I’ve been loving life for the past month as I drive my 2005 Satin Silver GT around hot and humid Jacksonville, FL. It occurred to me I may have a looming issue as I move to Maine in November. Now I’ve driven in snow and ice for years up there, but my prior vehicles were a Honda Civic (FWD) and a Ford Expedition (AWD). I plan on outfitting the GT with a set of 4 Pirelli Winter 210 SnowSport tires. I’d really appreciate any tips or advice for driving this RWD car in the winter. Thanks!
Will winter tires make a significant difference over the stock all season?
Am I going to have rust problems from the sand, snow, and salt? Haven’t seen any yet with my Civic and Expedition?
I like you will be driving my car year round in Chicago. The car is so new I dont think theres alot of information out on winter driving yet. At least I couldnt get much. I plan on tring the stock tires first and if that doesnt do it well enough go to something thats will get through the snow. I am also going to put some weight in the trunk, like a few sand bags. Also I started a thread on another forum on an issue you mite find interesting.
I think Snows make a difference, and along with the traction control and some added weight in the trunk you should be fine.
Never had any problems with my t-bird in the last 8 Chicago winters. But thats about 100HP less, So we shall see.
I dont see the Stock Pirellis doing that good in the snow/ice.
Once you drive on 4 snows you'll never go back to all seasons in the winter, it's that much of an improvement. Get some regular steel rims for them and size should be narrower w/same O.D. I think handling will be quite good with traction control in there.
Corrosion? Of course but that's the sacrifice you'll be making. Mostly undercarriage. Any rustproofing will help although it looks like s..t.
Other option is to park it and buy a beater. That's what I'm thinking...
Well put.
I would like to keep the bird for that reason, but would also like to sell it for mod money!
DITTO, Stoenr.
Thanks for the tips all. I forgot to mention I had planned to put some "junk in da trunk" of my stang. Like the esteemed philosopher, Sir Mix-A-Lot, once espoused my baby (whether female or automotive) got back....
"Little in the middle but she got much back..."
Sorry, I always seem to digress into 80s tunes....
Ok... i'll tell you what I was told... if you want to drive a GT in the snow don't even think about an all season tires... by a set of dedicated snow tires.... I bought a set of Bridgestone Blizzaks. They were incredible! We've had some pretty bad winters the last few years in Mid-Michigan... Never got stuck, never went in the ditch (or even close)... unlike the hundreds of SUV's I'd see in the ditch! LOL!
My first car was a RWD '75 280Z. There was nothing over the rear wheels except a peice of sheet metal. And since I was living in NJ I had to learn to dirve it in the snow and on wet leaves.
Frankly, I don't think it is that big of a deal. You will just need to learn how you car corners and get the 'feel' for it. So I suggest going out to an empty parking lot and trying to swing the back out (a little gas as you turn should do it), so you can learn what this feels like. Then you'll learn when a fishtail is coming and you'll know how to contol it (turn into it). Practice is the key here.
BTW: find an EMPTY parkinglot without lampposts. You don't want anything to run into and you'll need the room.
__________________
06 GT Coupe Premium, Redfire Clearcoat, Dark Charcoal, 5 Spd Manual, Side Airbags, Active Anti-Theft, IUP, 18" Fan Blades (64E), Wheel Locking Kit.
No '05 for me; was ordered on 5/1.
Ordered '06 on 6/24/05 (Carlos @ Yeomans); DORA 6/27/05; Serialized 7/7/05; Segment 7/7/05; Sequence 8/3/05; Blend 8/3/05; Produced 8/9/05; Gate Release 8/10/05; Ship 8/10/05; Arrival 8/29/05. I love my new mustang!
VIN# 1ZVHT82H465103863
Nobody is faster than Carlos @ Yeomans!!
Proper snow tires or even studded tires if you can is a good bet. Sand bag the trunk and keep TC "on". If you got the means, a winter beater is the best bet. I drive my Pony every day in any weather...so far but, when snow/ ice comes, I am keeping my 2001 Black F-150 Lariat 4x4 w/ Triton V-8, Zainoed.
__________________
C&L CAI with MAF, Steeda UP's, FR 4.10's, Predator "C&L-MAF" Tune, Borla 3" tip catbacks, Kooks LT/ Catted X-pipe, Nitto 255/45/18(F) 285/40/18(R), Steeda Springs, Tri-Ax, Adj Pan Hard, Camber plates, Cowel Hood, Tokico Adj Dampers.
dyno; 315 RWHP/ 320 RWTQ
I agree with you on the practicing, getting the feel of the car and its reactions. This differs on each road surface also. And your right, for most of us its not a big deal. But Im seing alot of people getting a Mustang for thier 1st time, and learning how to drive stick, this worries me a bit, lol.
Then again most seem to live in a nice climate year round
But theres more to benefit in snow tires.
One example being. If you need to stop fast for one reason or another, and Its the matter of 10-20 feet stopping sooner on the snows and not hitting the 16yr old girl who just pulled in front of you.
The snows tires Ive driven on always have seemed to have superior stopping abilities. And thats whats most important to me.
For anyone using it as a daily driver where there is snow/ice, I highly recommend snow tires for this car(GT in particular) if its in your budget. Regardless of driving skill.
Since I have two precious rugrats that will be squeezed into the backseat of the GT from time to time, I most likely will be leaving TCS on, getting some decent snow tires, putting some extra weight in the trunk, and doing some "testing" of the cars handling in a safe area.
Well I live up here in the Great White North..eh..and it's not uncommon to have 7 months of snow per year. For sure get dedicated snow tires for the back, the Bridgestone Bllizak's as previously mentioned in this thread are excellent, for the front it's not as crucial but would be nice as they would help certainly help reduce your stopping distance. Steel wheels so you don't rust your nice new GT rims would be nice, as mentioned earlier a smaller width will help traction. I plan to use my Bullits as my winter rims (given my winters are so long I want a nice looking set of winter rims as they will be on my car more than my summer wheels!) and then get the new P zeros that came with the car mounted on a set of Crager S/S rims for my summer wheels. That way I can just change out the wheels every spring and fall and not have to go through the hassel or expense of having snow tires taken on and off one set of rims. I read an article where Ford claims that with the TCS the 05 Mustang's are the most winter friendly stangs ever built, time will tell . I went for undercoating on my ride as my city uses lot's of salt. My plan to further help keep the rust at bay is to put on a good 3-4 coats of wax by the fall. During the winter months I will high pressure my undercarriage monthly and come spring clean the engine bay as well. I followed that routine with an 86 Camaro and drove it through 15 winters and it stayed rust free, I would imagine that an 05 Stang should be considerably more advanced in the anti-corrosion department so there should not be a problem.
One other thing I'd suggest is to get a good set of floor mats like the "pantsaver" kind with the pan in them to collect water from the snow on your boots and then put plastic under those to further protect the carpet. I had red carpet in that 86 Camaro and it looked great despite all those winters. I never really have added weight to the trunk but suppose it would help, I always try to keep the tank topped off as that certainly helps weigh the back down (and prevents gasline freeze up's). The most important thing of course is to take your time on ice and snow, there is nothing worse than the horrible feeling of hitting the brakes and knowing that you are unable to stop and sliding up onto a curb or into another car .
__________________
05 Mineral Gray GT Stick
IUP, ICAP, Bullit's With Locks , Alarm, Factory Body Side Mouldings, Shaker 500. Cosmetic mods 23% tint on side glass 32% tint on back. Two 10" black matte Shelby stripes with 1.5 " space.
My Other Ride is Your Mom
Previous Toy's:
86 Z28 with ZZ4/6 speed stick, 80 Trans-Am with anemic 301, 72 Nova SS, LT1 stick car, 67 Cougar anemic 289 auto
I used to have an 87 5.0L GT. 100 lbs of sand in the trunk. P195x75x15 studded tires in the back. Two Pittsburgh PA winters caused me to trade it in for a AWD 90 Turbo Eclipse.
Good news: Much better in the snow.
Bad News: This is when I learned the difference between HP and torque.
The weight distribution is different for the 05+'s and the T/C will help. Being my 4th car & my other 3 are 4x4's, my 06 GT will never see snow.
I guess not many on here read Swedish car magazines but I'll try to remember their thoughts...
They got their first test drive up in Lappland (yes, where Santa lives) and got to drive it on bare roads but also on the snow/ice tracks just about all car manufacturers use. (When you see the spy photos of new car models or styles with snow around, this is where it most likely was taken.)
They were ALL very impressed with the handling, more so on the snow/ice than on the dry roads! Easily the best Mustang they ever driven in these conditions, ACTUALLY one of the best rear wheel drive cars period! That's saying something to me knowing these drivers/writers!
AS and ABS was Volvo good and safe (maybe because that's where they got it?)
They too recommended weight in the trunk, no need for special tires in the southern parts of Sweden with less than 2-3 weeks of snow. More than that they recommend studded winter tires mostly for stopping.
That's all I can remember now... feather the clutch, start in 2nd and remember "the raw eggs on your pedals"...
PS. Somebody mentioned cat litter buckets for the weight in another thread... If it gets bad here (more than a few days) that's what I'll do, one on each side of the trunk and then just 'serve' it to the cats in the spring... easy enough...
__________________
KJ, poorer but happier
Thanks to: Modular Depot Fox Lake Racing Tunable Induction Power House 411 Sun Coast Creations
Hi Preacher. I'm in the Toronto area. Got my car in late February during a nasty snow storm. I'd been driving FWD cars with dedicated snows for years. My first drive out of the dealer lot was sideways. Woke my ass up for sure. I found that even with the TCS on, the rear got loose pretty easily on the snow and ice. The all-seasons that came stock are brutal in the winter. Having said that, after getting used to everything the car was quite predictable. It was just a more calculated drive, that's all. I've got some snows in my basement now, ready for November to roll around. If you're moving up to Maine, you're going to get pounded in the winter. Way worse than us. Dedicated winter wheels are a must. Dumping 50-75 pounds of weight in the trunk will also help greatly. Also agree with a previous poster. Take your car to an empty snowy parking lot and find out what its limits are. You'll feel way more confident on the road. AND you'll have some fun spinning it out. It's pretty easy getting these puppies sideways, then back under control. Just for kicks, turn the TCS off. World of difference. Have fun!
Winter Driving with RWD 
. I went for undercoating on my ride as my city uses lot's of salt. My plan to further help keep the rust at bay is to put on a good 3-4 coats of wax by the fall. During the winter months I will high pressure my undercarriage monthly and come spring clean the engine bay as well. I followed that routine with an 86 Camaro and drove it through 15 winters and it stayed rust free, I would imagine that an 05 Stang should be considerably more advanced in the anti-corrosion department so there should not be a problem. 
.
