Winter Driving

[samm5149]

I know this is kind-of a stupid question to sk because of all you people that live in canada.....but im going to ask it any way....how is the p5 in the winter? i only ask because im a florida boy....never really had to worry about it before but now i might be going up to VA and well..... it snows and ices up there..(uhm)

[Mazda P5 driver]

I know this is kind-of a stupid question to sk because of all you people that live in canada.....but im going to ask it any way....how is the p5 in the winter? i only ask because im a florida boy....never really had to worry about it before but now i might be going up to VA and well..... it snows and ices up there..(uhm)

I live in WA and we get snow but, imo, not enough for snow tires.

it's all about tires man. In VA, i'd prolly get dedicated snows.

last couple winters I ran proxes 4's and they ran great. went up untouched inclines with zero issues. I also didn't rail the gas. Drove with some sense. I watched a pickup fiashtail all over the place and I drove right past him with no issues of grip. siped proxes 4's were even better imo.

car does fine in any weather. just get good tires and drive with sense.

[nealric]

I drive my p5 as a ski mobile in colorado. I myself am a storm chaser. If I am in the mountains, it has probably snowed at least a foot in the last 24hours.

With a decent pair of winter tires (I run hankook w404s), the p5 is not bad at all. Its very predictible in a skid and has gotten through any blizzard I have encountered. It made over hoosier pass (at 11,500+ feet- I think the 2nd highest pass in colorado open all winter) in the worst storm of last season with no skidding or sliding. I passed tons of suvs that were pulled off to the side.


I ran proxes 4's and they ran great.

I dunno. I ran proxes4s once when I didnt have time to swap out for my snow tires here and thought I was going to die. I couldnt evnen get started on an icy 2 degree incline. They did ok in snow- in ice they were god awful.


Bottom line, for virginia you will be absoutely fine. If my p5 can get up loveland pass when its 10 below zero, with 50mph winds and has just opened to traffic after a 24'' storm- you will be more than fine.

Oh and BTW wanna buy some snow tires & rims? :D
My 15'' rims dont fit any more because of my wilwood big brakes.

[p5power]

i found out in my first two weeks with the p5 that it cannot handle the snow. Of course, I was coming from a car that was practically unstoppable in the snow, so i figured it was probably just the shock factor of not having all of that control. but then i spun out and crashed into a curb. messed my p5 up pretty good. that's when I decided to buy myself some blizzaks. now I actually look forward to the big snows... it's so much fun passing by all the suv's and waving.

keep in mind, this was with the stock tires, and those things start sliding if some guy spat on the road. IMO, getting dedicated snow tires is the way to go. 500 bucks in tires and some fugly hubcaps is totally worth it when you compare it to a 500 dollar deductable and 2 weeks without a car...

just my 2 cents.

[Apocalypso]

Stock tires? Ew. Blizzaks? No question. Best money spent on this car.

[2003newlyack]

same here, I drive to Vermont and all over New York in the winter for ski trips, and my blizzaks are amazing.. definitley worth every penny!

[patmaz]

i dont have a p5,but an es-gt 2003,i am from near montreal,and beleive me,we have winter here((pissed) )i have the last generation blizzak s on it,and i had many cars before this one,even a subaru 2.5 rs,and i love my protege,its predictable,really good balance,traction is amazing,easy to handle and catch back if drifting,its a fantastic car under any conditions,but like any other front wheel drive,you have to stay alert,and never go over your capacities....so yes its great....get great tires,learn how it reacts,and have fun....(of course its not a subaru,but its fun anyways)(shocked)

[G-Papi]

I agree that it's all about tires - but I'd add that it's about the driver as well.

Learn what your equipment will - and will not do, then refine your driving accordingly.

[samm5149]

Well thanks guys for all the input...



Oh and BTW wanna buy some snow tires & rims? :D
My 15'' rims dont fit any more because of my wilwood big brakes.

and it will be about another year.....if your wheels are still available then we'll get in touch....and the stock p5 wheels are 16" right?? would the 15" fit?
idk too much about wheels and tires...if its rubber and rolls its good for me..lol

[G-Papi]

Where in VA you moving to?

[Revs]

Its all about the tires. I used to have a Talon TSi AWD and I once got caught at the end of the winter with my summer tires (Kumho 712's) and even with the AWD I have NO traction even no a light dusting of snow. With good winters (Blizzak's) the car was unbeatable in the snow, I could plow snow. Same goes for any car, you need good winter tires if you don't want traction problems. A P5 is like any other car, its only as good as its tires.

[MyZmZm]

tires make all the difference... and yes, 15's easily fit on the P5 - i know that's what a lot of people use for their winter wheels. and i would HIGHLY recommend getting a separate set of rims for your winter tires; it makes the switch SO much easier with the seasons - and cheaper too overall.

i personally have heard too many not so good things about blizzaks that i will never buy them. the biggest cons are that if the temps are slightly warmer for any length, or you have to drive on dry pavement, they will wear out VERY quickly. top this with the fact that they are winter-rated compound only on the outer 1/2 of the tire, and why are you paying that kind of money for a 'winter' tire????? (i'm not sure which are the other ones, but there are several brands of winter tire that are also like this - a true winter only on the outer half of the tire)

i would highly, highly recommend the Nokian brand of tires - previously the hakkapelitta q's, but now the rsi's. a little harder to find, but SOOOOOO worth their weight in gold. these tires are simply amazing in any sort of winter driving conditions - dry or wet snow, ice, slush, dry pavement, you name it. they also will not wear out excessively fast if you drive around on dry pavement for 6 months of the year, and the temps are above average (to the point that having the winters on is almost ridiculous). i put my winters on in october, and this past winter wasn't really winter at all until march - we were hovering around freezing with next to no snow the entire time - and i had no excessive wear on the tires after this. it was my third winter on them (the previous one was unseasonably warm and dry too), and i still have at least 1-2 more winters on them. the only complaint is that if it is warmer out, they tend to get a little 'sloppy' in hard cornering... but what higher profile winter tire doesn't?? get them, you won't be sorry.

[MP5_509]

I live in WA and we get snow but, imo, not enough for snow tires.

it's all about tires man. In VA, i'd prolly get dedicated snows.

last couple winters I ran proxes 4's and they ran great. went up untouched inclines with zero issues. I also didn't rail the gas. Drove with some sense. I watched a pickup fiashtail all over the place and I drove right past him with no issues of grip. siped proxes 4's were even better imo.

car does fine in any weather. just get good tires and drive with sense.

i live east of the cascades and we get more snow than the west and i use a set of Blizzak WS-50 tires for snowboarding and the p5 handles awesomly. Its actually quite fun to drive in the snow i thought.

[pnfnj]

i love my p5 in the snow, and we get lots up here:bs: , but yeah snow tires make all the difference with this car, and if you havn't really driven in the snow that much, just remember that snow tires WILL NOT MAKE YOU STOP ANY BETTTER!!!!!!!!they are only going to help you get moving. i've been hit in the back twice by people that thought their snow tires helped when it comes to stopping.:bs:

[G-Papi]

Actually, they do help you stop, but to borrow from what I posted earlier,

"Learn what your equipment will - and will not do, then refine your driving accordingly."

As an example, I'm looking forward to learning how my car will corner and stop with it's higher center of gravity, once the goung gets snowy.

When it's ice - all bets are off.

[samm5149]

Where in VA you moving to?

well hopefully blacksburg.....VT!!!! but we'll see how that goes

[hex2bit]

Ah, another snow tire thread... in the middle of SUMMER :)

The stock tires suck in the winter. Tires make all the difference. I have the Dunlop Winter Sport M3's for winter. They handle very well for a snow tire, have not let me down in any amount of snow, and around average as far as snow tires on ice. They are basically one of the top winter tires that try to keep the feeling of a performance tire.

I suggest checking out some tire review sites... such as http://www.tirerack.com/ and http://1010tires.com/

[P5bob]

I put winter 14's, never had a problem...unless it's ice

[squig808]

I got the P5 in February this year. FYI Edmonton is considered subarctic climate (53 degrees N). I knew it had Kumho 711's, but so far was a pretty "dry" winter.
Well to be honest the car was scary at best once the snow started to fly. I didn't even back it out of the garage for days at a time until the plows would clear the main roads. Didn't even consider highway driving. I test drove a few with the Dunlop's in January and they weren't that great either. Be careful if you and the tires are out of your element.

Proper tires will fix this. I had Blizzaks on my old Accord and can't say enough. I'm considering a standard winter radial that can be studded. My old man has studded winter's for his TSX and it rips.

[nek0]

I know this thread is old but was searching around for winter tires/rims.

I'll be moving to New Hampshire where snow is pretty common & was wondering if it's better to get the 15" steel radial package from Tire Rack or stick with my stock 16" & get snow tires installed? I have about two months before I move & in Seattle it's just always drizzle/wet. But my stock tires need to be changed real soon.

Any recommendation? Would the 15" also reduce a lot of road noise? I honestly don't care about cornering, etc, just want to be safe & have good traction without spending $$$$$

[thrasher]

I know this thread is old but was searching around for winter tires/rims.

I'll be moving to New Hampshire where snow is pretty common & was wondering if it's better to get the 15" steel radial package from Tire Rack or stick with my stock 16" & get snow tires installed? I have about two months before I move & in Seattle it's just always drizzle/wet. But my stock tires need to be changed real soon.

Any recommendation? Would the 15" also reduce a lot of road noise? I honestly don't care about cornering, etc, just want to be safe & have good traction without spending $$$$$

I'm looking at a 15" steel wheel/tire combo because it'll be cheaper than getting winter tires for the stock rims.

[SeminoleMan]

In VA, i'd prolly get dedicated snows.


Snow tires in Virginia are overkill. We really don't get that much snow - perhaps a foot or so one average the past 8 years I've been here. I too am a Florida boy (moved from Tampa in 1998) and have done just fine on a good set of all Season Tires (Pirelli P-Zero Nero M&S.) Just pay attention to the conditions and drive cautiously.

*Edit* - Just saw Blacksburg as the location. A little more moutainous than my location, so "snows" may not be a bad idea. I still think All-Seasons will do just fine.

[neuspeed_junker]

i agree that good tires are important , but experience with winter driving is more important, my first time in large amounts of snow and icy was quite scary, having to use highways for the first time covered in snow is not comforting.

[nek0]

I ended up getting the Hankook IceBear W300 in 205/50-16. Initially I was skeptical with the low price ($82 each) but after I started driving in heavy rain and slamming my brakes in the back roads I started to get a bit cocky. It's very sticky & wicks out water like no tomorrow. (first)

I'm going to see how it handles in snow. We're supposed to get some next week & after I move to the east coast I know the tires will give me more traction and safety. The cornering is definitely softer but of course, they are winter tires. And the tires are VERY quiet. It was like night & day. Using my headset on the freeway it was sometimes hard to listen to a conversation but now I can hear clearly. I notice it especially driving in city!