Snow time

4333 Views 9 Replies 9 Participants Last post by GFunk, Dec 13, 2016

Wildcat Birdie

Discussion Starter · Dec 11, 2016

So, here in Wisconsin we are looking at a decent snowfall. Last night there was a dusting, enough to cover the ground. This morning, about 4 inches so far. Took the car out both last night and this morning, and let me say, this thing is fun (to an extent) when you turn off the nanny, and when its on, the beast stays straight and goes. Now, let me start by saying I am running on Blizzak snow tires. I got in, turned off traction control, put it in sport mode, and started power sliding. Why I said above "to an extent" is because even with traction control off, it still is not completely off. It jumps in when you get too squirrelly for its liking. When I had sport mode off, and traction control on, the car stayed very planted, even when I was trying to push it, everything kept that car moving forward without issue. I trust that this car will keep me safe in Wisconsin winters.

One thing I will also say, the wheels I have build up with snow pretty easily.

But I am back home after my little excursion safe and sound. The car is back in the garage. I am happy.

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RockinZ28

· #2 · Dec 11, 2016

Dropped the wife off at work, car handled smooth as could be with TC on. Then on the way home was like hmmm, lets have some fun. TC off, then got lost in back roads driving all over. Cut through ~4-5" of unplowed snow like butter. Only have the stock all season tires. Didn't get too crazy either, as I can't do a rewind in the Sport like in Dirt 3 lol. Almost put the back wheels into a ditch coming out of a donut

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D&D

· #3 · Dec 12, 2016

We had our 1st snow and took the car out with the winter tires to see how it holds the road. It is planted to the road, even on some icy sections.

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your_cousin_vinny

· #4 · Dec 12, 2016

we got 2+ feet on the far-east side of Cleveland and the car wasn't exactly confidence inspiring. The standard goodyear "all seasons" are most certainly not for anything like what I was dealing with here. I didn't get stuck anywhere or go sliding down any hills (forwards or backwards) thankfully.

I consider myself pretty close to a snow driving expert, and I mean that completely unironically, and in my capable hands the car performed admirably, if not really confidently.

What I can say with confidence though, is if I were to pop a set of snow tires on this car, or even some more aggressive all seasons, it would be nearly unstoppable, even for the kind of white-knuckle inducing blizzard that I drove to and from work in on friday.

I've started shopping for winter tires...

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Frizz2112

· #5 · Dec 12, 2016

I can see why deep snow would be a problem for the Fusion Sport due to the relatively low ground clearance. Once you're plowing snow with the front of your car, even cars that are normally surefooted in the snow will start having problems. All that extra resistance from the front end and underbody of the car can cause havoc. I'll be testing mine out today since we just got 5" of snow last night. I expect it to do fine, but I really want to test the wheels (I still have the stock wheels/ all season tires) to see if they tend to collect snow in them. It's amazing how a small clump of snow/ ice inside your wheel can make seem like someone strapped a 40lb weight down there.

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mr. e

· #6 · Dec 12, 2016

I thought we were getting snow here last night. 'Twas but a dusting. Woke up disappointed. However, it's nice to know the car will be 'grounded to the ground' even when the going gets dicey. Looking for an excuse to drive up to my friend's house in Syracuse...

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qwerty3089

· #7 · Dec 12, 2016

My car was plowed into my parking spot this morning, with some very heavy/wet/slick snow.... I was ecstatic to find that the car didn't hesitate even a little bit. Took it like a champ! My old car would of gotten stuck without shoveling, no question.

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Frizz2112

· #8 · Dec 12, 2016

My Sport passed its first snow test today. The roads were plowed, but there wasn't any exposed asphalt yet, and many intersections still had an inch or two of snow/ slush on them. I purposely took several corners too hot just to test things out, and the Sport never deviated from its normal trajectory. I also did some overly aggressive braking and throttle stomping with no dramatic results. While this was only a moderate snow traction test, I am encouraged that my stock all season tire setup is going to work just fine in the winter. If I get a chance to get out into some serious snow I will report back, but if anyone is concerned about how this thing handles in the snow, I'd say there's no need to worry unless you're frequently driving through deep snow.

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subrandom

· #9 · Dec 13, 2016

Glad to read all of the above. As someone considering buying one from a BMW that has never failed me in a snow...I wasn't sure how this would be. Sounds like it's fully capable. Thanks for sharing!

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GFunk

· #10 · Dec 13, 2016

We are receiving an inch or two of snow today in North/Central Ohio and I drove to lunch on my factory Continentals. I can say that the car feels much better than my previous Civic Si due to the AWD system. I was able to get the ABS to kick in when I pushed harder on the brakes, but it took more than I expected which was a nice surprise. I did have a time where I was starting to move after a relatively hard brake and the car felt like it kicked in the brake-assisted torque vectoring to get power away from a slipping wheel. I didn't feel it in the wheel, gas pedal, or anywhere in the car but I could hear the ABS sounds.

Overall satisfactory performance for driving around down at 35mph and below, but I will be looking into snow tires for any long distance driving.

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