ZWILDZR1

I know some have already had a first snow this year. Those who live much farther north. Here in Southern Pennsylvania we have had pretty mild weather for the most part. Last week the temps dropped but it was a very mild warm Christmas. It started raining on Christmas day. My wife said it would have been nice to at least have snow on the ground and trees for December 25th. Well it waited until December 27 to do that.

It was warm enough had it not rained on Christmas I would have driven the Corvette. I was hoping the weather would continue mild enough to maybe drive a few more times . Once salt hits the roads that's it . I did drive my first Corvette a 96 LT1 coupe a few times including at least one snow storm that hit Southern Maryland one year. It was not fun.

It was a cold Sunday but no snow in the forecast. I was working a gun show in Montgomery County and at mid day the snow started to fall. We actually started packing up early. I knew this meant trouble for me driving the Corvette. I was right. There was snow coming down so fast that the roads were covered again not soon after the plow went by .

I was on a two lane road heading towards I70 when a pickup infront of me got stuck on a hill. I had to slow up and ended up getting stuck myself. As I tried to start moving the rear tires were pulling the back of the car towards the shoulder. The road had been recently paved and they rolled the new pavement over creating a lip a few inches from the shoulder. I tried backing up then going forward. Eventually the right front wheel dropped off the road onto the lower shoulder surface .

I was totally stuck. I tried back and fourth but had to stop as I was coming dangerously close to road sign. A lady stopped in a red Dodge 4x4 and asked if I needed help. She said she was glad she left her C5 in the garage today and offered to give me a lift. I called my roommate to tell him I was stuck and where I was. I didn't have long to wait. After about 20 minutes I saw a tow truck coming my way.

He slowed up and stopped. I explained that the right side tires dropped off the recently resurfaced road into the shoulder and I couldn't get back on the roadway. I asked how much to just pick me up and put me back on the road. He said $75.00 . I wasn't arguing with him. He raised the front wheels and had to be careful to not let the side hit the sign. He said he would take me down the road a bit to the first parking lot and set me down there.

Meanwhile my roommate called to say he was coming in his Chevrolet dually to see me in. I was back on the road and made it to I70 . We were talking and he was coming up behind me on the highway. He followed me back to Columbia , Maryland and we stopped off to get some chili and a beer. Then back to the house. It definitely was an experience. He asked why didn't I drive my van. I told him there was no snow in the weather forecast and the Corvette got much better gas mileage than the Ram conversion van.

It wouldn't be the last time I got caught out in the snow either. It happened again while I was driving my black 91 ZR1 . It did much better in the white stuff than the 96 LT1 with traction control and auto transmission. Not something I would recommend. However there was a time when Corvette owners could easily mount snow tires on their skinny wheels and go . I had no trouble with my 77 Trans Am with posi rear snow tires and some extra weight in the trunk. One year I used a set of BFG Mud Terrains . It was darn near unstoppable . I passed guys in two wheel drive pickups going up steep hills . The looks on their faces were priceless.

Natty C

Nope. Never driven it in the snow. Once they drop salt, it's pretty much sleeping until Spring.

It snowed down here for about two hours today, but nothing stuck. Raining now. Probably gonna rain the rest of the week.

I went and topped the fuel off before it started snowing.

Probably safe to say it's parked for the next 90 days.

Rex Ruby

Was at a Christmas party (years ago) in the Ruby and when we left there was about 2" of snow on the ground. Party was normally about an hour away but took us twice as long to get home. Hairiest part was going over bridges. A few years ago took the ZR1 out with about an inch of snow meeting friends for breakfast. Didn't really get stuck but the ZR1 did not like the snow. Left it at the meet point and came back after breakfast when the snow had melted. I drive mine year round unless there is salt down, then they stay in the garage until the salt is washed away!

Railroadman

You didn't specify that the Corvette had to be a C-4. So I offer the pic below of my very first car, a '59. Note the snow tires! That was my daily driver and it got me wherever I had to go.

cv67

Look at that, like new and you drove it everywhere. Why most dont today is beyond me if they got insurance.
I get the worry and all that but nothing is better than driving anywhere in something like that in todays day and age not just sunday morning.
Memories are made on the road!!

Skinny snow tires I bet would make most later models drivable in light snow. Low profile wide tires with stiff sidewalls it becomes a rollerskate

Chris44m

I have a 4X4 truck, I never drive my corvettes in the snow, that's not why I have one.
thats just me

Cheers

84 4+3

I drove it around the block once to warm it up for an oil change during an early snow probably 5 years ago. Summer tires don't like snow and I might as well have been driving on black ice. Not a fun experience. It was a nice packing snow so the car was kind of riding up on top of its tracks vs digging in... kept it to about 10 mph

ZWILDZR1

Thanks for sharing your stories. Yes this is for all years to share your Corvette snow stories. I've seen new C8's out and about in the cold and rain. There is at least one video on YouTube of a C8 owner doing donuts in the snow. For many their Corvette is a daily driver. In the next town over a later model C6 sits outside in the driveway, rain , sleet , or snow. They don't have a garage and the car isn't covered. I do remember that way back when the Corvette though special was a means of transportation as most automobile's were. Infact when the C4 and C5 were new many got used throughout the seasons.

QCVette

I drove C4's (an '88 A4 and a '94 M6) all year in Illinois. Even in the snow. If you drive cautiously it was fine. You can not use all of the C4's performance on dry roads or you will be in trouble.

It really comes down to tires. With a good tread pattern they are quite stable on the road. I ran a 255 tire on all four corners that had a reasonable tread.

I also had a truck and in heavy fresh snow I would drive that, but after a day or so the roads were clear enough to drive the Corvette again even if there was snow and ice still on the road.

One day I drove my '88 to work (about 50 miles one way to work) and got caught in an unexpected snow storm. We had 5 or 6 inches of snow before I drove home. For the most part it was OK because of tracks on the road, but I hit one section of road where it was deep and almost no tracks. I could hear the snow/ice scraping along the bottom, but I kept it moving and made it through without problems.

One day in my '94 there was a snow while I was at work. I was doing pretty well until a truck dropped a big chunk of ice (about 2 ft square) right in front of me. There was traffic so I couldn't change lanes and there wasn't enough room to stop. I hit it and got some damage. The lower air dam broke. I didn't have any other damage and it cost under $20 to fix. In a little over 5 years of driving C4's all year that was the only damage I had from winter weather.

There were a few things I noticed though. For example when I was changing bulbs on the rear side markers, the fasteners had some rust. They still worked, but I didn't like it. I suspect there were similar corrosion on a number of parts. But that was very minor. Because of this, I have not driven my current corvettes when there were salted roads.

The biggest damage was hitting a deer at about 65 mph in my '94, but that is another story.

Good luck.

edit: GM called it the all weather sports car in a '94 ad.

PAINTER MAN

Back in 1970 I was stationed at Ft. Knox. My family was in Ohio. I had a 69 convertible. I drove through a lot of snow getting home. The snow sounded like it would come through the floor. It helped to get into the tracks of a semi truck.

jez3941

When i bought my 86 4+3 the owner told me it handles better in snow than it does in rain, but i have never tested it out in snow

meh92

My snowblower is parked right behind my Corvette. That's all the snow stories I have!

Nowhere Man

my 94 was my only car for ten years. drove it in the snow many of times. the old joke at my work was if I could make it work no one else had an excuse because they can't make it. and I never called off .

*89x2*

I drove my 1989 Coupe nearly every day when new. 18k mi the first year, including snowy days. It was my only car.

I've driven other model / year Corvettes in all sorts of weather, all the way through the C7 model with over 750 hp. Care and respect, get the job done.