http://www.1stsubarudealer.com/subaru-colorado/
How good is a front wheel drive car in the snow? 1991 Honda Accord Ex?
Im thinking about going to college in the snow and trying to figure out if i should start looking for a subaru or if my car will get me through a winter. The car is all stock at the moment. If i keep t is there anytype of change to the car that would help me out?
Specifically Fort Collins, Colorado
Oh, and I will be buying tires within the next couple months because it will need them.
This depends on numerous factors but AWD is generally always much better than FWD in the snow for traction but won’t help you on corners and doesn’t improve braking.
I have owned many FWD and 4WD Honda cars as well as a Toyota Camry and Subarus with AWD. Personally, I don’t like Subarus. I’d look for something else especially if you plan on keeping the car after it has over 150,000 miles. The FWD Accord may be fine, but I would put 4 snow tires on it preferably Blizzaks.
I presently live in NE PA in the Pocono mountains and I can tell you that the roads here tend to be much slicker when it snows than the roads in Northern Vermont where I spent 6 winters. I think it has a lot to do with the climate. It is warmer here than in Vermont. In Vermont the climate is colder and dryer which made the snow less slippery. Probably the road maintenance has something to do with it as well. I never spent a winter in Colorado but I would expect it to be more like Vermont than Pennsylvania. Put on 4 Blizzaks and carry a pair of tire cables for emergency use and go for it. Make sure you know how to drive in the snow. I am one of those idiots that doesn’t slow down in snow storms [at least not much] but I am careful. I do slow down for curves and when there are trees or ditches or banks that I don’t want to rendezvous with along the road.But on the straight-a-ways you will see me passing most other cars on the road. I am nearly 62 years old and I drive at least 25,000 miles a year since I was 17. I have only gone off the road 2 or 3 times in a snow storm in all those years that I can remember and only once did that result in damage to the car and at the time I was going only 35 in a 50mph zone! The car I was driving has a lot of oversteer and needed snow tires on the back and weight in the trunk to keep in on the road. Keep the car moving and don’t spin the tires. Go slow on the curves and down hills. Put it in lower gear going down hill so you don’t have to use the brakes so much. If conditions are really bad go real slow and keep close to the right side of the road especially going downhill that way if you start to slide toward the snow bank on the right you won’t hit it with such force that you get stuck in it. Carry a shovel and a bucket of salt or sand & salt mixed. Don’t drive like me. At least not until you feel confident.
BTW A FWD car with a 6 cylinder engine is much better in the snow than a Honda Accord with a 4 cylinder. Because the 6 cylinder puts much more weight over the drive wheels. Remember when you are going uphill and you need the most traction to keep moving, the weight shifts more to the rear of the car, the downhill end. This does not help your traction. I have seen the time when I could back up a hill that I could not go up in a forward gear for this reason.
Rally Colorado 2008-Subaru Rally Team USA
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