shipman Posted December 11, 2003 Report Share Posted December 11, 2003 For those of us in the Northeast, we've had our first taste of winter this past week. I am always amazed at how great my Lumina is in the snow. Anybody else have opinions on this? We also have a 98 Intrepid with traction control and ABS and I would say my good ol' Lumina is better. Anybody have any ideas why?? Is it a particularly heavy car? Is it the trans? Bring on the snow!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phantomFE3 Posted December 11, 2003 Report Share Posted December 11, 2003 ya, w-bodies are pretty hefty cars. welcome aboard! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supreme_style21 Posted December 11, 2003 Report Share Posted December 11, 2003 My Lumina ROCKED in the snow.. I don't think its a W thing.. my Grand Prix blows in the snow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phantomshado Posted December 11, 2003 Report Share Posted December 11, 2003 the heavy weight of our cars is actually very bad. Any of you who have taken physics know that, according to Newtons second law (F=ma), a heavier car carries more inertia. This makes for quick stopping to be damn near impossible. The reason our cars are good: 1) About 60% of the total weight is over the drive wheels. 2) Our cars do not corner sharply. This helps in that sudden movements aren't as sharp as other cars. 3) Regarding number one, our cars are properly balanced. Unlike crown vics that have a lot of nose weight, and nothing over the drive wheels. 4) Our cars rule. End of story. Old chevy celebritys are by far the best thing I've ever seen in the snow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godofthunder Posted December 11, 2003 Report Share Posted December 11, 2003 HAHA! We bought a celebrity for $200 in great condidion (but a little wreaked) from an old guy for my brother (he had totalled 3 cars already). We did some serious stuff in it, over 1 foot or more (in VA...thats unimaginaable) banks to get over on the street. You could feel the stuff under the car. We also did some donughts. And all while my stepdad (whos a very calm guy, but likes to have fun) driving! Though...when it snows...i dont drive my CS. It stays in the driveway. We take the celebrity! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bolt_Crank Posted December 11, 2003 Report Share Posted December 11, 2003 my Z is the best handling W I've driven in the snow, not sure why where my bros GP, or someones Regal/Cutlass/4 Door Lumi had trouble in the snow I've gone through 2 feet of snow with my Z, and not had much problems... the only reason I started having any kind of trouble, is 'cuz my tires suck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy Posted December 11, 2003 Report Share Posted December 11, 2003 all of my W's have been good in the snow, that is why I bought my latest cutty...for a winter beater Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted December 11, 2003 Report Share Posted December 11, 2003 It's all in the tires. My 89 sucks, but had bad tires. The 88 is real good, but has fresh new tires. Narrower tires = better. Wider tires tend to float on top of the snow, narrower tires have more bite. Lower profile speed-rated tires are really, really bad on snow. My old Mercury Sable had really narrow 195 or 205 tires and it was probably a bit better than a W-body. That car could even drive on ice without sliding. A W-body isn't anywhere near as good as an AWD car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bolt_Crank Posted December 11, 2003 Report Share Posted December 11, 2003 I have worn tires, that are wider than my bros GP, and he's got really good ones on it, lol... at least, they were good last winter, lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thabulldog Posted December 11, 2003 Report Share Posted December 11, 2003 Hell yeah the Lumina rocks in the snow, I was scared to drive it in the snow at first but then I had some fun with it and started knocking down snow banks and doing donuts and drifting, ah much fun yes yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinski Posted December 11, 2003 Report Share Posted December 11, 2003 My lumina does great in the snow. I do put snow tires on it for the winter because we average 180" of snow each year here. They are Kelly Powerking Plus tires and still have great tread going into their 4th winter, and I do drive 900 miles round trip a couple times a winter to get home and back. They work great for me because they are more of a deep snow tire than an icy conditions tire; they do still improve traction a lot on ice, just not as much as some more icey conditions oriented tires do. Its common up here to have a couple inches of packed snow on the road, then some sand (too much snow for salt to handle up here) and then some fresh or sloppy snow on top of that. I beleive they are 205 width, whatever the stock tire size for 15" rims is. I leave my regular tires on my 16" rims. You can use wide tires in the snow, but they have to be real real wide, as in superswamper truck-tire wide. So I guess that doesn't apply to W's anyway. Only thing I wish is I could swap my parking break to the console. Oh how I love driving in the winter! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1badtgp Posted December 11, 2003 Report Share Posted December 11, 2003 We've had 3 w-bods driven in the harsh WI winter, 1 88 GP SE, 1 89 GP SE, and my TGP for a short time(had to). The SE's are probably the best winter cars I've owned!! The TGP howecver, SUCKS in the winter! I think it was just the super-wide tires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffcanada Posted December 11, 2003 Report Share Posted December 11, 2003 My '92 DOHC STE sucks the big one in the snow. Hell, it sucks the big one in the rain too. I don't have snow tires or anything (I do have very good all seasons), but I would still expect better than what it is. Even the traction control start button (2nd gear) doesn't make it much better. I had an '89 2.8 GP that was great in the snow and rain; never spun the tires or swung the back end. I don't know how much heavier my 4 door '92 DOHC is, but man does it spin the tires when the road is wet (and yes, my tread depth is fine). I guess it depends on perspective: driving to and from work in traffic it sucks. Going out late at night when it snows and the roads are empty on the other hand is a blast Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaroonRegal Posted December 11, 2003 Report Share Posted December 11, 2003 As far as I'm concerned, my Regal is great in the snow. Maybe compared to other FWD cars, it's not that great, I have no idea, but when compared to my Cougar, snow driving in the Regal seems effortless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supreme_style21 Posted December 11, 2003 Report Share Posted December 11, 2003 Yeah it takes next to nothing to get my GP sideways.. it basically sucks in snow/rain. I barely remember the Cutlass.. I think that one was pretty decent.. but my Lumina.. damn I think it would have plowed thru anything and everything and still maintain excellent control. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bolt_Crank Posted December 11, 2003 Report Share Posted December 11, 2003 maybe it's 'cuz the Lumi's are made in Canada Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supreme_style21 Posted December 11, 2003 Report Share Posted December 11, 2003 maybe it's 'cuz the Lumi's are made in Canada America Jr? Maybe.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AWeb80 Posted December 11, 2003 Report Share Posted December 11, 2003 my Z is the best handling W I've driven in the snow, not sure why It's because ur car is a FAT ASS!! LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bolt_Crank Posted December 11, 2003 Report Share Posted December 11, 2003 my Z is the best handling W I've driven in the snow, not sure why It's because ur car is a FAT ASS!! LOL lol, hey! it's on a diet! it lost 400lbs the other night! and it's not just 'cuz of that, lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daggar Posted December 11, 2003 Report Share Posted December 11, 2003 My 3.1 Lumina. Omg the things I did with that car lol. I would never dream of doing with my Z34. We had a pile of snow infront of our driveway and I flattened it with the Lumina. I skidded out on the Lumina and she mounted the concreate barrier. No damage to the car at all! Mud was a breeze with my 3.1 not to mention going sidways on a hill to avoid people blocking the road because of a train. I had plans to raise the car higher for clearence but decided against it. I went everywhere in that car. The Z34 is the best handling car I have ever had. I love being able to control the gearbox for the weather and it's the first car I have ever had with abs. But there is no way she will be doing things I did in the 3.1 hehe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89oldscutlass Posted December 11, 2003 Report Share Posted December 11, 2003 My old Cutty goes like hell in the snow its the stopping thing it doesnt like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thabulldog Posted December 12, 2003 Report Share Posted December 12, 2003 Tbirds are horrible in snow. My moms car got stuck in the snow with only an inch surrounding it. Horrible, horrible, horrible. The Lumina and the Town Car just drove right over whatever was in the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmokesGTP Posted December 12, 2003 Report Share Posted December 12, 2003 My GP is awesome in the snow. It only goes sideways when I want it to which is quite often . The second gear start works great too for starting to go up hills. For a front wheel drive car my GP is pretty easy to get the tail out when I want to even with just a little snow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AWeb80 Posted December 12, 2003 Report Share Posted December 12, 2003 I've Never had trouble in my GP.......never tried the Cutty yet.....maybe tonight.....O shit, maybe not, I't doesn't have an E-brake..well, it's there, just the ratchet on the pedal doesn't hold it, Hey that might work out well then..lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NORBI Posted December 13, 2003 Report Share Posted December 13, 2003 I know that i always take my old 88 CS when its snowing and that thing is like a tank in a snow and i feel much safer in it then i do in my moms 98 Chrysler Concorde. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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