We had a storm last year with 8" of snow came down in a few hours. Car got me home just fine......got stuck in the drive

 

yep, i was living in jersey at the time and my family came here to see the house [it was in construction]. there was a bad storm before we came. now the streets were mostly plowed n shit, but the driveway was still uncleared. Keep in mind, at the time, we were driving a "4WD" SUV Pilot, so we go into the driveway and mom went too far to the left, in the grass area if there was no snow -.- so she got stuck -.- i actually got out da damn car and pushed it out -.- no im not saying i did it on the first try, no, it was more like a momentum-build up, the car was moving back n forth in the ditch and when we made enough "track" for the tire to have enough momentum out of the ditch, it worked heh. BUT! it was doing RWD the whole time -.- theres a button for 4WD and we hit it, but in order for it to enable, it needed to be in D1 or D2 -.- aint that a bitch -.-

 

Your post reminds me of my neighbor who was spinning his wheels stuck in a small amount of snow. I went over and told him to release his handbrake. I could see the rear wheels being dragged.

Didn't you notice only the rear wheels spin while you were stuck? Didn't that tell you that you were in 2wd mode?

 

lol no the hand brake was off, why the hell he do that lmao

yea i noticed it was 2wd, i told my mom to hit the switch and she did, still 2wd -.- btw, at the time, we didnt kno wtf d1 or d2 or d3 was. and honda forgot to put a sticker for the 4wd on the visor -.- they put it after we went to get the 4wd "checked" -.- some fukcing honda heh

 

Tread lightly on the controls and see what happens.
As regards weight, IIRC, two stroke Saabs repeatedly won the Monte Carlo rally in the mountain snow, and they likely weighed about the same as a Fit.
Moon

 

We have winter going full time now, -30C without the windchill, maybe six inches of snow in the last couple of days. The roads are hard packed snow, many ice patches at the lights and on corners in the city.

Last year I had all season tires, the factory Bridgestone models. Had many issues driving in the city and on the highway, went to Lake Louise and really was unable to park in the parking lot as there was so much snow and I was afraid being stuck would be the result.

This year I have winter tires and it is pure bliss, no stress driving, stopping or accelerating. Last year there was (I have moved condos in the summer) a hill I had to overcome in order to get to my condo, it was always very icy and hard packed snow. If I could get a good run at the hill, I was to make it fifty percent of the time. If there was a car coming down the hill, forget it as the Fit was not too well under control to risk a side swipe. More often than not I ended up taking a different road to the condo, an extra five minute drive and all was well.

Yesterday I was out on some errands, decided to try "the hill" as a test, icy and packed snow as always, easy run up it and a truck was coming down at the same time. No spinning, no stress. Even stopped at the top, as there is a stop sign....used to simply scream on through as stopping was asking for trouble. At the top there was a Volvo RWD spinning and going sideways, she was looking like an accident waiting to happen. I was thinking all the while, I am an idiot waiting so long to get winter tires, this winter will be pure bliss. I am actually looking for test hills all the time, it is rather interesting how my mindset has changed.

Any winter tire is better than a no-season tire, also know as an all-season tire. At 7C an all-season tire becomes too hard to be safe. Winter tires are of a softer compound. You know the square tire feel when driving in really cold weather? Well a bit of the tire is flattened for the early part of driving. You know it is bloody cold when that happens.

Get winter tires, save your summer tires for the late spring to late fall. You will get more years out of the summer tires as well. Steel rims are best for the winters.

 

I do strongly suggest getting snow tires. This past weekend driving in Mammoth Lake, CA with stock Dunlop tires wasn't as easy as I thought (chains weren't required when we went up but required when we came down). Spun my car in the middle of intersection going below speed limit, luckily didn't hit anything. I blame it on my lack of experience in winter driving, so be careful guys.

 

In fact, I came to this forum to see if anyone else had this problem. I have a 2007 Fit and replaced the original tires last spring with good all-season radials after slipping around all winter last year. We finally got some heavy snowy weather this week where I live, and I didn't dare drive for the first day. After that, even after the roads were cleared, I have slid around each time I drive. Braking is especially bad.

Since I spent about $500 for good tires less than a year ago, I hesitate to shell out even more for snow-specific tires....

 

where do you live? up here in NH we get some serious snow and ice. My wife's fit has snow tires on it. Don't mess around with all seasons if you actually drive in the snow - it's not going to be close. My wife commutes around 70 miles a day round trip and she can tell the snows make a difference so it's not just me. This car does just fine in the snow if you have proper tires. I think this is the case with most any car.

 

even without dedicated winter tires, the Fit is fine... as long as you understand the situation, by that I mean, ease off the gas a bit and brake sooner/lighter.

a full throttle take off isn't going to get you anywhere.

slamming on the brakes to go from 45 to 0 in 10 feet isn't gonna happen (ever!).

there are plenty of situations where (crappy) winter tires can overcome the best all-seasons... but like that, there are plenty of situations even the best winter tires won't help you out of. and I think it's those situations some folks are forcing.

 

The Fit is a great little FWD car, but it surely has its limits.
-The preponderance of the weight is on the front wheels; good for traction, not so good in slippery corners, where either the front end (most of the mass) or the rear (not enough weight) may wash out. Sometimes I toss a tool bag or other heavy thing in the back to balance it better.

-It's geared low for snappy take off with a mousemotor, but 1st is waaaaay to much torque if it's slippery. Paddle shift to second for takeoffs, and use the paddles to control shifts as much as possible.
-Winters are a huge help; I've had trouble getting out of the neighborhood a couple times even with winter skins. (There have been days here that I should have fired up the TJ Jeep.) If you plan to keep your Fit five years or so, it's not hard to amortize the price of tires and wheels; just do it and spend the money up front.
-Know your snow. This salted snow under six inches of powder is the worst fooler; the sloppy stuff underneath fills tire cleats and destroys traction.
I almost prefer when it's really bad, because most folks show better judgement (idiots in Exploders excepted); when it gets better, everyone has too much courage. The sandy stuff left from salting can bite you too.
Moon

 

I'm very pleased with handling also

 

The biggest issues with respect to driving in the snow are:

1) the driver

-light on the gas and brake on the slippery surfaces and a large
following distance

2) the tires

-a set of good winter tires on all 4 corners

 

certainly at some point pretty much no combination of vehicle and tires is going to help you. I'm just saying that if you actually plan to drive in the snow, get snow tires. it's like night and day on every car I've driven. the other bonus is if you want to get summer tires for the rest of the year that can be kind of fun

 

Wnen you buy tires, winter, summer, or all season you need to visit the test and survey sections of TireRack.com. You can get a very good set of data that can be a life-saver on selecting those tires you need. Most of our customers choose the best they can afford which doesn't always mean the best, just the best thay can afford. and they dion't always buy from tirerack.
Since you didn't tell us what tires you bought so its hard to say whether you bought slithers. Slithers could just be well worn winter tires; unfortunately winter tires don't last as long as all weather or summer tires because those 'edges' that make winter tires good also wear out pretty fast. In my many winter tires over the last 30 years I don't remember any of them from cheap to Michelins lasting 10,000 miles. They still had tread but were a lot less tractive in snow and ice of western NC mountains.

 

Before upgrading to FIT, I had been driving on all-seasons tires in my accord for accident free 10 years, risking my life (upon thinking back) because I've used the accord's stock all seasons tires for 7 years (85,000Km) before changing. I had 2 years experience driving in snow using bald run-down all season tires. My stock tires had been bald from year 6th to year 7th... as many posters said, drive slow, and keep plenty of room with the vehicle in front.. I am OK.

After buying the FIT, I am not going to gamble, I paid $1,000 for both snows and steel rims and consider it as insurance (paid from the money I saved in not changing my accord tires for 7 years) and lengthening life of my stock all seasons. A fender bender, minor accident will cost a few thousands $$ to fix and will affect insurance premiums. The snow tires may one day enable me to swerve away from an head on collision during an emergency

As many had said, snow tires will not make me invincible...I still drive slow during snowy days but if i need to make an emergency stop, the snow tires will be there for me

my 2 cents

 

How heavy should be the counter weight at the back of the FIT to avoid slipping during slow cornering in icy patch - packed ice conditions

I am interested to know if I throw one of my spare all seasons in the trunk for weight balacing, would that be an overkill. too heavy.. waste fuel?

 

Few thousand miles in mountainous NC offers these suggestions:
1. Realise that the stock Fit in monumental understeer so the rfront tires lose traction very quickly. zDrive accordingly in corners; tuck in early but not quickly. Lowered Fits may not have as much success as stock.
2. Fits do get lots of help from good winter tires. Use tirerack.com to choose which tire you can afford that has the best chance in snow and ice.
3.Choose tires 175/65 x15 or 16 to get better results unless you are lowered, then consider the next sentence. The narrower section 'cuts' thru snow easier than wider tires and applies beter pressure on the slick surface.. The slightly larger tire diameter 'rolls' easier over oncoming snow. The 'ramp' is less steep.
4. remember than the closer to 32f the slicker the road. Its that thin layer of water on ice that is the most slippier surface. ts why winter driving in MI is easier than driving in SC.
5. Any time you encounter a slippier road section always line your Fit up so as to cross it in the straightest path possible, taking into account oncoming and fellow traffic, people, and animals.
6. Remember that downhill is more treacherous than uphill, especially in a Fit.
7. Rember slower is better than faster except when you are using downhill to conserve speed up an oncoming hill. Faster and slower are not defined by race track standards either.
8. Given the opportunity use a vacant parking lot free of obstructions, including those that might be hidden,to practice driving on slick pavement. besides having a little fun, unless authorities object, you'll learn a lot about slick weather driving.
PS I was once accosted by state troopers who objected to my 'extensive 'practice with my Corvette in a large (closed) grocery store parking lot. Not for the driving but because I had attracted a large crowd parking on US 1. (didn't me me til I was away that was the reason). First time I appreciated drivers those World Rally Events like the Monte Carlo. But so much fun.

 

I used to drive tractor-trailer coast-to-coast for a living. I would always have an outdoor temperature gauge in the tractor to keep track.

The fun on the roads would always start when the temperature was warm and started dropping into the freezing zone... most were not aware of the drop and did not adjust their driving and would land up spinning out or in the ditch. So, it is really important to be aware of dropping temperatures... agreed.

 

Mine gets along great with Michelin X-Ice ties. You still need to be careful though, they even have their limits.

High wind does blow the Fit around, like any small car. It's been bad enough that I couldn't drive the speed limit on the highway. But normally, it's fine, great car. (Iowa is one of the top wind producing states.)