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MightyMouseTech

I LOVE driving my smart in the snow!

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Well, from the sound of it, I may be the only one, but I LOVE driving my smart (450) in the snow! It may be due to my tires (studded Hakka's in the back, Blizzak WS-60's in the front) but this thing is a blast. Leaving a light I just mash the accelerator, transfer all the weight to the rear tires and take off. I often see drivers with SUV's catching up to me at the next light and having them stare at me and wonder what the hell just happened. And having the really skinny tires on the front makes highway cruising in snow no problem, it slices through ruts. My front tires still have to scrub in, so they will still get better, as it is still a little easy to lock up the front tires and get the ABS going, but is nearly completely avoidable now with modulation.I am getting tired of seeing the traction control light flashing the almost the entire time I am driving though.... :lol: With the right amount of throttle, you can manage the wheel spin so that only the light is flashing, and the car is doing very little to tame the wheel spin. Leaves large rooster tails behind the car!Had a blast driving to work this morning, just had to share! It is nice finally not being the slowest car on the road leaving a light.Although, my F.E. went to hell. With mixed hwy/city for an hour drive I got around 6.5 LPH.... :rolleyes:

Edited by MightyMouseTech

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I thought the wind was going to blow me off the road a few times last night but I never saw any lights come on, unless I was just too petrified to notice. I was driving for an hour on the 401 after midnight, not on city streets. My main concern about winter driving is if the snow gets so deep that the front of the car can't push it but that probably won't happen.

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I am quite happy thus far with running WS-60's in 145/65R15 at all four corners. Much better traction from stopped, the sea anchor effect of the wider tires at the rear is all gone and cross wind stability is no worse than running OEM sized tires on the front.

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I thought the wind was going to blow me off the road a few times last night but I never saw any lights come on, unless I was just too petrified to notice. I was driving for an hour on the 401 after midnight, not on city streets. My main concern about winter driving is if the snow gets so deep that the front of the car can't push it but that probably won't happen.

The wind blowing the car around a little has never really bothered me. Dunno........ If you don't see the traction control light coming on, you are not driving hard enough! :evil:

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I am quite happy thus far with running WS-60's in 145/65R15 at all four corners. Much better traction from stopped, the sea anchor effect of the wider tires at the rear is all gone and cross wind stability is no worse than running OEM sized tires on the front.

Cool! I was wondering how this would work out.

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I thought studded tires were illegal in Ontario?I really wish I could have got the WS60's. :( They sounded so awesome. But as I'm running on bald POS LM18's, I've had to run the "emergency route" and get the Conti's again, tomorrow, since that's all that is available to me.I want your setup!-Iain

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I thought studded tires were illegal in Ontario?I really wish I could have got the WS60's. :( They sounded so awesome. But as I'm running on bald POS LM18's, I've had to run the "emergency route" and get the Conti's again, tomorrow, since that's all that is available to me.I want your setup!-Iain

Yes, studs are illegal....but so is speeding. :rolleyes: Hmm, my supplier is showing one set of WS-60 still available here in Ottawa.... Duck, if you let me know quick I may be able to get them and ship them to you somehow..... Edited by MightyMouseTech

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The first storm of the season started this morning. I'm not a huge fan of the Conti 760s, and mine already have two winters on them. I think next year I'll be investing in a pair of roadster steelies and will get the Hakka 5s all around (with the eco-studs in back). The 760s will then go on the pulse alloys as my "intermediates" (I like your idea), and I guess I'll just be forced to get some 16s for summer. ;)I managed to get the tires swapped on my sister's TL, wife's Accord and mom's Corolla last night. I set my alarm early enough to try to get my own tires done before the storm started this morning. I got up at 7:00, looked outside and it was still clear, so I made my coffee. By the time I sat down with my java and the Internet at 7:15 the snow had started. I rushed through the coffee, made room on the clearer side of the garage and changed my tires. When I pulled my car out again at 8:00, there was already about 5 cm on the ground! I parked in front of the second bay, closed the door and went to work clearing all the summer clutter from both sides so that I could get both cars in before it got really bad outside. I finished up at around 10:00 -- don't ask me to find any tools or supplies anymore, but at least the cars have room! -- and jumped into my car to back it into the second bay. Zero traction. It took three attempts, plus I had to shovel the roughly 15 cm deep snow between the smart and the door.

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Iain,Did you check into stock of the Pirelli Snowcontrol 190? They should be superior to the Continentals, ice radial versus just a snow tire.

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The first storm of the season started this morning. I'm not a huge fan of the Conti 760s, and mine already have two winters on them. I think next year I'll be investing in a pair of roadster steelies and will get the Hakka 5s all around (with the eco-studs in back). The 760s will then go on the pulse alloys as my "intermediates" (I like your idea), and I guess I'll just be forced to get some 16s for summer. ;) I managed to get the tires swapped on my sister's TL, wife's Accord and mom's Corolla last night. I set my alarm early enough to try to get my own tires done before the storm started this morning. I got up at 7:00, looked outside and it was still clear, so I made my coffee. By the time I sat down with my java and the Internet at 7:15 the snow had started. I rushed through the coffee, made room on the clearer side of the garage and changed my tires. When I pulled my car out again at 8:00, there was already about 5 cm on the ground! I parked in front of the second bay, closed the door and went to work clearing all the summer clutter from both sides so that I could get both cars in before it got really bad outside. I finished up at around 10:00 -- don't ask me to find any tools or supplies anymore, but at least the cars have room! -- and jumped into my car to back it into the second bay. Zero traction. It took three attempts, plus I had to shovel the roughly 15 cm deep snow between the smart and the door.

Jebus, that sounds like a frantic 14 hrs!

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Yeah, but I makes my own bed, so to speak... But with a good impact wrench, the tires are quick -- not that you would know. ;) Even on the driveway in the cold with my rusty old jack that weighs 120 lbs, and hand-tightening the lugs (then torque-wrenching), I've got it down to about 20 minutes per car.

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I love parking my Smart and driving my AWD Passat Wagon in the Snow, now that is fun!

Cheater! :)

Off-topic: PS, Chris. I just ordered a Mypressi Twist last night from Intelligentsia Coffee.

COOL!!!! You gotta tell me how good it is! Edited by MightyMouseTech

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Cheater! :)

Haha! It was so fun driving home tonight! What is up with all the people out there still running on A/S tires????One thing I quickly remembered is that AWD helps you get going forward faster, but you still gotta come to a stop, so I had to really tone it down!

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Mike, stopping is for people that aren't going anywhere...keep moving! Kick the ass out and on corners and off we go! I miss my quattro right now, but my B4 Passat wagon is doing better then everyone else around here atleast, the Smart is off the road for the winter. I wish I could use it, but I refuse to expose it to salt, too many electrics to risk...Greg

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Haha, I had fun in the snow this morning too, but more for the drifting around corners style of fun that was entirely intentional...

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Maybe it's my cheap snow tires (Conti Winter), but I had a tough time today. Float float float all the way home, eeeek. But it does get easier with some momentum.

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I didn't try to get through the big stuff today, but in previous storms the "float" was pretty controllable. A lot has to do with the low ride height and smooth belly pans, though.I've been finding it tougher when there's a layer of snotty slush or condensed snow, especially when it's on top of icy compacted snow. The Contis' treads just don't clean out at all.

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Maybe it's my cheap snow tires (Conti Winter), but I had a tough time today. Float float float all the way home, eeeek. But it does get easier with some momentum.

I'm tempted to try the MightyMouse option of running Nokian Hakka's in the rear. How do you get around having them studded in Ottawa?Greg - My VR6 Syncro is definitely tonnes of fun, and tonight with empty roads I did "reacquaint" myself with the finer features of AWD!!! Syncro definitely has its learning curve, haha! Smart winter rally in Ottawa?

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Mightymouse, what size and type of hakka's did you find that fit the smart? Studs are legal in BC and that would be sweet on the smart.

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Mightymouse, what size and type of hakka's did you find that fit the smart? Studs are legal in BC and that would be sweet on the smart.

They are Nokian Hakkapelitta 5's in a 185/55/15.I bought them already studded from somewhere online in the states. They actually come studded right from Nokian. Quebec and Northern Ontario also allow studs, so those may be another place to look.Driving in DEEP snow was not as much fun last night. I had to do a fair amount of driving last night on unplowed roads and parking lots. Never got stuck, but it was slow going. On the Queensway however, I was nearly the fastest car on the highway. I felt comfortable driving along at 80 km/hr and was passing EVERYBODY!VRSyncro.......Just remember, 4WD just puts you further into the ditch! ;) Although, my dream winter car is a Porsche Carrera4 with super skinny tires at all four corners. Edited by MightyMouseTech

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This will be my second winter and I am getting used to the floating but would appreciate some advice on how to handle this situation:- Driving along on a snow-covered road (the plows have not been around yet) then when making a turn onto another street that has quite a bit of snow, the traction comes on and will not let you go fast enough to get out of the way of the moron behind you that assumes your car isn't going to get bogged down?I really don't know if this happens to others or if it's just me - maybe I'm doing something wrong, but it's very scary. I feel helpless because I can't seem to get my car to accelerate. :o I have winter conti's.

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