm 22 and I have a 93 six speed Vette, and I pay around 450 every six months with full coverage on it. My driving record is clean like yours, however, I have a second vehicle to drive and it is on the same policy as the Vette. So...I second getting a 500 dollar beater to run around in, if possible.

You mentioned in your other post about people our age driving like idiots...How many do you know who own Vettes? Most, Vettes are driven by eh...more mature adults, typically male, and not with many miles, therefore, not too many accidents with Vettes, unlike Camaros and Mustang which the typical 20-something male, drives like an idiot and wreck them all the time. Thus, why Vette insurance can be MUCH cheaper than Camaro or Mustang. Heck, I was going to buy a Cobalt SS Turbo, insurance was 3000 a year!!! Screw that...

 

[luvmyc4]

Scariest night yet

I relocated from CA to Reno in November. My only vehicle is my 85 c4. It is very possibly the worst car I have ever driven in winter conditions. Not just the handling in snow/ice but she is 25yrs old and every day something else breaks from just being too old/too cold. People ask me at gas stations "hows that workin out for ya?" Hit the brakes the other night and she just kept on goin right thru a red lite....Yah I think snow tires on all 4 but thats not cheap.
Put 2 50lb bags of tile grout in ass end and still cant get out of driveway some days.Come summertime people at gas stations will be going "wow what year is that? nice car....etc" I WILL NEVER SELL lol!:WBTW drove here with my dog and bag of clothes/tools. Towing with a vette? better get the jeep.

 

[vetteboy86]

Hit the brakes the other night and she just kept on goin right thru a red lite....

ABS would hopefully improve that situation!

 

[kenmack]

Do not attempt !!!!!

Pleeeese take this advice !!!!!!!!!!
Nothing personal,but at 20 years old never driven snow and ice I say don't even think about it in the vette.(This spells disaster)hnoes

Pick up an old s-10 s-15 pickup,put 200lbs of weight in the back and some good (studded ) snow tires.

You should be able to find something for about what you'd save in insurance by putting a winter storage policy on the vette.
I'm from Canada(the frozen North)and I know A LOT about winter driving.

 

[vetteboy86]

Nothing personal,but at 20 years old never driven snow and ice I say don't even think about it in the vette.(This spells disaster)hnoes

Very good point.

I will say though, that driving a corvette has made me a much better winter driver than the average Joe. I'm not sure if it is a fair comparison, but having a loose rear end on dry pavement, improved my winter driving.

 

[Corvette_Diva]

A winter storage policy?

I didn't know they had such things. American insurance companies have this option as well? And yes, I realize that the vette is not a good car for me to learn to drive in the snow with >.< Like I said, had I known I was going to end up moving to wisconsin 2 years ago when my parents were getting me a car so I'd have my own, I would have pushed for the Wrangler.

Right now nothing is for certain though. I will have a bachelors degree in Biology, if I can find a good job over there with a decent pay, then obviously getting a second car won't be an issue.

 

[Z07coupe]

How many do you know who own Vettes? Most, Vettes are driven by eh...more mature adults, ...

Watch your tongue, you young whippersnapper!

 

[luvmyc4]

These pics make me cringe

Our garage door is broken and there is alot of stuff in it. Date on these pics is wrong took them in December 09. Corvettes and snow just don't mix.:bash

 

[92BlackVette]

You mentioned in your other post about people our age driving like idiots...How many do you know who own Vettes?

I got my 1976 Vette from my mom at 16 and I bought my 1992 6-speed at 20, so humm.........

I drove my 92 in the snow once, and it did fine @ <15 miles an hour.hnoes

After a while you just have to buy another car. At 25, I bought a Kia Sportage 4x4. The Kia is probably faster than the mustang anyways. ;squint: