S2000man01

iTrader: (1)

It's snowing like mad here in wisconsin, and needless to say the roads are horrible. What never ceases to amaze me is how stupid people who have 4WD vehicles are in this kind of weather.

On the freeways there's a **** ton of snow on the roads, and everyone is driving about 25-30mph in the one lane that has been plowed a while ago. Even this lane is packed snow with a good 3 inch layer of snow and ice to drive through. The other unplowed lanes are a good 6 inches of un-touched snow.

Every so often some dumb *** in an SUV or truck passes on the left side thinking they are unstoppable with their 4WD. Reality: Your 4WD vehicle is no more stable than a 2WD vehicle, and most certainly won't stop any faster. 4WD is good for accelerating, or traction when trying to get grip on sloppy surfaces like snow or mud when you're stuck. A 4WD vehicle really isn't any more stable than a 2WD vehicle when cruising or coasting. And all the 4WD in the world won't save your sorry *** when you try to stop.

The ONLY thing that will make you more stable and able to stop faster is a set of winter tires. Which your average SUV/truck owner does not have. All season does not a snow tire make. One of the SUV's that passed us tonight went into the ditch shortly after.

I have a set of winter tires on that for a sports car and low profile tires, are pretty damn good in this snow and ice. The car is stable, stops quite quickly and with the help of the ABS, I remain in total control. Even on my light weight RWD car.

Here is the beast.




and the tires.... nokian hakkapeliitta 2's

S2000man01

iTrader: (1)

by the way, i'll accerlate faster than your average 4WD truck with these tires on. they are made by a company in finland who specializes in winter tires for european sports cars. we use these tires to race on lakes in snow and ice in winter.

sp3cialk

show off. j/p.

good info though

kimchi29

iTrader: (11)

lol
you do love to show your car. btw that boosted 7th gen you race, your honest opinion, do you think it was a swap boosted or boost alone. once im boosted and i could hang with an s2k, ill be the happier than happy gilmore.

S2000man01

iTrader: (1)

In my opinion it was probably just boosted but running a good amount of it. probably had some internal work done for all i know. quite a few shops around here more than willing to do custom work. hell even have the only authorized US distributor of Mugen parts is less than an hour from where i live.

ricergribbs

iTrader: (3)

mmm.... grippy...

TurboDieselDrew

I just got home shortly after midnight. Good amount of snow out there. Pretty glad I had 4x4 actually as most of Hwy 16 in Waukesha County out towards Nashotah wasnt plowed and there were some deep piles to go through. Not to mention the back roads out here in the sticks arent even touched.

I only passed people when they wouldnt go a constant speed. I dont want to be behind a person going 40 and then down to 15 and then back up to 40. Pick a speed and drive it.

Can I ask where you got the tires from? I may be trading my truck for a C43 AMG so winter tires may become a necessity.

S2000man01

iTrader: (1)

http://www.nokiantires.com/newsite/d...tion=Wisconsin

lists the dealers by city alphabetical order. those are authorized dealers for nokian tires. www.nokiantires.com for more info. the hakka 2's are the best winter tire they offer, but if you want something that will last longer go with the WR's. the WR's you can get a good 60,000 miles out of (so a few winters worth), and their snow grip is quite good. but the hakkas are insane at gripping in snow and ice. of course, the hakkas will wear out more quickly.

by comparison the blizzak LM22's can't hold a candle to either. the the blizzak WS50's while superior to the LM22's still aren't as good as even the WR's IMO.

TurboDieselDrew

Ouch... no rears for the C43 AMG...

S2000man01

iTrader: (1)

oh and by the way. the WR's even come in V-rated form, meaning winter tires that can go to 150mph. lol. the hakkas come in T rated form, so they still hit 120mph.

DaveyD

iTrader: (2)

Its been snowing the same **** ton here in Minnesota too. I have Blizzak WS50 on my Civic. Badass is all i have to say. I was able to plow through about 6-8 inches of driven through, but unplowed snow, with no problem. That same night, on the news, they interviewed some moron who said, "The 2 wheel drive people should just stay off the road, it would make it a lot easier on us who have 4 wheel drive." I laughed hard. My dad also thinks he is bad *** with the 4 wheel drive in his Dodge Ram, but the only thing I like about it is that it is a higher up, so you do have more clearance with the snow.

S2000man01

iTrader: (1)

what size tires are on the back? you looked at sizes for both the WR's and hakkas?

TurboDieselDrew

It has 245/40/17's out back...

Similiar to what I had on my Z28. I guess if I can drive a 1997 Z28 with 3.73 rear gears, a 3500 stall converter, and Pirelli Supersport tires through 2 winters here, the C43 shouldnt be a problem...

Still though... those tires look awesome and it would make driving a lot easier.

nindoo

iTrader: (1)

Yeah, they don't get it. I seen a few guys getting pulled over by cops when we had our first few snow storms in Montreal. I couldn't beleive they were speeding in those conditions. I seen some stuck in huge snow banks, accidented, and I remember seeing one that went over a fence into a school yard, but it was nighttime so no kids were there. I wonder who puts these ideas of AWD invincibility in there heads. Maybe all of them think there ex rally pro drivers or something.


They don't realize that there vehicles are heavy so there gonna slide like hella monkeys. And they also don't understand that there vehicles are gonna understeer no matter what when do start to loose traction and slide.

True idiots. Anyhow some of the new SUVS aren't even trucks, there cars with raised suspensions and truck bodies but thats a whole new topic.

I have a lil civic, with a good set of yokohoma winter tires. good tires make a hella of diff.

jakejham

yea it seems like whenever it snows here the drivers of suv's/trucks show their true fury.
they actually drive FASTER in the snow

S2000man01

iTrader: (1)

what kind of tires come stock on the car?

if you want the stock size, you should be ok with the nokian WR's in the 235/40R17 size.

but gimme the the brand and model of the stock tires, as well as the rim size if you can (ie, 17x7.5 for example) and i can tell you what will fit closest to stock as well as whether it will affect your speedo or not.

Majarvis

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the links! So you're saying that the Hakka 2's are far superior to the Bridgestone WS50s? (which I am on now). They must be incredible tires, because these WS50s are phenominal in all snow depths.
Not that I don't believe you, but are there any links that you know of that have tested the Hakkas with other winter tires? I just like to see reviews.

genx_7

iTrader: (9)

taking a rwd in the snow aint smart either.

PlasmaGT

iTrader: (14)

Yeah, we ended up getting a little over 15 inches here. Funny you should mention hakkapeliitta's. We just put them on our TT Quattro. Needless to say I had a blast last night.

scansel912

iTrader: (4)

I have to say though that I feel much more safer driving in my dads dodge dakota 4x4 then in my Civic or the mustang GT i had to drive yesterday to the gas station from work in the big snow storm yesterday. If im gonna hit somebody or something, Id rather be in a truck then in a small import.

S2000man01

iTrader: (1)

i dont know about reviews. but i can tell you from personal experience. the hakka 2's are even better than the WS50's. after all. this company is based in finland and specializes in making snow/ice tires for racing on frozen lakes.

S2000man01

iTrader: (1)

i guarantee you that my car handles better, stops quicker, and is more stable than yours in the snow and ice.

Majarvis

iTrader: (1)

That's true. Hmmm... this is the last season for the WS50s, perhaps next winter I'll put Hakka 2s on I've been trying to find somewhere online that sells them, so I can price compare, but you wouldn't happen to know off hand if they're more/less expensive than the WS50s, would you?

genx_7

iTrader: (9)

you think what you want. Just look up how many rwd cars get into accidents during slippery conditions. Better yet watch channel 4 footage from yesterday when it shows a 350z spinning out and hitting the rail.

Majarvis

iTrader: (1)

What exactly is that supposed to prove? Any car can crash in snow if it doesn't have proper winter tires (which IMO should be mandatory in snow-belt areas). It doesn't matter what drivetrain you have, if you don't have the proper tires for the conditions, no amount of driver-aids will save you from backing it into a ditch.

Blue_Honda_Civ

i have a set of those plus they are studded

genx_7

iTrader: (9)

it's a fact that it is harder to control a rwd car under these conditions. that's why everyone i know that has a rwd car leave their car in the garage during the winter. they use other cars whether it's 4wd or a front wheel drive car. Obviously the civic sucks in the snow too, and its not smart to take it out either but to take a rwd is dumb.

Majarvis

iTrader: (1)

Again, if you drive properly, and have proper snow tires, you will be fine. Obviously a 4WD, or even FWD vehicle with snow tires will be more stable than the same RWD vehicle, but a RWD vehicle on snow tires is safer than an SUV on all-seasons.
Also, the Civic doesn't "suck" in the snow, with snow tires that is. I have been driving with the Civic from 2001-2003, and last winter-now in the EL, and it is solid as a rock in the snow with the WS50s (and we had a **** load of snow last year and now this year, too). I often see other cars having difficulty on roads where I just putt along with ease. It just depends on what you're driving with, and equally as important, how you drive.

S2000man01

iTrader: (1)

it's simple fact. the problem is these people with RWD use all season pieces of crap. that's why their traction sucks.

believe me, with the tires i have on my car, it handles/stops/stabilizes better than 90% of what is out there. i even was at a light yesterday that had very heavy snow and ice, and a 4wd truck was spinning his tires off the line as i easily just accelerated past him.

S2000man01

iTrader: (1)

you're failing to hear what we are telling you. as majarvis has already stated, a RWD car with WS50's or hakkas is going to out handle and be more stable than some SUV or FWD car riding on all season tires. until you've actually driven a RWD car with some decent winter rubber on them, you'd have no idea what we are talking about.