240s in bad weather (Chicago)

[KiDyNomiTe]

OK I live in Chicago and the weather can go from perfect to all out hell. I was wondering those of you who live in Chicago or a place with weather as bad as Chicago and drive thier cars in heavy snow, rain, and ice, how you handle it. Do you just drive very slow or do the 240s handle decently in the bad weather, If you have any tips for safe driving please post.

[my240likenoother]

it all depndes on how you drive the car depends on what kind of tires you have shit like that makes a big difference
in rain its not bad unless you have baled tiers or have pradas like i do
the snow &nbsp;<img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt='???'> &nbsp;i have no clue my car has never seen the snow and never will <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/notify.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':notify:'>

[ca18guy]

If the road your driving on has no salt or no tracks of other cars to follow, your gonna be driving sideways! Simple as that.

[KiDyNomiTe]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (ca18guy @ Mar. 15 2002,5:34)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">If the road your driving on has no salt or no tracks of other cars to follow, your gonna be driving sideways! Simple as that.</td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>
hmm drifting practice

[96SEChick]

My first encounter w/ my 240 in snow--I had BALD rear tires! &nbsp;I couldn't accelerate, brake, turn, shift, nothing. &nbsp;It was soooo scary! &nbsp;The last time it snowed, we got like 8 inches, so my car didn't move. &nbsp;My front lip would have been buried &nbsp; lol

[SimpleS14]

Usually when it rains, depending on how hard I step on the gas, I get a litte tire spin at the traffic when it turns green. &nbsp;So far it has snow once since I got my car and I realize how bad RWD can be in the snow. &nbsp;I was going up a hill that wasn't salted nor sanded yet and tire tracks from other cars were being covered up by falling snow. &nbsp;My car was stuck and everytime I stepped on the gas, my car who feel like it was trying to do a 360 without the help of steering. &nbsp;But to get out of this I had the turn my steering wheel to the far right as possible and make sure that cars would pass me rather then stop and laugh. &nbsp;Anyways by doing this my car start to move kinda sideways to the right until I was able to get some traction.

Next time I'll give some snow tires so this won't happen again &nbsp;<img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sly.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':sly:'>

[Natty]

Oh god. I'm scared.
I still have yet to drive in the snow since I just got the 240, but we don't get much in TN. I willl be in the "hilly" parts of TN for college next year, but we get maybe 2 inches of snow at a &nbsp;time, for maybe 15 days a year. So I won't do snow tires, but I will make sure I have lots of tread. I know that it is tricky in even moderate snow if your used to FWD VW's.
Jeff &nbsp;<img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/blush.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':blush:'>

[Tricky1980]

Its not that bad driving a 240 in bad weather... stopping is the hard part.. not going or turning or anything.. ive never had a problem in rain, or downpours except for Big puddles... i have only had ONE problem while driving in the snow and that was trying to go up oh i say like 10-12degree incline and i hit the 8in snow in the middle and it pulled the fron of the car sideways but i continued up the hill.. i have a 95 with some michellin all season types, oh this is in iowa too so im just across the state from you...

[Tuck&Poke]

tires make a huge diff. &nbsp;if you got snow tires your pretty good just dont do anything stupid. &nbsp;also if you dont have a lsd its gonna be alot harder. &nbsp;an lsd is a must for snow or your gonna have a hard time. &nbsp;im a lucky it doesnt snow around here but it rains like crazy in the summer. &nbsp;its not too hard to drive in the rain. &nbsp;again you have to drive according to the conditions. &nbsp;if you start going 90mph your going to crash and/or loose control. like i said just dont do anything stupid and your ok

[DuffMan]

My 240 made it through this winter in Chicago, but the credit for that mostly to my snow tires. To put it in perspecitive, my car with snow tires handles better in snow than any vehicle I've ever driven in snow. Granted I havent driven a lot of cars in snow, but I still think that it was impressive. When you have good tires in snow, RWD is actually an advantage, because when you give it too much gas, you can still correct the oversteer because your front wheels will have traction. If you spin your front wheels in a FWD, you dont have any control of anything. Also more even weight distrobution gives you better braking and cornering in snow.

When we had a big snow storm and there were 4 inches of fresh, unplowed snow I was doing a better job of keeping traction than a 2wd truck that had a plow on it.

On the other hand, the first time it snowed this winter, i had some semi-sporty all season tires that were worn down. Trying to drive in just a bit of powery stuff was rediculous with these tires.

So to sum up, if you want to drive your car in snow, you have 2 choices. Either drive reeeaaallly slow, or get some good snow tires.

[Gorath]

Here in Buffalo we didnt get that much snow in this last month or two compared to what we are use to, i just got my car, and i have semi sporty tires. &nbsp;They handled fine for me except braking. &nbsp;As others have said as long as you drive slow you should be fine or you can get snow tires. &nbsp;One tip, I dont know what area you live in, but I live in the suburbs, I go out and take the car around a block or two on non busy streets to get the feel for how well you can brake and turn. &nbsp;Also, I know it is not good to do but starting in second instead of first has helped me.

[DSC]

Snow is a great test of control and smooth imputs...I like it <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'> As long as its not over 4" its a lot of fun. &nbsp;Any little messup would make you lose traction so downshifting without heal-toe would cause you to slide. &nbsp;I think I learned a lot about driving with just 2 days of snow/ice covered streets...I can definately drive better (safer and faster) in rain now.

[S13Grl]

I actually had a lot of fun this winter with my car. I think the LSD helped some (I didn't go sideways as much as my boyfriend did in his open-diff S14, my car would straighten out within seconds). It was fun... leaving from a dead stop wasn't as much fun... if I tried leaving out of first, that is. Blah. All in all, it's fairly easy. I think most people make it sound more complicated than it really is.

well for winter driving, where i live we can get 2 feet or more over nite, most of the streets dont get plowed by the time you have get up and goto school or work and my s14 wasnt too bad in the snow, with summer tires on it wasnt the safest ive felt, but after putting snow tires on i didnt have any real problems except for driving say 55 around corners that should have been taken at 40, didnt wreck the car doing that, but i would start to drift and correct, anyways, i didnt have trouble going up any of the hills, i could make it up ones that fwd cars would not make it up, just drive reasonable, and get snow tires...one bad thing to do is put sand bags(anything for weight) in the back of the car because when you start to go sideways there is going to be more momentum caused by the extra weight...

[RearWheel]

Get a crappy truck for those days of bad weather. That's what I have. It's an 87 Nissan pickup. Get's me through anything, especially snow. Sometimes it's even fun to just drive over bumps without worrying about scratching like a normal car....haha

[Fuzzy Ewok]

I live in Nebraska, and though we had a mild winter, we've still gotten some pretty good snow/ice storms. &nbsp;Here's what I've learned from my experiences...

If you can afford it, get an old FWD beater or something for bad days. &nbsp;Or even better, have your friends drive you around like do! &nbsp;muahaha &nbsp;But sometimes that's annoying since you have to be a bit dependent for a day or two.

Tires make a huge difference. &nbsp;Get some good all-weather tires or even snow tires to start with, if you plan on driving in the snow. &nbsp;Try not to go out in anything over 6 inches, especially if you think you'll be driving through freshly fallen snow that hasn't been plowed or had tracks made in it.

Sandbags make a huge difference as well. &nbsp;I've tested my car out with 0 lbs, 120 lbs, and 180 lbs, and 240 lbs. &nbsp;I won't even bother going out without at least 120 lbs in my trunk if there's some snow. &nbsp;180 lbs is good, but 240 is even better...with 240 lbs back there, I got tons more traction than with 180lbs...dunno what it is, but I've talk to a lot of my friends about this, and adding a fourth sandbag seems to really help. &nbsp;I guess it just gets you to that point where you're putting enough weight over the wheels to help them grip.

And yes, like others have said, just be careful and don't do anything stupid. &nbsp;Try not to stop on hills...even with a loaded trunk, you'll have problems going again. &nbsp;Don't go blazing down the streets at 50 mph, give the other cars tons of room, etc etc.

240's aren't meant for snow, and I try my best to not drive mine if it seems slick out. &nbsp;I've got some great friends/roomies who can help out, though, so that's a very good thing. &nbsp;But, I've tested the car, and I know it can handle snow alright if you've got it setup to drive in the snow and are careful.

[240 2NR]

Just get good snow tires and keep the gas tank full and you'll have no trouble in the winter. &nbsp;I had my snow tires on for all but one snow fall. &nbsp;By far, my 240 with arctic alpins was the easiest car i've ever driven in snow (even compared to a fwd honda accord with old school big tread block snow tires). &nbsp;Especially on ice and fresh deep snow. &nbsp;I could still get it to slide, but I was never nervous cause i knew it would be easy to catch and I think made it easier.

I had one very minimal snowfall I had to drive the five miles home from work in on H rated all seasons. &nbsp;It was down right scary. &nbsp;For tires that work so well in wet and pretty well on dry they downright sucked on snow. &nbsp; We're talking .25". &nbsp;They just truned into hockey pucks and got no grip at all. &nbsp;The lightest addition of throttle around a corner slid the back end out 3'. &nbsp;I'm forever sold on snow tires.

As for sand bags, in a FWD car don't do it (drive wheels up front so you are taking weight off them). &nbsp;In our 240's I would maybe keep one to get the weight dist. closer to 50/50 and have some sand if I ever got stuck on some ice (or if a moving van was stuck on a road two miles from my house at one in the morning and they needed my help). &nbsp;Otherwise, that which helps you go faster makes it harder to stop and corner. &nbsp;Its the misconception that SUV's are safer cause they can accelerate so quick. &nbsp;Well, they still suck as bad at stopping and turning as our one wheel drive open diff 240's with the same tires.

[gman240]

With what snow we had up in boston this year I have done okay. at times may not be able to pull above 25 and stay in 2nd gear but overall take it easy and drive with the conditions you'll be fine. I still can pull it out to 75 in the rain and do fine on highways without loss of control so the car does seem to be well balanced enough