Winter Driving

[dallas]

I just picked up my first LX on Wednesday ('08 300C), coming out of an '01 Sierra 2500HD 4x4. Just wondering how well these cars handle the snow... I obviously won't be blasting through drifts like I did with my truck, but are they decent?? The 50/50 weight distribution and heavy overall weight should help IMHO as well as the ESP system. And contrary to how some people feel, I am grateful for RWD in the snow, I HATE FWD and how those cars plow and understeer. I used to drive a 2WD V6 Dakota with no front ABS and no ESP/TRAC and after it got going it was ok... the only challenging part was getting it going LOL!!!

[BlazeHemi]

I drive an R/T Magnum and I think it is great in the snow. I just have all season goodyear tires on as well. I was going to get snow tire for this year but after driving through our last big dump of snow, I didn't see the need. Sure snowtires would be better but the all season worked fine. But one think I did find is that in the deep stuff to get going you need traction control off. I was trying to pull into a drivieway at a plaza that wasn't plowed out yet. It was a slight incline with about a foot and a half of snow that had only been driven through a couple of time. With traction control on the car wouldn't move but with traction control off the car went right through it.

Greg

[Nuclearjack]

The 300 struggles going up hills. Turning off traction control is absolutley required. The back wheels will spin like mad, and when it does that the back end heads to the right. Make sure you have room on your right side to power up hills almost sideways.

[lafrad]

If you get snow tires, the car will be just as good as you can get for any non-4x4 truck.

On "All Season" tires, it can get a little slick, but overall the cars handle well and move okay.

I had the unfortunate luck to get caught with my Summer F1 tires on in some snow last winter... I had trouble backing out of parking spots in 1/4" of snow... lol

[dallas]

ok cool. thanks guys.

[Nuclearjack]

I should give the 300 credit in that on LEVEL (completely flat) snow covered ground the accelerations is amazing and a no brainer. You can floor the throttle and go. The computer will cut power as needed and let you accelerate. Whether you give it normal or full throttle the car will only accelerate as fast as traction will allow.

Also check out http://www.lxforums.com/board/showthread.php?p=1246795#post1246795 which has some more posts about winter driving.

[formerice]

Snow tires, 150 lbs tube sand in the back and when its really bad use the manual shift feature. Start in 2'nd up shift to 3'd as soon as you can. I have a 4wd QC Ram when it gets really deep, but the Magnum is excellent. No worries, just feather the throttle.

[KWhale]

Snow tires, 150 lbs tube sand in the back and when its really bad use the manual shift feature. Start in 2'nd up shift to 3'd as soon as you can.......

For what it's worth formerice....there is no way to start out in 2nd. If you are at a dead stop, you can put the shifter into 2, 3, 4, 5 (if you have it) but that does not mean that's the gear you are actually in. From a dead stop, you will be in 1st gear only, no matter what. Not being a dork or anything, but I've seen a few people post this sort of information on driving in the snow, and it's just not true. That's the only reason I posted here, just for accuracy, not to be dork ;-)


My 300c experience, 1/2 way through our 3rd Canadian winter is pretty much like everyone who posted above. Once these cars get rolling, they are tanks and very easy to drive in the winter. From a dead stop, it does take some finess sometimes to get rolling (ESP off), and if the snow is over 6-8" deep, they sort of become expensive snow plows lol....still fun to turn off the ESP (well 80% off), and play around in empty parking lots!!

[karfreek]

FWIW I have an 05 MRT and I love it in the snow. I have dedicated rims with Blizzak LM-25s on them, and recemmond them 100%. If that is too expensive then Winterforce makes a great snow tire as well in the stock 18" size. With snow tires I have absolutely no problem getting moving from a stop. Have fun out there!

Jay

[MidnightSXT]

Dont kid yourself with the esp in winter...its a worthless feature and annoying having the engine cut out on slippery surfaces. First thing I do is turn it off when i start my car.

[Tbird100636]

FWIW I have an 05 MRT and I love it in the snow. I have dedicated rims with Blizzak LM-25s on them, and recemmond them 100%. If that is too expensive then Winterforce makes a great snow tire as well in the stock 18" size. With snow tires I have absolutely no problem getting moving from a stop. Have fun out there!

Jay
I also have Blizzak LM-25's on dedicated rims, police rims in fact. The only time I had trouble with the factory Goodyears was trying to get up an unplowed steep hill without any starting momentumn. Getting started from a stop wasn't bad. If the hill was slightly plowed or not too deep I had a better chance.

[Turbobuckeye]

I also have Blizzak LM-25's on dedicated rims, police rims in fact. The only time I had trouble with the factory Goodyears was trying to get up an unplowed steep hill without any starting momentumn. Getting started from a stop wasn't bad. If the hill was slightly plowed or not too deep I had a better chance.

x 2

[cm2005300]

The 300 struggles going up hills. Turning off traction control is absolutley required. The back wheels will spin like mad, and when it does that the back end heads to the right. Make sure you have room on your right side to power up hills almost sideways.


AMEN BROTHA LEARNED THAT THE HARD WAY BY DOING!

[Northern300]

I am up in Northern Ontario and I put on some Winterforce tires from Tirerack.com and the car is absolutely amazing in the snow.

Couldn't be happier.