200SX Snow Tips?

Wow, first day driving this car in the snow.....its horrible, 4th gear ad 30mph i give it gas and my tires start to spin and kick my car sideways, i cant make it up ANY hills.....any tips for makin this thing drive any better? Im thinking i might just have to get a front wheel drive winter rat!

chains? i have never driven in snow.... or seen it for that matter (joke)

good snow tires and some weight over the back wheels or you will be fighting with it all winter.

I have had a 200SX for 6 years now. I live in NE Illinois and have never gotten stuck. If you have good tires and don't try and drive through 6" of snow you should be fine. Just keep good tires on it and don't drive like you're on dry pavement.

It's also a good idea to keep the tank as full as you can....better traction.

i give it gas and my tires start to spin and kick my car sideways

sounds like fun....cant wait for snow around these parts...... :guitar:

I put a set of Michelin X-Ice tires on my 200 this season. We just got a good dump of snow here the past two days, and I have to say, these tires kick ass. Acceleration is rarely a problem and braking is much more confidence inspiring. Plus, giving it a little gas and kicking out the back end is so much fun. :) I love RWD in the winter.

But yeah, a RWD Open-Differential car really needs two sets of tires: Summer tires and Winter tires. All-seasons just don't cut it. But tires just help, they don't fix the problem. The real solution is to buy an LSD differential from a 240SX. 8-)

Yeah up there in NY and the other northern regions you really need snow tires on a RWD car. Also 150 lbs or so in the back will make a big difference. I don't have to deal with too much snow here in NC, but when it does get slippery I take one of those big Rubbermaid storage tubs and place in it my toolbox, 6 gallon milk jugs of water (2/3 - 3/4 full to allow room to freeze), and a couple gallon bottles of antifreeze. I secure it with bungee cords hooked to the steel brackets that hold the back seatbacks in place. (This is in a hatchback)
In the north where you can actually buy it I highly recommend tubesand, they are 70 lb. bags of sand in the shape of a cylinder, designed to be laid right over the rear wheelwells. And they are made to break open easily, so if you are stuck you can open them and dump the sane under the wheels. Kitty litter works well for this, too.

When I lived in NY state and winter came I always put a box in the back of the car with a blanket, extra set of warm clothes, and some Powerbars, just to be prepared in case I got stranded.

But the most important thing about driving RWD in the snow is practice, practice, practice. Once you master the art of keeping the car going in the desired direction even as the rear end is swinging 30 degrees left and right, you'll find that you actually have more control with a RWD than a FWD.

As for hills, the best bet in snow is to just avoid them if you can. If I have to go from point A at the bottom of the hill to point B at the top, I try to take a long way around so the climb is less steep.

Another tip when driving in slippery conditions is to leave it in a lower gear to keep the rpm's up. This will not only give you better throttle control to avoid breaking the rear end loose, but will give you a greater degree of compression braking to use for slowing the car without using the brakes.

Of course, if all of this just seems like to much of a PITA, you can always do what I did: POINT THE CAR SOUTH, FLOOR IT, AND NEVER LOOK BACK! :lol:

I live in the frozen tundra... reigon. Also known as south eastern Wisconsin. I have had some practice with sliding and such in the snow. I will give you another piece of advice. Use the hand brake if you find yourself overshooting a turn at low speeds, then be prepared to counter steer. I cant at the moment and I already noticed that techique helps. But then again, I am used to doing crazy stuff like sliding. It also helps if your car is underpowered. I know it sounds crazy but, my turbo is seized up and I probably have under 100HP. But it helpd because It doesn't slide too far out when you punch the gas.

By the way, I was driving yesterday and the roads were very wet due to rain, I made a nice powerslide in an intersection and I had the tires spinning THROUGH 3rd GEAR! I am probably the firs car to do that with under 100 HP!!

we've only had light snow here so far...but last year my car was stuck in the snow all season..

this year, at the first signs of heavy snow...2 of my broken 17" rims will be going into my trunk. that's an extra 80lbs over my rear wheels...I hope it's enough...

By the way, I was driving yesterday and the roads were very wet due to rain, I made a nice powerslide in an intersection and I had the tires spinning THROUGH 3rd GEAR! I am probably the firs car to do that with under 100 HP!!
not the first, a 510 with a stock L-16 is putting like 65-70 to the ground and those things can pitch sideways in the rain and even on dry ground if you know your car. good times...... :spy:

Buy a winter car LOL can get one for cheaper then good winter tires!!

I drove my 200 last year its not bad i have driven 3 RX7's through the winter you have way more control in the snow than a front wheel drive car in my opinion.

The only reason why i parked mine this year was because i didnt want to cold start my engine all year and im scared of crashing it.

Fill the trunk with sand bags, get some decent tires and have fun.

Craig

Blah. You think these cars are a handfull in the snow?

Try driving a 400 hp 1970 Olds 442 in the winter. I did it for 4 years. Stall converter and all. All you have to do is know your car and keep good tires on it and all will be good.

Blah. You think these cars are a handfull in the snow?

Try driving a 400 hp 1970 Olds 442 in the winter. I did it for 4 years. Stall converter and all. All you have to do is know your car and keep good tires on it and all will be good.

Wow, you are a better man than I. I got stuck in a parking lot in my stock S12 just because I was parked on a 2% grade. My tires weren't M+S rated though. I think you would be okay with just snow tires, but I only see snow twice a year, so what do I know.

Get narrower tires. I don't know the sizes of anything other than my SE(205s), but I'm sure a set of some cheapo knobby "all-season" 185's would be fine. Try to stay with a smaller wheel size too, like a 13" or 14" max(keep in mind I'm assuming you're going to stay with the factory tire height). Flexibilty of the tire is the key to traction, a firm tire cakes up with snow too easily. Winter tires aren't totally necessary although they make a WORLD of difference.

Try to keep all 4 tires the same otherwise your car will handle goofy.

It might just be my S12, but I need descent snowtires (195's I believe), my subs, and 40Kg's of salt, or no subs and 60Kg's of salt...also if you put weight in the back salt is better than sand, because likely if you get stuck the salt you can use to melt the ice...I used it for that twice last year, and it worked awesome...And as far as the back end kicking out...it is UBER fun!!! ;) 8)

not the first, a 510 with a stock L-16 is putting like 65-70 to the ground and those things can pitch sideways in the rain and even on dry ground if you know your car. good times...... :spy:

Yea, but I shifted into 3rd gear when I straightened out. I can slide in 3rd, but I mean I was in a straight line, shift to 3rd and dump the clutch, and felt the rear not hooking up.

Three winters ago I had a vg30 long block in the rear and I had no problems. :) lol
Last year I figured out this trick. When you are slideing twards A curb @ low speed (under steer) insted of the natural instinct to lock up the breaks, give it gas. This helped me out alot last year. :)

I had an accident a few weeks ago with my 200sx it was raining and and car was in the wrong side of the road so to avoid it I kind of cut the wheel to the otehr side and my car slid so much and I was goign like 30 so it sucks and the car used to slide in second gearso much. But I added a sub to the back and that managed to make it heavier in the back it rarely slides but I still need to get some more weight in the back and winter tires I live in nj and I have to go 30 mins driving to work and 10 of those are uphill so I am afraid my car will slide when goign up or down hill :roll: but hopefully I will manage LOL

in the snow its better to stay in the lower gears at higher rpm if you're not looking to slide around on purpose.

last night it started to snow "what luck" and the temperature was so low the ground was frozen but well I started off on a turn from a side street to the main road and i was in first and the car slid all the way into the turn in first gear and I wasn't even going 10 miles an hour when I managed to get straighten out I shifted to second and the car managed to take some grip. now what I do is if I start to slid in a turn i shift to a higuer gear and let the speed go down then some how it gets grip worked a few times last night :) but I don't know if it that effective.