jeff spahn

Gonna be trying out the Pilots today!

WallyP

Be really, really careful. Summer high-performance tires turn into hockey pucks below 40 degrees. You will have much less than expected traction on dry pavement, and almost none on wet pavement.

Nicole

Aww, that would scare the he!! out of me! Is there a way you can catch a ride and get the car tomorrow, or when the snow has gone?

jsherid1

Be careful man--there is nothing inherently dangerous about the car in the snow (50:50 weight distribution is a big plus) but your tires are definitely going to be the "weakest link". Get someone to give you a ride home and then start plotting how to move someplace warmer.

Mike B

Agreed...performance tires are useless in cold weather. With snow and ice you're looking at a potential disaster. Up here I would get to my destination quicker by walking that using the 928 or 952 with their Sumitomo tires.

Please take care!

928drvr86.5

Huh?

Where's the Foad Exploder? You're about 24 hours too late on the 928, the streets were dry Sunday, salt washed away with the massive rains, and I had my 928 out for a short run out HWY 20.

But today, you're taking your life in your hands, and the salt .....etc.

dr bob

There are a few flavors of Michelin Pilots. If you have the AS version you should be OK with a gentle foot.

jeff spahn

They are the A/S Plus version. Forgot to throw that in.
Had the Explorer and took it home over lunch. Wasn't snowing when I went back to work. About an hour after I got there, wham.
Washed it off good under and over and parked it back in the heated garage. I'll have to get the pressure washer out and jack it up Thursday to spray off the bottom side better than just with a hose.

I also got some preservative that John Deere uses on their equipment. Ben probably knows about this stuff. Called Fluid Film (check Google). Saw videos of JD using to preserve stuff before they ship it overseas. Gonna spray that on the underside to give a protective barrier. I use it on my snow blower and robotic mower to keep them from rusting. Figure if it can keep a snow blower that runs through the salt from rusting it will surely help the car stay protected.

jeff spahn

As an update. I drove home and the Pilot A/S work like a champ. You can put down a good deal of power and not break them loose. Braking is also very good. Tried some hard stops on snowy/icy parts of the road and the car is very predictable.

All in all if I wasn't worried about trashing the car with the salt it would be a great winter car with a set of Bridgestone Blizzaks on winter wheels. Heater and rear de-icer sure work well!

jeff spahn

Nah. This is a dusting. I drive in snow 1/3 of the year. My AWD 5L Explorer gets around better though. My all time favorite car is our Acura MDX with Bridgestone Blizzaks on it. That thing will go anywhere and stop on a dime on icy roads. Greatest tires since studded snow tires. Combine them with Acura's AWD system and you have a real winner.

fraggle

if he's got experience in this type of weather, he'll be fine. Te worry I'd have is the salt! Get that stuff cleaned off! Sounds like the drive went as expected!

I once bought a brand new rc51 in march, it was 39F and raining, rode it home and still got the tires scrubbed in edge to edge without binning it. Was a tad skittish tho. Though not quite as cold as here, a performance motorcycle tire is an extreme version of any street car tire.

Bet you smiled at the suckers scared in their hondas while you drove it home. Fun skillz in the snow!

jeff spahn

I had a blast driving home after I got a feel for the new tire's traction level. Love driving sideways when it is on purpose. Still learning about the PSD. Don't have a total feel for how it works because I don't spin my tires on dry pavement. I generally drive like there is an egg between my foot and the gas pedal.