I test drove the smart in 5 inches of snow and was impressed with how well it did on standard tires. Reminded me of an old beetle. And yes it will do better with snow tires....even my Jeep does better with snow tires. I noticed someone stated it was RWD and so would not be good in the snow. It is not just the drive wheels that impacts snow ability but the location of the engine. I would submit the smart is better than a fwd car because the engine is in the rear, over the drive wheels. The weight shifts towards the rear so that would improve traction in the RWD rear engine car, and the weight is also over the wheels, just like a front wheel drive car. Just my 2 cents.
I test drove the smart in 5 inches of snow and was impressed with how well it did on standard tires. Reminded me of an old beetle. And yes it will do better with snow tires....even my Jeep does better with snow tires. I noticed someone stated it was RWD and so would not be good in the snow. It is not just the drive wheels that impacts snow ability but the location of the engine. I would submit the smart is better than a fwd car because the engine is in the rear, over the drive wheels. The weight shifts towards the rear so that would improve traction in the RWD rear engine car, and the weight is also over the wheels, just like a front wheel drive car. Just my 2 cents.
I think we can put an end to the snow tires discussions. You can get around with stocks but I think we can all agree that snow tires would improve traction quite a bit more.
I do want to add my own personal experience with the Beetle. We had a 76 yellow VW Beetle. That was a hand me down car from high school. My dad drove us to school one day and did a 180 right into the ditch. I think we biased ply tires back then. If they were All seasons, they were crappy all seasons. We would get out of the car and try to push with no evail. Driving that car was like commanding a Uboat....lever here and knob there. It was horrible in snow. We got stuck in our drive way at least once a week.
One day during my senior year in HS, I was driving home from school with my little brother, the car started to slow down. I couldn't figure out why. I had my foot on the gas so I wasn't sure what was happening. I looked in my rear view mirror to see if there was any cars behind me. What I saw was huge flames coming from the back. I remember saying, "Oh....Sh_t", pulled over the ditch, and ran for my life. School books, reading glasses, cassette tapes (my favorites: Scorpions, The Cars, Van Halen, and Def Leppard), book bags, and Mead binders....all burnt to toast. It took 3 firetrucks to put the fire out. No reasons were given. My dad was PO'ed since he had to provide us with another car. That was the last time I drove the yellow bugger.
So now we're on a witch hunt to punish prudent drivers who understand the limits of their cars in adverse conditions and drive accordingly?
Like I said before, I do not condone fast speed snow tires/no snow tires. I do understand that you have to slow down in the winter. But with that being said, how do you define slow? 10mph under? 20mph under?
To me, if the speed limit is 55mph, then with snow/ice, I might drive 50mph. But to drive 20-30mph? You would cause major problems. You would have people changing lanes back and forth to go around you. That would make it a very dangerous situation.
If snow/ice limits you to 20mph, then I would suggest staying home or catching the bus because you cannot get around and you're endangering yourself and others.
In MN we have ways to overcoming winter. We call it driving a 4x4 or putting on snow tires. That way we don't have to drive 20mph.
I would just like to add that when I said I was driving 20mph, the speed limit was either 20 or 30. And if someone wanted to go faster, they could go around me. I wouldn't drive on the highway unless I was going the speed limit but on the side roads, the roads were BAD! The plows couldn't keep up and the snow was icy. Other cars pulled over and got stuck, but my smart and I guess my driving abilities, got me to the food store going 20mph. I just wanted to start this post to discuss the smart in snow, not necessarily snow tires, but just to say to anyone that might be curious, the smart was fine. I too was concerned about how it would handle in bad weather but I wanted to post to say with my experience, my little smart did good.
I just drove to Home Depot and back. It's also 2 below here where I live. At all the stop signs, there are ice built up due to the exhaust freezing. That means from a stop, you cannot go anywhere, especially if you're going slightly uphill. Two cars in front of me (Caravan and Pont Vibe) had to turn around. They were spinning their tires so bad the rear end was swinging around. I had to back up so they could back up and turn around. That's how bad it was. If I didn't have snows, I would have done the same. But instead, I managed to go right through without problems.
In summation, what you consider 'fine' is all relative. If you drive 20mph, then it is fine. If you want to mozy down to the corner store to get some milk, then it will be fine. If you want to keep up with the Jones' when it's snowing/icy outside, then you'd best do it in another car or get snow tires.
For me right now winter driving is no longer a problem.........
Last edited by blackbeagle; 12-22-2008 at 06:04 PM.
I agree with each of you on this subject. I've posted my first ride in the snow and it was really fun.Just drove home in the snow. - Page 3 - Smart Car of America Forums I've changed to the snows for piece of mind, especially when the wife's got my Smart. We here on Long Island haven't had a big storm since 77-78. The snow is pretty much gone on the main drags in a day or two. Roads don't get hard packed, plows do a pretty good job.This first snow will be gone by the weekend. So stock vs snows here on the island is just a matter of mental comfort.
Just drove my smart for the first time in the snow (North Jersey). I don't have snow tires and can't buy them right now but with the stock tires the car did not do well at all. It got stuck at the end of my driveway and on the icy and even slushy roads going any faster than 20 mph on straight-aways and 5-10 mph around corners would be a disaster! With the weight and drive wheels in the back the front wheels lose traction very easily and if the back wheels lose traction...forget it! I did find when the car started to slip a little it was very easy to regain control. It is my only car so I have no other option but to drive it but will do so very carefully.
I agree with each of you on this subject. I've posted my first ride in the snow and it was really fun.Just drove home in the snow. - Page 3 - Smart Car of America Forums I've changed to the snows for piece of mind, especially when the wife's got my Smart. We here on Long Island haven't had a big storm since 77-78. The snow is pretty much gone on the main drags in a day or two. Roads don't get hard packed, plows do a pretty good job.This first snow will be gone by the weekend. So stock vs snows here on the island is just a matter of mental comfort.
.....and you are correct. Here in Iceland MN, I've not seen pavement in about a week. There's a thin layer of ice that's borderline translucent. It looks like pavement, but as soon as you tap the brakes...you hear the tires sliding beneath you.
That is why people are in ditches.....BLACK ICE.
Last edited by blackbeagle; 12-22-2008 at 06:31 PM.
Just drove my smart for the first time in the snow (North Jersey). I don't have snow tires and can't buy them right now but with the stock tires the car did not do well at all. It got stuck at the end of my driveway and on the icy and even slushy roads going any faster than 20 mph on straight-aways and 5-10 mph around corners would be a disaster! With the weight and drive wheels in the back the front wheels lose traction very easily and if the back wheels lose traction...forget it! I did find when the car started to slip a little it was very easy to regain control. It is my only car so I have no other option but to drive it but will do so very carefully.
----
I'm in NW Jersey, and did just fine w/stock tires.
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