carl a

not that i would want to drive mine in this bad weather. but i was wondering why corvettes handle so bad in the snow. someone told me it was because of the wide tires. i dont believe that. anyone explain this a little better?

78 Vette

I hear lots of people say that a wider tire will dissipate to much of the weight of the car and the tire will spin. On the other hand a skinny tire will cut down to the bottom and you will have more weight of the car in a smaller area. Not really sure if I believe it though I drove my vette in a foot of snow before it was painted and it drove great on a 245/60/15 tire.

62fuelie

Back when my Corvette was my only car, I drove it in the snow a few times. Didn't do any worse than any of the other rear wheel drive cars of the era. The low ground clearance and marginal rear wheel traction would be problems you'd have with the Vette in snow, but when the shark cars were built, nearly every other vehicle on the road had traction issues. We have been "spoiled" by front wheel drive vehicles. They DO A LOT BETTER in snow. That's one thing they are good for.

Jughead

When I was in College, '70's, I remember seeing C3's running with snow tires all the rime. Around here I usually see 1-2 newer C5's running in the snow too. Guess we all can't afford a "hobby" car.

Jughead

C2 with snow tires:

danboback

I think its a combo of the wide tires, the rear end gears, and the power. My vette sucks so bad in the rain when the roads are just wet I don't even want to try it in the snow. I really doubt the 3.73 gears help any!

carl a

jughead,,,where did you find those 50's photos??

Jughead

That's ME!!!!

I'll get you the link.

Jughead

Wanna know a car that's bad to drive in the snow? Even with All-season tires??? A 1991 Mustang GT!!!


My wife refuses to believe my post above about me seeing C3 driving in the snow. So now whenever I see a newer vette out in the snow, I feel obliged to point them out to her.

Here ya go Carl:

http://www.corvette.net/my-vette.htm

GTR1999

I drove my 69 vert with 60's tires and 336, 4 spd through several snowy winters in CT during the early 80's. Also through minor flooding, heavy rains,etc. C3's were as common as c4 are now, especially 68 & 69 verts,it wasn't a big deal. But if you think that was bad I could only imagine if you saw me walking across the rear deck
Gary

Ironcross

It`s the wide tires that cause the problem. I used studded snow tires on my 68 L88 before they became illegal in Michigan. I could go everywhere and that included going to Boyne Mt. every weekend. Horsepower had nothing to do with it because I have GOBS of it and then some. In fact it is one hell of a snow machine but rough on gas milage with a 4.11 gear.

Jughead

Wally, was there a choke on that Holley?

ram82fire

Blizzaks = traction in the snow !

geo

45ACP

"why are corvettes bad to drive in the snow?"

They aren't for a car. I've had mine out in snow a number of times and had no problems at all as long as it wasn't too deep - all bets are off once you start to to drag its belly, but that is the case with all wheeled vehicles.

If you want the ultimate in wheeled, widely available machines for going in snow, get a Jeep Wrangler.

If you want the absolute ultimate in snow-going vehicles, see your local Ski-Doo dealer!

MEAN72

I drove C1, C2 and C3 vetts as my daily driver in Ohio and Pennsylvania with no problems. My '72 C3 was real good in the snow. All of the vettes had high hp engines and manual transmissions. No real problem but I have to admit not as good as the Jeeps or some of the front wheel drives that I have owned.

CA-Legal-Vette

A buddy of mine had one of these in Ontario. Even with snow tires and 400 pounds of sand in the trunk, I don't think that he ever went up a hill any way but diagonally.

I think that the vete's snow woes are a combination of the above factors. Wide tires do tend to float (the snow version of hyroplaning). Rear wheel drive tends to be harder to control that front wheel drive and high torque certainly doesn't help. The weight of the car probably doesn't help either. Years ago I had a Dodge Shadow turbo. Tons of torque, wide tires and no weight. That car would get stuck in three inches of snow.

Tom454

Born in Syracuse NY and driving there since the age of 16 in snow...

With snow tires, the C2/C3 handles fine in snow up to about 6 inches. After that, ground clearance becomes an issue. Any vehicle can get hung up on snow when the compacted depth reaches the floor pan height. I regularly hung up my full size 1959 & 1966 Fords (big cars) in the snow when it reached 10" +. The snow actually lifts the car up and the tires lose their traction even though they are still on the ground. My 1958 T-Bird would get hung up quicker than the Fords because it had a massive floor pan and low ground clearance. It's SOP to have rock salt, a shovel, and cardboard in the trunk in the winter time.... that is, if you don't want to get stranded.

On the tire issue.... yes... wider tires do poorly in snow. With a wider contact patch, they also tended to ride up on the snow instead of cutting through it... similar to hydro-planing... thus giving you less traction & less control.

I experienced a wide variety of vehicles, tire types, and snow conditions. My comments are based on that experience.

Also... the driver has a LOT to do with it. Living in NC now, I am one of the few people in my neighborhood who can drive in snow without getting stuck or going off the road. Experience counts.... like learning how to ride a bike. You can't read about it... you have to learn it by experience. No other way.

We used to go to Roxboro Rd. Junior High School (now middle school?) after dark and practice driving in deep snow... until the local police would kick us out.

Anticipation, regulating speed, feathering the clutch, conserving momentum going uphill, rocking the car with the correct frequency.... are all part of successful driving in the snow. Some of the Corvette clubs in the snow belt even have autocrosses on frozen lakes. Been there, done that.

I am in the process of mounting some G70-15 studded snow tires on Mustang rims... we get ice here more than snow.

OneBrokenSmile07

Jughead, I have those same wheels on my 81

Ironcross

The Jeep Sahara is exactly what I drove today with over a foot of fresh snow on top of 6 inches that lingered before. It`s become my favorite toy. But I prefer the Vette with the studded snow tires over a Ski-Doo, more class and a lot warmer.

carl a

cool photos jughead.!! i also was a junior in high school in 1973! do you still have the c-2 ? ?