Ask the Best and Brightest Follow-Up: Snow + Mustang = OK
A few months ago, I asked TTAC’s Best and Brightest if I should drive my Mustang in the snow. After very little soul-searching, and very much viewing of Mustangs, Supras, Bimmers and Porsches doing snow donuts on YouTube, the decision practically made itself. So, I had the car anti-rusted and bought a set of Kingstar W411 winters (made by Hankook) on black wheels and off I went, with no extra junk in the trunk (hey – it might ruin the steering). I’ve driven it almost daily; it’s faced Montreal’s harsh winter with gusto. Even during the heaviest storm of the year to date, I had no problem getting around. Obviously, I’m delicate on the throttle and I pay attention to the brakes, lest I lock up the wheels and transform my little pony into a giant, lead sled. One caveat though – freezing rain. One day where we received all manner of precipitation (rain, then freezing rain, then snow) the car got stuck in a parking space in a street the city of Montreal had characteristically forgotten to clear. A little back-and-forth pushin’ and rockin’ while a good samaritan floored the gas and she was soon free, but I almost missed a dinner date. Lesson learned for next time: Bring a shovel and carry traction-aids.
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How come you don't have a couple of sand bags in the trunk, its a Quebec staple to increase traction.
I wonder how many trillions of barrels of oil are wasted every year because "SUVs are good in the snow?" I agree with one of the points made above: the higher center of gravity of SUVs makes them WORSE to drive on slick roads. 99 percent of SUVS never go offroad anyway, and would be terrible at it if they tried. Capable off-road vehicles can be counted on one hand. The more capable off-road they are, the less capable they are on-road. The worst tires for slick roads are the best off-road: Mud terrains. The shorter the vehicle and the more clearance, the better off-road but the worse on slick roads. So-called "All Terrain" offroad tires are better than mud-terrains and all-seasons on winter roads. Few SUVs come equipped with decent All-Terrains. Wrangler RUbicons come equipped with excellent Mud Terrains, which again are awful on winter roads. So virtually any Rwd car, including corvettes, miatas, and 350Z's, with decent snow tires easily outperforms any SUV with the usual OE all season radials. Stock SUVs with OE all season radials are awesome examples of engineering malpractice: they are terrible both off-road during the summer and on-road in the winter. This minivan with traction control and studded snow tires with FWD has been a real eye-opener.