question on winter driving

DrSmith · Jan 13, 2010

I'm in my truck this morning, I see a shelby pulled into a cumberland farms...what is this? My humble gt is off the road for the duration of my maine winter. It has been dry for the last two weeks, but there is still snow on the ground.
How many of you would drive your cars on dry winter days? I was always told the salt would still eat the cars. Shoot, I hate winter now, without driving my car. If a shelby is on the road, why are the rest of us driving trucks?
Doc

racerraj · Jan 14, 2010

I've already driven my 06 Mustang GT thru snow and ice. Going up hill can be tough. Need to take it thru a car wash with the jets that spray the underside now that it has warmed up a touch. Long as the underside gets cleaned, I doubt serious problems. Older cars rusted much worse than today's cars.

mustangdave · Jan 14, 2010

Mine is my only car so it gets driven in everything. Recently had 8" of snow/ice mix and it never kept me from going anywhere. The only vehicle I saw stuck in the medium was a 4 wheel drive Jeep Grand Cherokee.

DarkFireGT · Jan 14, 2010

I'd prefer not to drive mine in the snow, especially with the chin spoiler. I get enough paint chips as it is. I don't need stuff getting ripped off. And I don't trust other drivers not to plow into it. It is true, that as long as you was the car frequently, paying attention to getting the undercarriage, you shouldn't really have any rust issues. I think over 50% of GT owners garage them in the winter (in the North, obviously), but there's plenty out there that drive them. IF I were to drive mine, I'd put snow tires on.

wusthof · Jan 14, 2010

easily said >>>>>> not all of us either have the extra money or space to have two vehicles - I thought that would have been sum common sense meng

GOLDENPONY · Jan 14, 2010

I drive my '06 GT all year round - and we have snow here in Ohio. I have good winter tires. I didn't buy my car to just drive it in the summer. My car's even a 'vert.

IIGood · Jan 14, 2010

I've driven mine in snow too. It's my only car so I kinda have to. Unless it gets over a certain point, then I don't bother...then I'll just borrow my dad's truck. It's not too bad driving the GT in the snow as long as I'm careful with it and ever since I've had these new tires on it (Goodyear Eagle all-weathers) it's been good for traction. Yes, extreme hills are tough...that's when traction control gets turned off.

After all that, I'll run it through an automatic car wash with the undercarriage sprays too to get the salt off.

In a way, my car's been lucky so far this winter. It's been in the shop since 12/11/09 and it's snowed twice since then. The car hasn't seen the road. But from the most recent snow shower, there's still salt all over the roads here so when I do get it back (hopefully any day now) it'll be subjected to that for a bit.

DarkFireGT · Jan 14, 2010

wusthof said:
easily said >>>>>> not all of us either have the extra money or space to have two vehicles - I thought that would have been sum common sense meng

I'm not driving around in anything nice. I have a '86 F150 I bought for $500 and a '96 Contour I got for free. But it's worth it to keep my Mustang in tip top shape. Instead of paying for snow tires I bought a beater. And the best part is, if someone hits me, I don't really give a crap.

I will say, we did drive our 2005 during the first winter we had it, before the body kit. That's another thing that stopped me from doing it. Even with frequent washings, the exhaust and suspension components were starting to corrode and rust. Changing out the exhaust was much harder on that one than my '07 which has never seen salt. Same with the suspension.

stangdude2000 · Jan 14, 2010

I'm in the boat of no space for a second car. If you guys thought the Mustangs were bad in the snow, they are incredible compared to my new M3. We had a big snowstorm in DC, so my car was parked for 4 days. When I finally HAD to go out (drive to my parents for Christmas), the side street my garage is on still had around an inch of slush. I got stuck less than ten feet from my garage. No combo of traction control/no traction control/clutch feathering, etc. made a difference. I even had three people pushing and it didn't help. We had to literally shovel the street.

Luckily I live only a couple blocks from the metro and everything I need is within walking distance, so I can get by without a car. But assuming I could drive in the snow, I wouldn't trust other people.

Power4 · Jan 14, 2010

I've driven my GT through 3 winters here in upstate NY, the first on the stock all-seasons even! They're pretty good in the snow especially with snow tires. The only annoying thing is some snow got on the seat mounts near the floor and they're starting to rust a bit.

I finally got a second car to take over most of the winter driving (Subaru Legacy GT) so the Mustang hasn't seen the road much this winter.

kooldawg6 · Jan 15, 2010

This is the fourth winter my Stang has seen! For the past three years, it has been my only car, so I don't have much choice. This is the first year it's been "snowed in"! Years past, we only get about 4" tops in each storm and few and far between at that, but about a month ago we got hit with 18" in a day and a half!

stangdude2000 said:
I'm in the boat of no space for a second car. If you guys thought the Mustangs were bad in the snow, they are incredible compared to my new M3. We had a big snowstorm in DC, so my car was parked for 4 days. When I finally HAD to go out (drive to my parents for Christmas), the side street my garage is on still had around an inch of slush. I got stuck less than ten feet from my garage. No combo of traction control/no traction control/clutch feathering, etc. made a difference. I even had three people pushing and it didn't help. We had to literally shovel the street.

Luckily I live only a couple blocks from the metro and everything I need is within walking distance, so I can get by without a car. But assuming I could drive in the snow, I wouldn't trust other people.

I hear ya, man! Mine sat from Friday night through Monday afternoon as we got 18" from that storm. That wasn't fun! Once I got my car out and there had been a few plow attempts, I drove around with little problems on the OEM 235/50-18 BFGs. Sucks to hear about your ultimate German driving machine! With the performance tires on there it is no surprise you couldn't get far!

slp352 · Jan 18, 2010

I bought my 2005 in September of 05, I have driven in every witner since on snow tires. I am actually on my second set. The only time I have had an issue is when the snow is higher then the bottom of the car, otherwise it drives like a tank. I do have more then one car but I don't think the 93 Notch would be better then the 05 by any means, not to mention it already has rust issues and no brakes.

DrSmith · Jan 18, 2010

Guys, I'm not going to do it. I was looking at my truck, it has all types of salt and grit all over it. I don't want my engine compartment full of all that. I'm going to keep the car as pristine as I can. The salt and chemicals here in Maine are rotting our cars to junk. My last truck was so rusty underneath, it was a wonder it stayed together. I admire and respect all of you who drive in this crap, I just can't do it. It has made me really and I mean really hate winter. My truck is helping out in that regard, but my mustang is my favorite car to drive, nothing comes close.
Thanks,
Doc

tr7driver · Jan 19, 2010

GOLDENPONY said:
I drive my '06 GT all year round - and we have snow here in Ohio. I have good winter tires. I didn't buy my car to just drive it in the summer. My car's even a 'vert.

Do you take your vert through the auto car wash? Brush type or brushless?

Wayne K · Jan 20, 2010

My 2010 GT is my daily driver and so far it has gotten me places on the all season tires it came with. It is not as good as a front drive but I just take it a little slower. It is bad news if you have to start out on a steep grade or going up a hill in slush or deep snow. I know winter tires would make a big difference but haven't decided to spend the coin for another set of wheels & tires.

NatDaBrat · Jan 20, 2010

My 2010 is a vert and I drive all year round. We usually get a lot of snow here in Ottawa but I don't care, i couldn't stand to have it parked, I want to drive it. I go through a good car wash almost weekly, but hey have different options and I just don't let them put that clearcoat or wax crap on it.
When we have gotten a real large dump, I ride with hubby and his F150, only because the Stang is so low that it bottoms out, but as soon as they clear the roads, I'm heading out for a cruise

NatDaBrat · Jan 20, 2010

Just to add, I didn't get snow tires and have the stock Pirelli P Zero Nero all Season tires. First snow fall was a bitch for traction so my husband put 2 bundles of shingles in the trunk and now she rides like a dream.

DarkFireGT · Jan 21, 2010

DrSmith said:
Guys, I'm not going to do it. I was looking at my truck, it has all types of salt and grit all over it. I don't want my engine compartment full of all that. I'm going to keep the car as pristine as I can. The salt and chemicals here in Maine are rotting our cars to junk. My last truck was so rusty underneath, it was a wonder it stayed together. I admire and respect all of you who drive in this crap, I just can't do it. It has made me really and I mean really hate winter. My truck is helping out in that regard, but my mustang is my favorite car to drive, nothing comes close.
Thanks,
Doc

Yup. It CAN be done. But if you have any option for driving something else, do it. Especially if you plan on modding. It's *fun* to mod when all the nuts and bolts are rusted/corroded together.

shelby69 · Feb 4, 2010

I will drive my 05 GT on nicer dry winter days in PA, but most of the time I am rolling an f150.

fallenauthority · Feb 4, 2010

I dont even bother to clear the snow off my stang when it snows, cause as long as the white stuff is on the ground they Mustang is staying parked. I just drive my 96 Explorer until it clears up. We are looking at up to 2 feet of snow here between tomorrow and saturday so it looks like the Stang will be parked even longer I miss it. If it was my only vehicle I would drive it, back when I only had my Talon(400whp) I drove that through 6" of snow cause I had to. But since I have a truck im rockin that to keep the Mustang away from harm.

question on winter driving

DrSmith

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My rearend needs a stud and two nuts.

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Playing with my wife's really makes me want one.

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