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How Did Your ATS Do In The Snow This Past Week?

44K views 99 replies 59 participants last post by  Chrispy 
#1 ·
Many of us experienced the big winter storm over the last few days... So what's the verdict? How did your ATS do?
 
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#3 ·
It took me 6 hours to clear most of the snow from my driveway (with a tractor). Afterward on my driveway,I floored it with it on "touring". I have AWD. The tires spun slightly but the car accelerated smoothly. I retried it with it in "Snow" mode. The tires didn't spin and it accelerated easily. On the road though,the ride was roUgh given the poor quality of county snow removal.
 
#89 ·
It took me 6 hours to clear most of the snow from my driveway (with a tractor). Afterward on my driveway,I floored it with it on "touring". I have AWD. The tires spun slightly but the car accelerated smoothly. I retried it with it in "Snow" mode. The tires didn't spin and it accelerated easily. On the road though,the ride was roUgh given the poor quality of county snow removal.
Do 2WD ATSs have a "Snow Mode"? I've never noticed it on my car.
 
#4 ·
After the horrible conditions Thursday morning (during which I was stuck for 4 hours in a massive traffic jam on I-29 due to semi wreck closing the highway). Other than having to get out and de-ice my windshield wipers several times over the 4 hour standstill, no problems driving on the snow packed roads. Love AWD. Extremely pleased with my ATS in the adverse conditions.
 
#6 ·
My AWD is in the shop. The dealer gave me a 2.5L RWD as a loner. I've had a number of RWD sports cars, so I pretty much knew what to expect. The car did really well. I didn't have any trouble getting started at all. I did try the snow and ice mode. The car did start out much slower with it set to snow and ice.
 
#10 ·
I have a RWD 2.0 and had no problems making it to work through the snow. I was impressed on how well my G8 did in snow compared to my FWD GTP, the ATS did even better. Even while trying to play a little bit, the car soldiered on. ABS kicked in quicker than the G8 and the throttle was adjusted as needed by the car when I did slip (barely). With that said, still be careful!
 
#12 ·
There wasn't a lot of snow here this weekend, but my driveway is a menace at 3" for most cars. The ATS had no issues. I even stopped it midway up and then tested the climb from a standstill at a steep point. Just a tiny slip to the side and right up the rest of the way.
 
#14 ·
Summers are a no no in the snow no matter RWD or AWD. With RWD you really need snows, but I think with a good set of SNOWS the ATS should do pretty good in the snow

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But I too am curious if after this past superstorm anyone else has any feelings on how the RWD ATS did in the snow, and please let us know what kind of Tires you're using
 
#17 ·
how the RWD ATS did in the snow, and please let us know what kind of Tires you're using
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This is an excellent question. I am looking for Snows 225/40R18 by Bridgestone (RunFlats), Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4 (non Runflats), Dunlop SP Winter Sport 4D (non runFlat) etc.
Users please let us know !!
 
#20 ·
The ATS does great in the snow. It my best snow car since my Grand Cherokee. I had a Merc C Class and an Acura T/L in between.

If you want a great winter tire, you can't go wrong with the Blizzaks. I had them on my RWD C Class and they made all the difference. That car was not drive-able in the snow without them.
 
#26 ·
My V wouldn't move with summer tires in the snow. I knew that, but I had to try it for fun. Blizzaks made a world of difference.

As for not wanting to spend money, used winter tires are easy to find. Especially this time of year! I paid $300 for my Blizzaks that were almost new...

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Reading all of the comments about driving in the snow sure makes me glad to be living in the sunny southwest! Enjoyed a very nice 70 degree day here in Las Vegas yesterday.
And I would hate that. I get to do things in my V now that would get me arrested in the summer. 4 seasons of sun and warmth is 4 seasons of suck.
 
#25 ·
rsf07: It's your decision, but up here in the snowy north, proper Winter Tires are acknowledged by all experts to be strongly recommended whether RWD, AWD or FWD. It's the tire winter-tread that steers and controls, not the drive propulsion type. I have CTS AWD, and wouldn't back out of the driveway w/o Winter Snows......but what do I know. Some folks don't even wear seat belts ! Just portraying many, many years of winter driving experience. I had winter snows on an earlier Corvette too.....lots of fun doing spinneramas.
 
#27 ·
The British magazine Autocar has a recent video of two nearly identical cars in the snow. It can be found at autocar.co.uk . They used Skoda Yetis, a VW based CUV. One had AWD with standard tires (probably all-season, though not listed). The other had FWD but with snow tires on all four wheels. The comparison was very revealing. The AWD was predictably quicker off the line, 0-30 taking 11 seconds vs. 15 sec. Under braking from 20 MPH, the AWD took about 40 feet MORE to brake to a stop. They said it was the difference between avoiding a wreck or having a big hit. As they noted, under braking, ALL cars are NO wheel drive. In cornering, the AWD did .17G, while the snows did .23, which is a 35% improvement in grip!

As they said, AWD will get you up the mountain, but you will need snows to get DOWN the mountain. They said they would take snows over AWD anyday. They did not test a Yeti with AWD AND snows, which undoubtedly would do even better. The lesson here is that ALL cars need winter tires in real snow conditions, including those with AWD, at least if one wants to stop or turn.
 
#28 ·
As they said, AWD will get you up the mountain, but you will need snows to get DOWN the mountain. They said they would take snows over AWD anyday. They did not test a Yeti with AWD AND snows, which undoubtedly would do even better. The lesson here is that ALL cars need winter tires in real snow conditions, including those with AWD, at least if one wants to stop or turn.
Based on personal experience, I would tend to agree with this. My 530i (RWD) with snow tires (cheap General Altimax Arctics) handles winter conditions better than my wife's C300 4Matic with all-season Conti DWS. Sure, she'd beat me at take off, but turning and stopping, I win. We don't get a ton of snow here in Illinois, so that's why I hesitated to get her a dedicated set of winter attire. She does OK for the most part. But if we move to a more snowy area, she'll be getting dedicated winter rubber.
 
#32 ·
Nope. But with summer tires, it wouldn't matter.

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Based on personal experience, I would tend to agree with this. My 530i (RWD) with snow tires (cheap General Altimax Arctics) handles winter conditions better than my wife's C300 4Matic with all-season Conti DWS. Sure, she'd beat me at take off, but turning and stopping, I win. We don't get a ton of snow here in Illinois, so that's why I hesitated to get her a dedicated set of winter attire. She does OK for the most part. But if we move to a more snowy area, she'll be getting dedicated winter rubber.
And the DWS is the best performance all-season tire there is. Nothing beats snow tires in snow.
 
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