I live in CT and my SC430 is my daily driver. I'm fortunate to work out of my home, so I can usually avoid driving in bad weather. Occasionally I need to bring my daughter to (or pick her up from) some after-school activity. This winter was brutal, of course, but the most aggravating part for me, given my limited needs, was simply getting out of my driveway. I have a long, slightly inclined (leaving my garage and getting to the street is slightly uphill), gravel driveway. I have someone plow my driveway, but after a couple of snowfalls I end up with an inch or so of packed snow/ice.

On one occasion, I made it about halfway out of the driveway and got stuck. Moving back several feet and trying again didn't help and, as I noticed too late, the car was moving slightly to the right each time. The next thing I knew, I couldn't go forward or back and my entire right side was right up against a 4-foot high snowbank. I had to spend a couple of hours shoveling to get to the those wheels.

One thing I noticed was that the car would get into a mode where only one rear wheel was spinning. In the case above, it was usually the wheel on the right (which I couldn't get to so I couldn't put something under the tire to give it some traction). Turning on/off traction control and/or 'snow mode' didn't seem to have any impact on that behavior. Is it normal/OK that it might only spin one tire when traction control is off? That seemed odd to me.

My current tires are all-season Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS Pole Positions.

I've been debating trying to sell the car and switch to something ultra-practical, or just more practical (e.g., a Mini Cooper convertible), but I'd need to get a good price for my car, and the last time I called a couple of dealers I was disappointed with what they would give me as a trade.

So if I do end up sticking with the SC430, I'm thinking about ways to reduce the winter issues. After getting stuck in my driveway that day, I picked up two 50lb bags of salt. I figure I'd be able to put them to good use for melting some ice, and they were cheaper than buying a couple of 50lb metal weights. I can't say for certain how much, if it all, it improved anything, but I'm sure it didn't hurt.

My thought for next year would be winter tires or chains. I've never used chains, and I would guess that those would be less than desirable when driving on dry roads, though they have the advantage of taking up less storage space when not in use. For snow tires, I know I can do some searching here for some suggestions, but I'm especially curious if anyone has any experience using studded tires. A search here came up empty, but I would think that studded tires might offer noticeable traction improvements over non-studded snow tires.

 

I get around in some pretty serious stuff with snow tires, they help a lot. Putting the car in 'snow mode' also helps too as it limits the tourque put down to the wheels which will prevent spinning.

Another option would be to get a limited slip differential, but they can cost quite a bit.

 

Some states don't allow studded snow tires. I don't know about CT. I used them once. I bought a new pair for the drive wheels. As soon as I got them on the dry road, the noise was unbearable.... clackety clack, clackety clack. I turned right around and exchanged them for radial snow tires. They were pretty quiet and quite effective. I don't recommend studded snow tires unless you're driving on packed snow all the time.

 

First, you should not be surprised that a car with a big engine in front, rear wheel drive and wide tires does not handle well in the snow. But that's bygones.
As for the future, I would make the following observations, based on my experience in snow with an SC400 and SC430 for over 15 years, and not on any technical expertise:
"All season tires" are only a little better than normal tires in the snow, especially on a RWD car. Snow tires remain very soft in cold weather which, along with the aggressive tread, is why they work well in snow. Other tires get hard in the cold. That's also why they are removed in summer because they are very soft and thus wear out very, very quickly.
Studded tires are quite out of fashion, as they are tough on dry roads and not all that helpful if there is no snow on the ground, which is the usual case. (Not to mention the noise.) Stay away from chains, as they are a pain and once you get on dry pavement, they are very rough on your tires and on your butt. My understanding is that chains and studs are only recommended if you plan to be in deep snow all the time they are in use.
Weight in the trunk helps a lot, but it's a pain putting the sand bags in and taking them out; they help a lot, but gas mileage goes way down. I did that for a year or two with my SC400 and got tired of it quickly, although the traction improvement was excellent.
I would not take my daughter or myself out in the snow in a car configured like the SC430 unless it had 4 good snow tires. This is the most common recommendation to equip this car for snow. Put them on in the fall and take them off in the early spring. This means you have to store them, but you state you have a garage.
I have the same snow problem here in southern Ohio, although surely not as bad as you have it in New England. Still, my final solution was to buy a second car configured for winter driving; I bought, (all used cars) at various times, a Jeep Wrangler, a RAV4, and an RX350. A second car costs more than a set of snow tires, but you also get (with the SUV configuration) a car that can be used year round to haul stuff, which includes passengers.
Good luck - keep the SC430, as it's nothing but fun, but do something about those tires before next winter.

 

move to a warmer state!

 

Get LSD(Limited slip differential) on your differential and this will fix your problem. It will spin both tires instead of one.

 

One additional note to my comments above.
I have had this car for 10 years now, and I don't see any difference between "snow" and regular. I wouldn't be surprised to find that the button isn't even connected to anything.

 

I am on my 2nd SC daily driver in New England and would not attempt to drive without snows (in the winter). When the going gets tough I put 2 60lb bags of salt/sand in the trunk behind the rear wheels. It increases traction dramatically.

 

100% agreed

 

The snow button is for icy/snow conditions, it kills the "kick down" feature so you can't and lose control.

To get some traction, I usually just bring a jack and jack stands in the trunk. Those are good to have in handy if you ever get stuck.

 

Buy a cheap truck!!!!!!

 

Hi 135,

I was in Reno a few weeks ago and we had a snow storm. I looked in my Owner's Manual for 'Snow' and could not find anything.

What is this 'snow button' that you refer to?

Thanks,

Jerry Baumchen

PS) I had to buy chains to be allowed on I-80 westbound. I bought cable chains and they worked just fine.

 

I was just referring to Scott R and tfischer to their snow button. I don't have SC430, but a SC300 and I have a snow button.

 

There is a 3-position rocker switch below the shift lever, labeled "ECT," which can be left in the center off position, or pushed at either end for a "Power" setting (for faster acceleration) or to the "Snow" position, for a false sense of security.

 

Can you explain what this means? I'm curious.

My guess at what the "Snow" mode did is that it essentially caused it to start in 2nd gear, which is the sort of thing that I would do when I had a manual transmission and was dealing with snowy/icy conditions. But I figured that it was probably a bit more sophisticated than that.

Thanks to all for the advice about snow tires. You're not telling me anything I didn't already know, but it might help to push me in the direction of sticking it out with my SC430 for another year to see how that goes. As I mentioned, with my current job, I really don't *need* to leave the house in bad weather the vast majority of the time, so despite living in CT, I could probably make owning the one car work. I'd prefer to not buy a winter beater not just because of the added cost, but also because of the fact that I'd have to keep it outside of the garage, which would be an eyesore and get in the way when having my driveway plowed.