snow driving (Page 2/3)
Mickey_Moose JAN 31, 02:31 PM
Our 88 GT was also a daily driver in it's early life - never any real issue in the winter. I also drove my 86 with 4.9l daily for work for 3 winters without much issue.

Proper tires for the winter are pretty much a must.

The only issue with the Fiero is ground clearance which is a problem in our city as we have the most useless road clearing management in the world. The residential streets we are lucky if they are ever plowed (unless you are on a bus route).
cmechmann JAN 31, 08:14 PM
A few years ago we got around 22 inches in 24 hours. I had to be ready for work the next day. Made enough room for the ground effects to clear. And off to work I went. Another coworker has a BMW 330i, didn't move out of his parking spot.
I have not had issues with my car other than the other drivers who don't know how to drive in it. Sometimes like it better when it snows, due to lees people in it.
Now I do live on a bus route. However this is not always a blessing. During the 22 inch episode, I had to cut through 5 feet of hard packed ice and snow to get to the car. People looked at me crazy when I was carrying the stuff to the other side of the car and not putting it in the road. Then the same people would be cussing out the plow when they covered their car back up with the slush/ice/snow they just got their car out of. Then I just smiled and pulled out of my cleared spot.
Patrick JAN 31, 08:15 PM

quote
Originally posted by Mickey_Moose:

...we have the most useless road clearing management in the world.



Damn, that must be a helluva problem in a winter wonderland like Edmonton. At least the road clearing guys here have the excuse that they don't get much practice.
lurtz FEB 01, 02:02 PM
OP... While I will always cringe when I here about a person driving a fiero in the snow, it is not because of the snow or perils of driving but due to the impact the winter environment has on these cars... rust is the worst.

That said, my first car was a fiero and I drove it for several years through Winters in Vermont and New Hampshire. The key is proper snow tires. All seasons (aka Connecticut snow tires up here in the sticks ) are worthless in the snow. With proper tires the fiero is actually not a terrible winter vehicle. Its weight distribution and placement of the engine over the drive tires means you can usually get going no problem. Hard breaking and evasive turning can be trickier as the fronts will tend to lock up quicker then a front driver.

Drive safe! Winter will be over soon.
yellow peril FEB 01, 02:49 PM
I drive this car all winter long but if snow is predicted I take my wifes xc70 usually. the fiero only goes out after the road has been cleared. I HATE that element that the state uses now, it is very corrosive
so I try to take the car to the car wash every weekend temperature permitting. this storm was not predicted to be THAT bad till the next day. my wife needed her car so I thought I'd take a chance and I lost.
it started as all rain and turned to snow about a third of my way home and the state trucks did not go out and plow (thinking it was going to be all rain like me?). anyway it was a night of bad choices for me and was lucky no real damage to me or the car happened. I told this story so maybe some of the younger drivers I see on the highway always driving faster than conditions permit will maybe think about it a little more and be more careful. it was maybe 2-3 inches of slush which I was having no problem with till it started to slide. I don't know what started the slide I was 25 miles into a 30 mile ride home when it happened. I like the advice of putting the car into neutral and will try to remember that next time. my car is a standard and I took my foot off the gas thinking the engine compression would drag the back tires to keep the car straight but it just made the spin worse. so long story short ,just be careful.
Mickey_Moose FEB 01, 05:10 PM

quote
Originally posted by Patrick:

Damn, that must be a helluva problem in a winter wonderland like Edmonton. At least the road clearing guys here have the excuse that they don't get much practice.



...sad part is that they keep patting themselves on the back at the wonderful job they do. Takes them 3-4 days after a major snow fall to clear the main roads, another 3-4 days for the secondary roads - residential forget about it.

Then there is the whole aspect that they go out, sand the roads, then they plow them and then sand them again. They never remove the snow, so we get these windrows along side of the road which in a lot of cases use up 1/2 a lane - so now a 2 lane road becomes 1.5 lanes. I am so snowbirding it when I retire.
solotwo FEB 03, 05:56 PM
I drove my 88 & later 87 in snow. 12 years. The 87 GT with the 3800SC went through snow better than my wife's new car. I put on some General Ultimax Arctic snows on at all four corners add some ballast in the front and rear.
fierce_gt FEB 18, 05:59 PM
granted, it's been a while since i've driven a fiero, but it was my first vehicle, and what i drove through the winter from the age of 16 to 20.

i guess, if you mis-treat it, it won't do much to save you, but i honestly felt unstoppable in my fiero during the snowy months(85 4cyl, and 86 v6). give it a little gas and it would correct understeer like a champ, too. with the engine over the drive wheels, the traction was fantastic off the line, it was heavy enough to get through the snow, and if not for such low ground clearance i would say it's the most capable car i've driven in the snow. with a good set of tires, it has the same pros/cons as on dry pavement imo. That is to say, great traction to accelerate, better than average handling, and braking limited by not having ABS(if you can threshold brake it's adequate)

fwiw, the other vehicles i've winter driven:
-86 chevy camaro(winter tires)
-97 olds aurora(winter tires)
-96 chevy cavalier(all seasons)
-97 pontiac sunfire(all seasons)
-04 mazda6(winter tires)
-14 mazda6(winter tires)

[This message has been edited by fierce_gt (edited 02-18-2019).]

mrfiero FEB 18, 11:03 PM

quote
Originally posted by solotwo:

I drove my 88 & later 87 in snow. 12 years. The 87 GT with the 3800SC went through snow better than my wife's new car. I put on some General Ultimax Arctic snows on at all four corners add some ballast in the front and rear.



I have these same snow tires on my non-Fiero beater and love them!


I daily drove a couple of Fieros here in Colorado all through the 90's without snow tires and rarely had any problems. Since the early 2000's I've had other cars to drive in the snow, so the Fieros stay garaged. That said, I'd love to get a set of snow tires on my stock '88 GT and let 'er rip in the snow! I remember how much fun my Formula was in the snow back in the day.
mrfiero FEB 18, 11:20 PM
double post.

[This message has been edited by mrfiero (edited 02-20-2019).]