Driving in the Snow!

[saccojos]

The sedan drives great except in the snow- rear wheel drive stinks. Has anyone purchased snow tires and, if so, did it help?

 

[RogerB]

We have ice and snow on the roads for at least four months a year. I would not consider driving any car without winter tires. It makes a big difference. So far so good on our Genesis. Of course rear wheel drive feels a little different if you are used to front wheel drive. Personally I prefer rear wheel drive. It's what we had for years when I was younger.

An added bonus with rear wheel drive: you can always increase traction by putting a sandbag in the trunk. I have not had to do that but it remains a possibility. There is no equivalent action you can take with front wheel drive.

 

[Disaster]

Ditto. Learned my lesson a couple years ago when my son put our Volvo S60, with traction control and electronic stability control, into the concrete barrier. He came out unscathed but the car wasn't so lucky. When I told my brother, he asked me if I had winter tires on the car. I was ignorant of the huge technology leap in winter tires until he clued me in. I put our first winter tires on the S60's replacement, a Acura TL. That winter I got a chance to use them. I had to drive my son back to college in a snowstorm. I stopped counting at 20 cars off the road during that trip, but the Blizzaks kept the Acura planted firmly on the blacktop. I was sold and will never be without winter tires again.

Check out these threads on winter tires.

http://www.genesisowners.com/hyundai-genesis-forum/showthread.php?t=4137&page=3

http://www.genesisowners.com/hyundai-genesis-forum/showthread.php?t=2868&page=6

 

[Sayantsi]

Tires are the only part of the car that contacts the snow. Thus, if you want to drive in the snow, use snow tires.

 

[kaberle]

I totally agree with the previous posters. Snow tires make all the difference. I started driving with rear wheel drive way back and always had snow tires.....even studded snow tires back when they were allowed where we live...... In the mid eighties and until this car I always had either 4 wheel drive or front wheel drive and simply chose to use all season tires. Having said that, snow tires would make a difference even on front wheel drive and 4 wheel drive.

As far as my Genesis, I installed Michelin X-Ice xi2. This is the second generation X-Ice which apparently is much improved from the original. I can say from my experience over the past 3 months that these tires do a world of good..... It is like a different car compared to the all seasons. There is little or no wheel spin and the car tracks straight. Stopping is also very good. To be realistic you have to realize that driving in snow even with snow tires takes a less aggressive style but once mastered you will be as safe in this car as any 4 wheel drive.

Two thumbs up to my Michelins......... If you are driving a Genesis in the snow or on ice you own it to yourselves to put on dedicated winter tires that can handle snow and ice.

 

[mcginnpm]

An added bonus with rear wheel drive: you can always increase traction by putting a sandbag in the trunk. I have not had to do that but it remains a possibility. There is no equivalent action you can take with front wheel drive.

If the weight of the engine block over the wheels on your FWD isn't doing it for you, sand bags (if you could strap them to the hood) probably wouldn't do much for you anyways.

Weight over the wheels is certainly important, but in the end it's the tire that will make or break you. Winter tires have optimized tread patterns and rubber compounds to perform better in cold weather on fresh or packed snow. Once you are on ice (particularly black ice), unless you have studded tires, it's pretty much irrelevant what's mounted on the rim after your tires lose traction. After that, Sir Issac Newton is in charge of where your car is going until you can get to a point where your tires are gripping again.

Someone on this forum hit an important nail on the head...that you need winter tires on all four corners, not just the drive wheels. You need all 4 tires to stop. Winter tires on your "drive" wheels only probably means you've reduced your braking performance significantly. If you're in a RWD and only put winter tires on the back, then steering prformance will be reduced.

As "Disaster" noted, your son may come out of the barrier OK, but the car may not look so good. Considering that a bumber and quarter panel can run into the thousands to fix...a set of winter tires sure sounds like affordable insurance.

 

[bozo4onion]

Front wheel drive advantage is a myth. Rear wheel drive cars w/good front to rear weight balance and traction control do just fine in the snow. Front wheel drive makes cars easier to BUILD. Just drop the entire drive train into a hole and you're good to go. Very few cars over $50K w/ front wheel drive and very few cars under $20K w/ rear wheel drive. Winter tires are a great idea on both. I've driven a 2 wheel drive 1997 Tacoma for 10 years with no problems (6.5 inches last Fri. BTW).

 

[RogerB]

A final point: I said winter tires rather than snow tires. Yes, the winter tires have a deeper tread and that helps on soft snow. But much of winter driving is on hard packed snow and/or ice. The other feature of winter tires that is at least as important as the deeper tread is the softness of the rubber. Summer tires get very hard in temperatures of less than 4C. Very hard tires have less surface area on the pavement or the ice. Winter tires keep their softness down to much lower temperatures and perform better on hard surfaces whatever they are. Of course, once the temperature gets much above 8C, you should change back to summer tires or they will wear out fast.

 

[ctrcbob]

How did we all survive winter snows back when all (American) cars were RWD?

I had a 62 Buick when I lived in Maine. Regular (Read; Summer) Tires. Never got stuck, plus I used to drive the 650 miles one way once every 8 days to Western NY, in the SNOW. (My father taught me to drive in Rochester NY in the month of February, and I never forgot the things he taught me about driving on Snow and Ice).

Later in life, I had a 70 'Cuda 340. High performance car with wide bias ply tires. (this was before Radial Tires were introduced to the US). Never got stuck with that car either. When BFGoodrich introduced the first American made Radials, I installed them on the 'Cuda. Still never got stuck.

Later still, I had a 73 Pontiac GrandAm (the one with the "Soft Nose" and louvered rear quarter windows). Car came with Radials. Also never got stuck.

Yes, in later years, I did buy FWD cars (still have one, 02 Continental) and they also work great in Snow and Ice. The beauty of FWD is that no matter which way the front wheels are pointed, they are always pulling forward, as long as they don't break loose.

 

[RogerB]

Well, there are lots of places where you can get away with summer or all season tires. My first car was a 53 Chev and I never had winter tires. But that was in southern Ontario where they just don't get that much snow. Here in Ottawa it is a different matter. In the province of Quebec it is against the law not to have winter tires after Dec. 15.

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[scottdk]

Interesting nearly usless TIDBIT that I have done no research on, but the local tire shop told me that the only American made tires are made by COOPER tires.

 

[medhat]

On factory tires my car was all over the place after only a dusting of snow, which I had expected (the Genesis is my first RWD car in more than 20 years). Now on Blizzaks (LM 60s, I think) on very attractive Elbus (?) wheels from Tire Rack, and I consider it a must have if you live and drive in the snow. Winter tires, I mean, not that it necessarily needs to be Blizzaks.

 

[Disaster]

On factory tires my car was all over the place after only a dusting of snow, which I had expected (the Genesis is my first RWD car in more than 20 years). Now on Blizzaks (LM 60s, I think) on very attractive Elbus (?) wheels from Tire Rack, and I consider it a must have if you live and drive in the snow. Winter tires, I mean, not that it necessarily needs to be Blizzaks.

I stuck with the WS60's (for Acura.) While the LM60's beat the Dunlops, they don't do nearly as well on ice and snow as the pure winter/snow tires, like the Blizzaks or Michelin X-Ice's (on our Genesis.) Continental makes a all season that actually beat the LM60's...probably the best compromise if you don't want to get winter tires.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/chartDisplay.jsp?ttid=125

 

[medhat]

I stuck with the WS60's (for Acura.) While the LM60's beat the Dunlops, they don't do nearly as well on ice and snow as the pure winter/snow tires, like the Blizzaks or Michelin X-Ice's (on our Genesis.) Continental makes a all season that actually beat the LM60's...probably the best compromise if you don't want to get winter tires.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/chartDisplay.jsp?ttid=125

Oops, you're right, I have the WS (not the LM) 60's. My bad (I knew it didn't sound right when I was typing yesterday!

 

[dg_moore]

Another brilliant plan from yours truly. I bought a set of Bridgestone Blizzaks and had them mounted on a spare set of wheels. My brother and I spent a sweltering Saturday afternoon installing an overhead storage rack in the garage to hold them until winter. Just now I found that the tires/wheels are way too heavy for me to lift them onto the rack - it's about 10' off the floor and I can't manage the bulk/weight of the wheels while standing on a ladder. So now they're going to the basement, which is what I was trying to avoid by installing the storage rack in the garage. Oh well - nothing ventured, nothing gained, and now I have even more space in the garage to store junk.

 

[RogerB]

Another brilliant plan from yours truly. I bought a set of Bridgestone Blizzaks and had them mounted on a spare set of wheels. My brother and I spent a sweltering Saturday afternoon installing an overhead storage rack in the garage to hold them until winter. Just now I found that the tires/wheels are way too heavy for me to lift them onto the rack - it's about 10' off the floor and I can't manage the bulk/weight of the wheels while standing on a ladder. So now they're going to the basement, which is what I was trying to avoid by installing the storage rack in the garage. Oh well - nothing ventured, nothing gained, and now I have even more space in the garage to store junk.

A lot of car dealers and tire dealers in our city (Ottawa) will store your unused, off season tires for you, for a price of course. That is a godsend for me as we have two cars and limited space to store tires.

 

[kogu]

Hi Guys:

i just bought the car. So fresh set of al seasons, going into the winter. So trying to figure out if I really need to go out and get new winter tires? I normally find the all seasons to be good in winter for the first year. But never had RWD though. Please advise

 

[nearwater]

Hi Guys:

i just bought the car. So fresh set of al seasons, going into the winter. So trying to figure out if I really need to go out and get new winter tires? I normally find the all seasons to be good in winter for the first year. But never had RWD though. Please advise

The stock Dunlops on our cars don't have good rating on snow.
This will be my first winter with my Genesis, so I can't comment on how they handle in the winter, but I managed to pull through 2 Michigan winters w/ a Vette on summer tires(crazy, I know.. will I do it again? Never.), so it all depends on how careful you are.
No doubt that a set of winter tires are the best idea.

Dan

 

[amdmaxx]

Sure there is. You put an engine there for added weight.

An added bonus with rear wheel drive: you can always increase traction by putting a sandbag in the trunk. I have not had to do that but it remains a possibility. There is no equivalent action you can take with front wheel drive.

 

[amdmaxx]

Winter tires preferred.
I prefer rwd with winter tires to AWD with all-seasons. Winter tires don't harden up in the cold temperatures and that makes a lot of difference. They wear out faster in warm temperatures, so put them on only when the cold weather/snow hits your area.

Hi Guys:

i just bought the car. So fresh set of al seasons, going into the winter. So trying to figure out if I really need to go out and get new winter tires? I normally find the all seasons to be good in winter for the first year. But never had RWD though. Please advise