johnny_5

I know this topic has been covered but couldn't find anything addressing this specific topic.

If you drive your C7 in the winter and through snow storms, have you ran into any problems mechanically, or with snow/ice build up?

cam30era

I got caught in a pop up lake effect blizzard, on I-90 south of Lake Erie. No mechanical, nor ice buildup problems, but I can tell you it was the most terrifying drive I've ever had. Took several weeks to clean the brown stains off the seats.....

C8Jake

jaki30

I would be more concerned with the tires. No traction and cracking at low temps. Got my 14 in April. Cold in Va. Couple mornings it felt like driving on ice until tires warmed up. Bought Mich AS ZP tires in June. Not a winter car.

johnny_5

I have been driving rear wheel drive cars for a majority of the winters since I have been driving. Not to worried about the traction/tire aspect of the car, as it will have a dedicated set of winter rims and tires.

Was mostly concerned with snow/ice build up getting into the vents on the quarter for the trans/diff cooler, and other areas that will get ice/snow build up.

dvilin

My biggest concern would be the other non drivers on the road sliding into me. Winter driving exposes the poor driving skills of a lot of people.

cam30era

I don't really think this would be an issue at these temperatures.

johnny_5

We can see up to -40F where I am located.

Borntorun04/17

Snow build up yes . With snow on road. If you get caught in one of our lake effect bands they can dump a few inches in no time at all. If plow or salter weren't out yet the height of the corvette from ground and width of tires could cause you problems. Wide summer tires aren't good for going thru snow. Really depends on the amount of snow depth your talking about.

mdiiulio

...the point being that the ambient temp alone would keep those components cool enough. The only concern in this case would be extreme build up in the right front wheel well for intake purposes, if thats even possible.

brooklync5

Drove my c6 in the snow... no mechanical issues at all... a lot of sideways driving though.

Foosh

With all-season or dedicated snow tires, a little snow is no different than any other car if you're careful w/ the throttle. With any significant accumulation, the biggest problem will be ground clearance.

Don't try it on the OEM summer performance tires. You might as well be driving on ice skates.

Mike1320

Got caught at the office in a sudden heavy snow. Getting my C5 home with summer tires was almost as scary as driving my 944 in an ice storm in Jacksonville, FL.

vbdenny

Lived in Oswego, NY on the big lake for a few years. I do not miss the lake effect bands. I wouldnt even consider driving a Corvette in the winter. Why? Winter rats are cheap and plentiful. Sneaker it up with some good winter shoes and park the vette.

Bill Dearborn

In cool weather you won't have to worry about overheating the trans/diff even if the vents were completely plugged with snow. They really aren't required for street driving in the hottest of summer days.

Biggest issue with driving a Vette in the winter is depth of snow since once you get over 5 inches the car becomes a snow plow. Wide tires are a killer as well. The snow tires need to be high profile skinny tires so the tread area has its long side lengthwise with the car's direction. That lets the side tread of the tire grip better on loose surfaces. Just the opposite of what you need for handling on warm dry surfaces.

Wide tires tend to track in ruts more easily and the car may dart around more when driving in slush rutted with tracks from other cars.

From a drive train perspective it should be do quite well with a posi rear or eLSD. When one wheel slips power will be directed to the wheel with grip. If both are on limited grip surfaces they may both spin which can make the back end of the car swing back and forth but you just have to counter steer and let it swing back and forth to go where you want. Running in weather mode would probably be best unless you are trying to climb a hill where you may need to turn off traction control so it doesn't limit your power to get up the hill.

Bill