gonova

We had about 1-2" of snow on the ground here in PA this morning. I went out this morning and as I was pulling out the parking lot, I see my neighbor, new owner of a 2003 325i, struggling up the 2% grade out of our complex. Being the nice guy that I am, I stop and help push her up the very small incline. She thanks me profusely and says "I don't know why it is so bad in the snow!" I explain the relative benefits of FWD vs. RWD in snow and she says "Which is my car?"

Passed two 5-series sitting on the side of road going up a hill. They can figure it out for themselves.

jcg878

LOL - my friend knows about as much about his 330i. I had to show him where the battery was

I had the pleasure of clearing 1.5" of snow off my car as well. I was hoping to really test it in the snow, but the roads were pretty clear. Maybe tomorrow...

Too bad it won't be snowing for the Eagles game Sunday

AZTSXer

That sounds good. Did the traction control come on, that you could feel? Where are you in PA? I am going back there for Christmas.

dom

Sadly typical.

esr5096

I guess the BMW salespeople didn't bother to point out how bad RWD will suck in the snow. I wonder why?

Anyway, How was the car in the snow? I've read mixed reviews on here...waiting for the snow here (later today) to see for myself. Do you still have the stock all season tires?

gonova

The TSX was just as I expected - excellent, and VSA never came on. Composed and predictable. I went into one short slide that I corrected without the VSA intervening (at least, I didn't see the light come on). I am running the stock all-seasons. But this was the easiest snow to get around in - fresh and shallow. Monday morning, after everything has fallen and we have gone through a couple freeze/thaw cycles will tell the tale.

I am just west of Philly in Delaware County. Looking at maybe another 6-8" by Sunday morning. Should be fun.

rudedawg

vast majority of owners of RWD don't know what there getting into come winter time, some don't even know their cars configuration whether it's FWD or RWD.

duugk

lol. Every time it snows there is a parking lot of relatively expensive TSX copies/look-alikes at the bottom of the hill into our neighborhood that can't make it home to the safety of their garages. It's a shame to see all that "high performance" sheet metal sitting out there in the elements...on the side of the road....getting sprayed with salt....and getting buried by the plows. Just a shame....

tony4311

I'd blame it on her driving more then RWD.

I used to own a camaro and had no problem getting up an extremely steep hill in the snow while passing other cars that were stuck. It does show the mentality of some BMW drives that are overconfident in their car since they paid so much for it.

larchmont

Can't wait for Buff-Daddy and Gilbo on this.

Too bad Tony gave them ammunition to say she's just a rotten driver.

onenonlieTSX

We got our first snowfall last night as well here in Northern Virginia. I would love to see how my TSX handles in the snow but Im not brave enough to take her out yet. I dont trust any of the drivers out here... ESPECIALLY when they have no traction. For now... my baby is sittin in my garage all waxed and dry! For those of you who took their TSXs out in the snow... how are the Michelins holding up? I might have to take her out this weekend and we are expecting 3 more inches tonight!!

tony4311

lol what can I say. I loved my rwd in the snow. Of course I'd purposely kick the backend out around every back road corner half the time I drove in the snow

crisco

I had the chance to test out the TSX's winter drivability last weekend. It snowed up here - not too much, but enough to cover the roads with just over 3 inches or so - lots of blowing snow too. My TSX, equipped with the stock rubber held up very well. VSA kicked in when pulling away from intersections. Traction was good on the snow covered highway, it didn't slide when going over the 'wake' while changing lanes. I certainly kept the speed down and kept my distance behind other cars.

The roads are now dry and the temp has dropped to -15 celcius (near 0 degrees F) and I've noticed some wheel spin in 2nd gear if I really rev it. So, I think I'm definitely losing a lot of traction as the temp drops.

I'm gonna try to tough it out for this winter with the all-seasons, and get winters next year - but we'll see.

onenonlieTSX

thanks crisco... i overlooked the temperature/traction issue. Ill take that into consideration when i take her out this weekend. Glad to see your TSX held up pretty well out there. This eases my nerves a little. Im trying to keep my car in A+ condition... thus very paranoid about accidents and damage.

Buff-Daddy

Well, some of us BMW owners are a little brighter (better prepared) than others. Knowing that I live in Minnesota and that we have a chance of snow/ice 6 months out of the year, I opted for the "xi" all-wheel-drive version. Combined with snow tires, this combination could only be surpassed by a few vehicles with slightly better all-wheel-dive systems (ex. Quattro).
I will say that my 99 Acura CL was not that great in the snow and that was one reason why I have switched to a vehicle with all-wheel-drive. Although nothing is going to help you out very much if you hit ice, it is nice to know that you have as much going for you as possible, especially when you have a baby on board from time to time. The X5 is a blast to drive in the snow, but like I said, it is usually the people who think SUV means "invincible" that end up in the ditches!

FYI - My dealer told me that thier tests have shown vehicles handle the snow in this order... Best to Worst

AWD w/ snow tires
FWD w/ snow tires
RWD w/ snow tires
AWD w/all season tires
FWD w/all season tires
RWD w/all season tires
Anything with performance tires is trouble!

As you can see, it has just as much to do with the tires as it does with the drive system. A RWD with snows is still better than AWD with all season tires. I still went with the xi because my wife has never owned or driven a RWD car and I didn't want out 1st year with a baby to be the year she tested one out in the snow...

jumpper

I have fun in snow!!! Drove my car in snow today, and I like it. TSX handles great (not the best but great) in snow. Well, I guess my brother will have to park his car at home today, a RWD with performance tires is baddddddd .

gilboman

hehe.... maybe they'll be the one's laughing after getting snow tires and see a FWD car with all season tires slam into a guard rail thinking a low torque FWD car was the shitz in the snow ah well...AWD for me and snow tires

TypeTSX

Just drove for 2 hrs in the fresh snow......crazy traffic problems today. TSX handled beautifully in the snow, VSA came on when i added a little more gas than i shoulda....otherwise, I felt very confident driving around....still gotta be cautious though, like reduce the speed and keeping a good distance behind vehicles.....all in all....good winter performer.....WAYYYYY better than my 300ZX i used for last winter (RWD and perfomance tires...no no).

DEVO

It's all about the driver.... and to a small degree the tires.

Dan Martin

So Michael Schumacher on slicks will better in snow than me with snow tires????

I don't know why everyone on this board thinks that snow tires don't make a difference.

ClutchPerformer

What does torque have to do with anything in the snow?

chumley

First exp with snow in the TSX in the Northeast - TSX was not as bad in the snow as I expected but I do miss the Audi with Quatro and snow tires. At least the torque/hp range of the motor becomes a plus driving in snow. Make up for the lousy snow performance of the oem tires.

jester2

You know, I read in the manual that if you have the electronic sports shift (of a manual, of course), that if you're in some snowy conditions, you can start your vehicle in second gear, so your wheels spin slower, in which your tires will grip the road better. I suppose that would mean low torque?

biker

Other than the folks who can't afford them, virtually everyone in Europe has a set of winter tires regardless if the car is FWD or RWD. Of course in Europe you're much less likely to see all season tires. Most cars come with summer tires which as has been said in other posts suck big time in the snow.

goggles paisano

I'm with Crisco. I'll tough it out this year on the all seasons and go with full snows next year. All seasons are good for about 20,000kms (12,000mi) period, then their toast. They are a compromise at best and I don't like to compromise when it comes to my rubber! ... and safety. If anyone has ever driven on Michelin MXGT's they'll understand what I'm talking about. Those tires were garbage.

We've had a little snow here in Toronto, and I wasn't impressed with the tires and overall grip. Their gone in the spring anyway for unidirectional high performace tires and bigger, badder aftermarket brake rotors and pads. I like to "drive" and want to get the most out of my car. Stock tires and brakes are the TSX's achilles heel as they are on most vehicles. I knew that going in when I got the car so it's not a big deal. A tire swap is also the quickest, easiest and cheapest way of improving your TSX's performace. Forget about bolt ons and aftermarket goodies. Get yourself first rate rubber, drive a stick, and learn how to heel & toe.

Johns

Well I'am up here in Connecticut and we are in the middle of a snow storm. I took my car to work last night (Mercerdes C230, rear wheel drive with snow tires driven 30 miles each way) and had no problems in the snow. I live on a fairly steep hill and had no problems going up the hill to my house. Took my wifes car this morning (TSX, all seasons) for about a 10 mile round trip. The TSX handled well. My point here is that I felt about the same in each car. Too much gas going around a corner in a rear wheel drive car, and the rear end is going to swing out. Too much gas around a corner in a front wheel drive car, and the car will have a tendency to go straight instead of where you want it to go. Many people just keep whatever tire the car came with their car through the winter. You may be able to get away with that in a front driver but not in a rear driver. I am pretty sure most BMWs, and Mercedes you see not being able to get up a hill in the snow DO NOT have snow tires. By the way, I saw one accident on my way to work last. An SUV skidded off the highway into the center median and hit a guard rail.

goggles paisano

Sweet!

I hate SUV's!

Nick250

Kind of. Starting in second sends less twisting force to the wheels and therefore they are less likely to lose traction. 99% of the time you get your best traction on a slippery surface by keeping the drive wheels from spinning. Traction control helps a lot with this, but traction control, starting in second gear (auto trans), and very light pressure on the gas pedal yields the best overall results.

ostrich

It's been snowing a bit here in North East Ohio, too. The TSX seems to be doing well with the original stock tires. The thing is, I go very easy on the gas pedal and I allow plenty of time for braking. No matter what tires and vehicle you have, you just have to drive defensively in this kind of weather.

By the way, I must add that the heated seat and the climate control work beautifully! The car warms up very quickly inside - it's wonderful in this weather!

Iron Chef

Does your TSX have winter tires? If not, kinda hard to compare to the c230 since you winter tires on it.

phile

Snow here in NJ too. I really hate these SUV drivers who think their trucks are invincible...they're a danger to everyone around them. I'm going 35mph and they're speeding past at 50mph+, as if the ground was completely dry. I'm trying hard not to pray that they'd crash (bad karma) but I just couldn't help it. They're really just asking for it.

DEVO

MS on grooved tires... you on rain tires... on a rainy track. MS will win hands down... you can pick the car.

I'm not saying snows don't make a difference... I'm saying it's 90% driver... 10% tires....

Now saying that... there are about 1% of drivers out there that can get 90% out of their tires. Same road, same car, same conditions, my gf will wipe out or get stuck... where as I won't. And I'm not patting myself on the back. I'm just saying there are those that now how to drive in the snow and those that need snow tires because they are useless in the snow. Do I like snow tires... you bet. Why? Well getting 90% out of all weather tires in the snow isn't the same as getting 90% out of snow tires in the snow.

DEVO

BTW... all my cars minus the S2000 have 2 sets of tires... a performance or "summer" set, and a set of blizzaks.

But that being said.... I'm still saying it's more about the driver then the tires.

ClutchPerformer

Let's get our analogies straight here:

Schumacher on all-seasons....Dan Martin on snow tires....on a SNOWY track. Now who wins?

Johns

No, the TSX has stock all seasons. Granted this is not an apples to apples comparison. The C230 with snows was a little better in the snow than the TSX with all seasons. I am sure the the TSX would be great with snows.