Nevermind.

 

Agreed, if there's almost no traction there's not much that stability control can do, but the little it can do is better than nothing, since the driver has NO ability to control braking on any less than all 4 wheels (other than carefully pulling the hand brake to control both rear brakes, which maybe a pro race driver can figure out how to make it help in certain circumstances but I wouldn't try it).

The only thing the driver can do is steer...

Anyway the traction control makes decisions almost instantaneously, which is better than the driver can, although it can't see the tree you're about to crash into, or that up ahead the left side of the road is ice and the right side is not, or that the idiot behind you in a BMW is driving 30 mph faster than you and trying to pass...

 

Hey Skinny557, being from MN my self I think I can weigh in on this. I drive the first Gen Fits, GD. If you recall two winters ago when we had all that snow, I was out driving my Fit in it, and most times before the plows had even hit the streets (I work 3rd shift). My car was very low on Coil-overs and I had the stock 15" rims with really nice snow tires on the car.




^thats what it took to stop me one day from getting up my street, lol


^another night of jsut plowing the streets

Basicly if you get some good snow tires for the car and drive smart, the Fit will do jsut as good as any other FWD car does in the snow

 

Nice! Manual or AUTO.

Another question:

I park in an alley overnight in the city, am I crazy to consider the Fit sport because of alloy wheel theft? Is the base just as near theft prone despite the steel wheels?

If they're both about the same then as far as theft prone, and covered by insurance, then why not get the sport?

 

the car was Auto. Your not crazy to consider the Sport, but theft could be a real possibility. If you do end up getting the sport it might be worth also buy the wheel locks to detour amateur thieves

 

I live in WI and I too have had no issue in the snow with the car. Although, I've never had issue with any of my cars in the snow.

 

One good thing the Fit has going for it in snow is the low power. The Altima I had before did decently in snow, but it was really easy to spin as it had 3x the power, so I'd usually start out in 3rd gear.

Not eager to see how the Fit does in snow later this year. Not that I'm worried about driving in snow, it's the other idiots on the road.

 

Wheel locks are certtainly an excellent choice for your wheels; be carefule which locks you choose. Based on the theft reports I've seen apparently a number of locks are either eaily bypassed or the corresonding keyed adapter easily obtained. Its second-hand info here so perhaps other fit posters can advise which locks have provided the best protection.
For example the grooved lug nuts are supposedly easily bypassed with large channel locks if enough of the lug nut is exposed.
So lets hear from other fit posters.
One of the guys here who moved south for retirement suggested sticking a set of the plastic wheel covers on your alloys; no body wants the steel wheels. clever.

 

You are correct!

 

Is the base or sport any different in the snow besides ground clearance? I'm thinking the paddle shifters might be useful or is it fine without them?

 

Unfortunately any wheel lock is easily defeated if someone wants the wheels.

For the best protection use a double locking wheel lock. There are magnetic wheel locks that have a magnetic cover that only works with a certain key. Once the magnetic cover comes off you have to use a key to remove the actual lock.

They're about $120 for a set of 4, but should protect better than the other versions.

 

For those of us who live in God's country...we never have snow to worry about. Well, we did have winter once. In 1978, I think it was on a Wednesday. I once did see snow on the mountains 120 miles away in Flagstaff. Yes, you can see that far here. Summer sun can be brutal, and tinting is a must. Also, I put a sun reflector on the OUTSIDE of the windshield, and hold it down while parked by puting the edges inside, and closing the door. Works great, and reflects all the windshield heat before it hits the glass. 2wd FWD should be fine for snow. I USED to live in Mich..and 2wd FWD was great there. good car. Slow, but handles well, and reliable.

 

Anyone ?

 

Paddle shifters are just a different way of shifting, you can do the same thing with the gear selection lever. They really don't make any difference in snow.

 

The main thing is that the transmission will lets you start from a stop in second gear. But both base and sport allow this.