2006 RWD in snow

M

mortonjl

Member
Location
Syracuse NY
Car
2017 QX70 AWD
Name
Jeff
My question to all is:

I will be in upstate NY for parts of this winter and all its snow, how will my RWD do? Do I need snow tires or just all season radials? Currently have potenza's on it and I have been in Cal and in southeast since I bought it so this is my first snow with her. Also, what will the snow mode do for me? Tried pushing it in and it recessed into the panel lol. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
Push it again. It'll pop out ;) if we get snow here (rarely) I
dont drive my RWD. It handles very bad as all RWD cars in snow. Add ice and you're toast. As far as snow button, I believe it makes the car start off of 3rd gear. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. I tried it. Doesn't help much.
 
for some reason people who live in snowy climates think that rwd vehicles are the end of the world - they're not.
for 95%+ of the year, rwd handles and performs better than an awd or fwd vehicle, but this country has lost it's way since fwd became "the norm".

that said, depending on what potenzas you have, they'll probably suck in the snow. i had a wrx (awd) w/b'stone potenza's (re92 maybe?) and the car was terrible in the snow. i put some real tires on it and it was good to go.

tires make the biggest difference in the world in the snow. you def. want snow tires, esp if you're worried about the white stuff. snow tires have more of an impact than what wheels drive the vehicle.

my bmw 335i (rwd) with 300+hp and snows, was better in the snow than most any of the fwd, awd vehicles i've owned with all season tires.

good luck, switch the tires and don't look back.
 
SteeleFX said:
for some reason people who live in snowy climates think that rwd vehicles are the end of the world - they're not.
for 95%+ of the year, rwd handles and performs better than an awd or fwd vehicle, but this country has lost it's way since fwd became "the norm".

that said, depending on what potenzas you have, they'll probably suck in the snow. i had a wrx (awd) w/b'stone potenza's (re92 maybe?) and the car was terrible in the snow. i put some real tires on it and it was good to go.

tires make the biggest difference in the world in the snow. you def. want snow tires, esp if you're worried about the white stuff. snow tires have more of an impact than what wheels drive the vehicle.

my bmw 335i (rwd) with 300+hp and snows, was better in the snow than most any of the fwd, awd vehicles i've owned with all season tires.

good luck, switch the tires and don't look back.
Click to expand...

I agree. With dedicated snow tires (and I'm not talking about all seasons), my Porsche Boxster with rear wheel drive was really very good in the snow. The only limitation was the ride height. Lol. If you don't put snow tires on, however, don't expect it to be that great in the snow.

With our Audi quattro, it seems to handle the snow really well with just all seasons, so I suspect our FX with just all seasons will do just as well...hopefully...as I just got this FX. :)
 
StuLax18 said:
What about snow chains, is that an option? I might need those if I drive up to Tahoe.
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chains work well when you run into a crazy storm - carry them with you. it looks like your truck is dropped, i don't know how easy/difficult it would be to put them on with so little space in the wheel wells.

i've never used chains, but when i was in tahoe a few years ago, my friend needed them on his car to get us through a storm. my advice would be to definitely practice putting them on in good weather before you're in the middle of a blizzard trying to figure out what to do!
 
SteeleFX said:
for some reason people who live in snowy climates think that rwd vehicles are the end of the world - they're not.
for 95%+ of the year, rwd handles and performs better than an awd or fwd vehicle, but this country has lost it's way since fwd became "the norm".

that said, depending on what potenzas you have, they'll probably suck in the snow. i had a wrx (awd) w/b'stone potenza's (re92 maybe?) and the car was terrible in the snow. i put some real tires on it and it was good to go.

tires make the biggest difference in the world in the snow. you def. want snow tires, esp if you're worried about the white stuff. snow tires have more of an impact than what wheels drive the vehicle.

my bmw 335i (rwd) with 300+hp and snows, was better in the snow than most any of the fwd, awd vehicles i've owned with all season tires.

good luck, switch the tires and don't look back.
Click to expand...

Was wondering about that. Years and years ago I remember driving a '70 chevelle, duster and camaro year round, all cars were rwd drive then and we made out ok. Maybe we're too spoiled with awd/rwd these days.
 
mortonjl said:
Was wondering about that. Years and years ago I remember driving a '70 chevelle, duster and camaro year round, all cars were rwd drive then and we made out ok. Maybe we're too spoiled with awd/rwd these days.
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exactly...
for a very long time, the only real option was rwd unless you bought a truck w/4wd. i think when the japanese cars started to take over the marketplace in the mid to late 80's, things changed and everything went fwd.

then when suv's/cuv's became the norm & wagons went to the wayside, there was this sudden "need" to have awd.

imho, the only vehicles that "need" awd are 500+hp porsche, ferrari etc. that get to 60mph in the 3second range & can only do it by sending power to all of the wheels!

i live in boston, realistically how often do i drive when the roads aren't plowed, maybe 5-10 times/year and it is completely plowed, salted and no more than wet pavement within 1 day or less of the snowfall. awd is a purchase price premium & year round gas premium for literally maybe 2% of the time you drive (if that). that's for this area of course and we only get 50ish inches/year. i'm not in mt. hood!
 
SteeleFX said:
===== QUOTE mortonjl ====

Was wondering about that. Years and years ago I remember driving a '70 chevelle, duster and camaro year round, all cars were rwd drive then and we made out ok. Maybe we're too spoiled with awd/rwd these days.

===== /QUOTE ====




exactly...
for a very long time, the only real option was rwd unless you bought a truck w/4wd. i think when the japanese cars started to take over the marketplace in the mid to late 80's, things changed and everything went fwd.

then when suv's/cuv's became the norm & wagons went to the wayside, there was this sudden "need" to have awd.

imho, the only vehicles that "need" awd are 500+hp porsche, ferrari etc. that get to 60mph in the 3second range & can only do it by sending power to all of the wheels!

i live in boston, realistically how often do i drive when the roads aren't plowed, maybe 5-10 times/year and it is completely plowed, salted and no more than wet pavement within 1 day or less of the snowfall. awd is a purchase price premium & year round gas premium for literally maybe 2% of the time you drive (if that). that's for this area of course and we only get 50ish inches/year. i'm not in mt. hood!
Click to expand...

Humanity survived harsh weather conditions before cars were invented too, that doesn't mean it was easier or more efficient...

AWD is different than 4x4. AWD has an advantage over RWD in any and all low traction situations including but not limited to rain, snow, ice, gravel, dirt, sand and mud. Considering the AWD FX has the ability to become RWD under normal traction circumstances, the only benefits of the RWD model are it's lower purchase price and the slight weight difference that translates to an even more slight mpg savings.

There is no disputing the traction advantage of AWD over 2WD. It's not a gimmick or some kind of trend. The reason it's popular now is because technology has advanced to a point where it can be reasonably integrated into normal passenger vehicles without the huge drawbacks 4x4 trucks had in the 60's like road manners and horrible fuel economy.

Posted from my BlackBerry using BerryBlab
 
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