thanks for the advice...i was not ready to change the back wheels, so we'll see how mine work. all seasons did not seem to be an option around these hills.

twc

 

Well just ordered the Conti's with some doubt as how they will perform. Contrary to popular belief, Michigan winters are pretty mild, at least in the Detroit metro area. We get a few major snows a year, otherwise it is just grey and cold. If it snows bad enough, I have my wife's 4WD Blazer to get me around in. So hopefully, the Conti's with a few hundred pounds of salt or sand will do the trick for most days. If not, who cares, I have lost interest in the Xfire anyways...

I went through last winter on the PS2, now I look back and wonder if I had a death wish. DO NOT use those things in the winter! (Obviously )

 

I just installed four new Bridgestone Blizzak LM-22's mounted on ASA ST3 wheels. 18" all around.
I am happy to report that they fit perfectly and ride great. I was worried about increased road noise with the winter tire tread but that is NOT the case and are no more or less noisy than the Michelin Pilot Sports they replaced. So far I am very happy. Within about 40 miles the low pressure indicator came on which I will live with as the new wheels do not have LP Sensors installed on them.

BTW, I used a tire tread depth gauge on my Pilot Sports and all are wearing very nicely and evenly, I have 8/32" tread left on each of them across the asymmetric tread of the tire. Essentially brand new tread after 15K+ miles on the car. I am happy with them.

 

Just put my 18" 225 Contis all around too. Surprised that it isn't louder than the 19" 255 Pilots in the back. I guess it's because the 225 Contis aren't that wide.

Me too ... checked mines briefly. Looks like they're gonna survive the next season and probably the following as well.

 

Quick question... I have the stock Conti tires, pretty much new. Is it worth it to put weight in the trunk for mild snow situations? Like 50 lb?

 

Well I drove in some snow last week up in IA and it did pretty good. If you don't get a lot of snow you should be all right, but if you get a lot you might want to.

 

How large is the video file? If it's not to large I may host it for you. Let me know the file size.

hooah

 

If you want to keep some extra weight in the back, just keep your gas tank filled. At aprox 8 lb/gal, the 16 gal tank is 128 lb. Also, you have enough fuel to keep warm for a while if you get stuck.

 

Good point... that thought did cross my mind. Thanks for the input!

 

We've had some snow and I've been hesitant to bring out the car during the worst of it, but I have found it to be remarkable better than I originally thought it would be (Conti all season tires). I've been debating between a winter beater or snow tires and I think tires are going to win. The problem is getting the right wheel size and tire size to keep the car running correctly. I'll probably do the 18" wheels with Dunlop Winter sport tires. I had them on a Mustang once and really liked the way they worked in snow.

 

Made my experience 2 weeks ago. It's my first RWD so I'm still learning. ;-) But I indeed had a bad feeling driving on snow. Seemed to me like the rear was kind of floating around. The TCS did real good job. Still, additional weight in the trunk crossed my mind. Need more snowy days to get familiar with the behavior of the XF... Then I will decide to put some kg in the trunk.

 

Well, we got our first snow here in CT and I took the Xfire out for winter trials on her run flat sport Continentals.

And I gotta say it was not bad at all. I really tried to make the car slide or lose control and it was great. A little slip on slopes but as long as its not ICE purely you'll be OK.

I was impressed.

 

We just got our first snow for the year here in MO and the only problem I had was getting the car going after stopping on at a stop sign on a hill but everyone was having issuse with that hill. I'm really impressed with the way the car handled as long as your not stupid and take things slow you will be fine. I know that the other guy in my area with a white Xfire got stuck but he doesn't know how to drive in snow ni the first place so what do you expect!

 

I just want to throw my experience out there. I have just moved to Wisconsin from Pittsburgh. The car did not go anywhere in Pittsburgh. I believe this is due to all the hills/mountains there. Wisconsin is so flat it is the only thing keeping me going.

Also, car was doing OK in snow till I got stuck in my driveway a few days ago. i have the conti all seasons, the only thing saving me up here is it is flat. I believe all these people saying the car goes in the snow have possibly different terrain. I'd like to hear how the snow tire options due in the hills. or how good they really are as I am considering this options but if it is only marginally better than the conti all seasons, i'll probably just hold or buy a beater.

 

Just chiming in on an old thread. I have OEM Continentals all around (one used, matching) and they all have at least 50% of the tread left. Here in the snow and ice it did better than I imagined. ESP, ABS, and 2nd gear starts all help tremendously.

Visibility is really the biggest challenge. Traction isn't so bad.

All of the cars I've had in the past few years except a couple have been RWD. With the Navigator, I waited for the snow to fall so I could go outside and play in it right away before the snow plows ruined my fun.

 

I've got a nice combination working right quite well right now. I went to homedepot and bought three bags of tube sand (picture: 4in diameter x 3ft long bag, filled with 50lbs of sand) and placed them in the trunk directly over the rear axle. The extra 150lbs has done wonders for my traction. Probably doesn't help the MPG, but oh well. Neither does sitting in traffic for hours going 5mph or spinning in circles on ice. So I deal.

That in addition to the Pirelli Winters I have on the rear. Had a couple of tirespins on the way home from work yesterday simply because 5" of snow fell between lunch time and go-home time.

 

I know I'll have to get snowtires eventually. For now, I've got 4 bags of 'sidewalk' salt in the back hatch of my Crossfire. The 4 bags total 176 lbs. That might be TOO much, but it seems to grip the snow. I'm in Toronto which doesn't get too much snow, but there is a big winter storm on it's way here. Should I maybe remove 1 salt bag? The car drives sluggish (to be expected I suppose).

-Mike