car in snow

by **joezee** » Mon Jan 20, 2003 12:02 am

hey all: in colorado and my solara just came in and wanted to know if these cars are any good in the snow.my corolla was o.k. at best but their was only a 4 cylinder in it and was light.solara has a v-6 and a heavier front end .anybody have any experience with this?. or do i need snow tires next time.worried about several inches of snow coming in and not making it to work or back.let me know....thanks.................joezee

by **RedRum Solara** » Mon Jan 20, 2003 12:14 am

Yeah, the luxury of living in LA, Calif. I'm wearing shorts and sandals now

But i can't give you advice because i never lived in snow, i did go up to the mountains last week and there was lots of snow and i didnt need any snow chains because the plower took care of the roads.

by **impactX** » Mon Jan 20, 2003 12:29 am

Snow tires are always better in snow...

You can live with all weather.

by **Guest** » Mon Jan 20, 2003 8:43 am

i would guess your solara would drive just like your old corolla. only major difference would be the height of the two cars. just take it easy the first few times.

by **FLASH** » Mon Jan 20, 2003 9:58 am

Here in NJ, We got 8 inches of snow, and my Solara was fine. I didn't slip and slide at all, granted I drove very safely. However, few days ago we very a dusting and it froze over pretty well and there's been ice in local develpments, which I have slide across going about 10mph. Nothing too big to worry about as long as you've got ABS.

by **Jai_Jai_Binks** » Mon Jan 20, 2003 10:06 am

RedRum Solara wrote:Yeah, the luxury of living in LA, Calif. I'm wearing shorts and sandals now

Nothing like rubbing it in! :evil:

by **Yanks0114** » Mon Jan 20, 2003 10:29 am

The solaras are alright in the snow. Its a very good car overall but i have had much better success with snow tires. A big advantage of snow tires is that they are made froma cold weather rubber. All season tires have to be able to cover temperature ranges from 0 degrees - 100 degrees, so of course the closer to 0 it gets the longer they take to warm up. With my stock tires I couldn't get traction unless i drove around for like 15 minutes to get them warm, but with my snows I can just go right onto the snow and get much better traction.

by **Missay** » Mon Jan 20, 2003 11:31 am

i sorta agree w/ yank. this was my first winter period driving in the snow..and it's my first winter w/ the solara. the only other car i've driving in the snow w/ is a 92 chrysler new yorker one time last winter ( :roll:

i hate that car) and i think the new yorker did better. the solara is ok, but i was going 15miles per hour around a corner on a back road (not using gas, just coasting..it had only been snowing a couple of hours) and the back of the car kept sliding out under me. at one point i nearly had a heart attack b/c there was a parked car and i lost rear tire traction and had no control over the car sliding towards the curb. thank god i didn't brake and just steered in the direction of the slide

that was probably not a great spot tho to begin w/..there was a camaro in the same spot a little bit down the street that slammed into the curb. i'm not sure if he blew his tires out or not..but who knows how fast he was driving. b/c sometimes i think it's the driver that determines how a car does in the snow more so than the actual car. (unless it's rear wheel drive of course)

since i have little snow driving experience, one of these days i'm gonna lend my mom drive my car when we have a storm. she claims to be the "snow driving queen" :roll:

so she says the only reason i say my car sucks in the snow is b/c i'm "inexperienced" and don't know "how to drive in the snow".

yea, cause going 10-15miles per hour coasting..no brake..no gas, the back of the car should really be sliding out behind you :wink:

by **ChiroCop** » Mon Jan 20, 2003 11:53 am

I recently sold my Supra. That was a nightmare in the snow. The Solara is my first car with 1-front wheel drive, 2-ABS, and 3-traction control. These features make it MUCH easier in snow. I don't look forward to snow, but at least I'm sure I can get around now. You'll be fine with it in Colorado.

by **Jay** » Mon Jan 20, 2003 4:00 pm

It snowed alot where I live, and last few days, my ABS has been kicking in pretty much everytime I tried to stop...

Solaras are pretty decent in snow just like any other FWD cars.

by **krazeee1707** » Mon Jan 20, 2003 7:33 pm

This is my first year in my Solara. Before I bought this solara, I had a 92 v6 Camry. So far, the snow has been pretty good to me. It snowed alot during Christmas and my stock tires held up pretty well. As for the ABS, I kinda lost it when I dropped my car..but none the less, the solara handles and feels great in the snow. I especially like the drifting in empty parking lots..haha

by **ToyGuy** » Tue Jan 21, 2003 5:42 am

When you decide you've had enough slipping and sliding, even with ABS, traction control, driving like a blue-hair (sorry Gram) etc etc get yourself 4 good snow tires and find out how good the car will go. This was talked about before but believe it....4 snow tires are the real deal. Don't mess with 2 on the front for traction..cars were designed for the same traction level at all 4 corners. Wanna make it really loose in the back?? Put 2 snows on the front. It's COLD here in Pa, high of 18 predicted all week, and lots of snowy slippy roads. My I4, no ABS, lowered Solara goes, turns (and stops) with great confidence.

by **dbanker** » Tue Jan 21, 2003 10:51 pm

I live in Colorado as well and have driven my Solara through 3 winters. I would defiinitely recommend getting good snow tires. The snow traction isn't great, but it's good. My parents own a '01 Accord Coupe and I've driven that around in the snow several times as well and it's much better than the Solara. But it all depends on how you drive, as long as you go slow (and watch out for all the dumb a*#%! in SUV's and Trucks that think they're invincable) you'll be allright. I've just taken it easy on the snowy roads and given myself plenty of room and I've been fine.

by **impactX** » Tue Jan 21, 2003 11:36 pm

I drive on Bridgestone Blizzak WS50 on snow... let me just say, the solara feels like a tank when I drive it. It makes a world of difference.

car in snow

car in snow

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