Few Winter Operating Questions

[01Y87]

Hi guys....welll, couple days ago we got our first snowfall of the season here in America's Dairyland and I have a few things about my daily-driver '01 Camaro.

The tires: stock Eagle GA's and pretty bad traction driving in the snow the other day. They have probably 25-30% tread left so I'm not ready just yet to buy a new set. I'm wondering if SNOW tires (tires that were actually made with the aggressive tread to handle snow/ice) would make a difference? Or is it simply the rear-drive design and nothing I can do about it? The other day when it was snowing I noticed almost everyone else moving about and getting around but I can't get up little hills and making turns requires a wide berth because I slide! What is a good CHEAP snow tire that works good on these cars?

Thermostat: Usually I take notice of my temp gauge because I dont turn the heat on until the coolant is about halfway warmed up so that I dont have cold air blowing on me, and yesterday I see that the gauge does not go to the normal position near the center - no super-hot air either. I think this may be the thermostat, possibly stuck in partly open? Seems like the engine is not getting fully warmed up but after a long time it did begin to creep up to the normal spot. Maybe it was just a once-off thing but if this happens frequently is it hard to replace the V6 thermostat? Can that do any damage by not letting the engine get fully warmed up?

Bruce

[Crazy Canuk]

Any snow tires are prob better then the tires you have on atm.

I bought x-ice tiers last year and think there great for snow but there a bit expencive. You should also go out and get some sand (play sand is harder to get at this time of year so maybe some brick sand at a builder supply store) 120lbs about and put that in your trunk.

I put the bags of sand in garbage bags and bought some cheep pillow cases that were the same colour as my trunk. This way if your stuck in snow later on you can always open a bag up and use the sand under your wheels.

You should get some rims with your tires so you can quickly switch over but thats up to you. If you do this you can get thinner sizes and thats better for snow driveing and less expencive also.

Last year I went from not being able to accelerate w/o starting to fishtail to no problems at all.

[joe ws6]

it just got cold hear too. And i noticed it took a long time just to warm a littel past the 1/4 mark. And it got right before the 1/2 mark for a long time before hitting it. even though its a 346cid i believe it to be normal i think.

[Injuneer]

I equipped my Formula with a full set of four Bridgestone Blizzak snow/ice tires many years ago. You want a narrower tire for snow, since its relying on the side lugs a lot for traction in snow. I think I had 225/55-16 tires, and they came from Tire Rack already mounted on a set of Z28 salad shooter "take off" alloy wheels. They were a huge improvement in traction in the snow. Looked terrible with snow tires on all 4 corners.... but traction seemed more important. On the other hand, on dry pavement, they had very little traction at all... at least compared to my 245/50-16 Goodyear GS-C's.

Have the thermostat checked. You don't want to run the engine for extended periods of time with it not fully warmed up. The oil temperature tends to "follow" the coolant temp, and if the oil doesn't get hot enough, it can start to build up water and other condensed materials that you really don't want in the engine. I would be looking for at least 180degF coolant temps.

[FroSSty]

This may not be an option for you but this is what i did...I went out and found a 1989 Dodge omni.....Definately NOT the nicest car but I got it for 300 bucks and it runs great. It even has cruise control...lol I would definately put that car up and get a cheap "winter beater" if you can. If not I would recommend considering the above responses. The Blizzaks are great for the price! We race out on the frozen lakes (www.michiganiceracingassociation.com ) and one of the best tires out for ice/snow is the Bridgestone Blizzaks. We run the Hakkapelitta Q tire but it has since been discontinued. Good luck...

[94 formula]

I'm with carguy100200 if you can afford it go with the cheap front drive car. You can pick them up many times for what you'd pay for a decent set of tires then just drive it for a few winters till it dies or buy one for $400 sell it for $250 after its served its purpose, you'll only spend $150 on a car and you can't beat saving your fbody from a ditch or the salt.