Driving a s10 in snowy weather

[rickytim]

Hi All!

I am new to s10's and have been thinking of getting one of these vehicles for a while now. I hope I posted my question the in right form but anyway here is my question. How do 2wd s10’s react in snowy and icy conditions? I live in the northeast region in Pennsylvania and during winter months we could see a lot of snow and icy conditions. Also I have to drive at least 14 miles of wooded roads to get to school. I know with talking to other people with 2wd trucks that their vehicles where bad in snow and I do not want to have a bad vehicle with having to drive pretty far in snowy conditions. So I want to make sure I know how some of your experiences are or where with your vehicles in snowy weather before I go out and make my decision.

Thanks
Rick

[RudaS10]

They are fine with some snow tires and some weight in the back end.

[lowriderbowtie]

mines great in the snow!! ive suffered threw 4 canadian winters running on bald summer tires. lol we get alot of snow here, and it gets extremly cold.

i love driving my truck around in about 10cm of fresh snow!

[85S10Eric]

I'm from Minnesota, and I have to drive in lots of snow often enough in the winter months. Besides what has been mentioned about getting snow tires and putting extra weight in the back, I've got something to add:

Become familiar with the way your truck behaves in snow. If there is alot of snow on the road, drive slower than you normally would. Start to slow down sooner than you would on a dry road. It may take more time to get to where you need to go, but at least you will get there instead of ending up nose-first in a snow bank.

[soontobeslammed]

I love driving in snow!!!, about the only time my posi actually kicks in

[rickytim]

ok guys,
Thanks for all of your quick posting. I was thinking that it would do good in the snow its pretty much depends on the driver and useing some good old comon sence......
Thanks Agin
Rick

[soontobeslammed]

Quote: Originally Posted by rickytim

ok guys,
useing some good old comon sence......
Thanks Agin
Rick

basically don't be a retard when you know somethings slick don't wait till the last minute to slow down, and don't pound on the gas or your gonna end up in a ditch

[guhman2002]

Lets see... How to put this... You will experience traction loss often, but you'll never get stuck... Last winter I could get my dime out of anywhere with a little patience and tire heating.

[orangesonoma]

very wrong place to post this...but its ok...

let me tell you...my 2.8 93 s10 was awsome in the snow with the stock size 15's

but it sucked major ass with my not so stock 17's with a wide ass tire...

[indigo s10]

My S10 does pretty good. Tires make all the diference in the world. Last year on 12-23 we got 8 inches of the white garbage. I made it to work just fine. That night we got another 6 inches. I made it 15 feet(dragging my tailpipes all the way) then I got snow packed in front of the front tires. No more forward motion. I spent the next 2 hours getting the truck back in the driveway. What was funny was, I started my wife's Malibu and drove right out.

[lowriderbowtie]

[lowriderbowtie]

get some good winter tires, or else you will get stuck like me with bald summers lol

[j894]

Im in northeast pa too. Its not bad if you dont climb any hills(in 2wd),
and if you pull out real slow. Any steep hills if your in the mountains. forget about it.
If you try to pick up speed the front drags in the snow, and the back like to then
try to go around the front. Well thats some of my experiences around my area.
.. with all seasons

Why not just get one thats 4x4? there's plenty of them around if you got the $.
unless your looking for a show truck or somthing like that

[rickytim]

thats the only thing I am a bit scared of is going up hills in the truck. What do your guys usually use for weight in the bed? Rocks or sand any thing else?
Thanks
Rick

[Alaska]

i haven't drive the Dime in the winter up here in Alaska yet, but I'm sure it does fine..My old 2wd dakota was AWESOME in the winter..The only time I ever got it stuck was when the plow driver plowed me into my driveway ....Even then, it was easy enough to rack back and forth and push out myself..The s10 should be a bit lighter, so if you're not too stuck, you can do it yourself...Just remember, easy on the gas, easy on the brakes..increase your following distance...and PRACTICE!!! Get out in an empty parkin lot and start whippin it around and correcting yourself...Believe me, you do this, and you won't panic when your rear end is trying to pass you...If you have a standard transmission ,and the ground is real slick, try startin off in second gear...this will send less torque to the wheels, and you'll do aight there....If you plan on upgrading tires, keep in mind that wider is NOT better in snowy weather..wider tires=more resistance and you won't cut through the snow...I recommend studs if you're ground is icy more than 100 days of the year like it is here..

okay, now that i've written a book, you should be ok

[Alaska]

sand bags for weight! usually a 40-50 pound bag will cost about $5...shouldn't take more than 3 or 4 bags if you wanna play it safe..

[XBerettaManX]

sand bags

[Alaska]

Quote: Originally Posted by lowriderbowtie

get some good winter tires, or else you will get stuck like me with bald summers lol

haha...way to be a friend and take a picture from far away...shoulda threw rocks at the guy

[Exporter]

You'll definitely need snow tires but with that and lots of weight you should be okay. Just stay off the throttle and you'll be fine. Last winter was my first time driving in the snow and with my 245 tires and no weight in the back i almost decided to sell my truck. But then i got snow tires and it helped a lot. I'll never forget the time i was driving home from school with about 2" of snow and almost slid back down a 200 foot hill right into a busy intersection.

[guhman2002]

oh crap... I just remembered the only rubber I have for my s10 right now is 255 BFG Drag Radials... Whats a good snow tire you guys use... not too big, Im 3" down in the back?
Thanks

[Alaska]

umm..we run studded tires up in these parts...i dunno what yall do there...i'm sure an all season in a 225/60 will do ya...

[JPowell]

I roll on all-season 225/70-14's in my '98 ZQ-8 in the winter, cut the PSI in the rears down to about 20-25 and 30 up front. I also put in a zexel-torsen rear carrier so I do two wheel peels in the fluff, and about 100lbs of sand bags right behind the rear axle in the bed... does better than a lot of front wheel drivers in my area. Oh, and 2nd gear starts help too.

[lowxpectationz20]

I enjoy driving my truck in the snow, I have some 225/75/14s on my stocks.. This winter might be alittle more interesting becuase the ass is 3 inchs lower then last( I only had three inch blocks last winter) and this year iv got 6 inchs so, it could make things more interesting but well see! I only got stuck once last year and that was because i got plowed in, and a buddy of mine in a big dodge came and drove right through it

[Miliock]

snow + 2wd s10 = teh suck

BUT, it can be done! Closest I came to being stuck in the dime was when my raod got super icy a few years back. When I pulled on the road I saw like 10 cars "parked" at teh next bend so I pull out slow. I get 50 feet up the road and realize the cars aren't parked...they slid off the road. I stop, but don't know what to do. It was so icy my truck was sliding to the right (slanted road) sitting still. I used the ice to spin myself around, but ended up sliding all the way over to the other side of the road. After thinking i was stuck, I decided to pull onto my neighbors lawn for traction, and was able to get moving again. (that was with 100lbs of sand and all season nitto extremes.

[dillon_b12]

Unless you really want a 2wd, get a 4x4. I have never gotten stuck in mine. Been over some nasty hills when they were covered with snow. 4LO is also really nice because it helps keep you slow if you are going down hills. I just run ATs on mine but with some snow tires I don't think you would have any trouble getting where you needed to. I've also never run weight in the bed, I've never needed to.

[comics22]

well you just haveto know how to drive in the winter, 90% of not getting stuck is the driver, get used to it fishtailing and just expect the back end to slide out, id practice in a empty parking lot if your not too good in snow, like make it slide out and practice getting out of it. i drove through 6" of snow with no sandbags, that was fun took like 20min to drive 6 miles but...deff get snow tires they usually say M+S on the side thats what mine say and they do fine. and get about 200lbs of sandbags and put then in th ebed closest to the cab. otherwise you may lift the front up a bit and loose steering...
and sandbags around here are only like $2.50 for a 60lb bag....

[j894]

blah, forgot to mention I have an open-end rear ..
doesnt help with traction when im on snow/ice in 2wd.
Which would explain my shitty experiences.
was a special option,... unlimited slip differential

[comics22]

haha



I WANT SNOW!

[Still Buildin]

on my 86 2wd i am running 215/75R14 and they seem to cut well. to restate an above post, go screw around in an open parking lot. once you get used to the truck, you can go anywhere, but carry a shovel if you have a tendancy to push it like myself. i live in saskatchewan canada, where the snow tends to drift, and i have never missed a day of work. 6 in fresh snow, still ontime, aparently the highway was closed and i wasn't supposed to be there, so i told them i would see them tomorrow. oh well. just remember it is not a 4x4 and strictly summer roads sould not be attempted. (unless you are up for an adventure)

[98layinframe]

4 studded winter 205 70 15's and about 150 pound of weight in the bed for me this winter We shall see how it goes...

[mrshaft696]

my truck is awful and its dangerous, the abs helps a bit, if you dont have it your rear end will lock up real quick and you will go sideways fast. Forget starting out on any hills, momentum is your best bet to keep moving. Ive always had a 2wd truck, an ideal setup would be a 4banger with a 5 speed and a 14 or 15in rim with some meaty tires and sandbags then you wont have too much torque and maybe be able to start out in 1st gear.

[85S10Eric]

Quote: Originally Posted by mrshaft696

my truck is awful and its dangerous, the abs helps a bit, if you dont have it your rear end will lock up real quick and you will go sideways fast.

The only time I went sideways in winter from the brakes locking was when I blew a front rubber line and only the rear brakes locked. If you lock the brakes, all of them lock, so you'll just drift straight in whatever direction you're going, no matter what the steering input. Yeah, I learned that the hard way during my first winter of driving my S-10.

[Disco Inferno]

You nancy boys should try living in Canada. Sandbag it and get some real knobby ass snow tires on ALL four corners and you'll do fine.

[Alaska]

Like stated previously(by me?) get a narrow tire that's kinda tall..you'll wanna kill some of your torque...with a 5 spd in real slick conditions, start in second...don't really need weight in the rear, but if it'll make you feel better, have at it! Increase followin distances and slow down if you need to...Know your own driving skills...


Alaska driving owns all!!

[Disco Inferno]

Someone from alaska against sandbagging it? How will this help/not help?

[Generic0]

id love to help but ive nearver driven in snow, I live i texas.....

[Disco Inferno]

Quote: Originally Posted by Generic0

id love to help but ive nearver driven in snow, I live i texas.....

Only steers and queers live in texas

-Gunnery Sgt. Hartman

[Alaska]

Quote:

Someone from alaska against sandbagging it? How will this help/not help?

i'm not against it, i just don't waste my money on it. It's pretty easy to get by w/out em..Also, if you put too much in there, you're gonna take some weight off the front end which is not too kind to your steerin...I guess you could put some in the front of the bed and some in the back. Besides, sandbags take up too much space and slow down the donuts in the empty parkin lots

[Disco Inferno]

Quote: Originally Posted by hombre_in_atlanta

Besides, sandbags take up too much space and slow down the donuts in the empty parkin lots

Selectah!!! So the truth comes out. I gotta find some steel rims before the winter now.

[Mike1234]

Winter tires make a world of difference. As others have said, thinner tires are better. I run stock size 205/75/15's. My friend and I were going up a snowy hill in our S10's. His truck wanted to slide back down and sideways and we had to push it up, on stock all seasons (only 1 year old). My truck drove up it no problem.

A posi/locking dif is very helpful. I think I would have been stuck in many situations without it.

As others have said go practice in an empty parking lot, then when your trying to pull a quick right of left through an intersection and your back end slides out you can correct it like nothing happened.

Quote: Originally Posted by Disco Inferno

Someone from alaska against sandbagging it? How will this help/not help?

I'm not a big fan of weight in the back of the bed. It increases stopping distance and hurts your gas mileage. I've gotten by without it through the winters and I'm from Ottawa as well.
It does help with traction, but I have enough without it.

[Alaska]

hey guys..i recently started work at a tire shop up here in AK...yall that are in long winter type climates should checkout a tire called Blizzak..i forget the whole name, but google it and see what comes up.. They're a nonstudded tire, but are factory siped and a softer compound rubber. I've heard that they are better even than studded tires. I might be running them this winter on mine and the best size i would say would be a 215/75 or a 205/75...taller is better, since it takes away some of the torque and narrow is better because it will cut through the snow...

[Disco Inferno]

Quote: Originally Posted by Mike1234

I'm not a big fan of weight in the back of the bed. It increases stopping distance and hurts your gas mileage. I've gotten by without it through the winters and I'm from Ottawa as well.
It does help with traction, but I have enough without it.

That's good to know. I wonder how geigh my ZQ8 is going to look with 205/75/15's on it?

[Dime Visionary]

i think i loaded my dime with about 16 cinder blocks, the ass end was saggin so bad, but hey it got me where i needed to go. i even drove it in a ice storm once. now if you want a v6 good luck getting anywhere. i have the 2.2 and its easy to drive it in the snow.

[Alaska]

Quote: Originally Posted by Disco Inferno

That's good to know. I wonder how geigh my ZQ8 is going to look with 205/75/15's on it?

not too bad, i woudn't think...a 215/75 would be aight, but don't you already have 16" rims? or do you not have the zq8 rims?