types1fan

It snowed like he'll in NY, wish I had an AWD instead of FWD. Did not get stuck anywhere but did struggle with 20 inch rims and a 1.2 drop. I have all season tires and that barely helped. Does anyone have all season high performance tires and having issues out there?

Pete2010

All-seasons are going to suck in anything that is more than a few inches of snow. If you want good performance in heavy snow of more than a few inches get some dedicated winter tires. AWD probably would not have helped you much if the power could not get put down to the tires and road.

types1fan

Would it make sense to get low profile winter tires. Are these even available. I thought about putting the OEM 17 inch tires,one problem is the car drops even more and i would be riding About an inch lower.

Outlaw06

Or get MDX instead.

TechnoCat

When you move to 17" (or other smaller rim), you need a larger sidewall to keep the same tire circumference. It's a good thing, but not the only goal. For winter ideally you want...

• Narrower tire == more traction in snow and pressure in ice.
• Winter rubber - Summer rubber gets very hard around 45F, and All Season is much harder in freezing weather than Winter rubber. You need the softness for the grip on pavement and ice.
• Sipes for ice and hard-packed snow.
• Tall sidewalls (high-profile tires) to absorb the pothole bumps from winter bad road conditions.
• And of course a winter tread pattern will be more optimized for snow, ice and rain than a summer or even an All Season compromise.

Rubber helps in ways AWD cannot (and vice-versa.) Different AWD systems excel in different things (some at being inexpensive to manufacture, for example), so they don't all compare directly anyhow. Good rubber will get you most of where you need to be.

Mr Marco

or RDX

NwTSXmt

The all-season tires on my wife's SHAWD had ZERO problems going through 5-7 inches of snow...

compewterbleu

ZDX, perhaps?

compewterbleu

Well I must say my SH-AWD with 19" HPT man handled the .025 inches of snow that blanketed Augusta, GA this weekend. It was brutal people, but hey I took it upon my shoulders to brave the blast for Acurazine! No, stop, need for applause, really I was just doing my part. You folks are much to kind.

AMUA6

iTrader: (7)

OP are you on a cell phone?

01clsstock

PaulNY

I didnt even chance it this storm with my TL, my girlfriend's street is on a hill, and her driveway slopes down, the FWD didnt handle that well at all last year, and it was half the amount snow...we got 25ish inches here this weekend, so I just took my Yukon XL out in it, much easier...

the FWD was pretty damn good on flat land, but any sort of slope, no matter how gradual, it was terrible, I regret not waiting the two months for SH-AWD, and I'm not willing to get hosed on the trade (got offered 23k from the dealer for it a few months back) so I'll just suck it up

Glashub

Thank you. The world would be a less pleasant place to live without you. You're altruism is....well....I'm humbled.

eazy

iTrader: (8)

I have the same problem. I have my 19's on which are UHPAS tires, no drop. A couple of inches of snow(3-4 inches maybe?) is okay, but not a feet. I wanted to switch to the stock 17" with winter tires but that makes my car even lower and I probably won't be able to drive in the snow anyway

types1fan

One thing for sure if Tein ss where available when I was shopping for a suspension I would of put those on instead of
Eibach springs. I wod of spent the extra money for the whole system.I would of resolved this by just adjusting the height on the car.

types1fan

I am on a cell phone.why?

Pete2010

I'm guessing an iPhone... It tends to autocorrect like that.

types1fan

That's technology and not paying attention while on a train in NYC would do to you.

TechnoCat

A lot depends on the snow/ice type. Most cars can get through 5" of dry snow. The PNW slush-on-ice (or packed snow slushed by rain) presents a tougher challenge. AWD can still usually get you started, but it doesn't help much with not sliding sideways.

docboy

I vouch for that, esp on the PNW (in)famous hills and steep inclines.

The TL SH-AWD has been pretty awesome and slick (no pun intended) in the winter, so much better than my 1G TSX. My TSX was okay on light snow on straight roads, but a fail on snow packed ice on hills, inclines, and curves.

jspagna1

As long as you get dedicated snow tires for the car you'll be fine. My daughters Maxima is great in the snow with steel rims and the Blizzaks.

steetbach

My first chance to compare in snow covered roads my traded in 2007-TS to my 2010 SH-AWD in stock all season tires and I have to say I'm impressed! AWD is never going to help me stop any faster but as far as starting and reducing tire spin,well lets put it this way,I'm glad I spent the extra money for AWD.My TL and I survived the blizzard of 2010 here in Boston!

jnc2000

x2 the RDX is a blast.

chinolatte

You wouldn't be driving any lower. Re-read this post:
https://acurazine.com/forums/showpos...15&postcount=5

when you get bigger or smaller rims, you need to get tires that would correspond to the rim size without changing the overall size of the entire wheel.

So if you get 17" rims or 20" rims on the same cars with correctly sized tires, the car will ride at the same height. The only difference will be the size of the tire sidewall.

TJ Zooker

in our 30cm dump my FWD handled like a champ... Guess you gotta know how to drive

types1fan

From my calculations 30CM = 12inches
In my hood we had 23 inches of snow,that's double your amount.
I believe even Paul Tracey or Tanner Faust would have issues driving their FWD car with 20 inch rims.
By the way I never got stuck, only struggled to get around.

KES

From my experience if you are going to be driving in the snow / ice winter tires are a must FWD or AWD. The primary advantage of AWD is to get you moving stopping is dependent on the tires, your speed and conditions.

Deep snow the TL does not have the clearance (AWD or FWD). If you plan to drive in deep snow get a SUV.

Plan for the conditions you will most likely neeed. If you only get snow 1-2 times a year keep you all season tires and plan ahead and stay home when it snows. If you get snow all the time then get winter tires and stay off the roads when it is deep. If you must be prepared for all conditions then a SUV with winter studded tires and chains in the trunk for the extreme conditions.

A nice hotel room and dinner will cost $200 and save you and your car from a disaster. No place is that important that you have to risk the conditions. I ski in VT and have a list of hotels on the route back with phone #'s in case the conditions warrant stopping whenI take my MDX with winter tires skiing.

platinum1

+1.
Get a set of winter tires and wheels. 17" with higher profile will help more than 20". Steel or Aluminum is ok, depends on your taste.

jasonwdp10

how much would you lose on the trade? i was thinking about trading back into a SHAWD when the 2012's come out, but i have a feeling the 5gtl or future acura vehicles will be more efficient, etc. 14.5mpg avg with my SHAWD was not fun, my base is getting 17.8mpg avg.

dave_ramkumar

iTrader: (5)

my car was crap in the snow too, i dont think AWD would of made much more of a difference , the streets were just horrible

jspagna1

My nephew lives in Brooklyn and he said it was brutal. He has a Pathfinder with dedicated snow tires and that was the only way he could get around.

Litt

I just want to add my 2 cents. I have a FWD TL, and it is OK in the snow. at least the engines weight is over the 'steering' front wheels.

But my wifes MDX is awesome in the snow, even with alls season tires. It's like there is no need to get winter tires.

I live in Canada where we occasionally will get 4 to 6 inches of snow.

At least the FWD is better then RWD. RWD SUCK SO MUCH in the snow.

xrays

We got 17 inches of snow here in the Boston area during the blizzard of 2010. The AWD TL package made it through the snow no problemo. Thank you Acrua. This is why I traded in my 3G TL.