I'll check out ebay this weekend after the Christmas excitement slows down. thanks for the tip, scot1981! did your area of cleveland get the snow or the ice this week?

 

I have a Xfire with 10 000 KM or approx 6250 mile on it and drive the car every day here in Quebec, where we have real winter with -20 temperature and a lot of snow.

I have had an ultimate experience with my conti-winter tires a few weeks. We were having a job holiday party two weeks ago. I looked outside before leaving, It was not snowing so I decided to use the X-fire to go to the party, the snow was supposed to come during the night.

Just as the lunch was being served, around eight it started to snow and blowing. The
party went on until 12:30. Some minor problems to get on the road out of the parking. The road being OK until we got to our residential area. There, we have to go downhill with a curve to a small wooden bridge an up with a curve. That road had not being cleaned of the six inches and maybe more of the white dust and with the slip limiter on I could not manage to get up the hill. Back down in my onw tracks, shut the traction control, push the gaz pedal and up the hill it went right up to home.

 

It is good to hear a success story about driving in the snow, especially from someone that is used to driving in those conditions.

 

agree. it is good to hear. i can't claim any recent experience with snow but i did learn to drive in chicago. long ago in the hot-rod rwd days. i've had trouble with the idea that the germans would build a car like this and not have it be usable in the winter. they do winter there, y'know.

i suspect that a lot of the complaints are around the fact that people who have only driven fwd get spooked when the rear-end gets loose. play with that and learn to use it.


dan

 

Snow driving seems to be OK even with the standard tires, but ICE turns the car into a sled. Other than the tires, I think a major problem is the lack of weight in the back of the car. The handling was great when it was just snow. I started to so a 360 on the freeway, but was easily able to steer my way back and then even managed to steer out of the way of a runnaway SUV who was unable to stop at a cross street.

 

now, maybe someone can straighten me out on this: i think the literature says the car is almost perfectly balanced- front to rear- and i can understand adding weight in the back for snow-traction, but why would the car not perform BETTER than other cars, which are usually not so well balanced, on ice??

dan

 

Maybe they consider it balanced with two passengers to add weight to the 'back' half of the car? Good question dan ... I'm interested to hear some responses

 

Dan, What's RAIN??

Happy New Year.

 

all depends on your tires. i drove a jaguar xjs convertible rear wheel drive through an entire iowa winter, ice and all, with no problem because i used tires designed in switzerland specifically for winter. they are cheaper than blizzaks, and work better. tires are made by nokia and are called hakkepelitta's. you can get them at etires.com. great service and great advice there too. i have ordered many tires from there. i think the guys name is dave, tell him what you have and what you need and you are good to go.


ruzo

 

Just got mine a coupe I love the car and its great look but I have a 4 wheel dr. for the snow. the car has some traction control and in bad weather you can switch from sport drive to wet on the console and release the stableization. I read this in the manual I would not expect this car to outperform my subaru in the snow. not sure i was of any help but the more I drive it the more I like it.

My only problem so far is engine light stays on and dealer is trying to find out why.

Good Luck.[QUOTE]

 

When the weather is bad here in N Texas, I just drive my wifes car...Jeep Grand Cherokee 4x4.

 

I have now driven Dunlop Winter Sport M3s in two Cleveland, Ohio-area heavy snows -- and the M3s performed reasonably well unlike the all-season Continentals. Here's background:

For starters, I left the Conti all-season tires on waiting for a "significant snowfall." After an 8" snowfall in mid-December, I drove my Xfire to a nearby shopping mall parking lot and ran various amateur tests on ice and snow. Basically, the Contis performed poorly. Control was inconsistent even in shallow snow and slush. Stopping distances were far too long. I've lived in Cleveland for decades and have driven numerous cars in heavy snow conditions -- and the Crossfire was among the worst on stock tires.

I then had a tire dealer mount the M3s and ran the same snow and ice tests. Like night and day! Given the conditions, the Xfire handled reasonably well. Next I added two 60 lb. sand bags and the traction felt a bit better.

A week later we picked up about 10" of snow followed by heavy rain. The end result was a slippery mix of snow, slush, ice and huge puddles on the roads I take. Even so, the M3s delivered good control with little fishtailing or slewing even at 35-45 mph in slush and snow packs as well as deep puddles. Stopping was controlled and the distances reasonable.

Bottom line? You can get by on the Contis in a pinch but you significantly reduce your safety margin. But with snow tires and some added weight, the Crossfire is a decent winter driver. My testing admittedly is unscientific but it's a start for other snowbelters who need or prefer to drive their Crossfires year round.

I bought the M3s with rims from the Tire Rack through a sales rep named Doug who provided excellent service. Happy New Year everyone! Nick

 

Last week we were just having snow flurries with a very light covering of snow just starting. I took out my Xfire because there was no salting or sanding yet. I stopped at a four way intersection, going slowly. With the Conti's the car slid almost into the intersection. If I had to drive it in the winter snow, I would definitely consider the M3's. Everyone seems to have good luck with them. (My xfire is resting comfortably in my garage and will continue to do so until the roads are dry, which probably won't be soon since it is snowing now).