Firebird + Winter

I have a 1997 v6 firebird and I live in North Dakota. Roads get really icy and snowy in the winter. I had my bird last winter but I didn't drive it much...caz it had high performance tires that were terrible on Ice and snow. I would get stuck in a like 2 inches of snow. So now I'm trying to decide if I should sell my car or just ger snow tired. I've been told snow tires will make it just as good as any car, but I'm skeptical. Is there in truth in that statement, or will it still suck in snow and ice. I really don't want to go in the ditch again.

No, thats comeplete bullshit. Any rearwheel drive car sucks ass in the snow, and, even though shes a v6, a performance car is even worse.

I say, though, dont sell her, just get a beater for another car. Buy like a $100 car and drive that, have your insurance taken off of your bird during the winter and put on the beater.

Yeah, pretty much any car will suck driving in the snow. Just RWD cars suck even more. It's not really a good reason to get rid of it though. Just try to hack it out during the winter.. in fact, try to improve your skills of driving in the snow. That's something everyone who deals with snowey winters should do.


I say, though, dont sell her, just get a beater for another car. Buy like a $100 car and drive that, have your insurance taken off of your bird during the winter and put on the beater.

I thought it was illegal to own a car without having insurance? At least, here in Florida I think. That's just what I've been told. Because when I was looking to buy a beater while I work on my car, I planned on dropping it off the insurance for the time being. But I was told that the only time it is legal to take your car off your insurance is when it's at the mechanics for an extended amount of time, and the shop has insurance to cover all vehicles under their care.

There is seasonal insurance settings for some companies. Here in Texas it's not too big of a deal to drop a car off the insurance list as long as you don't drive it around. I can't drop my car off the list as I am still doing payments on it, or the bank will have me for breakfast and repo the car in the same moment...

thats interesting about the florida insurance thing.. we have 8 GM's and only 4 are insured .. but thats canada haha

Yeah, it's bullcrap if you ask me. I mean, my car is completely paid off. If I decide not to drive it, then so be it. I don't see why I should have to continue to pay insurance if I'm not going to be driving it for a period of time. I can understand having to pay insurance on a car that you're still paying off.. but on a car that you own and would like to work on and not drive. I think I'm going to do some more research into this and see if it is in fact true. I've just had several friends and my parents tell me this.

I have run my firebird in the last 2 winters with BF Goodrich radials on without any problem.Thats in 100plus inches annually. I guess I"m used to running RWD so that might be a big difference. Reguardless, the key is to take it easy. I much preffer RWD to FWD in most instances here in the winter. But that might be a strange quirk for me. In NY you can own as many cars as you want and the only cars requierd to have insurance are ones registered with plates. They can be titled and not have ins. The catch to this is that local zoning codes in my town won't let you have any non plated cars in your property. So You either have to have them all insured to keep the plates or take them to another town for storage.

I have no idea about that, but as long as you dont drive the car, you dont need it insured

I know plenty of guys that drive LS1 F-Body's in winter.
All season tires and away they go. I guess they do fine as well.
Mine runs DR's on the rear right now, or summer performance tires. I had it across the street once when it was snowing, was working on the other car in the garage. Took me seriously 45 seconds to get the T/A across the street and into the garage. TCS on, and the light telling me I lost traction the entire time. :lol:

I ran mine in in the winter on the crap Remmington M&S tires it came with; drove it through a blizzard to unplowed Maine without a problem you just have to take it easy, I hear Blizzaks are great tires in the snow, and if anything you can just get some tire chains. Personaly; I recomend just getting a beatter for the winter so you dont mess up your paint with all that salt and sand they trow down. As for the insurance; here in NY you can just hand in the licencse plate and stop the insurance. Besides if you're not driving it what are you gonna get a ticket for "parked car without insurance?"

you kids today dont have a clue how to drive.!!!!
i had an 85 IROC with the factory 16's on it new in 1985. drove the dam thing every day in the winter, never got stuck. drove from a friends in conn. home to mass. in a blizard. never got stuck until i parked it and got plowed in. if i can drive an IROC and not have any problems then i guess maybe its your driving skills.
i grew up with rear wheel drive, 67 firebird 400 ho , in 73, never got stuck in the snow, its all amatter of learning how to drive.
we never had the advantage of front wheel drive when we grew up and we all lived threw it.
now that i've vented i'll give you a couple of hints to make your winter driving a little easier in your bird.
first of all studed snows will help, on all four wheels,drive traction and steering traction, go to the local hardware store and get an 80 lb bag of sand for the rear, put it in what you call your trunk, first lay a peace of plastic in trunk then put sand on top of it . now drop a small army shove or short handled spade in with it. now if you do get stuck you have a shovel and the sand to get yourself out.
technology is no substitute for experience! never owned a front wheel drive and never will.
drive like you have a raw egg on the gas pedal, dont hit it like your at indy. you dont have to put it away because of winter, unless you want to work on it.
slow down on slick,( Ice, snow, rain covered ) roads even front wheel drive or four wheel drive is not going to meen you wont get stuck. just meens when you do get stuck, you are really stuck, for the first time in our lives my wife and i are driveing 4 wheel drives in the winter, never needed it before. but with a 25 acre farm and a horse trailer to hall around it is a nessesity.
in over 30 years of driving in new england, and 5 years in tenn. i can count on one hand the amount of times i have gone off the road, slipping in the winter is natural and takes experience and time the longer you drive you will learn how to get off the pedal and when.

Just a note, most places won't sell you studded snows if you have abs. The reason is because they claim it interferes with the abs system for traction. I cannot say this for certain as I have never had abs on my cars.

I typed up this long as post about your post 84fiero, but I really dont want to get into an arguement. All I have to say is that in the snow, you do not have 100% control of your car. One sudden move could be fatal, no matter what car you drive.

I know that I love my car, and for a car that I love, I wont put it through the abuse of the salt, there is no way.

you kids today dont have a clue how to drive.!!!!

I take offense to that as I am 19 and drive in the snow and ice just fine on standard tires. And American winter's aint got shite on what we used to put up with in Siberia (where most cars are RWD and stick).

my post was not ment to offend anyone, just a statement of fact, you dont have the experance. a couple of winters is not enuf, rear wheel drive is not perfect and neather is front wheel drive, or four wheel drive. front wheel and four wheel drive just gives you a false sence of security and you will have a tendancy to drive even faster than the conditions allow. i vented.
if you dont want help in learning how to drive in the winter, dont ask.
i never mentioned anyone in particular, just younger drivers, whitch is what you were by the way you stated facts.
by the way chains are not recomended over 25 or 35mph.cant remember which.
i live in central maine and we got 4 ft of snow in one storm overnight winter before last, i drove a full size ford van rear wheel drive the next afternoon. you want to talk about bad rear wheel drive vehicle. we call them the one wheel drive wonders.
if the roads are that bad in the car or truck you drive turn around and go home!!!! simple dont put your life at risk. fuck the car unless its a classic or antique, they'll build anouther one tomorrow, your life is more valuable than geting to work or the store or what ever it is you have do.
nuff said!!!!!!!!

Firebird + Winter = Spin

Correct?

I first bought my Formula in the winter, brought it home and couldn't make it up the driveway, got about halfway, then started sliding sideways and down. Even with less than an inch of snow I could NOT move. It had performance tires on it though.

I'd say sell the Firebird, just cuz it's a V6, find an older Impreza or Camry w/ AWD for winter, and buy something w/ a 350 for the other seasons.

I have an 88, 5 on the floor. Coming from Australia I have NO experience on snow/ice roads. Was very fearful of driving this car during winter. Created great amusement at a paint shop when I went in sometime in November asking for a quote for a re-paint. They insisted I wait until after winter as I was sure to have not only a need to re-paint but would need extensive panel work also.
Went to my local tyre place and they equipt me with dedicated Blizzak snow tyres. I was more safe in my rear wheel drive, than my daughter in her front wheel drive. It absolutely stuck, I had to really tramp it to get into a slide or skid. I do think having a manual gives more control however.
A word of warning:- I nearly rattled all my teeth out of my head, and I think all the panels now need tighening. The tyres were a really rough ride.

the correct tires are the trick. if you have the experience, they will help 1000%.
but no matter what vehicle you drive, technology is no substitute for experience.
when headed up hill for example its a good idea to get a running start for instance. something anyone with rear wheel drive car of any brand with experience will tell you.
had a 77 LTD II that without a running start durring winter storms on any hills, wouldn't make it up a 5% grade, but with a running start had no problem passing front wheel drive sliding backwards down hills. get your momentum up before the hil, don't try to accelerate when going up hill, if anything once you loose traction get off the gas untill you feel the wheels start to grip again.
agressive wild country mud and snow tires on any car and you will be amazed at the traction difference!
anytime i buy a new vehicle, new to me. first snow of the season i take it to my local walmart and try to make it slide so i can see and feel how it reacts, if you dont you are asking for trouble on the road. you dont want the first time you loose control to be on the road. not knowing how a car reacts in a slide is not a good idea in the snow!
check the brakes see when you loose it, see just how much gas it takes to get you rolling, and to loose traction. try cornering at different speeds to see when you loose it. any experience ahead of time in an empty parking lot is better than learning on the road. remember technology is no substitute for experience!!!!!!!

The other thing to consider is what you expect about the life of your car. If it is a daily driver, then get some snow tires and practice driving very carefully at first, then very carefully according to your skill level. It has nothing to do with your age or miles driven. There is a close rel of mine who is 60+ years old, has lived in the snow belt all those years and cannot get a car (even with snow tires) up a hill. He can't make the connection between the car slowing down because it is spinning and the need to not press the throttle to speed up.

If your car is like mine, 25+ years old, no rust, you will want to put it up for the winter. I put it up as soon as the first flakes show up and it stays up until a good hard rain in the spring (to get the salt off the roads).

In NY, you cannot cancel/suspend insurance (liability) unless you first turn in the plates and get a receipt to show the insurance co. My '79 costs about $400 as an add-on to my regular policy. $34 a month is not bad, and that includes comprehensive. But that is because I'm an old gopher and I have an extremely clean record. No tickets for 25 years (only three in my lifetime - one for an expired inspection, one for drag racing and one for spinning tires) and no accidents ever.

When I was stationed in Texas, I had left my FB in a friend's dorm parking lot (about .5 miles from mine) and it snowed 8 inches overnight (Mind you, this was way northern Texoma part of Texas).

After about 10 frustrating minutes of attempting to get the baby out of it's parking slot, I scraped snow out from behind it, threw a couple of giant rocks that were in the courtyard into the "trunk" (yeah...right...if you can call it that...) and was able to barely back it out. Going forward proved a little less difficult with that nifty 2nd gear start button provided on my FB (I've only intermittently seen it on some V6's, never a V8, and never on a Camaro), but overall probably took me an hour to move it half a mile. From then on, I lock it up and catch a ride whenever the snow comes :)

Also, in most states, you can drop all insurance down to a minimum "storage" rate- it'll cover theft/vandalism, acts of nature and such, but an actual vehicle accident won't be covered at all. I do that every time I get deployed, and haven't had an issue with either my bank or the state's laws.

[QUOTE=tri-power]I have run my firebird in the last 2 winters with BF Goodrich radials on without any problem.Thats in 100plus inches annually. I guess I"m used to running RWD so that might be a big difference. Reguardless, the key is to take it easy. I much preffer RWD to FWD in most instances here in the winter. But that might be a strange quirk for me.

Couldn't agree more. Easy's the word, experience only makes it better. Though I have to admit, of 2 sets of cars FWD v. RWD the FWD set has a higher percentage of models that just work better in snow for most drivers today. However, after having owned several models in each set FWD v. RWD, I'd have to say that if you're a seasoned driver, there's no place that I would not take (within reason of course) a RWD car in the snow. Plan ahead, get decent tires, follow the rest of "snow rules" and you'll work just fine with the car in the winter. Perhaps a bit of prudence in deciding not to try to go out when only 4-wheel drive or snow-cats are running might help but I'm sure you've already figured that one out. :)

but no matter what vehicle you drive, technology is no substitute for experience.

But up where I live winter means thick satanic snow with ice on it :frown: , no experience will make my friend's camaro handle like my parents' sebring.

I have a 1997 v6 firebird and I live in North Dakota. Roads get really icy and snowy in the winter. I had my bird last winter but I didn't drive it much...caz it had high performance tires that were terrible on Ice and snow. I would get stuck in a like 2 inches of snow. So now I'm trying to decide if I should sell my car or just ger snow tired. I've been told snow tires will make it just as good as any car, but I'm skeptical. Is there in truth in that statement, or will it still suck in snow and ice. I really don't want to go in the ditch again.
Your car has too problems. #1 is your tires, the reason going into the ditch is because you can’t stop and FWD cars don’t stop any better then RWD cars. #2 is your diff, the reason your car is getting stuck your car has an open diff which makes it 1 wheel drive, FWD cars have the same problem I’ve had to push a Corolla out of my driveway because one front wheel was siting in a 2" deep ice rut.

In snow and ice FWD cars don’t handle better then RWD cars they handle differently, FWDs understeer, RWDs oversteer.

Get these tires (http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Bridgestone&tireModel=Blizzak+WS-50) and an LSD then find a parking lot to practice in and you will be fine.

Controlled skids are fun.:D

Hear is a good article about the difference that tires can make WINTER-TRACTION TEST: What Price Traction? (http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=4&article_id=3888&page_number=1)

http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=30&article_id=7666&page_number=1
http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=4&article_id=3292&page_number=1