Mother Nature Can Be A *bleep*

[christopherius]

So this is what I had to deal with on the way to work today after about a foot of snow fell.

<img src="http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=210063&d=1423971381" width="640" height="480">

Not a fun drive to say the least. Me thinks a set of winter tires is in order.

 

[GroundGrAVY]

Wow. That is a lot of snow..I second your decision stay safe out there!

 

[damn potholes]

delete

 

[utmorpheus]

Dude, that's what, like 5cm? We get that in an hour here. I put 150mi on my car yesterday in a blizzard that dropped 1.5ft of snow over the course of 6 hours. All you need are snow tires and the handbrake(for going through turns sideways).

 

[genericmoniker]

Winter tires turns the 2 into a tank. I'm lowered, and don't recall ever having gotten stuck (except for that one time I high sided on some ice).

 

[okvol]

Got to work today through about 5 inches of snow on top of ice with NeoGen tires. Not too shabby for all-season tires.

 

[ScorpioGTX1]

Winter tires turns the 2 into a tank.

I was driving through snow a couple nights ago that was taller than the stock bumper clearance, and never even got close to getting stuck once. This is the best winter car I've ever driven.

 

[c7scayman]

I just bought a Mazda2 Sport 5SPD MT and I had lots of trouble with a few inches of snow. Even when I try to start off in 2nd gear, the tires spin, the car goes sideways, and the stability control light flashes.

I'm used to driving in snow with small cars but it has never been this bad. Is a stock Mazda 2 with skinny tires normally bad in snow?

Would it help to get wider wheels and tires? How much wider can we go on these? I want it to handle very well in the summer for autox and I feel the current steel rims and tires are too skinny.

 

[ScorpioGTX1]

I just bought a Mazda2 Sport 5SPD MT and I had lots of trouble with a few inches of snow. Even when I try to start off in 2nd gear, the tires spin, the car goes sideways, and the stability control light flashes.

I'm used to driving in snow with small cars but it has never been this bad. Is a stock Mazda 2 with skinny tires normally bad in snow?

Would it help to get wider wheels and tires? How much wider can we go on these? I want it to handle very well in the summer for autox and I feel the current steel rims and tires are too skinny.

You want skinnier tires in snow, not wider ones. Winter rally cars have tires with almost space-saver-like width to cut through deep snow easier. Tire compound and tread style are the biggest factors that will help a street car manage snow better.

 

[Kumquats]

Just put Toyo GSi-5s (185/55r15) on steelies on my brand-new-to-me '11 GX/Sport. Phenomenal difference over whatever crappy all-seasons the dealer put on it.

 

[damn potholes]

delete

 

[christopherius]

If you get stuck I find its best to turn off the stability control. And those Toyo tires look decently priced.

 

[Kumquats]

... those Toyo tires look decently priced.

The reviews on 1010tires.com are pretty favourable, except from people in Calgary. Would take those anonymous opinions over mine as I have at most 30km on my set.

 

[okvol]

I'm running 205/50/15s Nitto NeoGen tires which are very good on dry and got me through the recent snow/ice event here. Tire Rack lists these tires as Ultra High Performance All-Season. The snow wasn't deep, about 3 inches, but it had ice under it. These aren't snow tires, but not too shabby.

 

[CorkSport]

Hmm, it was 65 degrees here yesterday in the Northwest. We wouldn't mind some snow.

Derrick