[Bosse'sBoss]

Hi Guys,


I would like to know how the Camaro SS behaves with snow tires in snowing conditions. Does the snow mode helps? TC or no TC on is better?
Which snow tires do you recommend?

[CalgaryZL1]

Two or three sandbags in the trunk It will be like any other rear wheel drive, one of my neighbours drives his year around and my father use to drive his BMW Z3 year round and we get some pretty shitty winters

[Vtor_ZL1]

sure is!





Gotta make excuses to use heated steering wheel and seats.

[olrocker]

I have Vredestein winter tires, nothing in the trunk. The tires are highly recommended. They feel like they bite down into the snow and have excellent traction.

It’s all about the tires, not the car. Remember, those of us of a certain age all grew up driving rear drive cars with V8 engines.

[Hack]

I like Blizzak snow tires for winter driving. I've generally had good luck with them working well and lasting quite a while. I haven't been having any problems so far this winter, but we basically just got our first real snow and I've just driven a few days in it. I do have an LT1, so with the smaller brakes I was able to buy some 18 inch wheels to get a little more sidewall on the tires. I'm not sure whether the SS with 20" wheels will do as well.

I use snow/ice mode when I'm concerned about slippery conditions and I think GM did a good job with it in the Camaro. It does a nice job of reducing the throttle sensitivity, using the brakes to straighten the car out from slides, etc.

I personally do not use weight in the trunk of modern rear wheel drive vehicles during the winter. I don't think they need it, and I've had problems years ago with the weight moving around and damaging the car.

I do like to spray a heavy coat of lanolin (something like Fluid Film or Woolwax) on the underside of any car I drive in the winter. I think it makes a big difference slowing down corrosion.

[WhiteMale]

Michelin Alpin PA4 tires w 2 80lb sandbags. Works just fine but i do have lite winters of 5-7 snow days a year. I wanted a better tire than an all season.

[JamesNoBrakes]

Originally Posted by Bosse'sBoss

Hi Guys,


I would like to know how the Camaro SS behaves with snow tires in snowing conditions. Does the snow mode helps? TC or no TC on is better?
Which snow tires do you recommend?

Im in Alaska.

It's way too much torque and way too light on the rear end. It's worse with an automatic, since you can't feather the clutch.

Snow and ice mode. It helps with the breaking traction bit...a little. I wouldn't turn TC or SC off in the snow.

It's not impossible, but it's not a great situation. Any slight uphill where you have to start from a stop or near stop is difficult and can be impossible, even with studded tires. It's also hard accelerating to get up to speed on roads or on a highway, as in everyone may be waiting behind you as the rear wants to constantly kick out and traction/stability control pulls it back.

I just went to autozone to get some pushpins for my other car, and I took my camaro since I had some epoxy drying on the other car. I drive the camaro a little bit here in the winter in AK, but not a lot. I have studded winter tires on it. It handles and brakes great, but so many things have to do with accelerating and what I mentioned above, so those two things don't outweigh trying to get moving or accelerating issues.

So, sure, you can, you can drive anything in the winter. It's pretty far from optimal.

Also, a lot of people don't really drive on ice or compacted snow, just slush, because the road/ground is warm and not below freezing. Here, the sun doesn't get high enough until in late Feb/early March when it burns off all the snow fast. But the situation may be radically different depending on the temp of the ground. Here, we get real black ice, where frost forms on a road, at certain times in the Fall, as well as some freezing fog and rain. Basically, the ground radiates it's heat and cools from lower, ice simply doesn't go away.

[FlukeSS]

Originally Posted by Bosse'sBoss

Hi Guys,


I would like to know how the Camaro SS behaves with snow tires in snowing conditions. Does the snow mode helps? TC or no TC on is better?
Which snow tires do you recommend?

So couple of things to note regarding these questions that you have to consider.

1. Where do you live?
2. Do you know what snow actually is?

For example people like myself and others that have posted in this thread all live in the north where we get actual snow.

Consider for a moment that in Tennessee they close down the highways in 1 inch of snow.

In Texas I assume where you live, you probably on occasion see actual snow but its so rare that it just isn't an every day concern.

For example: This is the type of weather I do not consider safe to drive in where I live, the fact my car is modified makes it worse for me than even a stock car, but I wouldn't drive my stock camaro in this weather either.



Camaro will not get over the 18 inch drift at the end of the driveway not without hitting something on the bottom. To say nothing about the poor road conditions which have ice underneath and snow on top. On Ice, it don't matter what kind of tires you have, or rather you have 4x4 or AWD or not. Nothing drives on ice, let alone will it stop on ice.

This is what I consider snow where I live.

A 1" dusting isn't to bad in general, but I've been stuck in a stock camaro in 1" of snow even with snow tires. And that was in Snow/Ice mode which does little to nothing for these cars in well defined snow areas.

Do they help? Yes they do. I use Vredstein SnoTrac tires on the back and all-seasons on the front.

That said, I still won't drive my car until the roads themselves are fully plowed and salted.

Some of the example pictures and videos people have provided do not REALLY describe what snow actually is for people in the Nothern states.

So ultimately, yes snow tires help way more than all seasons, but it is at your digression what you call snow in Texas vs someone like me in Michigan. Btw, temperature on Monday and Tuesday is going to be about 7 to 8 degrees F.

[CalgaryZL1]

This is what we get in Calgary

[FlukeSS]

That is what us northern people call snow. lol

But yes, like I said the OP is from Texas, he won't see anything near that most of the time.

I think we've seen about 24" give or take around here, but nothing as bad as you guys get in Canada.

I think Minnesota gets hit pretty hard too during the winter.

I do know in like Wisconsin people actually use snowmobiles to get to work in some places lol.

[Bosse'sBoss]

Originally Posted by FlukeSS

So couple of things to note regarding these questions that you have to consider.

1. Where do you live?
2. Do you know what snow actually is?

For example people like myself and others that have posted in this thread all live in the north where we get actual snow.

Consider for a moment that in Tennessee they close down the highways in 1 inch of snow.

In Texas I assume where you live, you probably on occasion see actual snow but its so rare that it just isn't an every day concern.

For example: This is the type of weather I do not consider safe to drive in where I live, the fact my car is modified makes it worse for me than even a stock car, but I wouldn't drive my stock camaro in this weather either.



Camaro will not get over the 18 inch drift at the end of the driveway not without hitting something on the bottom. To say nothing about the poor road conditions which have ice underneath and snow on top. On Ice, it don't matter what kind of tires you have, or rather you have 4x4 or AWD or not. Nothing drives on ice, let alone will it stop on ice.

This is what I consider snow where I live.

A 1" dusting isn't to bad in general, but I've been stuck in a stock camaro in 1" of snow even with snow tires. And that was in Snow/Ice mode which does little to nothing for these cars in well defined snow areas.

Do they help? Yes they do. I use Vredstein SnoTrac tires on the back and all-seasons on the front.

That said, I still won't drive my car until the roads themselves are fully plowed and salted.

Some of the example pictures and videos people have provided do not REALLY describe what snow actually is for people in the Nothern states.

So ultimately, yes snow tires help way more than all seasons, but it is at your digression what you call snow in Texas vs someone like me in Michigan. Btw, temperature on Monday and Tuesday is going to be about 7 to 8 degrees F.

That's is correct in the lower RGV TX we almost never have snow. Planning to move to WI and I'm concerned that my RWD would not be my best option for that weather, probably I would need to get an AWD or FWD with snow tires for safety reasons, maybe an Elantra N or Subaru WRX with snow tires might be a better option, and just garage the Camaro SS during the snowy weather.

[FlukeSS]

Originally Posted by Bosse'sBoss

That's is correct in the lower RGV TX we almost never have snow. Planning to move to WI and I'm concerned that my RWD would not be my best option for that weather, probably I would need to get an AWD or FWD with snow tires for safety reasons, maybe an Elantra N or Subaru WRX with snow tires might be a better option, and just garage the Camaro SS during the snowy weather.

Absolutely,

Sadly I don't have a garage or I would be doing the same.

Also I do know in Wisconsin, depending where you live.

Middle and northern middle of the state gets the most amount of snow. And given more smaller towns there, the major roads are plowed fairly well, but most of the side roads are not. And yes people do actually use snowmobiles to get to work depending on the work they do. Most of the Mechanic shops and snowmobile shops in the smaller towns yes they use them to get to work.

I was born in Wisconsin, like all good serial killers.... And have gone snowmobiling up there for years, St. Germain, Eagle River, and most of the northern areas including the UP of MI.

Also It is not uncommon for Middle and North Wisconsin to get feet of snow, more than we get here in the mainland of MI. Also Wisconsin is among the most drastic temperature changes in the world last I checked.

[JKOR]

my 1SS with Goodyear all seasons was fine untill I tried to go up my driveway. Car got stuck. Wheels spinning with no movement. Salem Oregon, currently 17 deg f. Should be warming up soon. Wife’s Mazda cx-5 awd had no problems going up the drive way

[DorsoDuroJohn]

this is my 3rd or 4th winter with the camaro on snow tires. No issues with that.

The problem the Camaro has in winter is that the frameless windows freeze to the weather stripping when the conditions are right. And you might think that's ok i don't have to open my windows, BUT good luck opening the door also!

And another thing, if you are outdoors for any length of time, and snow and ice build up on the trunk lid, good luck not removing paint along with opening that up.