How does your Sonic drive in winter conditions? Winterproofing?

[pounamu]

Hi everyone,

I'm about to purchase my 2013 Sonic later this week. I live in Boston, and one of the reasons I went with the Sonic was the fact that it's heavier and more sturdy-feeling than most other subcompacts out there. But, if you live in an area that gets severe winter condition, how do you find your Sonic performing? And, what steps do you take to winter-proof it? Winter tires only, or would you recommend to add steel wheels, or is that overkill?

 

[mitdr774]

Last winter I picked up a set of cheap steel wheels and some Winterforce tires. That was it. Probably would have been just fine with the factory wheels, but I dont like swapping tires on wheels if I dont have to.

I had no issues getting around.

 

[pounamu]

Last winter I picked up a set of cheap steel wheels and some Winterforce tires. That was it. Probably would have been just fine with the factory wheels, but I dont like swapping tires on wheels if I dont have to.

I had no issues getting around.

Thank you! Did you also need extra TPMS sensors for the winter tires? I"m assuming the mechanics can take care of all that...

 

[mitdr774]

I am running TPMS free with my winter wheels and LTZ 17s. Only my factory 15s have sensors. If you can deal with a light on the dash and know how to check tire pressures, you dont need the sensors. The $200 cost for sensors is not something I am going to waste my money on if I dont need to.

 

[Swordsmith]

If you search back through the forum you will find a number of threads about Sonic performance in winter conditions, from last winter.

By and large, the consensus seemed to be that the Sonic is a good winter car, although of course it isn't an AWD jacked up SUV (if you want that, Buick is selling a Sonic-based AWD SUV), and that the following things will help:

1) consider replacing the tires. The stock Hankooks are only really good in dry weather. All Weather type tires will do fine for most people, but if you are in a really winter heavy area, winter tires and summer tires might be in order. Rims don't seem to matter much.

2) First opportunity, go out and play with your ABS, TC, and SC somewhere safe and slippery. Sonic's version of ABS in particular is shockingly harsh and overeager compared to most cars, and the time to learn how it feels is not in the middle of a busy intersection. Once you get used to it it seems to work fine, although there are certainly people who hate it so much they permanently disable the whole system.

3) If you aren't used to a modern FWD car, take a little time feeling it out as well. Old FWD in slippery conditions could be a nightmare, but the Sonic (and, I hear, other modern FWDs) is very controllable, you just have to learn when to give it a little gas as opposed to tapping the brakes on an RWD

 

[BriG21]

I just got really good all season tires on 17x8 rims. I am sure the tires are much better than the stock tires. I've also heard thinner tires are better for the snow. Would you guys recommend switching back to stock 15x6 wheels and tires for the snow or just keep the new 17x8 rims with better tires on.

 

[ahtoxa]

Comparing apples to apples, meaning looking at subcompact cars with similar weight, wheelbase dimensions and drivetrain layout, all are going to perform very similarly in the snow given the same tires.

This question is rather pointless. With good winter tires the car will handle great and be similar to all other FWD subcompacts and compacts on the market.

 

[photoman475]

I disagree-the question is not pointless. It's a good one. Why not have an idea of what you might be able to expect? So here's my answer:

We bought our Sonic at the end of April 2012, so we had plenty of time to get used to the car before the winter snow and ice and cold of North Dakota. The car did just fine. Started every time with very little trouble when the Fix or Repair Daily would have had some problems with that. The Sonic would take a little longer to crank when it was -20F, but that was about it.

We ran the car on the stock tires and rims, and the traction control was on all winter. The ABS worked without a hitch, and we have ice on our roads just about all winter. (The city of Fargo hates salt, so they will use a salt/sand combination or just sand on ice at intersections.) I will not hesitate to use the car in manual mode on ice or in snow accumulation, my wife won't; for her it's auto all the time. Great if you have the slush box transmission and can use it, otherwise, you'd still be fine.

Just keep an eye on your tire pressure and keep it up to spec and I think you'll do fine.

Photoman475

 

[Maddmatts]

The biggest weakness the Sonic has in winter is the OEM Hankook tires. They're ok on ice but they have nearly no traction on snow.

That said, drive smart and it'll get you through the winter as is.