anyone got a lowered ek that they run in the wintertime (where weather is inclimate) and have say a set of blizzaks or the like on their car?

How is the car? do you go? or is lowering it ruin its drive in bad weather. I have driven a civic through a winter (with cooper weathermaster tires) just on the front and the car was a tank...

I was considering going lower though, however I dont want to have to raise her back up once the weather in the Northeast starts....

Anyone? Im sure theres a few canadians on here that are lowered and drive through the winter

Thanks

 

I don't drive lowered and/or nice cars in the winter. Winter beater ftw

 

Um, I had to drive mine in the winter without snow tres and it was servicable to below average in the snow.

 

I completely agree-
but what if I was thinking of lowering a beater? lol.

My "nice" car doesnt come out, even if its nice nowadays... just once in a blue. Thus wanting to make the beater slightly more fun to drive.

 

Hey man. I'm up in Canada. Snow will be no problem as long as you don't let it build up in the wheel wells. My last car was dropped 2" and I had no problems at all. Blizzaks are great but not cheap. Nokians are really good as well. Honestly most snow tires are better then any all season tire. Don't get studs waste of money. Make sure you get some steelies and a narrow tire. 155 165. Get your hand brake adjusted before winter and you'll be set

 

June=summer just sayin

 

Snow tires can only do so much...your lack of ground clearance and one-wheel drive is still going to limit your mobility.

HINT: Buy a Suby as a backup \/ \/

 

That is a no no you better find somethin else to ride on those snow days. I AM DONE GETTING STUCK IN THE SNOW WITH MY CAR DUMPED, bad expierences. Snow tires or not sometimes the snow is higher than your ride.

 

It won't really have an effect.

I've lived in NY my whole life.

Yes, it will limit your ability to push through unplowed snow, due to clearance, sure, but you probably wouldn't be pushing far in anyway. The difference would be pretty minimal unless you're slammed.

When they plow the roads, though...there's no difference.

 

Drove my '96 sedan lowered only 2" last winter and it was tricky sometimes. Biggest issue I had was hitting ice chunks on the road, the nasty ones that form in wheel wells (highway was really bad, tough to avoid them).
Pot holes seem to form in the winter, probably from the punishment of plowing and road salt. That is another obstacle for a lowered car.

I found it noticeably easier to start moving from a stop on glare ice with studs. I didn't notice much of a difference driving though, but I still think they're worth it.

I had General Altimax Artic studded tires (175 70 13). Pretty damn good and not too pricey.

 

True. They are very much on top of keeping the roads clear around here and most populated places in the north. Some states...not so much. Driving in the boonies when it's snowing heavily is risky anywhere. Doing it in a lowered Civic would scare me.

 

Frost heaves the roadbed. I was just in Maine about a month ago, I don't know what you guys do different over there but your roads are like 10 times better than ours.

Personally I wouldn't run lowered in snow. Stock height and good narrow snow tires and civics are tanks though.

 

Yeah I don't know why either, but they are pretty damn good here. Last time I was in NB I was mainly on dirt roads so i got nothin' on that.

Yeah I don't recommend it. I guess I should have said that.

I've wanted to try 155s just to see if there was a big difference with a tire that narrow.

 

well im in ohio and we had 5 or 6 inch of snow on the ground alot this winter, and my car is dropped 2 in without snow tires. i never got stuck once. i really never had an issue with it. so i think you will be fine.

 

Actually pretty glad my car is raised again when snow comes. I have all season performance yokohamas but I really doubt how well they'll do in snow. Last year I slid into a Cavalier and couldn't back out of my driveway when my bumper grabbed all the snow up as I went in reverse. I had half inch wheel gap in the front.

 

Yup classic. All seasons don't work. I don't know how many times I seen some idiot in a SUV backwards in a ditch cause he/she though their all seasons and 4wd would make them invincible. 3 winters back we got dumped on with three feet of snow. The snow was coming up on my hood like water on the bow of a boat. I drove all night like that. Turbo Sentra had to dig out my intercooler twice.

Studs do help in ice yes. But as soon as you hit dry pavement things can get tricky. Once they start coming out you can't replace them. 155 80 13

 

My GSR swapped hatch did awesome, but it was only lowered an inch or so and had a B swap. It probably did better than my 4 door at stock height did with a D15B7.

Keep the car closer to stock ride height. One, yes, clearance. Two, camber. Lowering the car induces negative camber and that reduces traction in the snow a little. In the summer, it's no big deal since the road is dry and tires are softer, and you benefit from the negative camber in cornering. In the winter, you need as much traction just going straight as you can get. Newer tires also help. Deeper tread and softer rubber. Really hard summer only or very weathered all seasons suck. My Bronco with 4 wheel drive didn't get around for crap with it's old tires. New tires made it a beast.

 

studded tires are illegal in some areas. like i know you can't have them here. you can buy the tires just not put the studs in.

blizzaks are pretty sweet.
but dumped and snow don't really mix. also an LSD is a major help.

 

I drove a lowered '98 Civic in the winter on Blizzaks.

I wouldn't recommend it if you like your car.

The car got along just fine most of the time, but this region is known for ice. I slipped on ice and planted into a curb one day on the way to work when we thought the snow was all over but turns out it wasn't. I'd put my dry tires on just a few days before.

So I curbed a rare wheel, took a nice chunk of paint off my rare lip and shoved my front subframe back about three inches. NOT WORTH IT.

My advice? Pick up a cheap DD. $2000 worth of daily driver can make you a whole lot happier than $2000 worth of wheels and tires or whatever.

 

Yea I have a 2 inch drop and I used to live in michigan and you got to look for is cleaning your wheel well and if you think your car won't make it down that road, don't even try it until it's plowed lol

 

And put a shovel in your trunk just in case haha

 

I toss my stock suspension/wheels/tires back on for winter. I drive some crazy hilly backroads to and from work everyday. I had goodyear all seasons on last winter, and I survived just fine. Driving carefully, and slowly is what I did. I watched a bunch of hoosiers in their big *** trucks slip and slide and wreck, while I just putted up and down everything.

 

Not for nothing, but you list your location as rochester.... just so happens I went to college in Rochester, and I never even had snow tires with a slammed crx, however rochester PLOWS the roads....when I was there, we got 2x 3 foot storms my first year....my parking lot was a nightmare, got to the main road- and it was clean as if it never even snowed.

NYC however...3 inches and its disaster town, 1/2 of it is no place to put the snow. The sidewalks through it in the street...the street plows it onto the sidewalk...and so it goes til it melts, and the lack of trucks/people in place to deal with it when it comes.