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Your Snowboard Vehicle.

383K views 2K replies 556 participants last post by  speedjason 
G
#1 ·
New to the forums. Currently have a BMW 330xi as my vehicle to get to the mountain. See where that's a problem? More than a couple inches on the road and I am screwed..


Looking for input on what vehicles you all drive to the mountain. I have about 12k to put into this. Maybe more.

Thanks for input--

-Alex
 
#1,880 ·
2012 F150 Ecoboost, 2in lift, w/ 34x11 Hankook i-Pike rw11.... Sticks to the road in winter like glue.... And gets great milage for a truck if you drive it right....

Fully carpeted bed/shell w/sleeping platform..








I have recently been considering ditching it though and getting two rigs instead of just one... Getting a 2004 AWD Astro Van for winter and a used VW TDI Golf for non snow driving....
 
#1,882 ·
2012 F150 Ecoboost, 2in lift, w/ 34x11 Hankook i-Pike rw11.... Sticks to the road in winter like glue.... And gets great milage for a truck if you drive it right....

Fully carpeted bed/shell w/sleeping platform..

I have recently been considering ditching it though and getting two rigs instead of just one... Getting a 2004 AWD Astro Van for winter and a used VW TDI Golf for non snow driving....
TDI Jetta best vehicle I ever owned. A dream on the highway. Had an Astro Van for 2 seasons. You will love both.


Switching to a Class B or C small motorhome... Figure snow tires and chains :gaah:





:popcorn:
 
#1,886 ·
I get to drive F150 a lot for work, and you know... they're not bad at all for mileage. City mileage is pretty poor, but any highway and mixed is pretty decent.



I don't like them in snow though..... the rear is too light.

That's because they're designed to HAUL. They'll actually ride best with a thousand pounds sitting in the bed. Even these light duty guys hold tons. Depending on configuration they can haul up to 3300 lbs these days. Bonkers!
 
#1,883 ·
I was looking into AWD vehicles last season after driving 2 hours to the mountain one day and not being able to make it up the last mountain road due to the snow. Silly fwd volvo. Then I came to realize as a college student who works for pittance Im too poor to have 2 vehicles. :( And its maybe one day a year I can't go anywhere, just have to suck it up lol.
 
#1,884 ·
You should be able to get anywhere with a front wheel drive. 4 wheel drive is good for digging yourself out if your car is buried but front wheel drive is the best for driving. Get some snow tires and you'll be able to go anywhere. Also take a winter driving course. You'd be surprised how much you'll learn and the physics behind it.
 
#1,894 ·
Real 4x4's have way stronger suspension and axles, on top of that. When you're skidding around over rough surfaces and might run into something, you've got a way better chance of surviving a bump when you're in something with some substance to the running gear.
 
#1,896 ·
I'm strictly referring to icy and snow packed roads. Vehicles with solid axles and pushing from the rear are more prone to spinning around. I drive all kinds of vehicles in these conditions and have since I was a kid and skill plays a huge role. My mountain ride is an 80 series Landcruiser and it has solid axles on front and rear and my wife's CRV handles icy snow packed roads 10x better than my beast but when it comes to digging thru deep snow the Cruiser can't be beat. I think Honda's "real time all-wheel drive" is incredible for slippery roads, the rear wheel do not engage or have power to them until the front loose traction and start to spin. So basically it's front wheel drive until the rear is needed and that thing goes anywhere and feels very stable, especially with the snow tires I put on it.

Use to drive a FWD civic and Acura TL with regular tires on the east coast almost every weekend in North Carolina and West Virginia to hit the hill and those conditions and steep climbs are the worst in the country because of how slick the roads are, had friends that had the same kind of car and couldn't make it up certain hills and a few friends that had cabins with dangerously steep driveways. I never once had a problem, I would just let some air out of my tires for grip and get anywhere I needed to be safely.

With all that said, there is now way I would live in the Rockies without a 4x4. But my original point is the dude should be able to get to and from the mountain with no problem with FWD and snow tires.
 
#1,901 ·
Thinking about getting another WRX, my 06 is at 175000 miles now. Or switch to something more comfy like an Outback 3.6
Any other Subie driver that did the same? How do you like it?
 
#1,904 ·
In California, Cal-Trans require both 4WD with snow tires. Otherwise, everything else need to have chains.

Can someone tell me why if you already have snow tires on the car (FWD), what added benefit do the chains provide, and possibly, why Cal-Trans require you to have chains on snow tires unless you have 4WD? Thanks!

I'm only asking because I have Dunlop Winter Sport 3D, and they do just fine without chains on.
 
#1,905 ·
having 4wd makes a huge difference. Go drive one and you will find out really quick. I was one of a very few that could make it over the pass without difficulty yesterday. 4wd with snow tires is the way to go. Studded FWD is OK but when it is sloppy on the roads they just dont have the power to the ground to get moving. Studded AWD is great too but overkill unless your driving on ice all winter.

Also, if you have ever done any sort of offroading on really slick mud or drifting on ice you will find really quick that 4wd is fun and you can maneuver very well. 2wd is just worthless.
 
#1,908 ·
Traction to make the vehicle move. Ever been behind 500 cars on the interstate that are just spinning their tires, snow or not, after coming to a halt on a steep uphill climb? I have and it sucks weaving through them since Colorado doesn't enforce traction laws. Chains give you traction. 4wd gives you traction. I have met people that even chain up their 4wd vehicles
 
#1,910 · (Edited)
fwiw CO is actually enforcing proper equipment for passenger vehicles now (if you are disabled or involved in an accident and don't have proper equipment [4wd/awd, chains, or snowtires] you get a ticket.

I just drove home from Copper to Denver in some sloppy shit past alot of accidents in my FWD with new Blizzaks, traction control and abs never kicked on once. Then again I admittedly don't drive like a dumbfuck in adverse conditons. (fuck these people)

 
#1,912 ·
I had Dunlop Graspics for my first set of real snow tires about 5-6 years ago, they may have had the fastest wear of the ones I've tried, but they performed wonderfully. They had a soft glass impregnated outer layer that functioned as microspikes.

other snowtires used:
General - awesome
Blizzak - awesome
cooper - dogshit
 
#1,914 ·
I've been driving AWD (Ford Escape) with all-seasons for the last few years and it wasn't bad. Prior to that used to drive a Lexus SC400 with snows in the winter.

I finally got studded snows on the Escape this year, now that thing is pretty damn good! It's still a car based AWD, so no way it'll go anywhere like a proper 4x4 will (with the right tires), but it's good.

I always laugh at the Subaru crowd (and the hot hatch crowd too). Sure, winter tires on your car make it a great winter car, but no way it'll plow through feet of snow like a truck will. On ice you probably have an advantage, once the snow reaches your front air dam, or the underbody of the car, you're at a disadvantage to a truck with similar tires.


300 HP and a skirt kit does not make an Impreza a mudder...
 
#1,916 ·
I've been driving AWD (Ford Escape) with all-seasons for the last few years and it wasn't bad. Prior to that used to drive a Lexus SC400 with snows in the winter.

I finally got studded snows on the Escape this year, now that thing is pretty damn good! It's still a car based AWD, so no way it'll go anywhere like a proper 4x4 will (with the right tires), but it's good.

I always laugh at the Subaru crowd (and the hot hatch crowd too). Sure, winter tires on your car make it a great winter car, but no way it'll plow through feet of snow like a truck will. On ice you probably have an advantage, once the snow reaches your front air dam, or the underbody of the car, you're at a disadvantage to a truck with similar tires.

300 HP and a skirt kit does not make an Impreza a mudder...
Yeah, there's no way my car will make it through an overnight event. Tires can go through some snow, but not my front bumper.
 
#1,923 ·
Sometimes. Best way to prevent rust is taking it somewhere to get the undercarriage sprayed. You could also do it yourself with a product called Fluid Film that comes in a aerosol can. Two cans will give ya a good coating underneath. It never really dries so it will pick up all the road dirt but that will just become another barrier against the salt.
 
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