Vxes and the snow
 

Hey guys dumb question I know but how do vxes perform in the snow, this is my main deterrent in buying one so any info would be great, thanks:D

I haven't been in a little front wheel drive car that didn't like the snow, stick shift w/handbrake preferred.

I do live in a rural zone in the winter, lots of snow (Qu?bec, Canada), and with some good Yokohama Ice Guard (IG10) the Vx is doing great. Of course Honda's are known to be profiled low, so if theirs is accumulation, the car will not pass were a 4x4 suv or pick up would pass. Also, what I like about the VX in the winter is that the gearing is so long, that I can be at 1500-1600 rpm crusing in 4th (if visibility if low) or 5th gear and It will takes a lot to the VX to start to spin out of traction (same with the 2nd and 3th gear.

However, a Vx is going as good as other civic in winter, put some synthetic oil to help with starting, and you should be fine.

I would like to ask a question related to the subject, is that better to have some 175/70/13 tires or some 155/80/13. I actually have the 155/80/13's, and my mechanicien told me that those are better because they are wider the the 175/70/13's. IS THAT TRUE?

The first number in the tire size is the nominal width in mm. So the 155's would be narrower. Typically the narrower tire is better in snow and ice with all else being equal. As for height they are about the same.

Yup - for snow tires, narrower is better. Tested and proven.

The explanation is that the narrower tire presses down into or through the snow to where the hardpack is - or it compresses it to "create" its own hardpack. Wide tires are nice for sand and mud.

For conversions between sizes, my favorite is
https://www.wickedbodies.net/Tire-Size-Calculator.htm

You can google "tire size conversion calculator" or some such. There are other calculators out there.

[QUOTE=brucepick;76963]Yup - for snow tires, narrower is better. Tested and proven.

The explanation is that the narrower tire presses down into or through the snow to where the hardpack is - or it compresses it to "create" its own hardpack. Wide tires are nice for sand and mud. QUOTE]

Thanks guy for the help! In fact, that is what my mechanic told me but I misunderstood. The explanation about narrawer tire makes LOT of sense. I'm a WRC fan and I always see narrower tire on snow so I its a good things if they do, cause they are kind of fast... :D

I have a full set of 155/80 13" snow tires on my vx, and it handles great in the snow, of course it's a good idea to learn how much traction you really do have befor getting in to trafic, and for the most part I didn't have issues driving thru snow as long as it didn't pack under the car lifting the wheels off the ground, and that only happened once when I drove in to the ditch.

I agree the VX is pretty great in the snow. I've never really had a manual honda that wasnt though. But I also agree that when the car start plowing because of being too low, it gets a lot more difficult to drive in the snow. So as long as the plows keep the snow to about 3-4inches and less, the VX should be fine.

I actually used all seasons to get around in the snow last year, and it worked out great on the VX, but we had very little snow here last year.

I live in Quebec, Canada.

I use Nokian Hakkapelita2 with ecostud.

Best winter ever had! And with our small size, price is not that mutch!

hehe my chevette was cruisin thru 6-7" on snow, everynow and then would hear it bottom out but even with bald M+S tires it was goin just fine! now i have brand new M+S tires so i cant wait what it can do!

I run 155/80/13 Winterforce tires in the front on all my hondas.....makes the driving effortless and easy in the snow. this will be the first year of using all seasons in that size as my Winterforce tires have finally given up the ghost after 5 years of use.

I agree. Nokian hekkapelita2 are the greatest tires ever made for snow. Make 4WD absolutely obsolete.

I'm wondering if stud (ecostud same?) are bad for FE and if they are noisy?

(Tu payes combien un set Alain?)

I might suggest that if high snow is constantly an issue, raise the car a touch. You can stop by Advance and for 5 bucks a pair, get some rubber spring spacer things. Put them between the coils and you'll gain an inch or two of ground clearance. And you can just take them out when winter's over and return to normal stance.

411$ pneu, crampon(installer en usine), installation et taxes incluse.

My opinion seems to differ from most as far as Civics and snow are concerned, but here goes. My last car was a '92 Civic EX. I cut my teeth on small FWD cars with manual transmissions. Of all the cars I've driven any significant amount in snow (Mazda GLC, VW Rabbit- diesel, VW Jetta- diesel, Ford Escort, Dodge Colt Vista) the Civic was the worst of the bunch in slick conditions. It was also the most performance oriented. However, I'll also say this: I've never driven a VX. It has narrower tires, less power and most likely longer gears, all of which would make it less likely to spin its wheels on sloppy roads.

Still, I rarely let myself be snowed in, and I never got stuck anywhere I couldn't get out of. Take that for what it's worth. Also consider whether you'll have any hills to climb. If your area is flat you're unlikely to have any trouble.

The EX is the sporty model of the civic. You know how Subarus have reputation for being good in the snow? My mom had a Subaru Legacy GT. Fast, fun car, but man, even though it had AWD and ABS was terrible in the snow. I would chalk it up to being an EX trim.

I've had two FWD sub-compacts before and drove them in more "off-road" conditions than most SUV's will ever see in their lives. Sure, I almost got my CRX stuck in the 13" of snow last January in Missouri, but my neighbors with a 4wd Ford Exploder had theirs stuck for a good 2 hours. I got my old '87 Dodge Omni through 2 miles of Rural very rutted mud driveway that many of my relatives with 4wd trucks wouldn't attempt.

Bottom line, know how your car handles at it's limit and you'll be better off than 99% of people on the road, even if they have "better" vehicles than you.

yup! i see more retards in the ditches with 4wd things than fwd or rwd cars/trucks. its just as john said: its all about how well you know your car and what it can do.

word of advise: obviously each snowfall sint exactly the same, some more powdery and not too slick, others are ice. on your street if its nto busy or any obsitlces that you could hit, get up to about 5 or 10 mph then slam on the brakes, by seeing how far the car slides then you know how slow/careful to drive that day(night temps are lower so more slick). i do this every time i have to drive on snow, if its super slick, dont go too fast and brake way before you have to.:thumbup:

Also remember that snow tires need to WARMED UP before they gets optimal. Cold snow tires is as bad as all seasons tires.