hi,
i bought a 88' firebird 4 months ago, and now it's getting cold in good old germany.
the owner said it's impossible to drive that car during winter cause of the ...how do you say... "rear acceleration"? cause it'd be very difficult to keep control on slippery surfaces...
but i saw so many pix with 3rd gens in a snowy landscape, and i wondered if you could give me a few tips concerning driving on ice and snow...
what tires should i use?
what about the engine? can it take the exposure to extreme low temperatures?
tnx,
dwayne

some weight in the rear will help traction. good winter tires, such as bridgestone blizzaks or a similiar "winter only" tire will work the best. as for the engine test the anitfreeze and make sure it is good down to at least -40 degrees celsius and also make sure it filled to the proper level. also make sure the engine is in good tune (cap, rotor, wires, plugs, pcv valve, etc), change the filters if needed (air, fuel) and change the oil and oil filter. make sure the heater and defrost, front and rear, work. hopefully that will help, if you are determined to drive this thing in the winter.

Do you have Posi-traction on this car?
mine dont and i had to drive it back home when we had our first snow here, without posi the car would pull to one side if given too much throttle.

get --->4<--- WINTER TIRES if you use "used" tire, put the best ones in the back, this will give more traction to the rear and will help you not doing too much 180* when turning.

I hate winter... I'm realy looking for a winter beater.

also make sure you use gas line antifreeze regularily...i forgot to mention that earlier

Tires--narrower is better. You want to put the most weight on the smallest footprint to increase bite. Remember the aspect ratio also. Don't get something like a 195/60, it will lower the car way down and you will be dragging in the snow. A 75 profile is good. Calculate the height as you will be looking for something about 27 inches. Look at the tread and use common sense. In the USA, a tire can be marked "Mud & Snow" if 25% of the surface area is void. So you could have 4-5 rings around a tire with no lugs and it would qualify. But it would have zero traction in the snow. You will need some lugs. The reference to the Bridgestone tires earlier is a good one.

Weight--Around 70 lbs, maybe a little more. We drove a 83 Firebird in Minneapolis for 3 years and never got stuck once. Of course, you don't go out and try to plow snow. If you do plow a bunch of snow, take your snow brush and knock what snow you can out of the front springs. If you get a warm day and it starts to melt, and them freezes, it will freeze in the springs, bind up the springs and you will have zero suspension.

Do your maintaince. Keep an extra gas filter, or better 2, in the car with the tools to change it. And you could keep some gas line dryer also. Run that through about once per month. If you have a gas station from past experience that has good gas, (not dirty or watered down), then try to buy your gas there instead of jumping around. Don't fill up when they are receiving new fuel. Come back the next day. If there is any dirt in their tanks, it will be stired up and you might get it. Let it settle overnight. Watch for a filter on the gas pump also. Some don't have them, and some do over here in the states. They are sometimes a small canister on the hose just before the nozzle, and sometimes they are on the side of the pump and look like an oil filter.

You will get the hang of driving on the snow and ice. The more ice, the more distance to stop. If really icy, just stay home. No matter how careful you are, someone else will probably rear end you. If you drive according to the conditions, you should not skid. If you do, know how to control your car. Practice a little in a big parking lot. More than once I intentionally put my car into a skid to make a corner on the ice. If you're going to over shoot and hit someone or take the ditch, then doing a power slide around a corner might be the way out.

Good Luck ! !

Wow reading this made me more grateful than ever that I live in So Cal

whoa! thanks for so much info, it really helped me to make a decision - not to drive the fbird during winter... i could get a cheap fiat uno which suits for a winter car - and ok, it's not really a "car" but it's no problem if it's going down...

so i'm going to put my precious firebird in a garage during winter...

tnx again...

i think you made the right choice.

Don't go in SNOW if ya don't have to !!!!


My car: '89 TA with auto 350 and stock everything.... Now has 112,000 miles and in good/great shape!
I baby this car and never even burned rubber once !!!
I live in Boston and for last 13 years we have some pretty bad Nor'easters (luckily last winter was real dry and not much snow)... BUT.... I've come VERY close to sledding into other
cars, curbs, things .... REALLLLYYY SCARYYYYY !!!!!

This is all with pretty good tires.... The original stock tires
came with this car in 1989 - Goodyear Z Gatorback SUCK
in the winter !!!

Any speed rated Directional tread design tires will KILL you
and your car and maybe others in the Snow !!!!
Don't even try !! Ask me an expert.

I tried it all... I went to a winter beater (78 mustang) for a couple winters - but gave up - too costly too much work too much registering. Having no garage in Boston killls any car here and make life miserable.

I switched to Goodrich CompTA - tread is more all-weather good design and works pretty goood (or best can be) in snow...

Still driving the TA in winter ONLY after the storm passes and at least 8 good hours of sun and melting....

PS... I watch the Weather channel a lot in winter !!!

Firebirds/TAs/Camaros should really be called Sleighs/Sleds !!!

Ya lucky if ya live in Calf, Florida, or Texas..... I relaly envy you guys!!!