AWD vs. FWD ... in snow | Page 3 | GTAMotorcycle.com

AWD vs. FWD ... in snow

I used to keep salt bags in the rwd trunk. Then I read it's actually a bad idea to load up the rear. It improves traction, but if you lose traction the weight makes it harder to control the slide.

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Best thing to put in the back of your RWD pickup truck in the winter is a snowmobile.
 
I have never bother with extra weight or found it needed and it will make things worse in a slide or accident.

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You must be doing something wrong, the extra weight is suppose to prevent you from going into a slide and being in an accident ;)

Have to tell you this one: I was traveling west bound where the elevated portion of gardner expressway ends, fella ahead of me lost it on ice covered road, he's now face to face with me so he lets go of the steering wheel and covers his eyes! Hits middle barrier which somehow spins him around so he decides to try steering for a while (he's now visibly laughing and appears to be having a great old time) :/ loses it again and deflects off the right hand barrier (lets go of wheel to covers his eyes again) I take the opportunity to pass on the left and get the heck out of there!
 
Both are satisfactory in the GTA. You will have a few days a year when you're caught before roads are plowed -- AWD or 4WD will give you a small advantage. Remember the 4wd/AWD is mostly about the go, most accidents are about the stop -- and all vehicles are 4ws. The best investment you can make is to study, practice and learn how to drive in the snow. That and 4 snow tires is the best bang for the buck.
 
My FWD GTI was fine in the snow.

My AWD STi is fun in the snow.
 
I have a Subaru Outback and love the AWD. This is my first car with it, always had FW drive. I have only had one car with winter tires and while there was a noticeable difference I have never had issues with all seasons. I currently have all seasons on my Outback with no plan on changing that. I am amazed at how the Outback just blows through everything without issue. I have purposely stopped on steep streets and then given gas and the car just pulls its way up it. One poster mentioned all seasons on an AWD in the snow made it feel like a RWD vehicle, that is not my experience at all. I have driven a few RWD vehicles in the snow and it can be a nightmare, I do not find it even close to comparable.

Personally I do not think I will buy another car that does not have AWD, I am that impressed with it. For city driving though it is not really that necessary I have never been in anything I could not get myself out of with any previous cars that were FWD. A lot of it has to do with the driver.
 
Thank you all for your inputs and sharing your experience.

My wife decided on a FWD Hyundai Kona with invoice price, and I'm trading in my FRS (no more RWD). I'll be picking up winter tires and steelies soon.
 
I have a Subaru Outback and love the AWD. This is my first car with it, always had FW drive. I have only had one car with winter tires and while there was a noticeable difference I have never had issues with all seasons. I currently have all seasons on my Outback with no plan on changing that. I am amazed at how the Outback just blows through everything without issue. I have purposely stopped on steep streets and then given gas and the car just pulls its way up it. One poster mentioned all seasons on an AWD in the snow made it feel like a RWD vehicle, that is not my experience at all. I have driven a few RWD vehicles in the snow and it can be a nightmare, I do not find it even close to comparable.

Personally I do not think I will buy another car that does not have AWD, I am that impressed with it. For city driving though it is not really that necessary I have never been in anything I could not get myself out of with any previous cars that were FWD. A lot of it has to do with the driver.

+1.

I have the Impreza though I do run snows in the Winter. I've tried to get myself stuck and never any issue getting out... (Slid myself sideways into 1.5-2ft of snow, came to a complete stop, and had 0 issue getting out without any pre-flattened tracks).

I did also notice that you have a lot more control over/around streetcar tracks...
 
+1.

I have the Impreza though I do run snows in the Winter. I've tried to get myself stuck and never any issue getting out... (Slid myself sideways into 1.5-2ft of snow, came to a complete stop, and had 0 issue getting out without any pre-flattened tracks).

I did also notice that you have a lot more control over/around streetcar tracks...

I can only imagine how much better it would be with snow tires but not interested in dropping the money for winter tires when I have never had a real need for them.
 
I can only imagine how much better it would be with snow tires but not interested in dropping the money for winter tires when I have never had a real need for them.

Normally winter tires don't cost me much money. I go through a couple sets of summer tires and a couple sets of winters on a typical car. If I wasn't buying winters, I'd need to buy more all seasons. It still costs something as we have two sets of rims and have to store them, but the total cost is damned low over the life of the car (and we get an insurance discount for them so they it may actually cost me nothing).
 
Normally winter tires don't cost me much money. I go through a couple sets of summer tires and a couple sets of winters on a typical car. If I wasn't buying winters, I'd need to buy more all seasons. It still costs something as we have two sets of rims and have to store them, but the total cost is damned low over the life of the car (and we get an insurance discount for them so they it may actually cost me nothing).

I get 10% off my insurance premium for running snow tires which saves me about $210/yr. The tires pretty much pay for themselves after 4 years + the safety aspect.
 
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Have used both. Both are pretty similar.

But I'm someone that likes to floor it on a green light during a snow storm with TC off and hit the e-brake to turn if it's clear.

.......unless I'm in a RAV4, I think that **** will flip if I try the latter.
 
Thank you all for your inputs and sharing your experience.

My wife decided on a FWD Hyundai Kona with invoice price, and I'm trading in my FRS (no more RWD). I'll be picking up winter tires and steelies soon.

Congrats on the Kona, it's a nice looking vehicle. Winter tires will make a world of difference.
 
Congrats on the Kona, it's a nice looking vehicle. Winter tires will make a world of difference.

Thanks! We originally was looking at the Nissan Kicks. the mid-level trim has pretty much everything standard for a price at $20k, but then the 1.6 litre versa engine just was a bit of work to get going. The Kona we got is 2.0, so we are happy to grab a vehicle that sits high, i don't have to bend down to strap the baby in, and pretty good on fuel. Picking it up this saturday :)
 
I get 10% off my insurance premium for running snow tires which saves me about $210/yr. The tires pretty much pay for themselves after 4 years + the safety aspect.

+ whatever it costs (for repairs) if you were to ever need to panic stop behind someone that is also panic braking but with winter tires.
 
I have an eight year old BMW 3-series RWD. I used to have dedicated winter tires for it, but when it came to replace the summer tires I went with UHP All-Seasons and ditched the snows. Why?

- I work from home so I no longer need to drive absolutely every day. I can afford to wait until the streets are plowed.
- The all-season tires I chose are of a new design, and are rated highly. Not all tires are created equal, you need to do research to find which ones are good. For anyone interested I chose Michelin A/S3+ which is classified as an Ultra-High Performance All Season. The UHP designation means that there is a summer bias but the R&D they put into the tire means that the snow performance is more than acceptable for plowed streets, light snow, slush and some icy conditions.
- The RWD car has a 50:50 weight distribution so it doesn't have a featherweight rear that will slide all over the place.

Cons to the car: it doesn't have a true Limited-Slip rear axle, but an "electronic" one that applies the brake to the slipping wheel rather than power. It is a cruddy compromise and I wish it had a proper LSD for even better traction.

If I had to drive every day I would get dedicated Winter tires, but as it is, I find the Michelin's to be better than expected. Technology marches on... All-Season tires are much better than they used to be (provided you don't cheap out), and that you recognize the limitations of the tires.
 
it doesn't have a true Limited-Slip rear axle, but an "electronic" one that applies the brake to the slipping wheel rather than power. It is a cruddy compromise and I wish it had a proper LSD for even better traction..

So you have an open diff with traction control...
 
I have an eight year old BMW 3-series RWD. I used to have dedicated winter tires for it, but when it came to replace the summer tires I went with UHP All-Seasons and ditched the snows. Why?

- I work from home so I no longer need to drive absolutely every day. I can afford to wait until the streets are plowed.
- The all-season tires I chose are of a new design, and are rated highly. Not all tires are created equal, you need to do research to find which ones are good. For anyone interested I chose Michelin A/S3+ which is classified as an Ultra-High Performance All Season. The UHP designation means that there is a summer bias but the R&D they put into the tire means that the snow performance is more than acceptable for plowed streets, light snow, slush and some icy conditions.
- The RWD car has a 50:50 weight distribution so it doesn't have a featherweight rear that will slide all over the place.

Cons to the car: it doesn't have a true Limited-Slip rear axle, but an "electronic" one that applies the brake to the slipping wheel rather than power. It is a cruddy compromise and I wish it had a proper LSD for even better traction.

If I had to drive every day I would get dedicated Winter tires, but as it is, I find the Michelin's to be better than expected. Technology marches on... All-Season tires are much better than they used to be (provided you don't cheap out), and that you recognize the limitations of the tires.
As a formula 1 fan, its pretty easy to predict which tire manufacturer will produce great consumer tires.
Michelin spanked Bridgestone in the early 2000's, and they still produce top ranking tires across all categories that wear better than the competition. Bridgestone has always been a "premium" brand, but they rarely rank top of the category (tirerack)

Pirelli will likely start to bring up the competition too following how great of a track day tire their Trofeo R's have become. Give it a few years for it to trickle down to average consumer tires. Likewise, if Hankook joins in a few years.

PS: Love the AS3+'s, I put those on the missus' car and they transformed her econobox, tremendous grip while providing excellent NVH levels in the cabin. New, they make wet roads feel barely more slippy than dry. Wearing like iron too.
 

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