The "Sonic in the snow" MASTER thread

[MarkS]

My LS 1.8 5 speed also has the Nokian WR G3. My only complaint is the increased noise on certain surfaces. The Nokian WR G2 tires (on a Saturn) felt a bit squishy at highway speeds in very warm weather. The WR G3 does not have that problem.

It appears that Nokian is introducing some new tires of this sort in Europe, announcing them on their world website.

 

[tpayne]

I have BFG G-force all season on my RS. They handle great all around. Good grip in he snow, slush, and they make you feel in control if you hydroplane on water.

 

[tpayne]

only down side is they are directional. so you cant do a proper rotation without unmounting and remounting the tire.

 

[dannyg]

I see the manual says to NOT use chains...but wondering if any of the folks on here have tried them anyway? Maybe there's some low-clearance chains that work? I've got UltraGrips on my Sonic now but wondering about this long steep driveway that I sometimes have to go up...

 

[mitdr774]

I suspect that most car owners manuals will state to not use chains more as a liability issue. Tire chains come in a variety of sizes and types and as such it is hard to design a car that the manufacture can guarantee will be fine with them on. Chains also have an impact on traction on non snow covered surface traction. I think that we all know that some idiot will leave the chains on all the time, wreck their car, and then sue the manufacture.

 

[carsNskis]

Getting ready to remount my Hercules, loved the Sumitomo over the Summer but ski season approaches.

I think two sets of tires is the best of both worlds for me. I'm in for 320 for summer and 300 for the winter set, then sold the optimos for 240.

The stock wheels have grown on me until I find the perfect 18's for my summer set up.

General has a cheap well rated snow, good test video http://m.tirerack.com/tires/TireRes...=Price&sortHighLow=lowToHigh&filtering=true#0

it's not the size, it's how you drive it....

 

[LorbeerTLC]

Ultra-Low Profile Tire Chains

I see the manual says to NOT use chains...but wondering if any of the folks on here have tried them anyway? Maybe there's some low-clearance chains that work? I've got UltraGrips on my Sonic now but wondering about this long steep driveway that I sometimes have to go up...

See my post from page 3:Ultra-Low Profile Tire Chains
http://www.sonicownersforum.com/forum/56673-post24.html

 

[sonic13rs]

I see the manual says to NOT use chains...but wondering if any of the folks on here have tried them anyway? Maybe there's some low-clearance chains that work? I've got UltraGrips on my Sonic now but wondering about this long steep driveway that I sometimes have to go up...

I have used them to get up my driveway (.3 miles uphill) but not on hiway (yet). In CO, you almost have to carry them in a non-4wheel drive now and use them, else a BIG $$ fine/ticket if you cause a problem on road. I got the wheel spacers on all 4 that allow chains NOT to hit springs (tested before and after). Even with chains I've had to pull RS uphill. :blankface:

 

[Quebeker]

I have a brand new RS, barely got 600 miles on the clock. And still got stock tires on it.
And according to all I read, my car has the worst tires in the Universe for winter driving.
Let's go see.

I gotta say, nowhere as bad as i was expecting after reading all the bad reviews.
It did slip a bit under braking, making the ABS work but I stopped on a small unplowed hill and i was able to get going again without any drama.
That was with about an inch on the ground but no previous snow or ice underneath this new snow.
Maybe once the roads are covered and it snows again it will be different but for now, it's OK.
Just cant drive like an idiot.
But I rarely do that anyway (I'm 47, got over 1.5 million miles under my belt and last time I hit the ditch in the winter, I was 17).
Unless you ask my wife, she'll say I always drive like an idiot.
Since the tires are brand new, I'll leave them on for this season but next year I might get some winter tires on.

 

[DeadPuppy]

We got a ton of snow in Michigan yesterday... It was the first snow for my RS.

I gotta say it was the worst I've driven. ABS worked HARD even under light braking. Had a heck of a time getting going again (forgot to disable traction control). It was rough. I have 6000 miles on the tires but I'm probably going to swap on some winter tires asap.

 

[borockster]

Instead of chains use tire socks. They work great!

 

[dannyg]

Instead of chains use tire socks. They work great!

Hey cool, you've tried them? AutoSocks? I take it you like 'em? Basically I just need help with a particular long driveway which is pretty steep/bad, I've been thinking of getting chains but have been considering socks. Thanks in advance for any comments.

 

[mitdr774]

The stock tires are not horrendous. I used them for a few snow falls when I first purchased my first Sonic. They worked alright as long as you drove in an appropriate manner. You have to learn how to drive on that particular tire in the snow. Its not that bad, but it is just an all season. I have not swapped over to winter tires yet, but probably will in the next couple weeks. I had no problems over the weekend other than plowing any snow over about 3" deep.

 

[ChicksHateMe]

I don't know what you got for stock tires, but my Yokohama's ARE horrendous in the snow.

I miss rear wheel drive. That was FUN!!! But these tires are like being in an uncontrollable toboggan with just a little bit of snow. I am hoping Santa brings me something better.

 

[mitdr774]

Stock Hankook Optimo tire. I only ran them for the first few snows the car saw. I have run winter tires since. I Have run winter tires on the past few cars.

 

[emtp563]

Hey guys, I want to get dedicated snow tires on my RS this Winter. I'd like to keep the nice wheels it came with in the garage for the season and get some cheap steel wheels. What size wheels would I need? I'm thinking a smaller wheel to accommodate larger snow tires? Am I correct?

 

[bluejay]

yes u can do that , cheaper than buying 17 inch snows. i have a set of 205/65/R15 tires im gonna mount them on some 15x6 steelies with a 5x105 bolt pattern .

 

[emtp563]

Thanks man. Bolt pattern is never something I considered. Gonna see what they have on tirerack.com

 

[bluejay]

tire rack is great they are selling 15'' steelies for the sonic for 63 bucks per, if the cdn dollar was stronger thats where id be going .

 

[emtp563]

I'm looking at tire rack now, showing 53 bucks/wheel.