The "Sonic in the snow" MASTER thread

[carsNskis]

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.

That's exactly what I was thinking. In Denver I get a lot of dry road commuting days and want to reduce the tread/sidewall squirm.

And narrower is better, to cut through the slush and snow rather than plane and float over but we're only talking 0.9" wider

 

[LorbeerTLC]

That's exactly what I was thinking. In Denver I get a lot of dry road commuting days and want to reduce the tread/sidewall squirm.

And narrower is better, to cut through the slush and snow rather than plane and float over but we're only talking 0.9" wider

On unplowed roads, wouldn't a narrower tire make your Sonic sink further into the snow? With a low ground clearance to begin with, I'd be afraid of getting stuck. Would a wider winter/snow tire help prevent that by riding more on top of the snow? It might act sluggish, but I'm not sure which trade-off would be better.

 

[carsNskis]

On unplowed roads, wouldn't a narrower tire make your Sonic sink further into the snow? With a low ground clearance to begin with, I'd be afraid of getting stuck. Would a wider winter/snow tire help prevent that by riding more on top of the snow? It might act sluggish, but I'm not sure which trade-off would be better.

I ran the 205/50r17 for the last two winters, even in powdery snow up past the rockers the car did fine.

I like the idea of the wider footprint for stopping and starting traction. I hope we'll see soon enough [emoji15] .... I'm probably one of the few around here wishing for snow (in the city at least)!

 

[carsNskis]

Side by side shot, getting mounted today. On the car tomorrow.

 

[LorbeerTLC]

CarNskis,

Are you going to get them studded (if your laws will permit it)?
I see the holes where they're pinned to be studded. I have them on my winter/snow tires and they've been handy when you have to drive in freezing rain.

BTW: Nice tires!

 

[carsNskis]

CarNskis,

Are you going to get them studded (if your laws will permit it)?
I see the holes where they're pinned to be studded. I have them on my winter/snow tires and they've been handy you have to drive in freezing rain.

No studs. Too much dry weather in Denver during the Winter to run them. They damage the roads and degrade handling/braking in dry conditions.

If the roads were constantly snow packed or ice were more frequent I would consider, but haven't needed them for the last 24 winters.

 

[LorbeerTLC]

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.

Dirkdaddy,

Ran into the same problem when I lived up in Washington State (I now live west of Salem, Oregon).

However, I did find some special Ultra-Low Clearance tire chains at TireChains.com

Read my post (#24) on this thread:
http://www.sonicownersforum.com/forum/56673-post24.html

I took my car to Les Schwab Tires and they put them on for me and said there would be sufficient clearance between the tires and struts. So far I haven't had any problem with them.

 

[LorbeerTLC]

No studs. Too much dry weather in Denver during the Winter to run them. They damage the roads and degrade handling/braking in dry conditions.

If the roads were constantly snow packed or ice were more frequent I would consider, but haven't needed them for the last 24 winters.

carsNskis,

What do you think about the Michelin X-Ice Xi3 Tires?
Michelin X-Ice Xi3 Tires | Michelin USA

I've heard good reviews and as soon as my studded tires need to be replaced, I'm thinking of putting on a set of these for winter driving.

For an "All Season" tire, I currently have a set of Michelin Premier A/S (205/50R17/XL 93V) on my Sonic and they've been the best tires I've ever had!
Michelin Premier A/S Tires | Michelin USA :banana:

 

[carsNskis]

carsNskis,

What do you think about the Michelin X-Ice Xi3 Tires?
Michelin X-Ice Xi3 Tires | Michelin USA

I've heard good reviews and as soon as my studded tires need to be replaced, I'm thinking of putting on a set of these for winter driving.

For an "All Season" tire, I currently have a set of Michelin Premier A/S (205/50R17/XL 93V) on my Sonic and they've been the best tires I've ever had!
Michelin Premier A/S Tires | Michelin USA :banana:

The xice looks like a standard tread pattern, lots of traction blocks and siping on the blocks. No personal experience with them but they look good from a design standpoint.

I'm cheap, so I went with the least expensive. Also we deal with a lot of sunshine after snow, which makes for major slush puddles so the angled center tread and high void channels help clear water without traction compromise. The asymmetrical style can get floaty on deep snow and deep water.

It's snowing today, first time in the Denver Metro and I'll get my wheels swapped this afternoon. The drive home will be a good test (22 miles, road abs highway, after 9pm with fresh snow and cool air temps)

 

[carsNskis]

Mounted up!

On the car (sitting a little low because my 18's and takeoffs are in the hatch)

 

[LorbeerTLC]

Air Dam & 2017 Spark Activ

carsNskis,

Just curious-
Did you remove the Air Dam that's underneath the front of your car? I'm surprised mine hasn't fallen off yet. I see you have an RS and with the lower clearance, I would think it would push snow and ice and act like a plow.

Where I live we have really high crowned roads and when I pull out from places like a restaurant to the road the dam underneath scrapes against the blacktop due to the dip. Sometimes it's so bad it pulls the air dam out from its slots and I have to crawl underneath the car and tuck them back in.

It's too bad GM/Chevrolet doesn't offer a Sonic ACTIV like they will with the 2017 Spark. I really like the "two-tone" look, the integrated roof rails, and the higher clearance (albeit only 0.4 of an inch).
Chevrolet Debuts Sporty New Spark ACTIV

 

[carsNskis]

No air dam removal, never had a problem since December of 2014 and it's been on the GM Performance Suspension since about three months after purchase... Never had a problem bottoming out or scraping at all.

Btw: If you want a Sonic "Activ" it's called the Trax!

 

[LorbeerTLC]

No air dam removal, never had a problem since December of 2014 and it's been on the GM Performance Suspension since about three months after purchase... Never had a problem bottoming out or scraping at all.

Btw: If you want a Sonic "Activ" it's called the Trax!

Lol!

Only problem is I'm a 100% manual transmission man! I have to have a clutch!
Part of the fun in driving is having a 100% manual transmission! It enhances the drive. None of this faux "manual" shifting that some cars are offering today (that are without a clutch). Otherwise, I would have bought (sorry Chevy), a Buick Encore. Maybe someday (although I doubt it), GM will offer a class "A" or "B" segment crossover AWD that'll include a 100% manual transmission.
Until then, I'll keep my Chevy Sonic LTZ! :banana:

 

[carsNskis]

I totally get it, that is why my Sonic will probably be replaced with a Golf R or Audi S3 one day.... AWD + turbo + Manual =

 

[dannyg]

Maybe someday (although I doubt it), GM will offer a class "A" or "B" segment crossover AWD that'll include a 100% manual transmission.
Until then, I'll keep my Chevy Sonic LTZ! :banana:

C'mon chevy, give us a manual tranny AWD Trax!

 

[Stew]

I've never read this thread, mostly because we don't get a lot of snow around the greater Seattle area, but this threads very existence always made me wonder if the Sonic was so bad in the snow that it needed it's own thread!

Well today I was out driving in some snow, not much compared to a lot of you guys but I did get a feel for it. It was not too bad. The biggest problem I had was the 225/45's on it, but even so not any real pucker moments.

 

[carsNskis]

General Altimax Arctic 225/45-17 on stock RS wheels (Replacing Hercules Avalanche RG3 205/50-17)

So happy with the grip, the wider footprint is perfect. Fantastic starting and stopping grip.

I like that these tires have much deeper lugs for big watery sections, tracks smoothly in standing water and slush. We're already melting off the recent snow so they've seen multiple conditions in the just five days, happy so far. Let's see how they wear

 

[Stew]

Yeah those do look like they have a good bite to them, nice!

 

[Mad Trapper]

Just put on Michelin X-Ice xi3's on the Sonic and wife's Tiguan. We'll see how it handles now with this weekends snow storm.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[JWV]

Anybody know if 15 inch steelies will fit in place of stock ltz 17s? I want snow tires but it's cheaper to get 15s with michelin x-ice i3s than just getting 17s. Then I could just swap before and after winter. On a side note. My stock Hancooks have been attempting to kill me lately in this Michigan weather.