KenLenard

I'm new here so bear with me. I'll apologize in advance if this is a frequently-discussed topic. What does everyone do in the winter? I know that not everyone can put their car in storage all winter and I also realize that not everyone even experiences winter like some of us. My 1948 Mustang was brutal in snow. Wide, rear-wheel drive tires and a lighter-than-usual car (because of the light convertible top) made it especially dicey in the winter. I can try my best not to drive it but we now have three drivers in the family and there WILL be times when it has to be taken out. I have heard of people putting sandbags, kitty litter and anything heavy they can find to weigh down the car a little bit. Thoughts?

KenLenard

Ha, I typed "1948" when I meant "1984". Ugh.

JimC

LOL - I was going to ask you for a picture of the 1948!

Anyway, I drive my Mustang year round here in southeast Michigan - so it has seen lots of snow. I don't add weight to it and have the Pirelli Pzero Nero all seasons on it. I drive 45 miles one way to work and have never had a problem. I've been through raging blizzards that took me an extra hour to get home and ice storms.

The Mustang is pretty well balanced front to back and I never found any need for the extra weight in the rear end (my 1986 Thunderbird was a different story, that was so light in the back that it was hard to get any traction!).

KonaStangPete

im in nw ohio and my stang is a dd as well, usually not a problem, stock bfg tires, no weight in the back or anything, just be careful with stopping distance if theres snow on the ground, otherwise its not to bad

MustangFirstCar

I'm in central ohio and I have Eagle GTs. I don't put any weight in the trunk, but then, I do enjoy sliding a bit. The 2 things to watch out for are accelerating and not moving, and braking and not stopping, of course. There were times last winter when I would slowly accelerate, get in the middle of the street, and get stuck, with oncoming traffic. A few close calls. Also a few times of pushing the brakes a bit too hard and ending up in the grass, but nothing too serious.

Greymainstang

I for one can not wait to see how my stang does in the winter.

alkemist

I put weight in my trunk, currently 140 lbs of water softener salt (I can put it to use at the end of the season) and dedicated Michelin X-Ice 2 winter tires. Last year I didn't put weight in the trunk but I didn't drive much in the snow at all. The winter tires did just fine on their own.

You will just need to drive with your head, don't do anything brash and take it easy.

Smuckers

I drive a manual V6, and no traction control or ABS came with it. Using 235 width Tigerpaws (what it came with when I bought it used from the dealer). WV doesn't get a lot of snow, but tons of ice. I've found that the lack of TCS, plus the open differential produces spinning tires and tail slides with the lightest pressure I can feel on the throttle during frosty mornings (mind you not icy or snowy...just frost on the road).

I highly suspect the tires are bad because:
1. They flat-spot in the cold (I thought this was resolved decades ago with radial tires).
2. I can break tires loose easily in 2nd gear in the rain, and 3rd will spin/chirp just a bit.

Lateral grip of the tires is fine, but taking off on a hill (which WV has tons of, and seemingly stop lights just before the crest of every single one) can easily result in a chirp of a tire (especially when someone is right on my bumper..very common here). Rain and frost so far make for a lot of tire spinning. I'm constantly touching and releasing the throttle pedal, or even jabbing to clutch in to prevent it in severe cases.

I have tried putting about 100 lbs. in the trunk...no difference. The right rear spins either way. Loading the car down with 3 other people, and a trunk full helps, though. I have no power-adders, and don't really drive aggressively. I hope to finish the project that lies in my garage before the first snow, so that I can actually get around town.

Nuke

OMG, not another winter thread...

If you can afford it, garage the Stang and get a beater. If not, then putting dedicated snow tires on and adding about 150-200#'s in the trunk will help make the Stang more tolerable. But that's just it: "tolerable". I've driven over 35 years of northern PA, NJ and Illinois winters (before hauling my ol' azz south) in many, many vehicles and the Stang is one of the worst; TOLERABLE at best.

kput

I'm doing pretty good.
I've got a set of Blizzak WS-70's on mine, plus about 280lbs in the trunk. I seem to be getting around a lot better than I expected. Just watch your braking and never come to a complete stop, it can be hard to get going again.