octaneforce

So i read that one of the best ways to get bashed on here is to talk about vettes in the snow. Well here goes! I gallavanted for a few hours in tonight's blizzard here on long island in my 89. I was delighted. 245/45/17 dunlop winter maxxes on 4 c5 front rims (all 4 rims are 8.5" wide) and two bags of sand in the back. I was doing circles around my two buddies in their 2wd diesel pickups who claim that a lift kit is as good as 4wd. Anyway the car really bit into the snow. I even got ballsy and had it in an unplowed school field without a hiccup. Let the flaming or sharing begin!


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VmgPDEKMPNw

http://youtu.be/VmgPDEKMPNw

aDigitalPhantom

Another way it said is sure to get you insulted is to like the C4....

I would drive my car in show snow. However there was no snow on the ground here this year, and I have been too lazy to fix the windshield wipers.

octaneforce

Consider me a corvette communist

Patsgarage

Good for you, it didn't melt right ?
I love how people say these cars are undrivable in the snow, when fifty years ago they got around on bald bias ply tires on a 57 De Soto.

MaxDaemon

Yea - we had a thread about this a few weeks ago - seems quite a few people actually do some driving in the snow. As mentioned then, I don't look for snow to drive my "winter" Vette in, but I'll not shy away from it if it comes. I drove my '79 TransAm in the snow all the time.

QCVette

I ran 8.5" wheels with 255 tires on my '88 and my '94 during the winters. I daily drove them about 100 miles per day to work during any kind of weather. They saw frequent snow and worked out fine.

c4cruiser

As long as you have reasonable traction at the wheels, you should be able to drive the car in snow. IF nothing else, the C4 weight distribution should provide more weight on the rear tires compared to other RWD cars.

It would even be reasonable to find some 16" steel wheels and snow tires to put on the rear. But no tire chains!! They will quickly tear up the fiberglass.

But IMHO, the real problem lies in how much snow there is on the roads. The lower airdam is not very high off the road surface and with unplowed roads if the snow depth exceeds that distance, the airdam will act like a snowplow and snow will quickly collect in front of the radiator and A/C condensor. When that happens, airflow thru the radiator will be cut off or seriously disrupted and the engine can quickly overheat.

86C4Z51

I don't change the tires for snow here in the Northwest. I just don't drive it in the snow. And I grew up in western Montana where there's lots of snow. I enjoy driving in the snow (especially when nobody else is driving in it lol), so it's not a matter of skill or timidity. I just have found this car doesn't like snow. Ymmv, and apparently it does!

Cruiser's comment about "snow plowing" is also a good one. I druther push snow with my Passat and save the Vette for more meaningful driving. JMO

93Rubie

I drive my 2010 Miata thru the snow. No issues. I think the 93 would be fine with snow tires as well. The looks you get are priceless. I saw a guy driving a C4 in Canton, OH on MLK day.

corvetteronw

86C4Z51

I used to drive my Fiat 124 Spider in the snow, and it was an awesome snow car. It had more clearance than the Corvette, and I did put studded walnut shells on the back. I lived 15 miles out of town, along the river, up a hill... and it did just fine. Those were actually pretty well-balanced cars.

Doc750

Drove mine in the snow the other night ... no problem.


Now ice on the other hand ... it was interesting to say the least

octaneforce

Ditto. I went for a narrower tread to help the tire "dig" to the pavement. The wide 275 tires seem to ski over everything.

octaneforce

Yeah i had to avoid big plow loamy piles for that reason. Ground clearance is really the only issue, but i guess awd cars must run into the same problem. Maybe just not as bad. My buddy in his lowered subaru only gets stuck when the snow is as high as the undercarriage

86C4Z51

Snow tires should always be narrow for exactly that reason. Higher tread footprint psi to get to the ground thru the snow.

auggy

Let's get real here. Driving a c4 or any Corvette in snow is foolish. Therefore anyone driving a c4 in snow is a fool.

octaneforce

If you would ever like to indulge in the foolery, i invite you to drive my properly equipped car in our next snow storm and see for yourself!

Mr. Gizmo

I had a 1990 L98 automatic vette with the good year gatorbacks. I got caught in a pretty good snow storm. I was amazed at how well it got around on snow packed roads. I would not dare try this in my c6Z06 with the good year run flats. The c6Z with those tires is slips and slides driving it on cold absolutely dry days.

octaneforce

Thats why i got winter tires to begin with. My car was on bridgestone potenzas and cold dry days were like ice skating. I have two sets of wheels so im lucky to be able to just switch back and forth. I'll never bother with all seasons anymore. My 89 is my daily.

mako41

Wow I can't believe the utter stupidly of some people who post on this forum.

Maybe I should head on over to the Prius forum and check out the rock crawlin posts...... of course only a Prius equipped the proper under inflated all terrain tires should try such a thing!