Snow tires on RWD vehicle
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Depends on the vehicle. I do know a Chevy SS in 5” of snow with Blizzaks will still blow the doors off an AWD Durango on all seasons though.
I had a BMW 528i 5 speed manual with rear wheel drive. It handled exceptionally well in snow with 4 wheel snow tires. It's main limitation was high centering in deep snow. In 15 years in Edmonton I was only unable to climb a steep hill to get downtown after 1 snowstorm and that's because I forgot to turn off the traction control. A little wheel spin would have been better than no power (its strategy was to cut power to suppress wheel-spin).
Was it as good as my Honda Accord 6 MT with 4 wheel snow tires? Don't think so. But then the Honda is a beast in snow or on ice. I'm astonished what that car will go through.
Was it as good as my Honda Accord 6 MT with all season radials? Probably similar.
Was it as good as my Honda Accord 6 MT with 4 wheel snow tires? Don't think so. But then the Honda is a beast in snow or on ice. I'm astonished what that car will go through.
Was it as good as my Honda Accord 6 MT with all season radials? Probably similar.
Depends on the car obviously, but my 530i with winter tires handled snow better than wife's MB C300 4matic with all-seasons. Granted, the C300 can accelerate faster thanks to AWD, but turning and stopping was better in my car.
When buying snow tires you'll want to use a small wheel with tall sidewalls (a -1 setup, same overall rolling diameter of course) and the narrowest recommended tires. That will get you wheels that aren't so easily damaged in winter conditions as well as good traction. Narrow tires have better traction in snow.
I personally hate front wheel drive in the snow. I like driving a loose car over a tight car and front wheel drives push when they slide. A good set of snow tires and a rear wheel drive car will go well. I like Altimax arctics personally
It is tough question traction wise moving forward.
But it will be better in the most important discipline, braking.
Drove my 135 for one winter. Used factory winter size Hakka R2, one of the best. In any amount of snow, got tired of being blinded by the constant flashing of the traction control light and being left behind at every light. It handled beautifully in the snow, perfect balance and a fantastic suspension and brakes made it a joy, it just took forever to get up to speed. My 2010 Civic Si would run circles around it in comparison. Now I have a 2010 328 with X-drive. NEVER going back to 2WD for winter again. Those that say RWD or even FWD is fine really have no idea what they are talking about, they just have never tried the difference. In any amount of snow can drop the clutch and launch that thing like a rocket, and still handles well with 50:50 weight distribution, and RWD biased can be easily controlled and throttle steered.
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I've had excellent results with Yokohama Ice Guard, Hankook iPike, Michelin xIce and Blizzaks on various Mustangs and Firebirds over the years.
The RWD with snow tires will outperform by a LOT any FWD with all seasons.
I had an '07 Nissan Altima (FWD & Manual) that had the OEM Continentals and then Fuzion Hri tires, and then later had a 2011 Mazda RX-8 Sport (RWD, LSD, and Manual) with Hankook i*Cept Evo snow tires, and the Mazda RX-8 was way, way, way better in the snow that the Altima with either one of those sets of All Season tires.
I live in Colorado, so that is in Front Range snow conditions.
I drove from Boulder to Arvada through some pretty bad road conditions getting home from work in both cars on Highway 93.
If the wind was blowing, the road would always get black ice all over it.
Generally no. I'm an expert snow/ice winter driver. All things equal I'd take a FWD with all season tires in a winter climate, over a RWD with snow tires.
All other variables roughly equal, a vehicle PULLING itself thru snow/ice is going to be more controllable than one PUSHING itself.
The other big variable is weight distribution, and since most cars have front engines and about 1/2 of the weight over the front wheels, this plants those wheels better for better traction. Most cars and trucks probably have somewhere around 20-30% of their weight over the rear axles. This is why folks load up the rear for RWD in the winter. If you are stuck with a RWD, get studded snow tires and load the trunk with bags of sand. And a shovel. And cold weather gear.
The reasons 4x4 work so well in the winter is largely b/c they have front wheel power.
There are a lot of variables. Weight distribution, handling, tire size, power/gearing, etc. My RWD BMW 328i with 205/55R16 snow tires works excellent in the snow. It handles snow better than my 4x4 Jeep Cherokee did, which was useless in the snow unless it was in 4x4. My friend's tuned RWD BMW E90 335i, which is identical to my car chassis-wise, is worse in the snow than my car simply due to how easily it wants to spin the rear tires from all the low end torque.
Better performance than FWD with all-seasons hands down if you buy the better ones.
The winter tires will get the RWD moving on par with FWD all-seasons however absolutely superior in taking corners and braking over all-seasons where FWD offers no advantage.
Expert, you should know that in winter it is all about braking not going forward. So give me RWD with snows to stop properly over fwd with all seasons.
RWD cars don’t have 1/2 weight over front wheels. RWD cars have longitudinal engines that are pushed back as much as possible.
335 packs additional 150lbs in front. 328 E90 RWD is example how weight distribution should be done.
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Our 2013 FR-S has been through 7 winters so far and performed better in snow than my Rangers did. Both has Michelin X-Ice on them. Weight balance and good winter tires make a difference.
I consider weight distribution "over the front wheels" the forward 1/3rd of the car, which would include extending from the front of the car, to about the front of the passenger compartment. The middle third is the passenger compartments. The rear 1/3 the pack of the passenger compartments, the rear wheels, and cargo area. All vehicles vary, of course.
But the front 1/3 or "front wheels" weight calculation would be about 1/2 of the vehicle weight. Typical 3000 pound vehicle, will have a 500 pound engine, 300 pound transmission, radiator, all fluids, front axle and wheels, and front window. Middle 1/3rd has little weight other than windows and passengers. It's mostly hollow. Whereas the rear has only the rear window, axles and wheels with empty storage space, and fuel tank which may be varying degrees of full or empty. Trucks, even more proportionally heavy in the front usually with larger engines and empty beds, with passengers further forward.
I will use real world to demonstrate the point. In police and military training, they will universally tell you that the only parts of a vehicle that offer ballistic protection is the heavy and dense engine block area and wheels. They also train that to ram thru a roadblock, the lighter weight rear cargo areas are the best chance. The heavy front engine areas won't work well.
What? I am not sure laws of physics care what you consider where the weight is.I consider weight distribution "over the front wheels" the forward 1/3rd of the car, which would include extending from the front of the car, to about the front of the passenger compartment. The middle third is the passenger compartments. The rear 1/3 the pack of the passenger compartments, the rear wheels, and cargo area. All vehicles vary, of course.
But the front 1/3 or "front wheels" weight calculation would be about 1/2 of the vehicle weight. Typical 3000 pound vehicle, will have a 500 pound engine, 300 pound transmission, radiator, all fluids, front axle and wheels, and front window. Middle 1/3rd has little weight other than windows and passengers. It's mostly hollow. Whereas the rear has only the rear window, axles and wheels with empty storage space, and fuel tank which may be varying degrees of full or empty. Trucks, even more proportionally heavy in the front usually with larger engines and empty beds, with passengers further forward.
I will use real world to demonstrate the point. In police and military training, they will universally tell you that the only parts of a vehicle that offer ballistic protection is the heavy and dense engine block area and wheels. They also train that to ram thru a roadblock, the lighter weight rear cargo areas are the best chance. The heavy front engine areas won't work well.
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