I'm almost buying a 2000 m6 SS.. my most concern right now is driving it in the winter, and winter here in michigan is very bad,, 3 to 10 inches of snow sometimes, but fast roads and freeways are always spreaded with salt...
It has a manual transmission and it will be my daily car and I drive around 20,000 miles a year..

Is that a good idea? if not , why not...
Most of the ads for these cars are always saying somethings like "never seen a winter" ..

tell me your opinions..

THX!

 

Well it's not the best car to drive just in the rain so go figure.It can be done but? Why pack it with road salt & tons of miles?
It is not that expensive to buy a beater car.
It will keep the miles of the SS too.
+ if you have another car to list as the primary driver it can save you on your insurance bill for the SS.

 

Well, I've always been one to have a winter beater. Snowy roads get messy, with all that salt, dirt and slush. My main concern is all that junk getting up into the undercarriage and all of the metal components. That will lead to those metal components corroding faster.

Beater cars can be bought for around $1000 to $2000 for a decent one. The more run-down cars can be bought for less than that.

If you MUST drive your SS in the winter, take it to the self-serve wash frequently. Make sure the wash has one of those pressurized power-wands. Get under and spray the undercarriage of your car. When I had my 89 Firebird in the winter, I would do this once every 1 to 2 weeks.

As far as driveability in the winter, the SS should be fine for MOST days. It depends on where you live. Here in Michigan, there will most likely be 4 or 5 days during a severe snow storm that will make it nearly impossible to drive your car.

My opinion would be to buy a car for a couple of thousand dollars cheaper, and just buy yourself a winter beater.

 

I have an A4 with goodyear RSA'a and tried it here in Iowa, don't try it for a daily driver in winter. you need a beater like the guy above said....QUICKLY - I got stuck in a blizzard on I80 once and had to pull off it was so bad...just when you think it is handling the road it kicks out on you like mad...

 

The worst day we had last winter I drove my 2000SS, you probably remember it was a Monday in Feb/March I can't remember the month. We got quite a bit of snow. I did not enjoy my drive to work. I think if you got appropriate wheel/tires you would be ok. But you probably could get a car as cheap as a good set of wheels/tires for your car.

Anyway it can be done if you enjoy drama in your life. I have driven '86, '95 and '00 Camaros in the winter. The '00 w/ the big tires is the worst.

Brian

 

buy a beater truck for like 1,000, claim it as ur daily driver and drive it in the winter. thats what i did

 

i live in rochester and bought my car this march, snow was pretty much all done

the tires it came with were bald, and it did snow 2 more times once i boguht it..... it is as awful as you've heard

one time the way into scchool was fine and when i elft there was a dusting.... i couldnt make it up a very weak hill, took long time to get home

another time i went out with about 1" (but the bad kind) and didnt make it to my destination.... turned around in a big parking lot and came home


now these were on bald tires.... when i REALLY have to drive it this winter... i'm buying a set of aplines or blizzaks (the two very best dedicated winter tires) and i'm gonna put as many sand bags in the t-top compartment as fits (at least a couple hundred pounds i guess) and pray that it works

anybody else tried this and know?

 

Buying a beater car is a good idea cause I love this SS ,, and the one I'm looking to buy has 19K miles for 14500$ which I think is a good deal .. and I would like to enjoy it as much as I can ..

But I would rather not to buy it cause it does mean that I will be driving an old truck the whole winter and I will be just starring at the SS in the garage !!
Last year I had a 1998 V6 camaro, and I didn't have troubles at all.

 

Well, you don't have to JUST stare at it. You can do some mods to it. Maybe a spark plug swap, or a lid install.

But yeah, mostly you will be staring at it. But on the bright side, taking it out for the first time in spring is always a blast.

 

How can you complain about poor traction when you have the ****tiest tires known to mankind on that car?

RSA's =

Just get an extra set of wheels with snow tires and swap them out for the winter seasons. That way your wheels don't get salted over!

scott

 

For $14.5k I would buy two of em... That is a remarkably low price for that car with 19k miles. I bought mine with 25k for $18k 6 months ago, and that was a pretty good deal. For that price I would inspect the car very well, or if you can't do that yourself take it somewhere to have it inspected for abuse/accident damage.

Where do you live in Michigan? BTW I love my car!

Brian

 

I drive in the winter and it is a workable situation, BUT there are a few things that you have to be concerned about.

1. A4 with 2.73 is alot easier than the 6 speed i think for snow driving

2. I'm in college and if it is that bad i can walk to class. Driving on plowed roads and such is not a problem, but if you need to drive a distance (such as work) you can't rely on the snow crews to have everything cleared for you.

3. Torque owns you. Good tires help alot in snow, but only to a point.


I've seen other f-bodies drive in some snow and it requires alot of patience and time. I'm only driving the TA through one more winter and then thats it for me and will buy a truck for the winter. If you can afford a nice f-body you can afford a winter beater car.

I recommend not driving a f-body in the winter.

 

Once you have the the SS you'll be glad it's sittin in the garage.
Otherwise think of all the cleaning & detailing that has to be done to keep it looking good.
I cant stand it when mine is dirty & couldn't even imagine it packed with salt!
Most everyone I know off does'nt drive their car in the winter just to keep them nice.
+ as you may have guessed by my screen name I am a mechanic.
Just as Pentatonic said the road salt does cause corrosion to the underpinnings of the car. Seen it.

 

well, last winter was the first real winter that I drove my 98 and let me tell ya with brand new 245's it was the worst!

seriousely this winter I think I am going to pretty much park it and drive the Astro, even though that is RWD also it just tracked so much better, I had so much more confidence with that, the narrower tires, ground clearence, LSD, and the fact that it is not my baby made it a much better snow vehicle.

I still plain on driving mine, I have to, but I am definately not driving it when snow is in the forcast.

 

How can you complain about poor traction when you have the ****tiest tires known to mankind on that car?

RSA's =

Just get an extra set of wheels with snow tires and swap them out for the winter seasons. That way your wheels don't get salted over!

scott

was just trying to help somebody out....
maybe I'll swap my crappy RSA's out for some Goodyear wranglers then my Z28 will plow thru the winter like your slvrbird, ehh? At least I know I'm in the majority here, no matter wether you have " ****tiest tires known to mankind " a camaro is not for driving in a winter climate.