IkeaBoy

Facing the first snow storm of the year this evening, I am anxious about driving my new GT around. Does anyone have tips for making the car behave in the snow?

I've been told to sandbag the trunk to weigh it down. Has anybody done this?

Fourth Horseman

Personally, I haven't needed to use weight in the trunk. The biggest single piece of advice is to just be smooth and easy with all of the controls. Don't punch it off the line and expect to go anywhere. Light throttle input, feather the clutch a bit more than normal. Plan your stops and turns a bit ahead of time so that you give yourself and the car time to bleed off energy. It's just about being smart, really. These cars are not that bad in the snow, you just need to drive smart like you would in any car in the snow.

If you can afford it a set of four snow tires is the single best investment you can make in your mustang for winter use. Snow tires with smart driving and you'll get around fine.

IkeaBoy

Cool. Thanks for the halp, FH.

Nuke

#1: Stay home.

#2: If you can't do #1, then use a VERY light foot, drive S-L-O-W-L-Y, leave LOTS of room between you and the guy in front and take your time.

#3: Weight in the back (about 100-200 lbs) will help some.

#4: Find an empty parking lot without those concrete thingys and lightpoles everywhere and start doing doughnuts, slides, spins and practice braking and steering so you can learn how your car will react in those conditions. Actually, this should be #1...

crazyemi

I put sand in my trunk, because not only will it provide a little extra weight in the trunk so you don't slide around as much, and if you get stuck, you can use the sand to get some traction. Also, I always fill my gas tank, because it adds some weight, and trust me, you don't want to run out of gas if you get stuck, etc. My best advice is just to take it slow, and watch for other people.

IkeaBoy

Excellent idea. Thanks.

I pulled an accidental doughnut the other day in the rain. I made a left turn from a traffic light and gassed it too much. Luckily, no other cars were on the road. It taught me a lesson. This is actually the first RWD car I've ever owned. I've had 2 Accords and an Acura TL.

Grabber

putting sand in the trunk is the single dumbest thing to do.... A guy in my area, put two 25lb sandbags in the trunk. Het rearended someone, at 20mph, the sandbag bursted through the backseet, putting a huge hole in it, and hit the back of his seat;lunging him forward against his seatbelt, and gave him a concussion. Be wary of that idea. Just by some blizzaks. I bought them, and dd my charged GT with no problems. Chicago actually had a record snow day in all of the us. 20+ inches, 30+ MPH winds. -25 with windchill. I still drove too and from work just fine. You do the math.

IkeaBoy

I live on a steep hill, so a sand/salt mixture is necessary to get traction and get out of parking spots.

Fourth Horseman

Wish I'd thought to mention that. I agree with this 100%. Experience how the car behaves in slick conditions first and in a controlled and safe environment. I learned more about handling cars in the snow by doing this exact same thing than by any other means.

Great advice there.

GidyupGo

No one on here has had to deal with as much snow as me. Currently 13 feet and counting. I put 3- 50# sacks of dogfood in the back. I get around on OEM 18" BGF tires OK. Just slow down and use common sense. That is your tip for today.