I live in Dallas. We just went through the hellacious winter storm "Cleon" (BTW, interesting they are naming every winter storm now). We were blanketed with a few inches of sleet which rapidly froze in sub-32 degree F temperatures. There was over two inches of ice caked onto my Fit Sport when I woke up.

I was very impressed by my Fit Sport's handling in almost ubiquitous icy conditions on the stock tires, Dunlop SP Sport 7000 A/S's. These tires do not have favorable ratings in my experience, so I was prepared for the worst. However, to my pleasant surprise, they rarely broke traction, the VSA handled all slippage moderately, and it was a completely drama free ride even when I was driving through two inches of slush, uneven ice pack and fresh moisture on top.

It is all too obvious this is not a car risking a major loss of traction, what with the low curb weight, FWD constitution, low horsepower & torque, heavy front end distribution bias and with the aid of traction control. But I give the Fit Sport very high marks in winter conditions even on stock tires, more than even some AWD vehicles I have driven on winter tires. I was wondering what everyone's general impression was of the Fit's winter performance on stock tires, granting the rubber makes up a huge part of the maintenance in traction.

 

The two inches of ice likely had something to do with the handling impact, seeing as how that added roughly 50-100 lbs. free of charge (well, not free; substantial loss in mpgs).

 

I'm on Kenda Kinectica tires on the base 14inch steelies. My fit is ok, but I just screw around too much in it to winter.
Winter is the only time the Fit gets sideways and I look like a boss drifting a stock fit.

In the 6 years owning this car, its done well when winter comes. Id prefer a smidge more power but not alot. Last winter i ripped that under tray off. Here in SW Ohio, we got hit hard and now the Fit is parked.

 

there is a reason why i have a fit in the upper snowbelt state.


good to hear you guys are prepare down there in dallas.

 

Yup, the Fit does quite well in the snow/ice even on crappy stock tires... you'll see it wake up with DWS' though.

 

yep, DWS is great in the snow.

 

DWS = ......?

Distributed Wargaming System?
Digital Waveform Synthesizer?
Domestic Water Supply?

 

it was meh with stock dunlops last year. my fit was boss with Blizzaks on the sleet/ice fallin in NJ last night

 

^^^ I know you're enjoying those snow tires..


Continental DWS tires... pretty good in the snow.

 

Not so sure on ice but I do know the Fit is a good drift car found this out last week. Was taking the ramp onto I-81 south at 7 in the morning it is two lane with a 90% turn onto a incline. (This was my own fault not the car.) I usually hit without braking just down shifting at 40 mph (sign says 25 mph). As I hit the curve ( I hit ice) the car begin to slide across the lane from the left to the right lane. The rear begin to slide forward to the point I was almost completely side ways. Not panicking I decelerated and turn the wheel into the slide. The car straighten out and I continue onto the highway. I am glad there was no cars in the right lane since then I have slowed down in the morning.

I am use to driving in the snow but ice is scary.

 

All good to hear, I prepared to NOT drive on the ice/snow this weekend, the little driving I had to on Friday afternoon, the Fit Sport did OK with the stock Dunlops. No icy hills to climb where I wouldnt have much confidence with the stock tires.

 

The important thing is to be very gingerly with the throttle, leave tons of space between yourself and other cars, ahead of you and at the sides, and approach every stretch of pavement as if it might have a thin sheet of ice covering the road. Follow those rules and the VSA will keep you from getting into any serious trouble. That is, if you want to avoid trouble.

Speaking of which, did you do the VSA reset? There was a recall on GE8s because the allowable yaw rates are not up to federal standards.

In my experience, while it is hard to find the right conditions, almost all Honda FWD vehicles are pleasantly easy to handle in oversteer. They allow a bit of rear sliding while not snapping into a complete runaway 180. Gradual throttle and steering inputs return the car to its usual neutral behavior.

 

"they" is just The Weather Channel and only for the last two years. Nobody else is doing it because it's stupid and dumb. TWC is just doing marketing.

 

I only drove my Fit once in snow with stock tires. It was fine, but this year I opted for a set of Michelin X-ice 3 snow shoes. I live in Pittsburgh, home of some of the steepest and most narrow streets in North America, so I take any advantage I can. I was driving around a lot this weekend, and the car handled very, very well.

 

I had my VSA reset when I got my recall notice.

 

Just reading your comment it is obvious your car isn't equipped with high quality winter tires. I'm running Michelin xIce 2 tyres and the grip and handling on snow and ice is almost on par with my summer tyres on dry pavement. Granted, I drive more carefully but I don't have to drive keeping 6 cars distance from all the other drivers and have the constant fear of hitting ice. That's what a good winter tire will do for you.

The only thing that sucks is that handbrake turns are much harder now. Last year with my Champiro studded tires, I could throw my Fit into a spin easily with my handbrake. Now I just get too much traction from my rear tyres! Gotta be careful what you wish for

 

No, we have no reason to do winter tires in Texas (usually). I'm happy with the A/S stock tires.

 

To whit, I love winter tires. I am a big proponent of them because they dramatically improve traction in the fluff or slick. However, there are major downsides outside of those conditions. For instance, one of my biggest priorities is to preserve, if not improve on the stock fuel economy. Winter tires with more rubber create greater drag resistance, thus come with a marginal fuel penalty. They are also typically, albeit not always, so so in rainy weather oddly enough. Lastly, Texas gets at the maximum 3 ice/snow storms a year. It makes very little sense to ride on winter rubber all year round with worse fuel economy, more tire wear, and weaker dry, summer or rainy weather performance.

Thank you for promoting winter tires, though. If I lived in more adverse winter conditions, I would have a spare set to slap on in the winter months, if not ride on the winter rubber permanently. Seeing as how Texas is the total opposite of that, I choose not to.

 

My tires and Fit were an amazing combo up north in wisconsin, and on the way down during those crazy ice and snow storms that peppered the midwest last week--week-in-a-half

 

Yup, didn't notice you were in Texas. Winters would definitely be overkill! However, you might opt for all seasons over summer tires since summers are basically useless in snow or ice.