Snow plus Supra equals a very slow drive home

[87M-GTE]

I drove my supra during winter one year, I was honestly impressed. Stock all season tires (bfg or goodyear i cant recall exactly)
Full weight and stock. only got stuck once and that was in my driveway haha

Beats driving my old tacoma...

Sam

 

[mkIIIman089]

Its very easy to drive in the snow with a set of 205 snow tires, being rwd and turbo is no more of a disadvantage than being a slow fwd turd. I've driven through snow deeper than the ground clearance of the car on multiple occasions, only ever getting stuck in a parking lot once.

Proper judgment and momentum are all you need. Unless you're a ham fisted toolbag like most people, in that case - just stay home.

 

[sweaver]

i live an hour northeast of chaingun and we have been getting hammered the last 4 days. 3-4 feet of snow off lake erie. thank god for my subaru!

 

[figgie]

Bah. I drive mine in snow without any problems. Regular winter tires, no studs. As long as I don't go over a couple pounds of boost I've got plenty of grip. As long as you have the right equipment, it's all about seat time.

THis!!

I drove my supra through winters in Rapid City, South Dakota. Winter TIRES. Never got stuck, never an issue actualy.

 

[SupraMedical68]

The tires definitely make the car. I had to drive my WRX in snow right before (not by choice) w/ 225 40 17 summer tires. I thought I was going to fing die.

On the other hand, I was able to drive my orginal Supra in Jersey and Greeen Bay WI snow with confidence. (all weather tires can't remember size)

 

[Chaingun]

This snow has been ungodly we had a mild fall until about Friday, and then all hell broke loose in the form of the the frozen white shit, our roads here are in pretty good shape now but the snow's not done yet. sweaver, i don't know much about my car before i bought it, do you remember seeing a white 87, glass sunroof, and car phone antenna at any time? i know the cars been serviced in buffalo once and was bought in ohio, but i'd like to know the history of the car.

 

[enjoyer]

I drive my supra every single day. Winter is no exception. 205 Dunlop winter sport 3D all round. No problems what so ever. Just the oposite. I like icy,snowy and slipery conditions. It's so much fun. Most of the time i'm sideways on every corner intentionaly. Been stuck only once and that was not my fault. As mentioned, LSD realy helps in such conditions. Turbo or n/a is irrelevant. Just think about what youre doing or going to do. The only problem is other drivers in trafic. You don't need to drive 10km/h to be safe. Driving at such low speeds they are creating dangerous situations for other drivers. You don't know what to expect from such drivers. If you're afraid of winter conditions, leave your car in the garage. Or better yet, take it to a parking lot or some other open space and make your fear go away. Practice makes perfect. After that, it grows into driving pleasure

 

[jetjock]

Crack me up. The car isn't the problem. The problem is experience. That and, although front wheel drive hasn't been around very long, it's been around longer than most here...

 

[te72]

JJ, I'd be surprised if there's anyone on this forum who's older than the first production FWD... Genuinely surprised.

For what it's worth, FWD sucks in the snow, I prefer to be able to do things with my rear tires rather than just drag them along.

 

[GrimJack]

Well, considering that FWD was started over a century ago, technically that's true. However, mass adoption in the USA wasn't until the mid 70s, due to changes in fuel economy requirements. Prior to that, there was only the Toronado in the mid-60s, and that wasn't exactly a huge hit. I'm old enough to outdate the vast majority of US FWD cars. Europe is a different story, of course, as usual they seem to be about 15 years ahead.

 

[jetjock]

I was referring to the mass change-over to FWD in US cars which began around 1980. My point was prior to that pretty much all cars were RWD and driving them in snow was the norm. Those of us who are old enough to have driven back then had no trouble doing it. Hell, I drove my SS Chevelle in some of the worst New England snow imaginable because it was the only car I owned. Never a problem.

And FWD *is* better in snow. Weight on the driven wheels. Not to mention it's always easier to pull something along a slick surface than push it.

Which brings up another thing that often amuses me: how most youngsters think they're exceptional drivers when in actuality 95% of them suck...but that's an argument for another day.

 

[emiliorescigno]

The Supra being a competent vehicle in the snow or not is beside the point. Sand, snow, and salt will rust your car away in a heartbeat. BUY A BEATER.

 

[Bleakvoid]

The Supra being a competent vehicle in the snow or not is beside the point. Sand, snow, and salt will rust your car away in a heartbeat. BUY A BEATER.

This. And, practice makes perfect...as this is my first winter in a supra, hitting a corner or two a little too hard and drifting it every day just prepares me for the worst. And, it's fun! Just don't overdo it. Cops can usually tell the difference between "my foot slipped and OHGOD-IM-SIDEWAYS" and a purpose-built, full opposite-lock four-wheel drift.

Your mileage may vary. I live in california, where all we really get is a good heavy rain a dozen times a year or so. Hydroplaning is still no fun, though.

 

[boostcraver]

Like everyone has said already, get the snow tires if you MUST drive in the snow. My own experience in the first mk3 I owned taught me to 1). Exercise common sense. Don't do anything that may not end well like trying to stop, accelerate, or change direction suddenly. If you leave plenty of room to the next car, you should be fine. This leads me to my next point 2). Drive very defensively and watch your mirrors closely. That way if you have to move for the soccer mom on the phone in the minivan behind you, you will see her coming and have the time to react. 3). If you have a 5 sp, use the second gear for takeoffs on the slick road and feather the throttle to keep it out of boost and avoid (as much as possible) any wheelspin. 4). If your car is ABS equipped, make sure it works well, cuz you never know when someone ELSE might not be paying attn. and pull out in front of YOU!

 

[Chaingun]

I wish my ABS worked i have already fixed 100 little things on the car but i still can't find where to install the ABS sensor on the transmission. Other than that i've got a few days driving in the supra with snow under my belt now and i've adjusted well. I'm not worried about the car rusting as it's been completely underbody coated and my mom runs a car wash so i can clean her when ever i want i lost a bit of weight in the back cause i've dropped to a single 12 to retain some storage space... and my ear drums. Other than the occasional sliding ( mostly on purpose) i'm doing well on it now but i can't wait for spring to come, then i can really get this car whipped into shape. I don't know if there's a group for supra owners in western Ny but i'm willing to start one

 

[GrimJack]

When it comes to extra weight, I've found that a couple bags of pretty much anything in the hatch helps a lot in snow. Rice, flour, pea gravel, sand... doesn't really matter much what's in the bags.

 

[radiod]

205/65/16 Yokohama Ice Guards on winter rims and I haven't had a problem yet with the snow. It's the only car I have right now so I just make sure to give it a wash/rinse down every couple weeks or so to get all the junk out from the wheel wells and whatnot.

 

[te72]

I was referring to the mass change-over to FWD in US cars which began around 1980. My point was prior to that pretty much all cars were RWD and driving them in snow was the norm. Those of us who are old enough to have driven back then had no trouble doing it. Hell, I drove my SS Chevelle in some of the worst New England snow imaginable because it was the only car I owned. Never a problem.

And FWD *is* better in snow. Weight on the driven wheels. Not to mention it's always easier to pull something along a slick surface than push it.

Which brings up another thing that often amuses me: how most youngsters think they're exceptional drivers when in actuality 95% of them suck...but that's an argument for another day.

I gotcha. I'm not quite that old to have been FORCED to drive a rwd in the snow, but if I have to drive in it, I prefer it, if only for control reasons. Only winter I drove a FWD in the snow, it understeered ONE time and slammed the front right wheel into a nasty curb. I believe I was 21 at the time and didn't really understand snow all that well.

That said, it's easy enough to add weight onto the driven wheels of a rwd, isn't is?

When it comes to extra weight, I've found that a couple bags of pretty much anything in the hatch helps a lot in snow. Rice, flour, pea gravel, sand... doesn't really matter much what's in the bags.

In my case I stuck 100lbs of sand in the back seat of my Mk2, makes a world of difference for snow driving. Not sure if you'd wanna put it in the hatch or the seat of the Mk3 though. Usually I prefer to keep weight between the axles, so I stuck the weight in the seat.

 

[GrimJack]

I've always put it right over the rear axles.

 

[airhead04]

How much extra weight would you recommend in the car?