Drove the NSX on snowy roads. Once.

[NSX-2004/074]

Just in case anyone wanted to try driving an NSX on snow packed roads, don't do it.

We moved from Charleston, SC (great all year NSX driving) to Green Bay, WI (not great all year NSX driving) in early December. The NSX had to get there, so I followed my wife in the MDX for the trip.

All was well until we got to Green Bay and spent the night in a hotel before taking the NSX to our new house (and garage). The next morning she had to push me up the (very slight) slope to get out of the hotel parking lot - with traction control on, no wheel spin, but no go. With it off, I could have sat there with spinning tires forever.

20 miles of plowed, but hard packed snowy roads later, we get off the county road into the new neighborhood. Definite traction issues around the first curve, then came the (more significant) hill. I was already planning to call a tow truck, but she made it up the hill. Slight sliding around the left turn, then definite sliding into the 90 degree and up-hill right turn. (Much sweating now, even though it was 8 degrees outside).

Final left into the driveway, 2-3 MPH, steering wheel turned left, rear end going right. Stopped in the 2 foot snow bank 8 inches from the 3 foot square fieldstone driveway light post. Sigh.

My wife backed it out (I thought I was going to have to push) and nursed it into the garage, where it has been ever since (well, it was 37 degrees last weekend, so I pulled it out and washed it...).

I know all the Northern NSX owner's knew about this already, but thought I would share for anyone who *really* wondered if an NSX (with stock Bridgestones) *might* be okay in the snowy weather...Don't do it.

-Dave
'04 Rio Yellow / Onyx
(and a newly acquired 2004 Nissan Titan 4x4...)

 

[Crazy Acura]

Welcome to the midwest! You will come to love snow tires. :biggrin:

But yea the NSX doesnt have much clearance even with snow tires. Keep that baby in the garage!

 

[Hugh]

When I lived in NYC and had a new 1993 NSX, I regularly drove it to Killington, Vermont. Snow tires, ski rack and you're good to go.

I believe Mitch regularly drives in the snow too. I does take some practice though.

 

[2jz-nsx]

Welcome to Wi:smile:, another nsx awesome. Not that much longer will have the car out again.

 

[ChongLee]

Welcome to the midwest!
Glad the nsx made it okay.

 

[Duffer]

Dave - Welcome to the midwest. Guys like me are trying to figure a way out of here and then there are folks like you moving from awesome areas to a place like Green Bay. Anyways, look at your winter predicament as a plus: you can only drive seven months of the year. Therefore, less miles on your car. Make sure you have a nice car cover and a battery tender. April 1 can't get here soon enough. I am already suffering withdrawals.

 

[john@johnhudakracing]

I know all the Northern NSX owner's knew about this already, but thought I would share for anyone who *really* wondered if an NSX (with stock Bridgestones) *might* be okay in the snowy weather...Don't do it.

-Dave
'04 Rio Yellow / Onyx
(and a newly acquired 2004 Nissan Titan 4x4...)

If you are going to drive in the snow in a RWD sports car... use snow tires.

The Nissan Titan certainly should be more than enough to get the job done; even on the stock all-seasons they manage quite well.

 

[damthatbeaver]

I have 19s and 18s on my 91 NSX and low profile to boot...so I tried all-seasons...lol...way funny! Drove 4 days through snow, ice and sleet...and said, "forget it...time for my baby to hit the garage!". Now she comes out 3-4 months a year...as she should. I had a Corvette and I always drove it in the winter...but the V8 weight in the front really helped out!

Dam

 

[MashimaroNSX]

My personal experience with the NSX in the snow is that the Tires make all the difference. I've driven me NSX in light snow with kumho all seasons without really any difficulty except you need to be delicate with the steering and throttle. And since you did mention stock Bridgestones I completely agree. Don't do it.

 

[CarCrazed4Life]

I drive year round and even in some occasionaly light snow or recently plowed roads after snow has stopped accumulating.

I also use All-Season tires in the Winter simply due to the fact Summer tires are like having greasy tires on ice... no traction at all!!!

That said, I rarely drive in snow, but I can drive year long in the cold with All-Season tires.

Winter tires are needed if you plan on driving even in the snow IMO. Those that have there NSX as here DD should invest in them if your in climate areas that don't allow you to enjoy summer tires all year long.

 

[ftuhy]

The answer is tires, and then skinny tires. I only drove my NSX once on about an inch of new snow with the OEM Yoko's, and that was manageable. With its present Goodyear F1 GS-D3's, even if the roads are dry I won't even take it out if the temp is below 34F.

I have a long (200') steep driveway. My '84 Corvette with the original Goodyear Gatorbacks couldn't get up the drive if there was more than an inch of snow. With the exact same size Goodyear GS-Cs, the car climbed right up through 3 inches of snow. So, tread compound and tread pattern are key elements.

Finally, think skinny tires for snow. Wider tires make it more like a toboggan riding on top of the snow. Skinnier tires dig in deeper for more grip. (Same weight, less square inches = more psi.). On my '64 Corvette, with the original skinny tires in an all-season compound, the only time that car stopped in snow was when the snow was deep enough that the frame started touching.

Finally weight distribution matters. For a 2WD car (F or R), you want 50% or more of the weight on the drive wheels. The NSX is great there - but wide tires, no ground clearance, and summer high-performance tread compounds greatly trump any weight distribution advantage.

So, in WI, the realistic answer may be to leave it in the garage until spring. An NSX on tall, skinny snow tires would look .... wierd! :frown:

 

[Sketch]

Most summer performance tires are not meant to be used below temps of 40F or so. I've driven my NSX on OEM Yokos in dry sub-30F temps a couple of times and have been surprised at how big of a difference there is in traction just from the temperature difference. It's like going from high performance tires to cheap all-seasons. I wouldn't even think about driving it in actual snow on summer tires.

I'd also second winter tires for your daily driver (or a winter beater with wnter tires).

 

[NSX2398]

I live in the Great White North and have been driving my NSX year 'round for the last 7 winters so I can confidently say that winter tires make a huge difference and my NSX has better traction than most FWD vehicles. I have driven in 5-6" of snow without getting stuck and have never had problems with grades .. although it's pretty flat where I live on the prairies and we don't get freezing rain that often. But it was -37 this morning which tends to reduce traction on even winter tires.

I've never had Bridgestones but before buying winter tires, I did try some limited experiments on packed snow streets with the Goodyears that were on the car .. and although I didn't have the traction issues mentioned above, the car would not go 'round corners so I would agree with the majority comments that using any kind of summer tires (and most all seasons) is ill-advised.

For those with earlier years, get yourself a cheap set of first gen wheels and throw some winter tires on them and keep driving. For fun, find yourself a vacant parking lot; turn off TCS; and practice your drifting skills :biggrin:

 

[damthatbeaver]

Wow Ian...very impressive...what do you run in the summer?

Dam

 

[ca2822]

Yeah the whole rear wheel in snow/ice doesn't mix well. Had to make a drive from Denver to C springs today... Denver was gorgeous with clear skys and smooth roads. But I was in for a surprise when I got to the Springs... just a little bit of packed snow on the road did not make for a fun return home.

 

[NSX2398]

Wow Ian...very impressive...what do you run in the summer?
Dam

Couldn't even tell you... as I've put them away for the winter. Nothing special though .. usually Goodyears. My winter tires are Michelin Actic Alpins as I recall

 

[NSX2398]

Yeah the whole rear wheel in snow/ice doesn't mix well.

I don't understand this comment at all. Having the majority of the vehicle weight over the driving wheels is optimum. TCS and LSD also help. I do agree with a previous post that running wide tires doesn't help. Just watch WRC on the winter circuits .. they're all running tires that don't look much wider than some biker tires I've seen (but they're also seriously studded).

 

[martin]

Hi

When I first bought the NSX back in 2003 I took her out for a spin on the snow.

Read about it here November 2003

And then christmas 2003

I would never think to drive the NSX in the snow with summer tyres. That would be crazy.

My NSX is parked until about april/may. When I get the Racing Brakes on I got to have at least 17 inch in the front. So that means that the OEM 15/16 will never be used.

Regards

 

[goldNSX]

@martin: Just came to my mind that up in the cold/snowy north you only have a very limited timeframe for driving the NSX if you only use summer tires. May to October?

I'm currently dying thinking of the comming two months to go until mine gets on the road again.

 

[NSX-2004/074]

Hadn't really considered snow tires, but absolutely understand the difference they would make. That said, I think she'll stay in the garage for a few more months yet. And, yup, installed the battery tender 2 weeks ago, will have to check out covers I guess.

We drove it up here on the summer tires since we didn't expect the roads to be too bad, and they really weren't - just reinforces the importance of having the right equipment for the job.

The MDX with all season tires hasn't even noticed the snow / ice since we got here, though a lilttle tenderness with the throttle and steering is needed at times The MDX is easier to drive in the snow / ice / slush than the Titan, actually. Gotta love AWD.

-Dave

 

[martin]

@martin: Just came to my mind that up in the cold/snowy north you only have a very limited timeframe for driving the NSX if you only use summer tires. May to October?

I'm currently dying thinking of the comming two months to go until mine gets on the road again.

Hi

Yes the NSX season here is about 10th of may until late october. (late if we are lucky).

What I do is drive twice the speed that you do and then get a lot of mileage done :smile:

Nah. But I really do appriciate the drives I take since the season is so short. What we should have had is cheap tires as the season is so short.

Sadly we do not. I see now that a set of 18 and 19 is about 1000 Euro's.

Regards

 

[Hapa88]

You should just live in SoCal, then you wouldn't have this problem, EVER! :biggrin:

 

[goldNSX]

I see now that a set of 18 and 19 is about 1000 Euro's.

That's not a bad price, ok for Swiss standards. But with the internet shops the prices for tires have come down significantly. :wink:

(OT, I know.)

 

[PhiAlpha44]

Just in case anyone wanted to try driving an NSX on snow packed roads, don't do it.

No kidding???? I'm not sure what even made you try in the first place. That's like saying "Just in case anyone wanted to toss a running chainsaw to a friend, don't do it.

You should just live in SoCal, then you wouldn't have this problem, EVER! :biggrin:

No thanks. I'll keep my guns, my rights, and my ability to modify my car without B.S. smog policies. God bless the socialist republic of California for making the rest of us appreciate what hasn't been taken away.

 

[NSX-2004/074]

We moved from Charleston, SC (great all year NSX driving) to Green Bay, WI (not great all year NSX driving) in early December.

That's why I tried it. The commute from SC would be a bit much to get to the new job...