Being from Houston, I'm not sure what this "Snow" stuff that you talking about really is - is that some weird type of rain?

 

for those of you who drive manual...
any suggestions for handling snow? I bought my car in June and am comfortable driving it (my first standard), but I'd appreciate any hints regarding snow driving. Is it any different than driving an automatic? Is it correct to keep it in the lower gears?

I've driven in snow and slid through ice before without any troubles, but it was in my beater civic and I didn't care if I hit curbs or signs etc (not that I ever did!). I love my new car and I don't want to bang her up.

 

thanks alot guys! im gunna keep it stock for now, try it in the snow, see if its necesary to use winter tires hearin your comments, i think studded tires is pushin it keep it coming!

 

I think you'll be fine as long as you don't act a fool. Keep it under control and everything will be ok.

 

you'll be fine as long as you keep some momentum

also my avenger's even lower than a Fit and i have never gotten stuck in WI winters and i have cheap all seasons.

 

lol i drive alot more safely/"to the rules" when it snows but that was back when i had an SUV, still safe driving tho, raining? meh im not too worried about hydro planing. momentum is an easy thing here, its like an open road here its just the hills that can stop me... ill kick the RPMs up i guess... please dont spin please dont spin please dont spin....

 

i ifgured going up hills and stuff you'd want to stay lower in the RPMs.

 

rpm's in the snow makes no differance low or high. you just need to make smooth transitions between accelerating and decelerating. dont do any thing abrupt and the fit will keep on pulling nice no matter what conditions.
personally i like the higher rpm so that i can have power readily available if i need it.

 

Ever notice that half the vehicles that crash or get stuck in snow are 4WD? It's because those idiots think they can drive as they do on a normal dry road. You'll be totally fine if you don't drive like an ass. I've never ever had an issue driving in snow, even with RWD cars, since I know how to drive.

 

If you plan on keeping the car long enough to run through two sets of tires, you should definitely consider getting dedicated winter tires. Winter tires are made of a different compound than summer or all-season tires, and they handle better in cold, or cold and wet, conditions because of it. They provide a considerable improvement in all winter conditions, not just snow.

I'd recommend something H-rated like Bridgestone LM-22's (I think the new Bridgestone is LM-25) unless you expect to see a LOT of snow-covered roads, in which case the softer Q-rated tires like the REVO-1 may be suit you better.

 

Just got my Hakkapeliitta 5's installed today. Nokian makes really good non-studded winter and all season tires. Just saying... Nokian WR G2

But be ready to drop up to $800 on a set if you can even get them in PA.

 

$800!? Wow!

 

My wife is going to try this set up this winter. Living in the Lehigh Valley, we might have snow like last winter (15 inches total) or get dumped on. Snow tires are nice, but I do not want to hear all the noise the 90% of the time there is not snow on the road.



Got Tirerack's winter mini-catalog in the mail today and in one section it stated that narrow is always better in the snow. It also mentioned that using the wheel/tires from the base model of you particular model would be a good alternative. Must have read my mind.

Got these back in last Spring for a song and we will see how they go. I asked my wife if she wanted the hubcaps on and she said no because if she ever had to change a flat, that would just be one more thing to take off - love that women...

 

yes the dealer did say that the Fit had an advantage because of its narrow tires, he said "it cuts through the snow easier" but meh, to me its about traction and tread/thread how ever its spelled. Leigh Valley eh? not far from me, brodheadsville hope to see ya at a meet

 

Enjoy going to meets, but it would probably be in another 'compact' car I own. Tires on it would really cut through the snow, but I will never find out...

 

Actually it's usually better in a lower gear IMO. Throttle response tends to be more linear, the motor isn't shaking on its mounts (jerking makes it spin), and if you're in too high a gear and need more torque to make it up the hill, lots of times you're screwed because it's all over when you push the clutch.

I'm looking forward to this first winter in the Fit. When I had Dunlop SP Sport A2s on the old Civic it did very well in the snow, and I'm hoping these Dunlops prove just as worthy.

Still, wish I had some Nokian winter tires, but I can't afford those things this year. Friend with a similar Civic as my old one has them. There are times those can stop quicker in softpacked snow than my Civic did in the rain-- literally, it will lock the seatbelts in a blizzard if you stomp the binders. I'd like to use my spare rims, but it all depends on whether I can fit my old 50mm offset steelies on this thing.

 

Revo1's on our old WRX wagon... given, it had AWD... It was a snow plow in that deep snow.

 

lol thats y i make sure i leave my car in the garage overnight, to avoid starting from the bottom and rather go out from ontop the snow. i snow blow the driveway but theres still 2 or 3 inches left because the driveway is gravel =\ blowws

 

Well, that's after we drove 20 miles in that snow, barely plowed even on the highways. I was able to get into our neighborhood, drive around a bit (for fun) and park without problem. Great car, amazing tires.