letS4nicate

I am considering getting one and it would be used as a daily driver in all weather.
Can anyone comment on how the car performs in snow, rain, etc.?
Also, what tires do you use for winter driving?
Thanks for the help.

ceboyd

I dunno BUT I noticed SC430's in the snow here (mine was in storage) AND every one I saw had snow tires... my guess is that you'd be fine with snow tires.. I know my dealer was selling a winter package for around $3K where they store your summer wheels and do the changes for free (included in initial cost) every spring/fall for you and always store your other set of wheels.. A pretty nice deal since my dealer has the storage space and it seems many SC430 owners do this.... I just bought a winter car instead that has front wheel drive.

ceboyd

There is ONLY 1 type of winter tire I know in existance for the SC430 that is stock sized at 245 40 18... check it out at www.tirerack.com yourself! This is the same snow tire the dealer by me was selling and they also commented that there is only that one tire available... BTW: That $3K price included a spare tire since the snow tire is not a runflat one.

DropTop430

Most people drop down to a 16 inch after market rim with a Pirelli or other major brand tire. I have used Pirelli Snow's in the past, they tend to have higher speed ratings on some of their snow tires, this helps keep some stiffness in the sidewall and thus preserves some of the handle characteristics of the SC430. I have tried snows from Bridgestone (Blizzacks) and found them to be very soft, but I hear now that they have added a stiffer tire to their lineup.

Unless you are hung up on wanting to keep 18's on all year I would drop down to a smaller rim size. A narrow tire performs much better in snow and costs much less than an 18" snow tire. Although 16" rims don't look incredibly attractive on an SC430.

I see no reason why it wouldn't be a fine car to drive year round. It should be no different than any other rear wheel drive coupe/sedan out there. It is by no means a light car so getting traction down to the ground shouldn't be a problem.

I personally choose to store mine for the winter but would feel confident driving it year round as well.

ceboyd

..has someone here used a 16" rim on their SC430 this past winter?

anyone?

2SAVVY

I've attached a picture of the 16" wheel and tire (Pirelli Winter 210) package that my dealer was installing for the folks who were using their SC430's for winter duty.. Personally I didn't use the SC in the winter since its my baby..

For the guys/gals who do want to run the SC430 in the winter DO NOT GET 18" winter rubber.. Complete utter waste of time and you will find yourself in a ditch if you get more than 2 inches of snow.. We've been running the GS400 in the winter and with 16" rims and tires with those same Pirelli Winter 210's and it runs GREAT for a rear wheel drive car with use of the snow mode I find that it worked better than my former FWD Intrepid ES..

Side note I did see an SC430 with 16's and it didn't look too bad since the offset filled out the wheel well pretty good but it didn't look as nice as the dinner plate wheels either (And that is saying something since I think those factory wheels have to be the ugliest things I have seen on a production car in ages.. Although if chromed it doesn't look too bad.. Manaray don't smack me ).. Just my 2 cents!

Ken

ceboyd

Do you happen to know what SIZE P210 was on that 16" wheel.. AND do you know what width that 16" wheel is? Is it also 8" wide or is it 7" wide.. AND if it is 7" wide, what is the offset??? I want to go with 16"s this coming winter and want to go skinny as I can.... like 215s if possible...