Snow Tires ?

This will be my 1st winter with my 1996 Geo Metro. I am wondering how these great little cars handle in the snow? And if I should consider putting snow tires on it? I can drive - in the snow - but live about 2 miles up a very steep hill and just want to know if I should plan to leave it in the driveway or give it a go?
Thanks.

I tried driving my '96 hatchback in the snow/slush with summer tires. It was ugly. Too many problems starting/accelerating on an upslope.

I then put on Nordman snows (on all 4) and it made a HUGE difference in traction. Night and day.

-Mike

I live in Eastern Washington on a hilly street. Last winter was my first with my 95 Metro in the snow. Must admit, there were several instances when I got part way up my street and then slid backward to the bottom. Had to leave it parked down the street a couple of times. This year, I found a set of factory reconditioned wheels and barely used studded snow tires at a local salvage yard. Set me back all of $140 for them. I plan on mounting them when we get our first snow. Don't think I'll be having a recurrence of my traction problems.

Mike

I live in Spokane, WA. I drove one early winter w/o snow tires and
slid thru a blind intersection on pure window clear ice. I'm lucky
to be here writing this message....

I had studded snows on the next day! Unstudded tires slide on
clear ice - studded tires dig into the ice. NO QUESTION.

I WILL NOT DRIVE in winter w/o studs! That is a good way to get
killed. People get rather argumentative about this subject.
Let THEM get in an accident! I'll take studs every time!

My '93 Metro was bought this summer. I bought 4 wheels and 4 new
studded tires at Discount Tire. They go on the first sign of snow!

I can have them on in 15 minutes!

It is worth it to buy 4 wheels ($60) and have the snow tires mounted
and ready to go at a moments notice. Buy a floor jack for $30.
IT IS WORTH IT!

So there! My two cents worth!

DoctorBill

Hey Dr. Bill, I live in Spokane too! I bought my 95 Metro in Oct. 2000 with 48K miles on it in LA. So, its always been a warm-weather car until last November.

Funny thing is, in LA, I got about 35 mpg in town. When I moved to Spokane, my mileage went up significantly (42-48 mpg). I think the racing tyhat LA commuters do was part of the reason. The other thing was I always used Castrol 20w50 in all my cars. Then I learned that the specs call for 5w30. I changed to that weight last winter and mileage increased.

Bottom line: the car runs great, gets super mileage and I love it. Sure, it's no chick magnet. But at age 43, with a wife and four kids, I ain't looking to attract chicks. Besides, if I was, I'd no doubt land in divorce court and lose half of everything I have. ;-)

I am thinking Nokian Hakkapeliitta "SNOW TIRES". Anyone ever try them?

Dr. Bill - where did you find your rims?
Thanks

Just found some 13" wheels for Metro's on ebay -
Used $25/ea + $20 shipping = NOT
New $35/ea + $20 shipping = NOT
times 4 = $180. BIG KNOT

When looking for wheels - anyone know the bolt pattern? Or if any other makes/models will fit a 96 Geo Metro 2dr HB??

My '93 Metro was bought this summer. I bought 4 wheels and 4 new
studded tires at Discount Tire. They go on the first sign of snow!

I can have them on in 15 minutes!

It is worth it to buy 4 wheels ($60) and have the snow tires mounted
and ready to go at a moments notice. Buy a floor jack for $30.
IT IS WORTH IT!

So there! My two cents worth!

DoctorBill

I guess I will never know where Dr. Bill found 4 wheels for $60. Can't PM him, it is not turned ON, can't email him (also OFF).

I live just north of Toronto (that's in Canada, eh), I drive a 99' 3 cyl std metro. I am not saying you shouldn't get snow tires but I haven't needed them for the past 2 winters, and I spend alot of time on hilly back roads. Mind you I am not an idiot who insists on going 10 over the speed limit in the dead of winter either....

Hey Gumby! Sorry...I just today went back to this thread!
My PM is working...

I bought my rims at Whitey's Wrecking in Spokane for $15 each...!
About 4 blocks East of Market on Francis across from the turnoff to the
Animal Shelter. Damned good place to get parts from!
Whitey's, not the Animal Shelter.....!

I did not have trouble finding wheels for the '93 Metro.

BUT - some advice! Twelve inch tires are More Expensive than 13 inch tires!

So - why not try to find 13 inch rims that have the Metro Bolt Pattern and
go to 13 inch tires that cost HALF AS MUCH as 12 inch tires....

I buy at Discount Tire. But EVERYONE gives you the story that 12 inch tires
cost more "...'cause they don't make 12 inch tires much anymore..." Feces!

You'd save big bucks by buying 13 inch rims and then 13 inch STUDDED snow
tires.

Problem is - the '93 Metro has such a light front end that any snow -especially slush, throws it all over the road!

Mine is very very scarry to drive in the slush! Unsteerable!

Came around a curve on my country road (Hwy 27) and there was a section
of uncleared slush! I was nearly pulled into oncoming traffic! Then sometimes
if you hit slush on the right side, it will pull you off into the ditch!

A light car is dangerous! Even rain on the road pulls my Geo Metro to one side or the other!

On clear summer roads - I absolutely LOVE driving my '93 Metro 3 cyl,
5 speed manual! Like some little sports car!

It sits in the driveway now waiting for Spokane to turn decent weather so
I can find out why it won't run..... Fuel Pump, methinks.

DoctorBill (Still alive. Knock on wood....)

Dr. Bill...there you are - I was worried sick about you. <smiling> just something my BIF (brain injured friend) says to me.

Enuff bout me...Back to the thread. If I could find rims for $15 I would jump ALL over them. fyi- the 96 Metro comes stock with 13's. I did put 4 Nokian Hakkapeliitta snows on it and felt it helped 1000 percent. However being so low to the ground, I did have trouble when we had a significant snowfall. But being front wheel drive with the snow tires helped a bunch. Now it's time to get them OFF & the need has surfaced again.

Now I am the proud owner of a 95 Tracker :grinyes:(after searching ALL winter) so I am looking forward to trying that in the snow. As soon as I can figure out how to make a picture small enuff to post (80k) to the Gallery, I will post a pic. I know the little bugger climes the rocky ATV or walking trails I have found in our (east coast) version of mountains. Next I will be searching for a snowplow for the Tracker but that is another thread.

Gumby_CT

Look in your phone book for wrecking yards and call to ask if they have Geo Metro rims for your year.
Out here in Eastern Washington, they are $15 at a local foreign auto wrecking yard.
Or find some "Pull-n-Save" places and walk thru them and look for rims for your vehicles!

Pull a rim off of your vehicle - Cut a cardboard (like on back of yellow paper writing tablets) into a circle
that will fit in the rim's center and use a soft pencil to COPY the hole pattern.

Then take it with you to find the appropriate rims at wrecking yards!
- - - - - - - - - - -
As to using your Geo tracker for snow plowing - are you nuts…!?

I'd go buy an older 4 WD, 4 liter, straight six Jeep Cherokee for around $500 and use THAT up to plow snow.

Heavier, more raw power and a transmission built for such stuff. They are a dime a dozen around these parts.....

Not a beautiful Geo Tracker with a 1.6 liter engine! Such a terrible waste.....

NOW........

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http://shareware.com/
You can do MANY MANY things with this software. If you like it, you can
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http://www.nonags.com/
http://freewarehome.com/
http://www.tucows.com/
All have Freeware and Shareware. Shareware is 'trial versions' you eventually
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Then go to
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and 'Register' by entering a working E-mail address - I used a Hotmail address.
Then you can upload all the images you want and enter their 'address' in this and
other forums w/o loading them down with KB's of data.

Try it.

DoctorBill

PS - The snow tire poll does not ask if one lives where there is snow on the ground!
I bet a lot of people will answer "no" and never have to contend with long term snow and ice
on the roads...! Polls are tricky to submit. I teach College and you'd be very amazed
at how people interpret questions. Unbelievable misunderstandings.....

This is more of a snow related than tire related. We got almost a foot of snow in Edmonton on Saturday, and I had somewhere to go, so I braved it. That somewhere took me down country gravel roads. I never would have made it if there weren't tracks in the soft powder on the road ahead of me. The low height of my metro had me litterally plowing the road with my undercarriage, I had to keep it over 60 (37 mph) to keep from sinking and getting stuck, and under 70 (44mph) to keep from sliding off the road. When I left the next day and got on the highway, there was alot of vibration in the car. I popped the hood, and low and behold, snow up over the control arms and surrounding the tie rods. I knocked it out and was good to go.

My little metro gets stuck easily, but it sure can haul when it needs to.

Snow tires are a good idea, but they can be compensated for by being cautious and allowing lots of room to stop. Never had a problem in 100,000 km (60k miles).

Jai