Oh. I was misinformed then. I have friends in the small towns west of Erie and they said only sand. Hence the no rust on Pa. vehicles. I was also told that you can't register a car with body rust holes in PA. Is that right? I do know you can't in MA if they are of a certain size.
Thanks for the info.

 

yep...in pa...you must have any rust repaired (larger than the size of a quarter) to pass inspection...hence the reason you see no rust. just lots of paint work.

cheers.

 

Yep, I think you know some guys I work with.

 

SlimCrossfire and BlackSRT,

I also live in Missouri and am trying to get ready for this winter. I live in Fulton and am the NWS Coop Observer. I checked through the past 115 years of data on snow/ice and found we have an average of 14 1/2 days with more than a trace of snow each year. The heaviest year was 1978 when we had 33 days with more than a trace of snow/ice. In the last 10 years, we have only averaged 10 days with more than a trace of snow.
At least I have a brand new set of Conti's in the garage and will be replacing the Sport Pilots in October to give me the best chance in the snow. I just hope the Crossfire is better than my Conquest. That car was afraid of the snow - every time I took it out in snow it jumped into a ditch to hide.
The owners manual lists a specific set of chains that can be used with the car. Has anyone bought them and tried them? Which specific model is used and where can you get them?

Thanks,
Rick

 

Well lets hope the Xfire isn't afraid of the snow. I would hate to have my new car jump into a ditch! I would be very upset. I will have to look into the chains as well thanks for the info.

 

Drove year round in Cleveland. Only had a problem in deep snow, and once going up a highway ramp on sheer ice, of course who wouldn't. (ASP tires)

 

Thanks RGX. I think I'm as much concerned about the salt damage as I am the handling. It's good to know though that it is a decent driving vehicle in the winter.

 

Most cars in the UK are front wheel drive, I find the combination of weight on the front and being able to "pull" the front end around makes for an easier drive - if a little boring.

My real winter drive is a full time 4x4 - Landrover Freelander although last 10 years I doubt if we had snow lying on the ground for more that 30 days total, just some ice on the tarmac on cold days!

 

I live in New Jersey and last winter was one of the worst I've seen in this area in a while. I actually drove my x-fire in both blizzards. I felt like i was in a drifting contest. I had the summer tires on the car and let me tell you they're not meant for even the slightest amount of slick stuff. But I made it home. you have to turn the traction control OFF if you want to get anywhere. all of your lights will come on, on the dashboard though because your ABS will be working overtime. you'll be spinning @ 4500 rpm but only moving about 10 mph if you're lucky. Don't even try to go up a very steep hill without a lot of momentum.

My suggestion is get another beater to drive in the winter. Unfortunately I was in the process of rebuilding my '91 Jeep, Wrangler while the snow was falling. This year I'm better prepared. Bring on the snow!!!

I'd also highly recommend putting a front mask/bra on the car. you'll NEED to protect the front of your car as much as you can. I use mine most of the year any way. all the time in winter months. Road salt/debris messes up the front of your car.

 

TireRack just delivered my set of winter tires and new wheels for the Crossfire:

I ended up getting four ASA ST3 18 x 8 wheels in a bright silver paint
along with two 225/40VR-18 Bridgestone Blizzak LM-25 XL for the front and
two 225/45VR-18 Bridgestone Blizzak LM-25 XL for the rear.
These taller rears will maintain the front to rear stagger.

According to TireRack the 225 size will reduce the rear contact patch size
and provide better snow and ice traction.

I originally ordered the Dunlop Winter Sport M3 in the same size however, after
waiting one month the 225/40 was still backordered and had no expected arrival date
so I switched to the LM-25's from Bridgestone.

I have used Bridgestone's in the past on my SC400 with great success.

I do plan on adding some weight to the rear in order to put a tad more downforce on the
rear wheels.

I will let you all know what shakes when the flakes fly. I will be putting these wheels and tires on the car around the Thanksgiving time frame and probably pulling them off in Mid April.

 

What about the michelin pilot sport a/s--all seasons for winter wear? They are on the web sites--tire rack, etc--as fitting the crossfire. getting resistance from dealer, who can't seem to verify. tw

 

IMO with all seasons tires you have a bad summer and worse winter tire. I don't know where you live but if you usually have snow get you a real winter tire. It's much safer and comfortable.

 

I do not know where you live in western NY but I lived in the Fredonia and Silver Creek areas for 27 years and it snowed from November to March. I think your april snow fall would be equal to about what we get for the whole winter here in Cincy. I think you will need snow tires! I can remember a month would go buy and on secondary streets I would not see bare pavement.

 

What about the TPMS? For those of you who bought winter tires, did you get another set of TPM sensors or do you just drive without them?

 

Thanks, but the snow tires look limited. I suppose all seasons would be better than the summer tires, but am confused over a couple of things.

1. Are the michelin pilot sport a/s tires ok on this car, and are they better than the contis? Early on, I thought I saw this tire as one of the two winter options, and they are listed at tirerack, but not by Chrysler nor michelin as an option for this car.

2. Is the blizzak option, with 18" wheels retro-fitted to rear, a better option? does it screw up the car's computer?

3. Are there any other snow tires that will fit? (the dunlop winter sport m3's are not available for the front).

4. One dealer is hinting that if I buy something out of OEM, I will lose protection of the warranty. They said it has to be a z rated tire also. True? Or b.s.? Another dealer said the rating issue is bogus. I was also told by a dealer that if I got a michelin a/s, it had to be something called a pilot sport a/s p2 (more money than the pilot sport a/s). I cant even find it listed anywhere.

5. any guidance on the above.

 

settled with the dunlop winter sport m3's (19) on back and some nice pirelli 210 snow sport (18 inch) snows on front. all in, from tirerack, $900. good tire company fronted for me, ordered from tirerack and storing my conti summers for me. they worked with tirerack to align the closest tire to the dunlop's (in speed, pattern, similar content, etc.) (silica surface in both).

said the dealer's warnings about this and that was b.s.

so far, so good, drives well. not noticeably noisier. feel much safer for winter.

chrysler should have a new ******* bored for not being able to ensure that there are snow tires available in same size.

twc

 

correction on chrysler complaint...snow tires in same brand for both front and back.

 

look at nokian tires. the hakkapelitas or the rsi ones they will go anywhere. they are made in finland and it surely snows there. they are also much cheaper than other tires. I went when no one else did.

 

checked web, couldn't find the 19s.

 

twc, the choice of 255/35 19" winter tires is very limited and expensive. Here is one. Most do smaller dimensions. Even all 225 winter tires don't get good test results. And a wider one like the 255 will probably be even worse. Well, the crossfire isn't built for high mountains.
I'll put 225/40 R18 on mine. With Conti WinterContact.