KyAllroad wrote: Heavy snow here today, probably got enough to turn the grass white for maybe an hour before the sun came back out and it melted by sunset. Low taxes. Cheap cost of living. No vehicle inspections. But I'm sure Massachusetts has its appeal. Heck I was born there. Just didn't stay
Looking out the window of our office downtown in near white-out, it's kind of hard not to laugh wryly at this... 
Touché, although a friend drove his S2000 to work today so it isn't the end of the world.
BTW, all you people with FWD or RWD: no, it isn't as good as 4wd. It just isn't so stop trying to fool yourself.
KyAllroad wrote: Touché, although a friend drove his S2000 to work today so it isn't the end of the world. BTW, all you people with FWD or RWD: no, it isn't as good as 4wd. It just isn't so stop trying to fool yourself.
It's good enough, 15 years doing 75 to 100K a year for work, 11 in RWD panthers, the last 4 in the FWD 11 Elantra, not once have I been stuck, or slid off the road.
WINTER TIRES
In reply to aussiesmg:
Same here. I learned how to drive in rear wheel drive cars with bias ply tires on them - And not get stuck. I now get asked all the time how I manage to drive my BMW all winter, and I just laugh because it's actually pretty easy. I like 4wd, and sure it will help you start up without getting stuck, but it doesn't help you stop, which IMO usually ends up being more important.
KyAllroad wrote: Touché, although a friend drove his S2000 to work today so it isn't the end of the world. BTW, all you people with FWD or RWD: no, it isn't as good as 4wd. It just isn't so stop trying to fool yourself.
Depends on what you are trying to do. Get out of a ditch? Sure 4wd. Go around a normal corner or stop in non-ideal conditions? I'll take the miata with winter tires please.
(Says the guy who purposely drives his 4wd full size truck in 2wd with the traction control off so I can actually tell how slippery the roads are. I don't want to just drive 60 mph in the snow covered lane even though I can't stop or corner well.)
In other words, people think just because the 4WD can get them up to 50 or 60 mph in a straight line that they have all the grip in the world. I hate people who think / drive like that.
Sorry for the rant!
Rob R.
Cheap little economy car passing 4x4 Ram 3500 Cummins on US75, driver staring at me like I am possessed.
Priceless
In reply to aussiesmg:
Buwahaha, someone turn the heat back on
KyAllroad wrote: Touché, although a friend drove his S2000 to work today so it isn't the end of the world. BTW, all you people with FWD or RWD: no, it isn't as good as 4wd. It just isn't so stop trying to fool yourself.
Drove to Valentine's dinner in my wife's winter tire-shod Fit. The majority of other vehicles on the road were 4WD/AWD. It was a zero drama drive. The biggest issue with driving in snow is dealing with the people who have no idea how to drive in it (i.e. rush hour).
No, it's not as good as 4WD/AWD, but it's as competent as it needs to be.
My Cummins 2500 4x4 with winter tires (Blizzak W965) was incredible. Those tires seem to defy the laws of physics. Nothing that heavy (~6000 lbs empty) should be able to stop or turn that well on snow/ice. Most of the time I never bothered engaging the front axle.
Just ran the kids back to their mothers house and her neighborhood hadn't been touched by a plow, so 12" of fresh powder. Was glad to be in the burban.
WTF? White stuff, and lots of it, falling out of the sky! And it's waaaaaaaay too freakin' cold!!!
So found out what happens when both new doorman replacement key fobs get dropped (apparently from outer space) and cease functioning. At this exact moment of white death the little berkelying fastener that connects the one keyed entry to the lock assembly... This exact moment would be the one wifee chose to lock her purse and phone in the truck to take the munchkin into school... So a quick AAA call and it was ready for me to spend the rest of the day sorting out.
Who the hell did you east coasters piss off to get cursed with a Minnesota winter? Y'all are getting creamed out there.
In reply to wvumtnbkr:
On the other hand, in a 4x4 SUV or light truck you can blast through 12"+ heavy drifts across the road at 45 mph when some jackass in another truck tries to play chickens with you by not getting out of the middle of the road and doing the same. Doing that in a small car on snows is a good way to get stuck or break something.
In reply to mndsm:
Yeah, this is probably all my fault. I told old man winter to stuff it last week. I forgot to specify where.
by my estimation it looks like 6-7 inches of snow outside. had about 1-2" last night when i attempted to get ahead of it and plow the driveway.
although i could probably get out, i just stay home from work anymore on days like this. its an hour drive to the office when the roads arent E36 M3ty.
The city still hasn't plowed our street- so with the snow in it several inches higher than the undercarriage of the Prius, I'm working from home again today and not adding to the problems on the road. Somewhat surprisingly, the Prius did quite well when I drove it home yesteday about halfway through the storm (probably about 5" of snow on the ground and many roads unplowed)- passed many a larger vehicle that was struggling. The almost-brand-new tires probably helped a good bit there.
Around here, it's really not worth the money to get snow tires- this kind of snowfall is rare (this was the 4th highest total recorded), so it would be a good bit of money to spend on something that would only be truly useful once or twice a year at best. Might be different if I lived outside of the city, but as it is I get by just fine as is (when the snow isn't high enough that my car's front aero is acting like a snow plow... )
Driveway pictures from this morning in Hanover, MA.
Datsun 280z on jack stands on the left, 91 MR2 in the middle, and 89 Jeep Comanche with 5” lift on the right.
In reply to PseudoSport:
Why, oh why isn't that Z under at least a cover???? 
We got almost an inch yesterday. Traffic was at a standstill.
gamby wrote: In reply to PseudoSport: Why, oh why isn't that Z under at least a cover????
Cover blew off the Z in the first blizzard and is twisted around the front of it. There is a tarp that goes right to the snow line thats still there. It's our teams current lemons/chump projects so its not that nice anyway. I'm happy if snow stays out of the inside since its missing the side windows 
In reply to PseudoSport:
Ah, OK. Well, if it was a goner to begin with, then you may pass.
In reply to PseudoSport:
That would give new meaning to "shoveling out" your car.
The snow is getting stupid now. I was visiting my parents yesterday and they have 5 FEET in spots around the yard. Their above ground pool, which is already a few feet up on a platform, has snow pretty much at the top of the walls. and it's almost 5 feet deep.
People can't see out of driveways, most roads are still garbage and are missing lanes, and our public transit system is post-apocalyptic in functionality. People are starting to lash out at each other and go nuts. Over the weekend, a guy went after a plow driver for plowing him in, and another guy chased down someone driving a pickup in his own pickup and was smacking the other truck with a baseball bat!
We all knew the end was coming, but who knew it would be like this?
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