Winter Driving a High Performance Vehicle

Darren5.0L's 2003 SVT Lightning in winter trim.

“How to you drive THAT in the winter?” Is a question I, and many of my friends are frequently asked. In the case of me, it’s a modified 2003 SVT Lightning pickup truck with over 400 horsepower at the flywheel, in the case of my friends one of them is a 500+ BHP Mercury Marauder, two of them run brand new 2011 Ford Mustang GT 5.0L, another employs his 1995 Ford Mustang GT, and finally one with a Dodge SRT-8 Magnum.

None of us have made huge investments in new body panels over the last number of years nor have we made a habit of crashing about in our performance vehicles. In fact none of this should be a big thing to boast about.

L to R: 2006 Mustang GT, 2003 Supercharged Mercury Marauder, 2003 SVT Lightning

The reason that this isn’t a big deal, is because high performance cars are just like any other car when it comes down to basic pieces, except they have “all that horsepower”. A common misconception is that a performance vehicle comes equipped with an ON/OFF switch in place of a throttle, either you are at idle, or shredding snow & ice with hundreds of horsepower. This is not the case, any performance vehicle can have the engines output to the tires modulated by using the throttle, and in many cars the light throttle condition produces surprisingly small amounts of easily manageable power.

Proper equipment is an often overlooked component to winter driving in any vehicle, but is especially important should you choose to run a performance car. Performance cars come equipped with performance tires, almost always suited specifically for warm weather wet & dry traction, by contrast this makes them completely unsuited for winter operations.

A_Gorman's 2011 Mustang GT 5.0L

You may find your vehicle comes with a tire warning sticker or section of the manual that recommends against winter operation of the factory equipped tires. The solution is simply to purchase and install a dedicated winter tire. A second set of wheels can easily be found and used exclusively as the winter set to avoid hassles.

In a rear wheel drive application some vehicles will tend to feel a little “light” in the back end. This can be easily remedied with the installation of ballast such as sandbags until your preferred handling characteristics are achieved.

Performance cars, once suitably equipped, are surprisingly easy to drive and handle in winter conditions. They will be as capable as nearly any other non-4X4 on the roads and in many cases will feature many advanced driver aids to ease your trip. Traction control, Anti-lock brakes, and Stability management are quite refined presently and can make for a very tame journey through winter conditions.

Most people who have tried winter driving with a performance vehicle and given up have often never bothered to properly equip their car, subsequently the failed experiment is usually blamed upon the capabilities of it.

In closing, it can be done, and it isn’t that big of a deal.

A case for Winter Tires

If you’re in the Northern hemisphere, it’s currently winter, generally cold, unpleasant, and sub-freezing temperatures. The world however, won’t come to grinding halt just for the sake of comfort, with that, most people get to experience winter travel.

Ice and snow can make something as mundane as a casual walk, into a tricky and dangerous endeavor, especially when you aren’t wearing the proper footwear. By extension, driving your car can be the same.

During each winter commute on our roadways, I often see the majority of my fellow motorists hopelessly spinning and sliding their way through the various turns and intersections I encounter. In all but the very worst of conditions I don’t seem to have that problem, why is that? This rhetorical question as to why my vehicle doesn’t magically defy the laws of friction is very simple, I’ll sum it up as; “The proper equipment for the proper job.”

In short, my secret is winter tires.

It should some as no surprise, but to many, the simple concept of winter tires is viewed with the stigma of “an additional expense” or “unnecessary”. I know many drivers consider a vehicle as a driving appliance, a simple method of conveyance, and many people want that to cost as little as possible.

However cutting corners when it comes to safety is not something I even like to consider.

This attitude is being adopted across Canada as more and more Provinces are making it mandatory to have winter tires for operation of a motor vehicle during snowy months. I for one, applaud this approach. Before you shout me down, follow my reasoning here:

Why are All-season tires unsuited for severe winter conditions, like those encountered in Canada?

There are a variety of reasons, but the easy ones to explain involve tread design and rubber composition.

Think of the difference between a smooth soled fashion shoe and a rugged hiking boot, which one would you trust to walk down that snowy hill? Fact is, the relatively tight and smooth tread of the All-season tire fills with snow very rapidly, which means you are now trying to stop and turn with the equivalent of a ski, offering little in the area of traction. A snow designed tread is more open and will self-clean while driving, giving the jagged edges of the siped tire a clean bite into snow and ice.

The tire compound is very important too, an All-season tire is designed to give, among other things, good fuel economy and long life. The easy way to do this is by using a “hard” compound of rubber, which will be resistant to wear during the heat of summer months. However during the colder months, the tire will become very hard and will not flex or conform to the road surface as well, in result your tire will slide along like a hockey puck. The snow tire will have a softer compound which would wear out quickly during summer, but during the cold months of winter it remains compliant and offers remarkably improved grip.

That is just a fraction of the theory involved, but moving beyond that lets actually look at the difference in stopping performance.

Stopping Distances Tested at 50km/h (31 MPH)

 

Test Conditions:
- -20°C with 3 to 5 cm of compacted snow and ice on asphalt surface
- Vehicles equipped with automatic transmission and anti-lock brakes
- Tests in 4-wheel drive vehicle conducted in all-wheel drive mode

*Fournier L., Comparative Evaluation of Performance of All-Season tires and Winter tires, Ministry of Transportation, Quebec, 2002.

As you can see the two of the most popular car types, mini-vans and compacts have the worst stopping distances, about 51 meters compared to larger heavier vehicles at 43 meters. Switching to the common standard unit of measure, a compact car equipped with Winter tires will stop 38 feet shorter than All Season tires, that is over 2.5 car lengths sooner. In a panic stop that is the difference between, before the obstructed intersection, or becoming part of the pile-up.

You’ll also note that 50km/h is not very fast at all, in many cases city roads can be zoned for speeds up to and including 70-80 km/h. Highways often reach posted limits of 110 km/h, as a safe practice you should reduce your driving speed for conditions, however this is not always the habit of some drivers. As such, the importance of winter tires for stopping and car control increases with driving speed.

-But I have ABS/TCS/etc.

While these modern driving aids are a great help, they are a support system for the driver and should not be relied on a substitute for good driving habits and proper equipment. ABS will actually post a longer stopping distance over a properly used non-ABS car, but ABS allows you to steer without locking the wheels. In low-traction conditions the ABS system will only apply as much brake force as it takes not to lock the wheel, with a set of All-Season hockey pucks, imagine how little braking action that takes.

Traction Control typically only assists during acceleration and it applies much like ABS. Most systems still allow some spin, so anything that enhances basic traction will help the TCS work correctly.

About wheel-spin, ever wonder why approaches to intersections are so slippery? It’s mainly a two-fold effect, one part is heat from stationary vehicles melting accumulated ice and snow every so slightly. The second part is the fresh ice/water mix is polished to a glass-like sheen by the All-Season equipped vehicles struggling for grip. This one-two combination is much like the effect of a Zamboni machine at a hockey rink, and the result is the exact same. A good winter tire will help you not contribute to the problem and allow you to better cope with conditions at that next intersection.

Another common thought is that winter tires are very expensive, and much like anything vehicle related, they can be, but not if you shop around. Some of the most inexpensive tires I’ve purchased have been winter tires, when the winter season approaches watch for sales and deep discounts. During a follow-up article I’ll discuss various tire options and buying tip to minimize costs.

When it all comes down to it, your car’s tires only touch the pavement with an area about the size of the palm of your hand, and when it comes down to stopping or turning, how would you like to do it? Like you’re in control, or like you’re riding a crazy carpet?

The choice is obvious for me.