Hey everyone, Ive been a long time admirer of the Scion series, and im in the point in my life where i need to sell my Current car(Mustang). Reason is, i moved to a new neighborhood, with a fairly large hill, en route to the main street where i would have to drive through everyday.

With winter fast approaching(i live in NE ohio) i cannot afford a whole lot,(ie. no trucks or anything) and the xD is pretty much the perfect price. I saw an old thread 2 years ago about the driving conditions in snow, but i would like a more up to date responses in how your xD handles in snow, and what snow tires you use.

I would really like honest answers, this hill scares the living hell out of me, and i dont wanna die because i cant make it up.(if i had to guess its at about a 35-45 degree angle for a good 50-100feet.)

Thanks in advanced everyone!

 

If he doesn't respond soon to this thread, I'd recommend shooting a pm to user mcbrew (you can find him in the members list). If I recall, he has written a few posts on the winter performance of our cars in the snow on hilly terrain.

 

Where in Ohio are you?

 

Concord Township(in Lake County)

 

hm... i been driving the xd in buffalo, NY for 2 winters...on all season tires...and well it does just fine

 

Dont eat it when its yellow!

 

just about any front wheel drive car will be alright in the snow if properly set up it mainly comes down to the driver

 

before i dropped the D it was very good, (i have a steep hill on my way into work, and i just put the car in 2nd and it went up just fine). after i dropped it, i'm having issues when the snow is deeper than 1 foot unplowed. where i live they don't plow until after the snow stops, because the township is cheap and only wants to plow it once.

My only issue with it has been that it's a little too lite in the engine area, so if you lose momentum going up a steep hill, it's hard to get going again (but it is doable). i live in south eastern PA, so the snow isn't that bad for me, usually, but there is always one week where i have to drive through unplowed snow.

also on the issue of the back end, i've never had a problem with the back end getting loose, but that was on stock wheels and tires. this winter will be my first one with wide tires, so we'll see how she handles.

 

just remember when cornering E-brake ftw!

 

The stock ride height should be pretty good on snow. I have a friend with a stock xd nd she said she had no troubles .. ii in the other hand df springs nd snow doesn't get along well

 

a rear wheel driver car can do fine in snow, it just depends on how good the tires are.

 

Snow tires are your best friend. A RWD car with snow tires will perform about as eellike as a FWD with all-seasons. A FWD car with snows will kick serious butt in the snow! Yeah, you need the ground clearance. I just went for TRd to stock springs, and I'll look forward to the extra clearance when it snows. We probably won't get the crazy amount of snow we had last year, but it is better to be prepared, anyway. I don't have snow tires for the xD... Mainly because I haven't come across a cheap set of steelies yet.

 

I get no snow here, but I do know if you bump up the rim size from the stock 16" to 17" 0r 18" it will open up your tire choices. The TC rims (17") fit our cars and can be found cheap. So you should be able to find better competition in price of a snow tire or all season.

 

My '09 xD is stock height with tC rims and all season tires and has seen two winters so far. I live in northeastern PA and have a hellacious mountain climb on my way to work. Never had a problem yet, tho I dont think I'd try anything over 10 or so inches unplowed.

 

i got stuck in my house with 8 inches of unplowed snow on my road this past february.

 

That might be true about the extra choices, but contrary to popular internet belief, you want a smaller snow tire in width than a wider. The smaller snow footprint puts more weight into a smaller area, hence more traction. This is true for off road type vehicles too. I learned this many years ago when I had a Jeep and used to off road it. I watched a little Suzuki Samurai walk all over some guys with huge V8's and "monster mudders". They had the power but just no traction. But everyone is allowed to make their own choice.

Anyways, the xD goes just great in the snow. I was lucky to score a set of 4 factory 16" wheels off "ripoff bay" during the summer last year. I paid $25 per wheel plus shipping!!!! The ONLY snow choice I had was Blizzacks from Tire Rack. Then we had to find someone here to mount them. All said and done, about $500 into the 4 snow setup for the winter. Me and her just jack it up and change over from summer to winter a few days before the first storm hits.

She has VSC, so that helps A LOT too. I live in Southwest Pa, so we get some snow, and I am convinced that with the proper tire setup, 4 wheel drive is nice, but you don't need it. That comes from a guy who owned a CJ-7 for 15 years.

 

There is much truth in what you say... you have become very wise in your 110 years.

 

Well, thanks for the tip for off road or snow tire size. I was talking about the diameter of the rim not the width. If you upgrade from stock 16" (195-60R16) to 17" (205-50R17) the width difference is 1 cm or 10 mm which I believe would be negligible. The choices for tires can be seen at tire rack 3 choices for (195-60R16) and seriously 81 for (205-50R17). It does make sense that a wider tire would spread out the weight and have trouble dispersing the snow as it turns, so thanks again!

 

I drove 4 hours in a snow storm and did just fine. Why I never stopped and waited the storm out is beyond me, but my xD did just fine. The entire front end was covered in snow and ice, but I never had problems sliding around or losing traction. The snow storm was earlier this year - from Syracuse NY to NW NJ. I drove with the stock Dunlop All Season Sport tires. The only time I've had a problem is getting out of a driveway with loose snow, and ice under it.

I've been thinking about buying some Blizzaks, but might just replace the Dunlops I have now since they did such a good job the past 2 winters.

Just be smart about your drive and you'll be fine. I've had to climb a pretty hefty hill in my xD, and it did just fine. As long as you don't STOP on the hill like some idiots do, you'll be fine. I've taken many hills in many mountainous regions on stock tires and been fine. 2nd gear will be your best friend. =)

 

those stock dunlops are rated for 20,000 miles, and run $190 a tire. they have yokohama's that are rated for 80,000 miles, all season, for $135 a tire.

might want to do some research to save some money!