European Sportwagon Posted June 15, 2008 Report Share Posted June 15, 2008 Hi guys,So here is the situation.I had bought the 855 as a summer car and have a toyota pickup for the winters.My plan worked great until the head gasket went out in the pickup.I'm looking at around $5,000-6000 to rebuild or a long block swap. With 220,000 on it and gas on the rise, I'm looking at ditching the 3.slow v6.The question is... buy another pickup for a couple thousand or studs for the 855?I've never driven a FWD in the snow. I hear conflicting information on winter handling. I'm hoping you guys can shed some light for me.Thanks,Shawn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyCarIsRed Posted June 16, 2008 Report Share Posted June 16, 2008 Hi guys,So here is the situation.I had bought the 855 as a summer car and have a toyota pickup for the winters.My plan worked great until the head gasket went out in the pickup.I'm looking at around $5,000-6000 to rebuild or a long block swap. With 220,000 on it and gas on the rise, I'm looking at ditching the 3.slow v6.The question is... buy another pickup for a couple thousand or studs for the 855?I've never driven a FWD in the snow. I hear conflicting information on winter handling. I'm hoping you guys can shed some light for me.Thanks,ShawnRWD is way more fun in the snow, but even a retarded monkey (gotta have thumbs to tune radio) can pilot a FWD in the wet stuff. I've never driven studs, I've never felt i needed them, and chains aren't legal round heya. 4wd vehicles are usually the ones flipped over on the side of the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nader Posted June 16, 2008 Report Share Posted June 16, 2008 Where exactly do you live? Around here it never gets too bad. infact the entire time i had my 89 740 we didn't have any "real" snow! I was royally pissed!Other than the the rest of my FWD cars do just fine (without studs) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chilled man Posted June 16, 2008 Report Share Posted June 16, 2008 with FWD you will never need 4x4 unless you get Feet of snow :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PyROTech Posted June 16, 2008 Report Share Posted June 16, 2008 you gotta tell us the winter driving conditions you have, fwd and good snow tires will work fine. Running studs when you have 98% dry pavement isnt gonna work. Do you live in a major city? Is it legal in your area also? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sea-xc Posted June 16, 2008 Report Share Posted June 16, 2008 FWD with 4 good snow tires- no studs. I've ran this setup for many years with no major issues. I find that it's easier to gauge traction w/ Fwd. You can drop a gear and throttle it up to spin the wheels. The easier it is to spin the tires = the longer it's going to take to stop or the slower you have to go around a corner.4wd or AWD is certainly more fun but I find I have to use 4wd more often to get the traction needed. Also these only add traction when accelerating. 4wd does nothing to aid in stopping or turning.Your driving conditions are the biggest variable. Short drives and a long steep driveway would make me lean to the truck. More city driving, very occasional deep snow go Fwd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
European Sportwagon Posted June 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2008 Where exactly do you live?4,200 feet. south of BendLast winter was pretty bad around town, lots of pot holes and ice.The worst in years. (or best if you're a skier)I was worried about the ground clearance and my oil pan.The city did a horrid job of maintaining the roads. Besides, they use cinders, so that tears up the paint.Thanks for the replies,I'm leaning towards a 87 with a 22re Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mossback Posted July 2, 2008 Report Share Posted July 2, 2008 FWD with 4 good snow tires- no studs. I've ran this setup for many years with no major issues. I find that it's easier to gauge traction w/ Fwd. You can drop a gear and throttle it up to spin the wheels. The easier it is to spin the tires = the longer it's going to take to stop or the slower you have to go around a corner.+1, I did a bunch of pass driving on both sides of the PNW Cascades last winter with some studless 16" winters. No problems.Avoid the studs if at all possible. Your teeth will thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCapn Posted July 2, 2008 Report Share Posted July 2, 2008 I can't speak for the area, but if you can pick up a 87-92 on the cheap do it. I loved my 1992.I had the 4 cyl and it was fast as ish... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkyWriter Posted July 3, 2008 Report Share Posted July 3, 2008 a good set of real snow tires is all you need unless you're plowing, or driving through unplowed regions. although when i lived in Worcester i had 7 roads to get home; all with a 45 degree slope, and a 90 degree turn in. needless to say i parked under the overpass and walked home most days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Yuck Posted July 4, 2008 Report Share Posted July 4, 2008 I did just fine last winter with my RWD studs with a foot of snow on the road. Siped all seasons on FWD Cadillac was OK for any conditions I had it out (about 4"), GF's Tercel (FWD) with studs was perfect, but before she had them, she got stuck in about 8"FWD minivan with studs had no problem, FWD minivan with all seasons got totally owned in 8"Pushed a RWD Sonoma with All seasons in a foot of snow, pushed a 4wd Explorer with all seasons in 2.5' of snow.I'm a firm believer in good tires. B) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mesoam Posted July 5, 2008 Report Share Posted July 5, 2008 i was taught to drive an RWD manual car in the snow. I've driven 850's in the snow with full snow tires, that being said I'll never give up 4x4 with the JeepThe worst story I had with the 850 in the snow was a few years back, work was let out early but it had already dumped around a foot and plows were lagging behind (this was the same year they cut DOT staff, go figure). I took backroads home and actually had issues clearing some of the drifts. This was when I was parking on the street, the next morning I had to dig the car out for a few hours. With the jeep and 4x4 its drive out and don't think twice about snow depth (well unless i'm up in NH ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magicaljake Posted July 8, 2008 Report Share Posted July 8, 2008 i have driven my 850 for years in the snowand i live on a crazy dirt road in the hills of VTjust a nice set of studded tires and you will be fine...heres pics from a huge storm 2 years agothey pulled them selfs out of that snowbank no problem...i only cleared enough snow for me to get in the door Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaperToast Posted July 13, 2008 Report Share Posted July 13, 2008 Hi guys,So here is the situation.I had bought the 855 as a summer car and have a toyota pickup for the winters.My plan worked great until the head gasket went out in the pickup.I'm looking at around $5,000-6000 to rebuild or a long block swap. With 220,000 on it and gas on the rise, I'm looking at ditching the 3.slow v6.The question is... buy another pickup for a couple thousand or studs for the 855?I've never driven a FWD in the snow. I hear conflicting information on winter handling. I'm hoping you guys can shed some light for me.Thanks,Shawnheres some posts about snow driving with pics and some discusion about driving on the powderSteamboat Springs CO Day Trip (very snowy)i did this trip with regular street tires and had no problems what so ever hope this helps clear the air for ya B) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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