The "Sonic in the snow" MASTER thread

[LTZ ICE]

With the stock tire mine came with Hankook Optimo H724 terrible... I replaced them with Goodyear Viva 3 and the car is excellent. It's truly a snow beast with it's traction control and anti lock brakes.

I couldn't agree more about the Hankooks. They are the worst tires I have ever owned. I went with the Goodyear Eagle Sports, which have been an outstanding high performance all season tire.

When shopping for tires, consider checking out the reviews and tests on Tire Rack.

 

[RMinNJ]

Well my continental pure contacts did well in the small snow we had..much like th he tire tack reviews. They handle much better than the hankooks ..just like the reviews. But they are noisy like a snow tire..I have never had a regular tire so noisy. They also reduced my gas milage from the hankooks. Over all I'm happy with them as handling was important to me. But the reviews seemed really off on noise and gas mileage.

 

[dlee1001]

I have a '14 1.8L 6AT, and I'm thoroughly impressed with how well it handles in the snow. But it wasn't always like this for me. First, a little history:

I used to have the stock Hankooks, which I've driven with through last year's winter. Even driving under 20 mph on snow-covered roads (while it was still snowing hard), my car frequently fishtailed and one time even almost spun out of control. After all that, and after fighting the battle of avoiding getting stuck on my way home, I eventually did get stuck in my uphill driveway that was covered in around 6-8 inches of snow. Nothing I did freed the car; someone had to come the next day to get it unstuck.

In May 2015, I decided that the stock Hankooks need to go. In their place I got the Michelin Premier A/S installed. They were pricey, but after having done research on them, I knew I made the right choice.

Fast-forward now to the recent blizzard, which dumped around 2 feet of snow in my area. It buried my Sonic almost halfway up and completely covered up my tires. This was the first time that I saw how well these tires do in the snow.

Yesterday afternoon, after clearing out the snow from the car and digging out most of the snow around it, I reversed out of the parking space in the driveway with no problems at all, with no wheelspin or sliding. It snowed some more through that evening, dumping at least 6 more inches.

As a result of the continued snow, there was fresh, unshoveled snow right in front of the car on the driveway today when I took it out for a drive, which was the perfect opportunity to see how well these Michelins perform in the snow.

When I put the car into drive, there was some wheelspin, so I reversed a little and tried again. That did the trick; my Sonic just plowed through the fresh snow without even a hint of wheelspin or slipping. There was also some residual plowed snow in some parts of my route, and again, the car plowed through. When I got back to my half-plowed driveway, I was able to park my car where I wanted it without any slip, wheelspin or getting stuck. It also listened to my steering inputs very well, unlike the stock Hankooks, where it would often cause the car to go straight even when I try to steer.

Needless to say, I was really impressed by how much of a difference tires make in terms of snow traction.

 

[carsNskis]

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[carsNskis]

donuts for breakfast?

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[RMinNJ]

dlee1001..hows your gas mileage with the Michelin A/S compared to the Hankooks?

 

[carsNskis]

dlee1001..hows your gas mileage with the Michelin A/S compared to the Hankooks?

I average 31.6 in an RS manual hatch, which is about 1.5 better than in summer but I attribute the increase to lower overall average speed from inclement weather and driving conditions

.....drive it like you still owe the bank money

 

[Aftermath86]

Very nice! I've been contemplating putting Blizzaks on. Though after the last blizzard I don't foresee much on the snow front anymore.

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[carsNskis]

Very nice! I've been contemplating putting Blizzaks on. Though after the last blizzard I don't foresee much on the snow front anymore.

Sent from my BLU STUDIO X using Tapatalk

I've run my Hercules Avalanche RG2's for two seasons and I never second guess having them. The confidence and safety they provide in nasty snow is worth every penny. The loss of performance in dry conditions is negligible.

I'm debating going to 18" wheels for the other three seasons so the RS wheels may become my dedicated winter set. If not I'll remount my Sumitomo HTR ZIII's which were a fantastic bargain and huge upgrade from the stock Hankooks

.....drive it like you still owe the bank money

 

[LorbeerTLC]

Michelin Premier A/S are Awesome Tires!

I have a '14 1.8L 6AT, and I'm thoroughly impressed with how well it handles in the snow. But it wasn't always like this for me. First, a little history:

I used to have the stock Hankooks, which I've driven with through last year's winter. Even driving under 20 mph on snow-covered roads (while it was still snowing hard), my car frequently fishtailed and one time even almost spun out of control. After all that, and after fighting the battle of avoiding getting stuck on my way home, I eventually did get stuck in my uphill driveway that was covered in around 6-8 inches of snow. Nothing I did freed the car; someone had to come the next day to get it unstuck.

In May 2015, I decided that the stock Hankooks need to go. In their place I got the Michelin Premier A/S installed. They were pricey, but after having done research on them, I knew I made the right choice.

Fast-forward now to the recent blizzard, which dumped around 2 feet of snow in my area. It buried my Sonic almost halfway up and completely covered up my tires. This was the first time that I saw how well these tires do in the snow.

Yesterday afternoon, after clearing out the snow from the car and digging out most of the snow around it, I reversed out of the parking space in the driveway with no problems at all, with no wheelspin or sliding. It snowed some more through that evening, dumping at least 6 more inches.

As a result of the continued snow, there was fresh, unshoveled snow right in front of the car on the driveway today when I took it out for a drive, which was the perfect opportunity to see how well these Michelins perform in the snow.

When I put the car into drive, there was some wheelspin, so I reversed a little and tried again. That did the trick; my Sonic just plowed through the fresh snow without even a hint of wheelspin or slipping. There was also some residual plowed snow in some parts of my route, and again, the car plowed through. When I got back to my half-plowed driveway, I was able to park my car where I wanted it without any slip, wheelspin or getting stuck. It also listened to my steering inputs very well, unlike the stock Hankooks, where it would often cause the car to go straight even when I try to steer.

Needless to say, I was really impressed by how much of a difference tires make in terms of snow traction.

Although we don't get much snow where I live in Oregon, I will say that my Michelin Premier A/S tires have been the BEST tires I've ever had as an All Season tire! My main focus in purchasing a set was to eliminating hydroplaning and these tires do just that!

Two days ago, I was driving through a corner on a road at night when I hit a patch of standing water. The Premier tires held fast during the curve and prevented me from hydroplaning into the other lane.

I am sold on Michelin's!

 

[LorbeerTLC]

Blizzaks: One of The BEST Studdless Tires!

Very nice! I've been contemplating putting Blizzaks on. Though after the last blizzard I don't foresee much on the snow front anymore.

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Aftermath86: I've had Blizzaks when I had a 2008 smart ForTwo. We had a foot of snow in Marysville, Washington, and they were absolutely fantastic in the snow!! The only thing that got me stuck was the lack of ground clearance (but with a smart car, get out and sneeze. There! Car's unstuck!). They are also terrific when driving on ice as they kept my car from "weathervaning" while slowly driving around a sloped curve on a highway during an ice storm.

 

[Palmaris]

p.s. Actually, this year they are proposing to allow DOT studded tires in a performance rally around here. This could become the ultimate test to see which tires the drivers still choose now that they will have the choice. I'll try and update later.

Update, from Rally Perce Neige in Quebec. The stages were very icy. It appears that all except for the very top team used DOT studded tires. This may be a true sign of their capability on ice.

And here is a Quote from Eric Vlasic, one of the local Performance rally drivers

"I only had one set of studded tires so I opted to go out on tractionized ice for the morning stages" Vlasic admitted, "(We) had a big off, bent the left lower control arm, got through the stages, came back to service and put on the studded tires... night and day difference between studded and tractionized. And got a good overall result!"

 

[carsNskis]

Studded tires on ice is a no brainer. On normal roads and packed snow there's no benefit.

This is no different than using crampons for climbing icy peak, but you wouldn't wear them all the way up the mountain

.....drive it like you still owe the bank money

 

[Palmaris]

Yes, I aggree to that one.

I added a picture above to show the condition of the road.

also, here's a quick video of my rally friends spinning out, even on Studs!

https://youtu.be/WL1JfTfL65Q

 

[Kuntryboy865]

With the right tires my sonic does a decent job I'll slide side ways sometimes on curves but most of the time I do it on purpose.

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[Dirkdaddy]

OK admittedly I haven't read all 38 pages of posts on this, but just to say I moved to Portland area in OR, and went to go to Mt. Hood snowboarding. The rain we had was snow up there and the sign required snow tires or chains. I turned around and talked to a shop who sold chains, we checked the owners manual and it specifically says do NOT use chains. I looked carefully at the car to see why and discovered the strut spring seat was pretty close to the tire tread. I drove home and stopped on the way to see about finding kids ski equipment at a used stuff store and found some cable type chains for $7 that would fit the sonic LTZ. they were a lot thinner than the chains.

I turned back around and got to the snowy chain-up area. I mounted them as tight as I could, and used a rubber bungee to add additional tension. It worked well, but I got enough clicking of the junction knocking against the strut over 25 I decided (it was also getting super late for hitting the slopes) to turn around.

Anyway, for short distances in some situations at low speed, with added bungee tension, you can use cable chains for emergency purposes. I'm wondering how they do next time if I really get them tight on back side and secure the free end better.

Yes, I would be better off getting snow tires, but more than likely I'd be using my other vehicle most of the time so I'd put the tires on that.

A lot of folks here use studded, but with the noise and all no advantage on snow, I'm just going to possibly get a AWD vehicle, get snow treads and drive conservatively.

 

[carsNskis]

30+ days on the slopes in Colorado thanks to the Sonic this year... 4000+ commuting miles since November... second season on snow tires... Never once felt the need for chains and the dry weather handling really isn't bad either.

If you're a hard core mountain junkie perhaps an awd would be worth it, but not for me and I hit the hill quite a bit. I've never been to mount hood,I hear the weather can be worse than here though

....if it has tits or tires it can be upgraded

 

[Dirkdaddy]

30+ days on the slopes in Colorado thanks to the Sonic this year... 4000+ commuting miles since November... second season on snow tires... Never once felt the need for chains and the dry weather handling really isn't bad either.

If you're a hard core mountain junkie perhaps an awd would be worth it, but not for me and I hit the hill quite a bit. I've never been to mount hood,I hear the weather can be worse than here though

....if it has tits or tires it can be upgraded

LOL, love that closing quote. and 30 days is huge, I bow down.

Re; roads I am not sure if you're talking summit co., CO or elsewhere, but the two lane road to Mt. Hood are a pretty good incline 6% for about 6 miles through switchbacks and not designed for highway traffic the way 70 is, the roads are in a park so they only plow and use sand, no salt or melting stuff from what I can tell, so in my estimation, plus the very moisture laden snow which packs very easily (esp. compared to CO snow, which I will say is better for snowsport) so its not a easy road to drive up to say, Mt. Hood Meadows which is where I have a pass. I could probably get by with just tires, but it must be somewhat of a tell tale sign that probably 80-90% of the vehicles you see up there on a snowy road day are AWD or 4x4, and some have that AND studded tires. I'm sure CO gets a lot of crazy conditions, I have only visited not lived there, but recently the snow at Hood in 48 hours was over 40" or something like that. I will say I rode it on my board and it was very heavy, my only complaint about getting fresh snow!!

Like I was trying to say, since we have 4 in my family and with all the gear, we're not fitting in the sonic very easily, and Portland it doesn't snow much at all, so I'm putting snow tires on it...we'll likely take something else. I have a Odyssey van which holds gear inside and does better than average in snow, but since the rear main seal is leaking I'm thinking of upgrading to SUV with AWD just so I'm good if conditions seriously deteriorate.

 

[carsNskis]

Pulled the trigger on new snows. The Hercules Avalanche RG3 I ran for two seasons could probably make a third... but I'd rather be safe than sorry. Couldn't find them for less than $199/tire so I decided to shop for alternatives

Picked these based on price, customer reviews, and a great comparison by Tire Rack against some excellent choices.

I did change tire aspect to 225/45r17 (instead of the 205/50r17). I like the slightly wider footprint (at 0.9" wider) and the overall diameter is only 0.1" smaller so no speedo or gearing issues

I'll take pics tomorrow to compare the tires side by side once they are mounted up.

 

[RMinNJ]

While they say a narrow tire is better I think that is a good idea..less sidewall may get rid of some of the mushiness of the T Rated (sometimes s or q rated) snows.