Snow driving review
- Thread starter $ub$onic
- Start date
My review.
About 4 inches of snow
Stock 15 tires
Starting off seems fine, turning seems fine. Stopping makes the abs start too quickly. When "playing around" the stability control does nothing for a slide.
With everything turned off the car was rather predictable. Honestly the car was better than expected. Not great but im sure it would be with better tires
About 4 inches of snow
Stock 15 tires
Starting off seems fine, turning seems fine. Stopping makes the abs start too quickly. When "playing around" the stability control does nothing for a slide.
With everything turned off the car was rather predictable. Honestly the car was better than expected. Not great but im sure it would be with better tires
small town sonic
New member
well mine would have about 3000 more miles on it if we still were working six days a week. after about 3 months of owning it i had 5 or 6 thousand on it from driving back and forth 6 nights a week
$ub$onic
The Sticker Guy
I found that stability tec stuff works good
All this whining about ABS and TC...you guys need to have a basic understanding of these systems. The ABS and TC merely react to the condition that exists between the tire and the surface. That said, tires are the PRIMARY issue. The TC in the Sonic is very agressive when coupled with the factory tires and running on snow and ice. The system is calibrated in a compromised methodology to deal with wet pavement which is the most common condition. That is why they have given the driver the ability to turn it off in seriously low traction situations such as snow and ice. The other issue here is simply speed. Sliding through intersections has nothing to do with ABS or vehicle design and everything to do with tires incapable of dealing with the speed of the vehicle...that is merely a result of driving experience and skill. An AWD vehicle with Michelin X Ice Xi2 tires , equipped with the most sophisticated ABS, driven too fast will slide through any intersection. It's just that simple
TheFallenAngel12
New member
FYI - I was only doing 15mph when i started pushing on my brakes to stop the car completely after lightly braking from a long distance and the TC and ABS kicked on and caused my sonic to just slide right through the intersection, no matter if i lightly pulsed the brakes or not. Traction all around is terrible with the stock tires, period. The only time the stock tires are any good is in the summer time when its dry. thats why before next winter i plan on buying me some new tires for my sonic. Im not going thru this mess again. and Turning off TC and SC really helps this car handel better on slippery roads. Did for me anyways. Alot better control over the car on the stock tires.
i hope that was not directed at me. i was just telling it like it is. and ive driven many cars in snow. the abs does kick on too hard too soon, since in the snow abs is the last thing needed.
but i did already say what you did, better tires would suit the car
$ub$onic
The Sticker Guy
I have very good studded snow tires and my abs works fine now but t/c is still a pain.
Swordsmith
242hp/252 ft-lbs BNR EFI
I was going about 15mph when I watched that pickup ahead of me slide through the intersection with his turn signal on, I made the same exact turn at his speed, and all I did was gently apply... not the brake, but the accelerator. I can't speak to how good his tires were, and I am not running stock tires. TC would have killed my maneuver, though, since I was starting to slide wide.
While everything you say is generally speaking true, I think the question here is whether our particular ABS TC and SC systems are better or worse than the car with them turned off. TC I would say off, in fact thus far I've yet to find a single condition in which I wished TC was on. Dry roads, wet roads, slush roads, icy roads... maybe TC works for Auto cars, but in a manual with an experienced stick driver, I can get much better results with it off.
ABS isn't the same thing as TC, as it tends to come on in emergency situations and prevents you from doing something stupid Right Now, by pumping your brakes instead of allowing you to stomp them down and lose most stopping ability. An experienced driver with great reflexes can do better, but in general it's a safety device. Trouble is, on the Sonic, with TC on, it's very aggressive and very rough, and I think a hazard rather than a safety. With TC on, though, it seemed much more reasonable. I need a large snowy parking lot and some test time to see if that's really true.
SC is still a big mystery to me, I'm not sure when if ever it has engaged for me, and since I'm not sure when, I'm not sure if it's helping or hindering. I guess, again, that the only way to figure that out is that big slippery empty lot, and doing same maneuvers with it on and with it off. In theory though, despite what you say about it all coming down to tires, SC is supposed to help you get through skids by selectively braking or reducing power to individual tires. If so, that's something the driver can't do, we have input only to pairs of tires at best.
AdorableKaren
Asian Elite
I'm waiting for it to snow more in Ohio so I can do more test driving 
stoopid
New member
3-6" snow (various degrees of packed, icy, slush)
General Altimax HP
TC on
Car performed very well and I have to credit the upgraded tires. Could take hard turns at what is reasonable/acceptible for a fwd vehicle (~5mph). On/off ramps at 20-25MPH felt fine. Where there was little if any snow on the road I cruised with the fastest traffic (mostly SUVs and 4x4s). Compared to the other car in the house (2012 Impreza sport with Goodyear Triple Treds) the Sonic is good. Relative to the Sonic, the Impreza is unstoppable.
I find the ABS too aggressive on snow pack. Although I tend to anticipate my stops and don't hit the brakes hard during a snow storm, just something simple like our mostly cleared driveway with a tiny incline is enough to trigger the ABS system. Not a fan of either of the technologies included with the vehicle. I have to turn off TC when exiting parking lots to merge into 45mph traffic outside of work, otherwise I spin, slowdown, and nearly get rear ended by oncoming traffic before I am "allowed" to start gaining speed/the TC deactivates. The fact it can't be set to disabled by default IMO leaves GM open to law suits. I'll definitely consider it if I ever get rear ended in such a situation.
General Altimax HP
TC on
Car performed very well and I have to credit the upgraded tires. Could take hard turns at what is reasonable/acceptible for a fwd vehicle (~5mph). On/off ramps at 20-25MPH felt fine. Where there was little if any snow on the road I cruised with the fastest traffic (mostly SUVs and 4x4s). Compared to the other car in the house (2012 Impreza sport with Goodyear Triple Treds) the Sonic is good. Relative to the Sonic, the Impreza is unstoppable.
I find the ABS too aggressive on snow pack. Although I tend to anticipate my stops and don't hit the brakes hard during a snow storm, just something simple like our mostly cleared driveway with a tiny incline is enough to trigger the ABS system. Not a fan of either of the technologies included with the vehicle. I have to turn off TC when exiting parking lots to merge into 45mph traffic outside of work, otherwise I spin, slowdown, and nearly get rear ended by oncoming traffic before I am "allowed" to start gaining speed/the TC deactivates. The fact it can't be set to disabled by default IMO leaves GM open to law suits. I'll definitely consider it if I ever get rear ended in such a situation.
RoXXXanne13
New member
we had a lot of snow in NY for christmas, i beleive the sonic handled well, especially with stock tires, i liked it best with tc off but everything else on, i give it
forward 7
stopping 7
cornering 7
lol best car i ever had in the winter was a 97 cavalier, other than the jeep of course
forward 7
stopping 7
cornering 7
lol best car i ever had in the winter was a 97 cavalier, other than the jeep of course
AdorableKaren
Asian Elite
Is it just me??? It snowed a little in Ohio today less than an inch. I was driving around today when I was in the second lane to turn left. The light turned green I was halfway in the intersection and my car was struggling to turn. I almost hit all the cars in front of me head on. I wasn't going fast at all with tc on. My heart was pounding. I don't want to die in my sonic lol I've already had one near accident in the snow when I turned a corner and landed in a snow mound.
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Swordsmith
242hp/252 ft-lbs BNR EFI
Karen I think you need to.go find an empty snowy parking lot and play around with your sonic a bit.
I think what you need to do is take turns even more slowly going in and then push the accelerator very lightly to let the FWD pull you through the turn instead of braking. At least that seems to work for me.
Also... TC off? give that a shot, I have yet to find a situation where TC on was better.
I think what you need to do is take turns even more slowly going in and then push the accelerator very lightly to let the FWD pull you through the turn instead of braking. At least that seems to work for me.
Also... TC off? give that a shot, I have yet to find a situation where TC on was better.
We got ~1 inch here yesterday and I think I must be learning the car better. With both TC and SC on it didn't cut power off the line or while turning even when I got a little wheel slip. ABS even seemed a bit quicker and less intense when I got it to kick on. I'm almost wishing we had more snowy days so I can see if I'm just learning the systems or if they're a bit quirky if and when they decide to kick on.
stoopid
New member
Upgrade your tires. The tires that come with the Sonic are notoriously poor for winter use. Check tirerack.com for reviews on the current set, as well as plenty of recommendations/reviews for upgrades. Many of the better tires can be found locally (even Walmart) so you don't have to order from tirerack. I upgraded to the General tires at 5,000 miles, resold my old set for $160. Very glad I did!
Only a inch
Wait till you get this much
Trust me, I ain't complaining.