3.8L in Snow - Nightmare

[niteflite]

Some of you may have heard but the < 1 inch of snow last night during rush hour created havoc in the dc metro. I was fine the first half of the drive home but during the second half I found myself slipping, skidding, fishtailing on the interstate on the slightest of inclines. the abridged version of the story is I skidded into a low sidewalk curb and eventually parked the car in a school lot, tried to call uber but they didn't want to come, so got a ride from a family member.

so - is it the car that's just bad in snow or is it the tires? your answer probably is both but how much better will having particular model of a/s tires help? i do not want to have a seperate set of tires for the winter. I have yokohama avid envigor which according to tire rack has a rating of around 5/10 for snow traction.

 

[AgentSmith007]

I have Michelin Pilot all season tires with three 50 pound bags of sand in the trunk. Feels like all wheel drive in snow. Plus I use manual mode 90% when driving in snow and start driving in 2nd gear from stop.

 

[Rloyola0426]

Did you throw it into snow mode by holding down the button? I always wondered what snow mode felt like in the snow.

 

[dmitriylm]

In these cases it's almost never the car. AWD, FWD, RWD you're going to need proper snow tires for anything that doesn't just melt away.

 

[Legacy]

I tried to go out in the Genesis during snow....once. Wrong answer. The car just doesn't seem to like the white stuff. I'm not really sure if it's the car or the tires. Very snow unfriendly.That's why the 4X4 F-150 is fueled up and ready to go, in the event of an emergency. Unfortunately, an "emergency" these days usually involves some family member trying to do something they probably shouldn't be doing. I'm getting old enough (and maybe smarter) to issue my own storm warning; your self-imposed emergency is really not my problem. You need to plan better.

 

[dareckibmw]

Yep, proper snow tires will get you anywhere. In case, you guys haven't see me drifting my rspec in the snow, here is the video

Tires: Brigstone Blizzack LM-60

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_8ODJIJRLA

 

[427435]

I prefer my Genesis (with Blizzacks) in light snow (less than 4") or ice than my wife's Explorer with all season tires. Your tire's 5/10 snow rating is the problem.

 

[Kylo Ren]

My 3.8 AWD drives like nothing I have tried before in snow/icy condition of Alberta (Canada). Cornering is great and confident and acceleration is as sharp as breaking. my tires are X-Ice Xi3. I am comparing it to my MB C350 4Matic and Ford Explorer Sport. In fact, I have not used the "snow" driving mode yet.

 

[DavidHanLee]

My car on Pirelli Scorpion Winters (top of the line I could get) made it through 35cm(13.7795 inches) of snow. As long as I wasn't on an incline covered in ice I was good to go).

 

[dg_moore]

With proper tires the Genesis is manageable in snow, but with the stock tires it's a disaster. I grew up in snow country and have driven RWD cars in snow for decades and the Genny with stock tires is plain dangerous. When I retired I sold my Blizzaks and just don't go out if the roads are bad. My wife's car, a RWD Infiniti G35 coupe, is even worse - we're looking to get rid of both cars and replace them with a new Acura RDX AWD.

______________________________

Help support this site so it can continue supporting you!

 

[PMCErnie]

The biggest instant cure is to add some weight in the trunk. 200 lbs wouldn't be overkill.

 

[iSOBigD]

No amount of weight is going to keep your summer tires from hardening when it's cold enough to get snow, you need winter tires.

If at less than 1 inch you have people refusing you service, you know they don't have winter tires. In Canada we get 10-20 inches sometimes (it's lower/flatter on roads) and we don't shut down businesses or stay home lol and we drive the same cars as Americans.

Recently I had issues going up my steep ramp but only due to it being pure black ice, so I got better winter tires and I've been good since. If you never get snow I understand why you would use all seasons, but if you actually get snow, any all-season tire is absolute shit compared to even the cheapest winter tire.

 

[Captain Howdy]

I purchased my Genesis on the day before a freezing rain storm storm. I had no choice but to drive it. With the traction control on the only problem I had was my driveway. It did better than my Wrangler

 

[Bill K]

My solution to snow in Chicagoland is to not drive the Genesis, and take the 10 year old Elantra with over 140,000 miles. Since I don't have to worry about driving to work anymore, I can just say "F" it, I'm staying home.
Another reason not to drive it, is that I like to keep the car clean, and only take it out when it's dry.
Maybe one of these years, I'll buy wheels with snow tires. (not cheap)

 

[Dawg]

Did not fair well in that winter storm we had in Atlanta two years ago and I had brand new Nitto's (less than month old)...but I am fairly confident the Nitto tires are not meant for snow/ice. I have Hankooks now so it will be interesting to see how they do if tested again.

 

[Bill K]

All season tires will always have a problem with snow, for the Genesis.

 

[Cmoe1107]

Some of you may have heard but the < 1 inch of snow last night during rush hour created havoc in the dc metro. I was fine the first half of the drive home but during the second half I found myself slipping, skidding, fishtailing on the interstate on the slightest of inclines. the abridged version of the story is I skidded into a low sidewalk curb and eventually parked the car in a school lot, tried to call uber but they didn't want to come, so got a ride from a family member.

so - is it the car that's just bad in snow or is it the tires? your answer probably is both but how much better will having particular model of a/s tires help? i do not want to have a seperate set of tires for the winter. I have yokohama avid envigor which according to tire rack has a rating of around 5/10 for snow traction.

After that little bit of snow that happen Wednesday evening in the DC area, my car will be sitting until they clean the streets up lol. I have a 2011 4.6 and I couldn't believe how bad the ride was and I'm used to driving RWD cars. Could be my tires though so I am currently looking for tires myself.

 

[RonJ]

I found my Genesis useless in the snow. Winter tires made a huge difference.

RonJ

 

[Ernie3647]

Agreed my 2011 was terrible in even the lightest snow. It was only after the addition of the Continental DWS tires that I was able to use it in light snow. Don’t get me wrong It was a very good car. The same design strategy that gave it nice handling characteristics contributed to its poor snow performance. I’m sure there are a lot of variables here some say adding weight in the trunk, dedicated snow tires, some who say they’ve driven most of their lives in snow so other people don’t know what they’re doing and so forth. Some might even say that the later models were better….really. Bottom line it is not the best choice for a bad weather car. Since this was my wife’s car I thought it best it stays parked in bad weather.

 

[niteflite]

i plan on planning carefully and cautiously ahead of snowy weather next time. this time I needed to leave work just 30 min earlier than I did but got caught up on a phone call. I do not want to purchase a whole set of winter tires. there's the cost of the tires and possibly wheels, the time or $ cost of mounting them annually, storing them - just an overall hassle.

one month after I first bought the car though - I drove through PA and well into OH for a weekend trip. the way back got caught in a snow storm near Cleveland where I saw cars disabled left and right. I actually did ok with the same tires (with 15k fewer miles on them)...was one of the better performing vehicles on the OH turnpike. I happened to have around 200 lbs of passengers in the rear seats, and another 75 lbs of luggage in the trunk. is this what made the difference? this time I only had 70 lbs of car seats in the rear and nothing in the trunk.