altima and snow

[dobiew2]

hi all... i bought an altima for my daughter this summer. we got snow today and she told me that the altima is really slipping in the snow.. is that typical for this car? should we get 4 new tires? the tires she has have good tread but if she is slipping in the snow then maybe she needs new ones.. thanks in advance

[dobiew2]

oh it is a 1995

[drummerlax628]

I have a 97, and its the same basic car, and it drives pretty well in the snow, the tires are good but not great.. So i'm not sure what to tell you. Is your daughter and experienced snow driver? if not that could be my only answer

[dobiew2]

Originally Posted by drummerlax628

I have a 97, and its the same basic car, and it drives pretty well in the snow, the tires are good but not great.. So i'm not sure what to tell you. Is your daughter and experienced snow driver? if not that could be my only answer

well i thought she was a good driver in the snow..maybe she isn't :/.. she used to have a corsica and drove that car with no problems in the snow.. with this one she is telling me she is sliding thru intersections.. she just bought 4 snow tires and says it is a bit better.. but still not as good as the corsica......

[sley357]

i live in wisconsin and i have a 94 and at first it would slip and slide.changed brakes and tires and no problems yet.

[arielvtpma]

Originally Posted by dobiew2

well i thought she was a good driver in the snow..maybe she isn't :/.. she used to have a corsica and drove that car with no problems in the snow.. with this one she is telling me she is sliding thru intersections.. she just bought 4 snow tires and says it is a bit better.. but still not as good as the corsica......

Maybe it is the brake ... go check it

[SteveZ]

Originally Posted by arielvtpma

Maybe it is the brake ... go check it

I have 7 winters on my Alty, got a second set of wheels and dedicated snows (Hankook studless currently), the Alty has a lot of torque and hp for a car its size. She may just be finding its easy to spin the tires due to that alone.

I live in NW CT and goe through this ritual every season, off with the summer tires (Kuhmo) and on with the Winter tires. With dedicated snows the car is phenomenal and has taken me through the worst winter garbage. There is no substitute for dedicated snows - but don't go out and buy Blizzaks or some expensive tire, there are tons of good deals to be had on many other brands for less money.

One caution - the body design around the front and rear is prone to damage from ice chunks or other fun hidden snow hazards - a rally car it us not, it is easy to dent or break the front or rear bumper area from underneath if you drive in ruts or run over stuff in deep snow.

Because the torque band for the KA engine is so wide, the good news is that with good tires you can pull very low RPM's and ease your way from a stop, it does great. Tires I've had that did very poorly in the snow on this car include the OEM Dunlop and OEM Goodyears, plus the Continental Conti Contacts - great 3 season tire but don't use it in the snow.

Steve

http://homepage.mac.com/stracy01/PhotoAlbum2.html

[SteveZ]

Here's the follow-up pics of the wintertime setup - not nearly so fun to drive as the plus-one setup, but the snow traction of the Kuhmos was "N/A"...
http://homepage.mac.com/stracy01/PhotoAlbum43.html

The other page is linked at the top (summer pics)

[Paul Gaczynski]

I have a 97 Altima (5spd) and it handels prety good in the snow, maybe she is used to the corsicas heavier weight and less power then the altima. Have you tried driving her Altima in the snow?

[SteveZ]

Sorry, my link above has changed:
http://homepage.mac.com/stracy01/Auto/PhotoAlbum43.html

My Alty handles great in the snow!

[SteveZ]

BTW, I am now entering 10th Winter with this car, I use my truck when the snow is not plowed and very deep, but the Alty is still going strong - 112k miles, no problems, no oil burn, the car is as strong as ever

Corsica? Give me a break!

[Ezekiel85]

One thing I would suggest is to check the throttle cable. Some of them can be a little on the tight side which will give you a jumpy start and spin the tires. For slippery weather, I'd recommend to loosen it a bit more than you would for dry conditions.

[Xx3Alti3xX]

I have a 95 Alti. I had 18 in. rims and took them off for the winter. I put on stock rims with some cheap Kumho snow tires and it handles great, have no problems.

[hawkeye1956]

Tire selection will make a big difference here. First, the altima has 2 options for tire size; 195/65 - 15 or 205/60 - 15..
The 195s will do better in the snow but I keep the 205's on my car because I enjoy the slightly better handling in normal conditions. I also have an 80,000 mile tire on my car because I put a lot of miles on and wanted something that lasts. The problem with long life tires is that they are made from harder rubber compounds which doesnt make them the best for handling in snow. Guess I cant have my cake and eat it too.

So, for optimum handling in snow, I would stay with the 195s and select a tire with good snow handling ratings. Tirerack.com is a good place to evaluate characterstics of specific tires. Good luck!!

[dobiew2]

Originally Posted by hawkeye1956

Tire selection will make a big difference here. First, the altima has 2 options for tire size; 195/65 - 15 or 205/60 - 15..
The 195s will do better in the snow but I keep the 205's on my car because I enjoy the slightly better handling in normal conditions. I also have an 80,000 mile tire on my car because I put a lot of miles on and wanted something that lasts. The problem with long life tires is that they are made from harder rubber compounds which doesnt make them the best for handling in snow. Guess I cant have my cake and eat it too.

So, for optimum handling in snow, I would stay with the 195s and select a tire with good snow handling ratings. Tirerack.com is a good place to evaluate characterstics of specific tires. Good luck!!

thanks! i did try her car out and it does handle poorly~ so the winter tires are a must have , I guess~
and although that corsica was a piece o junk ( ended up going on fire!!!) it did handle really well in the snow~