01clsstock

Yesterday was the 4th time i have driven my car in the snow. I have owned many different cars. 86 oldsmobile, 92 talon tsi, 01 audi a4, 01 acura cls, 99 2.3cl, 96 240sx and only the 240sx was worse in the snow..... barely.

warren4066

what kind of tires are on the car and were u using vsa or no?

RonJonTL757

HAAHAH i had the same prob going to PA in a snow storm a while back. 30 Mph for 40 miles not so fun. BUT i did have some weight in the car with 3 ppl including me and my box in the back and a 1 inch drop.. It was HORRRIBLE

myron

iTrader: (4)

I have winter tires on my 05 and I drive on pure ice 5 months out of the year, at least, and I have no problem with this car. It's way better than my 99TL that's for sure, and a 2000 corolla I had before that.

ggesq

iTrader: (1)

what kind of tires r u using?

01clsstock

potenzas

blkaspec

most of the time it comes down to the tires. i purchased a pair last year and wont look back. i stop, start, and handle WAY better. and i hear the stock base tires are the worst, i would look at grabbing a cheap set of 16-17" rims and some good winter tires for sure!

6spdtl-s

iTrader: (1)

I've got a 6mt in CT and have no problem getting around on my michellin a/s. change your tires.

nfnsquared

I had the Potenza 960 A/S and they absolutely SUCKED in snow. Get yourself a set of dedicated snow tires and it's a world of difference. There is no comparison between snow tires and all season tires when it comes to reliable performance and handling in snow. I'm using the General Altimax Arctic and they are very good in snow. Top rated in the Tirerack.com reviews.

BigMiko

What is this "snow" you all speak of??? Huh the Potenza work pretty well in South FLA!!!

BradE

Usually the tires. The stock tires (and lots of all seasons) are pretty much worthless in the snow.

NCTL05

iTrader: (9)

I have no idea what this guy is talking about. This is a forum to discuss things, not a tweet page. What does "05 6spd worst car ever in snow " mean? Why? What's the problem? Explain.

IMO the 05 6mt TL is the best car in snow that I've owned. I have all season continentals. Having the manual helps alot. I feel sorry for the 5at crowd in the snow though.

subinf

You sure it isn't the driver?

Granted I don't spend a lot of time in snow (because I don't live by any) but I've never really had issues with the TL, even with summer tires, when there has been snow or ice on the ground. While it might not move along as well as other cars I've never felt uncomfortable driving it in the snow

WRXtranceformed

Shrug it just snowed here in Charlotte and I was able to get around just fine in my 5AT TL-S with really really bald Falken Ziex 912s. Maybe it's the driver mod? :P

ackyourah

I agree with others here - consider replacing your tires. Got my 2006 TL 6MT used in Nov with what appeared to be the orig stock Michelins - near, but not at the end of their life at 29K. First time it snowed I thought I had made a huge mistake buying the car for WI. With barely any snow I was driving like an absolute grandma and still sliding all over. I might as well have been driving on solid ice. Scared the crap out of me. Got a set of Continental ExtremeContact DWS (moderately priced) and was shocked at the difference. Probably not as good as dedicated snow tires, but absolutely transformed the snow traction and handling. And I love having the MT for snow (actually one of the reasons I really wanted the MT).

integra92red

iTrader: (2)

+1 for dedicated snows. All I have are the all seasons that came on the TL and fortunately it's my summer car because traction really is non-existant. Even on all my Subaru's I have dedicated snows on steelies.

sT04Louis

iTrader: (5)

I love how the first thing you blame...is something that doesnt even touch the road. Good Job.

Get some real tires and quit bitching.

01clsstock

Guys relax i just gave my observations. I have been driving in New England weather for 12 years and have never had an accident i also have been driving standard for 12 years so.... Suck It! Just giving my opinion on the snow handling of my car. I have owned 2 other acuras so obviously i favor the brand i am not bashing the car. It probably is the tires but i have never had to upgrade to dedicated snow tires on any other of my vehicles and have gotten around fine. Oh and if you dont drive in the snow (more than 1 inch) feel free not to comment.

Ramrodthrusterpuppy

^This.

It's always all about the tires. Any car with rubber not suited to the season will handle poorly. The TL is no better or no worse than any other. With the right tires, you'll be fine. I'm surprised that the OP, being in New England for as long as they have, have never felt the need for them. You guys get almost as much snow as we do up here!

Jackass

Last winter I had brand new Turanzas and my car was amazing in the snow. This year, those same tires are at about 20% treadlife and I was scared to drive my car in the snow. The car itself has very little to do with how it drives in the snow. The bulk of it is how do the tires handle in the snow. If you have the OEM tires and they are beyond 50% worn, then yeah the car will suck in the snow.

Also this year was a very different year for snow driving. I know parts of the US got twice the normal amount of snow this year so what you are used to isn't what you may have been driving in.

flappy188

these are not winter tires, problem solved by getting all season tires!

happyboy

I drive an 05 6 MT....I have (crappy) Dunlop Graspic winters. I had to drive to the airport at 5 AM yesterday in the middle of 32 cms (12.6 inches) of snow. I averaged close to 50 mph with no traffic around me on poorly plowed roads. Car is fine, as others have said, it's the tires! I usually shut off VSA as well if you want car to move.
I'm just sayin'....................................

skinkman

hmm....i actually thought my "new" 05 TL 6MT was the best snow sedan mobile i have had...the only adjustment I had to make when the roads were slick was remembering not to take off in 1st...but 2nd etc...Other than that...the low clearance might have been a bit of an issue but the ploughs did a great job before I set out...This is in the DC area where we've had 30 inches of pure white coke snow. LOL.
I know it's not my tires..because i have some cheap low profiles...

jmg08tl

In January I put a set of Dunlop Winter Sport 3D Tires on since the Bridgestone EL42 were by far the worst tire I have ever driven on. The Dunlops turned my TL into an all wheel drive car. During the summer I run Michelin Pilot Plus A/S on my A-SPEC Wheels. I highly recommend the Dunlops if you are looking for a good performance winter tire.

apnorm

iTrader: (3)

Not probably. Definitely. As for the experience in your other cars, you got lucky that the tires were somewhat decent in the snow.

I'm with everyone else who voted for snow tires. It's like night and day. If you don't want to spend the money on dedicated winters, go with a solid A/S like the Continental DWS - probably one of the best A/S tires in the snow.

Ken1997TL

Dedicated snow tires are a must, especially if you don't know what you're doing in the great white mess.

Put identical snow tires on the vehicles you've owned over the years and I'm quite sure they'd be quite similar. Even your RWD 240sx will do fine in the snow.

Ken1997TL

I'm fairly sure your TL has the WIDEST tire pattern out of the vehicles you've owned too.

ImagePree

So how does someone who's driven in NE weather for 12 years never experienced driving on snow tires???
I know guys in S2000's and BMW's that do great in the winter with snow tires.

Below is your answer. Get yourself a 2nd set of wheels (used stockies will work fine) and throw on some snow tires. It takes 20 mins twice a year to swap them out with a jack between seasons.

01clsstock

yeah i guess i have to stop being cheap and buy some snow tires. Any other recommendations of tires?

apocolipse

No issues here with my 5at. Seems to work fairly decent. However when snow is crazy its better to have the traction control off then on. If its on you are going nowhere lol

Ramrodthrusterpuppy

Anything in the right size that has the snowflake/mountain symbol on the sidewall will be fine.

jspagna1

I have Blizzaks on all my cars accept the 4Runner. No problems at all!

lghtspeedz

Hey ackYourah how do you like your Extreme Contact DWS tires in dry conditions? How about in the rain? My '06 6 spd is due for new tires this spring and those were rated well on Tire Rack. How is noise and ride quality compared to the OEM tires?



I have been a silent observer on these forums for a year now. The information was so good I never needed to add my two cents. For what it's worth it's I put 4 Blizzak LM-25's on my TL. Equipped this way, it is the best car I have ever had in the snow. The car starts, stops, and handles on a dime in the snow. I saw only a slight decrease in dry handling over the OEM Michelin's. In the rain, Blizzak's are far superior to the Michelin's. I will add that my gas mileage decreased from 32-33 on the highway with the Michelin's to 28-29 with the Blizzak's. It is a small price to pay for all weather security.

mcmguti

iTrader: (2)

+1 my car did fine in the foot of snow that fell in South Jersey . And i have Michelin all season.

ackyourah

Sorry for taking a month to respond, just happened to be looking back at this thread. (I need to change a notification setting or something in my preferences maybe?)

Anyway, I am very happy with the Conti ExtremeContact DWS's. I'm getting ready to replace tires on another vehicle hoping the size is available.

I posted a review on Tire Rack a couple weeks ago that I think answers your questions (these tires appear to continue to get almost unanimously glowing reviews - the only wildcard is how they'll perform over the long-term):

"Replaced the OEM Michelins that had 29K and tracked very very poorly in snow (there was still about 30% tread life remaining) - I've never driven so scared in my life. I don't want to bash but that experience alone may be enough for me to avoid Michelins. It was THAT bad. There wasn't really any user / review info on snow performance for these Conti Extreme Contact DWS when I purchased them early Dec 2009 because they were still too new. Well, I could not be more pleased! These tires are great in snow; this car has a reputation for being a challenge to control in snow but these tires really make it easy (until I got these tires, I thought I might need to get dedicated snow tires). I've now driven the Extreme Conact DWS's in all types of weather from heavy rain to light snow to very deep snow, at all temperatures. These are simply the best tires I've ever had for bad weather. Will definitely be buying more when replacing the tires on my other two vehicles. One thing to point out: While these tires are nice and quiet on smooth pavement, they tend to transmit a lot of noise on textured roads like new cement surface with the grooves. May be just how they match up with the car. Given how happy I am with all the other performance of this tire, a little extra noise on some surfaces (even those I drive on every day) is really not a problem; there's no way I'd trade the performance for a little less noise on certain surfaces. Would definitely buy again."

I'm not suggesting these are as good as dedicated snow tires - I wouldn't know because I've never had any. From talking to friends who have them, and what I read on this site, I'm sure the dedicated snows are better. But I wanted to avoid the added investment if possible (I'm sure that sounds crazy to those who have he dedicated snow tires).