so is poor winter driving typical?

OK, this is in regards to the front wheel drive question from before... The whole reason my friend wondered if her car was possilby rear wheel was bcuz she has a hard time getting any grip on the road in the snow. I said it could actually be due to the wide tires on the grand am - which is great for other reasons - but no good in this case since you'll get a much better grip with a narrower tire. Essentially, we just want to know if this is typical for the grand am in the snow, or if something may need replacing like the front struts? I'm guessing the 1st choice since there aren't too many miles on this 2004?

They do better than most rear wheel drives. Ask the Firebird guys how thier cars do in the snow :lol:

But most FWD cars do get around better. Big or bald tires realy suck in wet or snow. Snow tires or a good all season tire is about all you can do to improve traction.

If you are up in the snow country the very best and safest thing to do is mount four snow tires on next winter. Snow tires on the front give you traction for going ahead and also for steering. Snow tires on the rear keep the back end strait and stop it from sliding around sideways also helps for braking. Once you try that set up you will be so impressed that you will never go back to all weathers in the winter. Can also buy four cheap rims to mount them and easy to change when needed. No kidding, its a good driving experience................

If your friend has the original Goodyear tires on it, that could also be the cause of the poor traction. Those tires do very bad in snow. After i replaced them it made a huge difference in the driveability in the snow. You can check www.Tirerack.com (http://www.Tirerack.com) to check the rating on tires and prices.

That's a good question, I'll ask her if these are the original goodyears. And I'll definitely suggest the winter tires to her, and even consider it myself, which I really should've done back when I drove mustangs! But I have fun in winter driving anyways - I love the extra challenge. Thanks.

I live in northern canada 9 months out of the year we have snow and ice covered roads, i have a set of uniroyal tiger paw all reason tires, they perform pretty well in the winter here, im also used to the roads and have faith in my car and feel comfortable taking a corner going 70 on ice, once and a while ill slip but youve gotta know and feel comfortable with the tires on your vehicle i went out this year and bought some goodyear xice tires which are some of the best winter tires ive tried, for the conditions up here getting as low as -40 they did pretty good, but in the summer i dont like them, when there set at 35psi i dont like the feel of them on the road, but its up to you. Winter tires dont hurt.

mnKISSgirl, just tell your friend to check out the Tirerack, and find herself a good tire for the conditions she has where she lives.
Either with the spare rim/tires or the all seasons, has to be better than the stock Good Years that come on GA's.