The bloke round the corner with a Lotus Elise is changing his wheels. I think he’s got two sets - one for summer, one for winter. We don’t get the viscous snow here you guys get, but as I work from home I don’t need to be too concerned with my daily commute.

 

5 inches of snow, 3 degrees F - perfect time for a drive!

BC just talked me into driving the roadster around the neighborhood to get a feel for her in the snow. First time down the road I'm bitching "no traction, I have no traction". 2nd time, "hmmm, this is interesting". 3rd time, "okay this is getting fun". 4th time, I'm grinning ear to ear while he is trying to get a pic of me doing the u-turn slide to come back down to our house. Unfortunately no luck with the camera - too cold for it to stay on.

Eh, it's like any other vehicle in the snow, respect the car and the conditions, get good tires, and don't drive like a moron and you'll be okay. Or, if you are gonna do power slides, make sure you have room for it, lol.

'Course now BC is jealous of me cuz I played in the snow with her and not him.

 

Keep the camera warm inside your clothing, thats what you have to do.

 

At least he dosen't have to worry about rust LOL.

The only thing I would note about the Crossfire that is different then any other FR layout car is that the rear end seems to want to runaway to the right when moving and the tires are spinning, it seems its characteristic to this car only. It does it on a flat road even too, even when the right hand side has no camber, odd.

 

The NA Crossfires front to rear weight distribution is 54/46, SRT's are probably only slightly more "nose heavy". Throwing a 100 lbs. in the trunk is fine. And since we have so little overhang, placing the weight as close as you can toward the front of the trunk should work OK.
Remember the Crossfire has a 450 lb. weight limit, so don't overload it.
A more narrow tire should be used for most any snow driving where accumulations tend to add up, because the wide tires want to climb up on top of the snow, or push it, instead of plowing thru it.
If at all possible, I'd recommend picking up some 17" Mercedes wheels, and using a 60 series tire with an aggressive tread pattern. Of course Blizzack's would be best.
Kit Fox, the reason the XF tends to slid to the right when you take off is because we have an "open" rear end, not a LSD. With a LSD it would want to "fish tail" and actually makes keeping your car under control ever harder in winter driving. (I'll probably get blasted for that statement, but I'm basing it on my last 42 years of North East Ohio winter driving experience).

 

We had ice and snow on the 13 degree temp roads this morning.
I have all season factory Conti's.

While the traction control light went off more than it did on the Dragon runs last fall, I did not have any trouble getting to work(13 miles) on any of the roads. This despite all three lanes covered in black ice and the debris of many collision victims from this morning's shoot out during rush hour.

I know many suggest turning off the stability/traction control. Much like the radar in an F16 cockpit, telling you what's going on, it is a usefull device if incorporated into your driving method. I leave it on.

Key to remember, four wheel drive and traction control only improves your ability to move forward. All cars with four wheels have the same braking capability. Said more simply, some cars are four wheel drive, some are two wheel drive, all are four wheel stop.

There is no "Game Reset" button on the Crossfire.

roadster with a stick

 

This will be my 4th winter driving a Crossfire, I do have all season Cont. on it. My first fire an '04 had Mich. tires on it, but with last years 100 inches of snow, I am thinking that it will be parked for the winter very soon, not going to do that again. I was told by my auto tech to drive it in the "S" mode for the winter?! What would be the best mode to have it in?

 

I think you have answered your own question, garage mode is best. All season tires are not at all suited for snow, too wide on these cars and they do not have aggressive tread patterns good enough for snow. On clear roads in cold weather they lose grip anyway becauase of the hard rubber. Tires purchased for extended mileage are the worst as they are hard even in warm weather. My Michelin Artic Alpins, on my 300 leave rubber marks on the pavement very easily in the warm weather, until that soft layer is worn away. This soft rubber and the tread design is good for ice. Thats why they go on late and come off early.
I do not drive in snow in the Xfire and when the all seasons are replaced a summer tire will replace them. All seasons are a compromise at best.

 

Did the tech also say "R" is for racing?. Page 129 owners manual,standard=S, and winter/Wet,(snow and ice)program modes. Get a new auto tech

 

My experience says like wise, nowhere near as plentiful as yours though. 2 open diff RWD cars and 3 LSD RWD cars tell me that the LSD helps alot! I rather have two tires spinning, even if one is flailing around pointlessly then have an open diff. The 300ZX took of very straight and true when in the snow, even if there was a large camber in the road even on summer tires in winter. Only issue that that car had was wheel hop in the dry.

 

I've lived away from snow for such a long time I really cannot contribute other than to say that on the face of it, I tend to agree with InfernoRedXfire ... I'd not be particularly concerned about my own ability to adapt ... I grew up in the Rockies and deliberately set out to become an excellent snow driver and did so at a young age ... that said, experience has taught me that however good a driver you might be, however well prepared you have your Crossfire for winter driving, the bottom line is that you still have to share the road with too many morons who are not prepared and who are seemingly incapable of clear thinking in ideal conditions to say nothing of their ability to react with any degree of mental agility when conditions deteriorate ...

Here in NoCal, we have dry driving conditions from early May until early November and what happens when a little rain falls is bad enough ... were it snow that was falling, I'd feel gravely imperiled to be surrounded by so many whose driving ability is suspect ...

If it were me, I'd garage the Crossfire and go with something else during the snow months ...

"Think of how dumb the 'average' person is, then remember that HALF the people out there are below average and DUMBER"
George Carlin