We all know the camaro is a blast to drive when the weather is nice, but what about when it rains, or worse snows? I'm in MN where it seems like snow is around 8 months out of the year.
Are camaros hard to handle in the snow? and if so, what can I do to improve traction?

 

tpi makes it a little harder in the snow, with all the torque they make. its no fun driving on ice...

 

Rain isn't bad, but I've had my Camaro for 11yrs and drove it one winter, that was enough for me. Mine is absolutely terrible in the snow. I also live in MN.

 

Yea, It's not too bad in the rain. If your going fast enough around a turn though and even look at the gas pedal you kick the back end out, and it dosn't come back.

 

That about sums it up lol.

But Camaro's can be pretty decent in snow if you have GOOD tires w/ good ammounts of weight over them.
But why even *think* about using such a beutiful piece of machinery in the car-eating snow?

 

true...

 

From personal experience they can be a hassle to drive in the snow and in the rain. But I think the rap they get is as bad as it is because every fall and winter, us RWD guys decide to go playing a time or two before we put the beasts up for winter

 

I personally don't think anything is a hastle to drive anytime. As long as you know how to drive it. Sure it is harder, but if you know what your car does and can really drive it in those weather conditions, then again I've never driven a car higher horsepower. Look at todays people though. They think that RWD cars don't handle good and FWD cars handle better. RWD cars are for the people who want to drive them, FWD are for the people who want to be driven. I was driving my 89 crown vic in the huge snow storm we had. My friend's front wheel drive v6 was spinning out skidding everywhere trying to bring me to my car. I drove home and didn't spin the tires once.

 

I can't say anything about how F-bodies handle in the snow, as mine's tucked safely away in the garage by then. But rainy/wet conditions, yeah, I've seen a lot of that.

If wet roads are a concern, then buy the best wet-weather tires you can afford. I splurged a bit & bought a set of Firestone Firehawk SZ-50s, & I can tell you that those tires absolutely KICK *** when it comes to gripping wet roads - I can think of twice when they've saved me from wrinkled sheetmetal.

Like I said, I have a more suitable vehicle to drive in the snow, so I can't say anything about that, but good tires can make a really big difference in how your car handles wet roads...

HTH!

 

The issue here is traction

First of all third gens have a solid rear axel so basically, especially in the rain, if you hit a bump in the road while going around a corner at speed youre spinning because it upsets the whole rear end of the car.

You just have to be careful. If youre concerned theres lots of aftermarket suspension pieces you can buy to make your car handle a lot better in all conditions. And really all were talking about is traction, so more then anything it comes down to tire choice. But if youre stupid and want to romp on the gas going around a corner, youre going to spin out any car that is rwd, you just have to know how to drive these things.

As for snow as was mentioned by blackhawk everyone says oh man fwd cars are so much safer to drive in the snow, rwd cars you have no control and people get into so many accidents. Well i will concede that rwd cars are dangerous to drive in the snow if you dont know what youre doing. I drove a 93 volvo station wagon, rwd, with a long thin wheel base and bald summer tires all last winter up here in canada. I personally get a little scared driving fwd cars in the snow where as with the volvo if the car starts to slide i can at least steer a bit with the gas pedal.

Now as for driving my iroc in the snow (which i never ever ever would), umm all i have to say is best of luck driving a car with 400 ft lbs of torque in the snow. If the car makes too much power you wont be able to drive it in the winter.

 

i've driven my '84 305 carb. camaro in the snow 3 winters and it is daily driven because I dont have any other means of transportation. Im the type of person who hates snow, but loves driving my car on it because its pure fun.

my car has a clutch fan and when the heat is on inside the car, it brings the idle up quite a bit, making it hard to stop on a snowy/rainy day.. if you get a carb. car, i suggest switching to electronic fans with a fan switch or you'll be doing what I do... at every yellow light you gotta turn off the heat and the fan, throw it in Neutral, and ease on the brakes...

PS: I drive on ZR rated tires year round as well... they are a blast in the rain for the pure fact that they dont grip worth a ****... and the snow... well... lets just say this, I set up my own rally course in a neighboring development with open streets and no houses built yet, and had a stop watch and a video camera timing myself through my course that I made that went the length of 5 streets turning here and there... im just a clown when it comes to driving in the elements.

 

on a side note.. my car isnt that powerful... maybe 260 tq. at the wheels with the current mods..??? but i live basically in the snow belt of Cleveland and we got like 96" of snow this past winter and I drove in every inch of it with nothing but fun, wild, adrenaline pumping through my veins... lol

i have a friend back in KY where they get abour 30" of snow each winter and he drive's an '01 SOM Formula A4 running 12.20's in the 1/4mi. and he drives his car every winter as well...

maybe we're just insane people?

 

If you're willing to spend money on drag radials or slicks for traction, there's no reason you can't spend a few hundred on snow tires on some spare rims for bad weather. Especially if you PLAN on driving through the winter. It's no different than any other modification. They make you faster and make you handle better in the snow.

I did 225/55/16 Blizzak tires on stock IROC-Z rims. Totally awesome winter car with 200-300lbs in the hatch area. I live on a dirt road that pretty much gets plowed LAST in our city. Snow never stopped me.