The "Sonic in the snow" MASTER thread

[mitdr774]

First experience with my '13 Sedan 1.4T Auto in snow this week, in conjunction with -15 temps.

In a word: @%^&*!

These stock tires [CENSORED] suck!

Chevy should be ashamed to supply POS like this. I'm galled that with only 2,100 miles on the vehicle I should have to buy a new set of tires.

Frosts my nads.

So you are upset that GM, like just about every manufacture, selected an all season tire that should cover most driving situations in most markets the car is sold in for a reasonable cost to the vehicle manufacture? I am not aware of any tire that is ideal for all driving conditions in the world. For most conditions encountered in my car the stock all seasons are acceptable. That being said all season tires are not ideal for -15 and snow. Most people that have been driving for any time understand this.

That being said, learn how to drive your car in the cold and snow. I used to drive a previous car with far more power than my Sonic year round. Never ran winter tires. In the winter I would throw the stock RS-A tires back on and hope for the best. If you learn how to drive the car you can get around. You just cant mash the gas and hope for the best.

 

[PolkSDA]

So you are upset that GM, like just about every manufacture, selected an all season tire that should cover most driving situations in most markets the car is sold in for a reasonable cost to the vehicle manufacture? I am not aware of any tire that is ideal for all driving conditions in the world. For most conditions encountered in my car the stock all seasons are acceptable. That being said all season tires are not ideal for -15 and snow. Most people that have been driving for any time understand this.

That being said, learn how to drive your car in the cold and snow. I used to drive a previous car with far more power than my Sonic year round. Never ran winter tires. In the winter I would throw the stock RS-A tires back on and hope for the best. If you learn how to drive the car you can get around. You just cant mash the gas and hope for the best.

You might want to think about not lecturing in a condescending manner. The only thing that accomplishes is giving the perception that you are a complete and utter d-bag.

I'm not a teenager driving in snow for the first time. I've been driving in snow for over 30 years. The fact of the matter is that this is my 4th vehicle purchased brand new, and of the 4 it is by far the worst in snow with stock tires.

Read this forum. I'm not alone in my assessment of the stock tires. They are generally considered one of the weakest points of the vehicle.

Have a day.

 

[mitdr774]

Have you been driving your current car in snow for all those years??? Every car is different and you have to learn how it behaves. You have an entry level car with cheap all seasons on it. I never said our stock tires were awesome, but they are acceptable if you learn how to drive in the snow on them. If you want better grip in the winter you need snow tires. It does not matter what all season you have, snow tires are better

 

[Jarrow]

+1 for snow tires

 

[savegejon123]

Got snow tires on my fronts. Wow. World of difference. Save your life and maybe some others and invest in some. I live on a hill with a drive 1/8m long and 45degrees and I flew up it now problem with a couple of inches of snow. Could not have said the same a few weeks ago.

 

[attrapereves]

The factory tires, do they have a warranty on them for wear?

 

[Quinton Exler]

Odd that people are hating the stock tires... We got 1" of solid ice followed by about 3" of snow in my area and I had no troubles, actually the stock tires impressed me. Compared to my old 2.4L Cobalt SS with Nitto tires I'd say it was equal and them were fairly wider tires too.

 

[mitdr774]

wider is actually worse in the snow.

 

[Quinton Exler]

wider is actually worse in the snow.

They were also 100x nicer tires and on a heavier car too though.

 

[Hue Jass]

not sure what the stock tires are but mine came with hankooks and are terrible in the snow this past Friday 1/11 i couldn't even get to work in the snow, spun out couldn't stop very frustrating.

 

[mitdr774]

The number one mistake I see people making in snow is traveling way to fast. Before blaming the tire maybe look at your driving style. Many people manage just fine on the stock tires, but they also drive in a manner that is appropriate for the conditions.

 

[KartRacer]

The number one mistake I see people making in snow is traveling way to fast. Before blaming the tire maybe look at your driving style. Many people manage just fine on the stock tires, but they also drive in a manner that is appropriate for the conditions.

I was going to just let it go, but you are so right on! If there is no experience with FRONT DRIVE, TURBO power train it is easy to get into trouble. The Hankook tires are really good for normal use, can't comment on aggressive performance use.

 

[sx sonic]

The number one mistake I see people making in snow is traveling way to fast. Before blaming the tire maybe look at your driving style. Many people manage just fine on the stock tires, but they also drive in a manner that is appropriate for the conditions.

Which with poor winter roads is about 20 to 25 mph below the posted highway speed limit with a competent and experienced winter driver.

I only went below the speed limit in my RWD truck with All Terrains (no TC) when there was Ice or fog. Never any close calls, and that's with lots of driving on roads that make many people call of work.

With the stock hankooks I've had to cut cornering and cruise speeds by a 1/3 or 1/2 and still it's less confidence inspiring than the truck. Some of it is because It's FWD but mostly the tires. I've almost gone into 3 ditches this year, creeping around turns at 8mph with nothing but steering inputs and the car idling in 2nd.

The fact that the tires often broke loose in 2nd and 3rd gear below 1500 RPM (sometimes 4th or 5th in Perf mode) is telling of how terrible the stock tires are and how cautious one must drive.



I don't consider driving slow as sh!t managing thru the winter. More like getting by with the skin on your teeth. It's both nerve racking and terribly unpleasant, constantly being passed by half the cars on the road and still not feeling confident.

 

[mitdr774]

I had no problems traveling at my normal ****ty condition speeds when I had the stock tires for the first winter.

One more than a few occasions I have had people blow by me only to end up in a ditch a few miles down the road. Snow tires, AWD, and 4WD encourage people to drive faster than is really safe. I run snow tires, but I still adjust my winter driving accordingly for winter conditions.

 

[dbarrett231]

I live in Fairbanks Alaska and my rs does great in the snow and the cold. the tires spin in some of the icy conditions but other than that it does great.

 

[TheFallenAngel12]

BridgeStone Turanza Serenity Plus (Grand Touring All-Season) Low Rolling Resistance, Blackwall, 205/55R16 (23Lb's/tire)

Those are the tires im running on my 2012 Chevy Sonic Sedan. Huge improvement over the stock tires. I feel much more confident driving my sonic in this winter weather this year than i ever did last year with the stock hancook tires on it. Today showed me just how awsome these tires are with this crappy weather we have been having here lately the start of this year.

My friend lives out in the country area of the town next to mine. So lots of open field road to travel to get to his place. after just getting almost a Foot of snow here on Friday, then another inch Saturday night, and then windy conditions since early this morning. The roads to his place were Beyond Terrible!!

Snow Blowing like crazy onto the roads, drifts galore. Some areas the drifts were halfway up the front of the car beyond the ground clearance of these cars at stock height. My sonic with the Bridgestone Tires equipped, Plowed thru the drifts and handeled the snowy and slippery conditions like a champ.

No complaints what so ever here with the new tires i bought in the summer of 2013. I was very impressed with them. I know for a fact the stock hancooks would have never made it thru that mess today. very happy with my purchase of new tires. My factors were slower speeds, never went over 40mph more often only doing 30mph or slower depending on the area conditions. Traction Control off with stability control still active. Made for a safe travel today! :banana:

 

[twotails]

I had wondered why this topic had its own superthread, then yesterday I actually did quite a bit of driving on freshly iced and snowed roads. During a few instances where I wasn't hyperventilating from fear of death, I noticed that several times when I was braking, it the brakes felt weird, like it was resisting me pushing down, or almost like something was caught inside the brakes - it felt like an up down up down sort of weird vibrate-y feeling. Is this that anti-skid thing that kept lighting up? Or something else?

 

[Blue hedgehog]

That was the anti lock brakes.

 

[twotails]

That was the anti lock brakes.

I've never noticed that happening before when driving in non-snowy weather. If that was ABS, then what does the anti-skidding traction control thing do?

 

[Blue hedgehog]

The stabilitrac applies the brake on one or more wheels to help keep you facing in the direction of travel. It does this without you touching the brake.

As far as not noticing it in non snowy weather. If the brakes don't lock. The abs doesn't turn on. Since traction is reduced on snow and ice you probably locked the brakes, causing the abs to kick in.

A little trick I learned. When the abs kicks in, don't try to push the brake pedal to the floor. The abs will take over when it senses 1 or more wheels locking. Once it sees the wheel is rolling again it will give you back control of the brakes. Don't try to pump the brakes. Just hold steady pressure on the pedal until you are going slow enough or come to a stop. Also don't panic and push harder on the pedal. That will cause the abs to immediately kick back in when it gives you control back.