RWD Cars in The Snow

Factual Questions
41

I grew up in Valdez, Alaska…spent 17 years of my life there (300 inches of snowfall, annually). I still live in Alaska and still drive in just about every crappy winter condition you can imagine.

I’ve owned a RWD Toyota pickup, FWD cars, AWD SUV’s and 4WD pickups and SUV’s.

I have to agree with the consensus that it’s 100% operator. I don’t know that it matters what you drive if you don’t know its limits.

For someone with little experience driving in winter conditions, I’d personally recommend front wheel drive cars. RWD cars are just as good, but inexperience can easily put the vehicle in a spin.

The biggest downside I see to rear wheel drive cars is the fact that the majority of your braking power is in the front wheels. So, if you’re coming to a stop on an icy road and your front wheels lock, the rear wheels could still be driving (even at idle, a vehicle will want to move forward). This is why I was taught (ages ago, it seems) to put the car in neutral when coming to a stop on icy roads (obviously much easier with a manual transmission, and even this takes some discretion).

All in all, go with what’s comfortable. I can also say from living here for so long that the majority of the vehicles in the ditch I see are 4WD or AWD vehicles with either inexperienced drivers that don’t know the limits, or cocky drivers that push those limits.

One more tip, don’t ever mash the brakes if you start sliding. If your drive wheels lock up, tap the gas to get them moving. Think of it this way. When you run on ice (tennis shoes), you don’t have much traction, but you do have some level of control. When you stop running and slide, you have no control over your direction or speed. So it’s best to keep your foot off the brake or be VERY gentle with it.

Either way, good luck…winter driving can be exhilerating and equally frustrating.

-k

42

Not on my RWD Mustang GT with new all season tires. I’m not exaggerating much by saying the only possible way to climb anything >179° inline is to get to the shoulder of the road and drive in reverse.

Based on my own driving experiences (and seeing quite a number of stranded RWD sports cars in the snow) my (unscientific and unciteable) hunch regarding the OP: If the RWD vehicle has a high engine to vehicle weight ratio, that’s where the most difficult snow navigation problems lie.

43

Ooops, forgot the most important part from Mr. Stones ‘studded snow tire’ quote:

My tire guy told my they’re illegal. Whether that’s a regional thing, a national regulation or a bunch of hooey cuz he doesn’t stock is not something I can answer.

44

Well, for one thing, all season (otherwise known as “no season”) tires are not dedicated winter tires. They don’t have the channels to clear snow, they don’t have appropriate siping, and their compund is completely different. They’re REALLY not studded winter tires, which in addition to the qualities above, also have studs for gripping ice. So, all-season tires are better than summer-only tires in the snow, but otherwise are reasonably worthless.

The second factor in your decision is that, sorry to say, you probably don’t know how to drive. :o The real issue is that you probably don’t have a lot of experience driving a high-powered RWD car in less-than-deal conditions. It takes a significant amount more skill to drive something with that much power in the snow. You need better throttle modulation, better reflexes, and a better understanding of how you can get out of shape and how to avoid it.

My guess is if you always started your Mustang in second on slippery roads, practiced your throttle modulation better, maybe attended a winter driving school, and threw a set of Blizzaks on your car, you’d be fine. My buddy drives his modified 1969 Mustang in the snow regularly, and I guarantee you his car is a heck of a lot more powerful than yours. :wink:

45

With my birthday being in September, growing up in Spokane I had about a month and a half after getting my learners permit before I had to learn to drive in serious snow. I learned in a '67 Charger with bias-ply sawdust retread snow tires. I assure you, this was not an ideal setup for snow, but I bet those tires worked better than yours. This car had serious power to weight issues, but certainly was able to get around in the snow. I learned quickly to go slow, and be patient.

While no car is going to do well on glare ice, there is a surprising amount of traction on packed snow. You just have to be patient and gentle, but most importantly, have the right tires. If you’re serious about driving in the snow, then it’s worth getting some cheap rims with a set of decent snow tires. If you’re in an area that gets lot’s of snow, the tire shop may even store your snow tires for you. In any case, they’re worth the extra cost, what with bodywork being so expensive.

46

As I posted above wide tires are terrible in the snow, I would bet your mustang has some fairly wide tires on the back. Not all season tires are created equal, if they are appropriate for a mustang the first priority in the tire design was probably summer performance with snow traction being a low priority.

:confused: Driving in reverse should transfer more weight to the front and give you even less traction in a RWD. Driving in reverse did work great for getting my FWD up a steep unplowed driveway the other day though.