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I am a new owner of a 1994 944NA, and this is my first winter with a RWD car. Being very happy with the last two months ownership of the car, I found it much much easier to get stuck in the Volvo than in the Acura Legend. I live in central Mass, where the all time monthly snow record at 40 inches was just broken, and the streets are generally hilly. I found myself afraid of going up every slight slope. The car was parked on street, and it won't make itself out of half foot of snow, while the FWD acura legend will push through one foot new snow without too much trouble. The tires I have on the car are so called 'Nokian all season NRW' with at least 80% thread left. I googled a lot and read a lot good things about Nokian NRW , some even say they are better than dedicated snow tires while can be had on car all year around. Once the car starts moving it drives fine on the NRW's. As long as I ease the gas when turning the tail will stay in its place. On roads with one or two inch snow and mud the tail sometimes will shift left and right a bit but never really caused any trouble. But starting from a dead stop with a bit slope and snow can be really hard. It would spin likely crazy. As far as I can tell the diff is open. I did not put any weight in trunk. But now I think it might be a good idea.
So just wonder if anyone has experience with Nokian NRWs? Are they adequate for New England winter? Or should I put on a set of dedicated snows like blizzarks? I would think studded snow tires are the best. But the roads here were plowed well. So I only need to drive on snow for less than 10 days a year, studded tires would be a big hassle.
--
1994 944NA 100K miles
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your post confuses me...
you seem to be talking about fresh snow, then about studded tyres, then about 1 foot of snow...
1. Studded tyres make a diference on ice, on 6" of fresh snow they will make no difference.
2. 12" of snow and your stationary - you simply dont have that much clearence at the front and your a snow plow...
3. Snow tyres will help, but to be honest not THAT much starting off, if its starting off do yourself a favour and go buy a shovel and 2 bags of grit, start by digging the car out, sprinkle the grit in front of the rear wheels and then put the bags over the rear wheels for weight - oh and drive with a full tank of gas (weight!)
4. I am guesing your car is an auto, the combination of rwd and auto requires very judicious use of the right foot!
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Sorry for not being clear in the orignial post. I found the car mostly doing fine in new loosenly packed snow. Six inches is not a problem. Packed snow (those pushed aside by a snow plow or pressed hard by other cars) is another story. With a little resistence before the front wheels or a slight slope, the rear wheels seem to have no traction at all. My gf is the driver of the car, so sand and shovel might not be a good idea.
Consider the fact that the car drives fine once it starts moving and the streets are generally well plowed, I am thinking of using snow chains when a blizzard attacks and this seem to give the most flexibility. Do all snow chains require removing the wheels to install? Do I have to put them on all four wheels?
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1994 944NA 100K miles
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I would recommend the Michelin Arctic alpin tires. They are inexpensive tires for Michelin and rears only got my 744 turbo from western MA to Philly in an unbelievable blizzard - the air dam was pushing snow. I91 was SUVs only and I found myself alone on the GW Bridge, which was awesome. Less a stop at a Stop and Shop in central CT for cheese and flowers, it took about 9 hours, but I made it safely. I now have a set of 4 on my 850 and am ready for anything. I would recommend getting a narrower tire than the summer tires too - If you're normally using 205s, try 195s. Check out the picture.
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Regarding your tires, and any tire rating for that matter, as an engineer I can speak to you clearly and tell you "performance" is measured by ability to brake, stop, quietness of tread, quality of rubber, etc.
Look at the snow plows, do they have tires designed like yours? No they have thick treaded deep groved winter tires.
Since you are talking about simply not getting "stuck" when parking, use the following rule: The thicker deeper tread the better. All seasons DO NOT have winter tread. They might perform well on the highway winter but do not count on them on getting you out of a foot of snow. Also, nothing "sticks" to ice.
"Sticking" is simply the ability of a tread to disperse water that forms on the ice when a tire's weight goes on top of it. Hence, this too only helps at high speeds.
GET WINTERS. AT LEAST IN THE BACK... And for city driving and uphills, ADD WEIGHT to your trunk, like a sack of gravel over each rear wheel. You will be fine after that.
Also check if yo uhave a limited slip differential or not, they too effect the cars ability in many ways... If you tend to see one tire spining over both, likely it is not limited slip.
Performance is different between RWD and FWD, but if you understand that both sides have limitations, you will apreciate what each have to offer.
That's my two cents.
Enjoy that car!
Greg Mustang
Montreal
Canada
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posted by
someone claiming to be s80nut
on
Thu Jan 27 14:33 CST 2005 [ RELATED]
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I agree with tvpierce. Get two wheels from a auto recycler (junk yard) and get you some studed tires. I live in carolinas and we get snow 1-2 times a year and in the mountains every 2-4 weeks. I like to ski so I bought a good set of chains because i drive 100 miles then run into the snow. I recomend RUD chains from Germany. They are easy to install and you can`t stop`em. That would be pain in arse for you to install chains every time it snows so the studed tires make more sense.
regards,
Lane
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Where do you get RUD chains? I did a search and and found nothing for cars,only SUV's. Did you mail order or buy locally? I live in Eastern Pa. Matt
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posted by
someone claiming to be s80nut
on
Sun Jan 30 11:33 CST 2005 [ RELATED]
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Hi Matt, I bought them dirrect as I could not find a dealer locally. I can`t find their ph. # or my reciept but the case has a stock # 01 179 and a hand written # 02-1530. If for some reason you can`t find a ph.# leave a message and I`ll dig further in my file`s.
Good luck,
Lane
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posted by
someone claiming to be Orian Bliver
on
Fri Jan 28 00:32 CST 2005 [ RELATED]
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Snow tires have much less lateral stiffness than the typical touring tires used on 940's. If you just use two snows, the mismatch will give you very disturbing handing on dry pavement. This is not just theory, I suffered through that one winter. Go with four snows.
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While I didn't articulate it in my first post, I actually recommend studded snows on all 4 corners. Just putting snows on the rear will get you going... but personally, I've grown rather fond of stopping and turning as well. If you ever drive a car with snows on all 4 wheels, you will never want to settle for anything less.
Jeff Pierce
--
'93 945 Turbo ( one kickass family car ! ), '92 Mercedes 190E (my daily driver), '53 Willys-Overland Pickup (my snow-plow truck/conversation piece -- sold to a loving home), '85 Jeep CJ-7 w/ Fisher plow
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posted by
someone claiming to be s80nut
on
Thu Jan 27 15:04 CST 2005 [ RELATED]
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My 240 is adequate w/o snows. For years I have used just 2 snows and this gives the car's rear end the "bite" it lacks w/o them.
On a 940 I'd go with 4 dedicated snows and used wheels (to save money). As you mentioned, for 10 days a year studded snows are overkill - IMO.
--
90 244DL about 1/4 million miles - original engine/drivetrain :)
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Hey, Ma.
I'm in Maine. Do yourself a favor and get a set of studded snow tires on their own set of rims. (My favorite brand is Hankook) I know it seems like a lot of money, but remember, when you're on one set of tires, you're not wearing the other ones out. So they last twice as long (in years). The only disadvantage is that you have the upfront cost of paying for two sets of tires. But for $300-$400 you will turn your Brick into the best car you've ever driven in snow -- believe me!
Jeff Pierce
--
'93 945 Turbo ( one kickass family car ! ), '92 Mercedes 190E (my daily driver), '53 Willys-Overland Pickup (my snow-plow truck/conversation piece -- sold to a loving home), '85 Jeep CJ-7 w/ Fisher plow
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Dear Masupra,
Good p.m. I'm in southern New Hampshire. I drive a 1993 940 with Michelin Hydroedge tires (new). They do OK in snow.
As you've found, managing an RWD car requires that one do nothing abruptly. To enhance control, when starting on an up-grade, I use the shift lever, to start in 1st. That prevents a premature up-shift, and so makes wheel spin less likely. Just remember to up-shift through 2nd to Drive, when you're rolling.
Hope this helps.
Yours faithfully,
spook
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Thanks for the advices and sharing your experience. Studded tires undoubtly have the best performance but driving them on dry pavement is a real pain. My car is parked on street so it's not so easy to swap them when snow comes. So for those 'friction type' snow tires, do you have suggestions on which are good both in quality and price? I will live with the NRW's for the rest of this winter, but next year I'll buy some dedicated snows. Thanks.
--
1994 944NA 100K miles
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