'99s & rear wheel drive?
Gary H
Wessel) wrote:
>I thought the new Mustang was the right choice until I noticed that it's a
>rear wheel drive vehicle.
I don't mean to offend you, but if you have just learned that the
Mustangs are rear wheel drive, then they aren't the car for you....
Gary H
<mste...@vt.edu> wrote:
>Actually, I think rear-wheel drive cars are highly underrate for their
>snow capabilities. With rear wheel drive, you can just throw shit in
>the trunk to add a lot of weight. Plus, you're not driving wheels tht
>can also be turning (a big setback for front-wheel drive cars... at
>least, in my experience... damn Probe slides all over the place... even
>in the rain). Besides, it doesn't snow all that much. When it does,
>just take it easy. For the other 360 days of the year, have fun with
>it.
Exactly! I have taken my Formula out a few times when the weather
sucked. It was pretty bad in the snow, but I managed. Just be
careful, and if you feel like the car can't handle it, slow down or
stop. Most people overrate their own driving abilities, thats where
the trouble starts....Like you say, for those few days that it snows,
I can find a ride to work/school etc. For the other 360 days, I'm
happy!
Gary H
>Plus I've seen a million of FWD drivers spin there tires in the snow. Just
>cause its FWD does mean you can drive any faster or quicker.
>
>Fwd only is a "bit better" ( won't cause people to oversteer the car with the
>gas pedal) cause of the weight over the front drive tires.
>
>Hell the best Combo is a mid-engine rear wheel drive car!!!!!!!!!!!!
How about all wheel drive? :-)
Evan Wessel
rear wheel drive vehicle.
In PA, we get a moderate amount of snow and most front wheel drive cars
are good enough to handle the weather.
Just how bad will this Mustang be in the snow? Will the traction control
option be enough to compensate?
I don't want to go back to installing snows every winter...Thanks, Evan
--
Pre-1978 pinball pix and tech tips at www.mercuryamusement.com
nytebyte
control, but it's the front end that might give you trouble. My 96 GT
is OK in deep snow, OK in slush, but very dangerous when the snow is
an inch or less on the pavement. The front end will hydroplane if
you're not extremely careful. I got a good set of snow tires and have
had no problems in any snow. Good snow tires work so well, I actually
can keep up with some SUV's. I don't mind installing snow tires
every winter. It's worth the trouble to drive with confidence.
On Fri, 05 Mar 1999 17:04:32 -0500, ev...@mercuryamusement.com (Evan
Wessel) wrote:
>I thought the new Mustang was the right choice until I noticed that it's a
>rear wheel drive vehicle.
>
>In PA, we get a moderate amount of snow and most front wheel drive cars
>are good enough to handle the weather.
>
>Just how bad will this Mustang be in the snow? Will the traction control
>option be enough to compensate?
>
>I don't want to go back to installing snows every winter...Thanks, Evan
96 GT Stock (except for silencer)
Michael J. Stepanek
>control option be enough to compensate?
The traction control will definately help. How much?... nobody can say
yet... it's new for '99. If the Camaro traction control is any
indication, it'll probably help out quite a bit. The tests seem to like
the Camaro's technology in that regard.
I think you'll do alright. I live in MD, and the snow isn't all that
hurendous around here. Just take it easy... like everybody else SHOULD
be doing.
Craig Keto
interested in it in the first place? Wow some people......
RWD rules, always will.
--
78 Mercury Zephyr
http://members.xoom.com/frankwhite/page8.htm
Evan Wessel wrote in message ...
>I thought the new Mustang was the right choice until I noticed that it's a
>rear wheel drive vehicle.
>
>In PA, we get a moderate amount of snow and most front wheel drive cars
>are good enough to handle the weather.
>
>Just how bad will this Mustang be in the snow? Will the traction control
>option be enough to compensate?
>
>I don't want to go back to installing snows every winter...Thanks, Evan
>
Pat Gans
tell the difference with it on. I'm not sure if the Mustang traction control
will be the same as the Mark VIII but I would guess so.
Josh Turner
Evan Wessel wrote:
>
> I thought the new Mustang was the right choice until I noticed that it's a
> rear wheel drive vehicle.
>
> In PA, we get a moderate amount of snow and most front wheel drive cars
> are good enough to handle the weather.
>
> Just how bad will this Mustang be in the snow? Will the traction control
> option be enough to compensate?
>
> I don't want to go back to installing snows every winter...Thanks, Evan
I'd re-evaluate your decision on snows. If you buy an extra set of rims,
installing/removing snows is a snap, and the extra confidence they bring
is immense. I never had snows on my Mustangs--I was of the "tough it
out" school. When my mother got snows (Blizzaks) for her Miata one year,
I couldn't believe the difference. What had been a dodgy, white knuckle
ride in the white turned into a competent, safe handler. Of course, by
that time I'd switched to a FWD car...
Traction control or no, snows are really the only way to go. The one
disadvantage that Blizzaks have is that they really suck in the
dry--they're incredibly squirmy, and have very little grip. Michelin
Arctic Alpins, I hear, are almost as good in the snow and a lot better
when it's dry.
Craig 50
in the snow and with traction control you dont have anything to worry about
WindsorLX
Evan Wessel wrote:
> I thought the new Mustang was the right choice until I noticed that it's a
> rear wheel drive vehicle.
>
> In PA, we get a moderate amount of snow and most front wheel drive cars
> are good enough to handle the weather.
>
> Just how bad will this Mustang be in the snow? Will the traction control
> option be enough to compensate?
>
> I don't want to go back to installing snows every winter...Thanks, Evan
>
> --
> Pre-1978 pinball pix and tech tips at www.mercuryamusement.com
what did you people do before FWD was so common? FWD is cheaper and easier to
instal at the factory, that's why the car co.s moved that way, NOT because of
the snow in Pennsylvania...
TFrog93
H) writes:
>On Fri, 05 Mar 1999 17:04:32 -0500, ev...@mercuryamusement.com (Evan
>Wessel) wrote:
>
>>I thought the new Mustang was the right choice until I noticed that it's a
>>rear wheel drive vehicle.
>
>I don't mean to offend you, but if you have just learned that the
>Mustangs are rear wheel drive, then they aren't the car for you....
Oh, I don't mind offending Evan... If you can't drive, then the Mustang isn't
for you.
I get REAL tired of all these whiney brainwashed fools who fall for the FWD
mantra. Hell, FWD has been generally available for only the past 20 years or
so. Up until then, every fool with a license was driving RWD cars and trucks
in the snow (and some of us fools STILL prefer RWD).
Personally, I don't think FWD is any fun in snow. Sure, you have to think a
little more and you have to plan ahead sometimes, but RWD is a blast in the
snow.
And "Mustang" is all about fun, isn't it?
dwight
Ri15685666
cause its FWD does mean you can drive any faster or quicker.
Fwd only is a "bit better" ( won't cause people to oversteer the car with the
gas pedal) cause of the weight over the front drive tires.
Hell the best Combo is a mid-engine rear wheel drive car!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ri15685666
If mid-engine rear wheel drive was cheaper all the cars would be mids.
Brian Kaul
_TAKE IT EASY_ then you will have no problem. People get into trouble in the
snow when they drive too fast, and use too much throttle and brake. If you
drive a Mustang gently, and have a little weight in the back, it's not really
bad at all.
Evan Wessel wrote:
> I thought the new Mustang was the right choice until I noticed that it's a
> rear wheel drive vehicle.
>
> In PA, we get a moderate amount of snow and most front wheel drive cars
> are good enough to handle the weather.
>
> Just how bad will this Mustang be in the snow? Will the traction control
> option be enough to compensate?
>
> I don't want to go back to installing snows every winter...Thanks, Evan
>
> --
> Pre-1978 pinball pix and tech tips at www.mercuryamusement.com
--
Brian Kaul
Evan Wessel
I went to see the '99 again and was so impressed with this car and the
VALUE, that I'm willing to go the snow tire route. That's probably better
than FWD without snows, anyway.
CD/cassette, pwr windows, air conditioning STANDARD, even in the base
model. This is a pleasant surprise.
The salesman was very forthcoming and told me that the Mustang was "pretty
squirrly" in the snow. He also warned me against the V8 as this puts the
car into an expensive, high risk insurance category. I'll have to call my
agent about this on Monday.
What did we all do before FWD? We bought snows and had to have them
installed and removed every year and put lots of weight in the trunk and
carried a shovel and blanket so we wouldn't freeze to death when stuck in
a snowdrift. Studded tires are now illegal in PA, but they were the
best.... Evan
Joe Breitenbach
temperatures in the winter. I love driving with the windows down.
Joe
Calypso Green '93 5.0 LX AOD hatch with a few goodies
http://www.tranquilitybase.com/joe/
TFrog93
ev...@mercuryamusement.com (Evan Wessel) writes:
>What did we all do before FWD? We bought snows and had to have them
>installed and removed every year and put lots of weight in the trunk and
>carried a shovel and blanket so we wouldn't freeze to death when stuck in
>a snowdrift. Studded tires are now illegal in PA, but they were the
>best.... Evan
>
I've never swapped my tires, although I do make a point of topping off the gas
tank when the forecast calls for snow. In the 5+ years that I've owned my car,
it sat for only two days. And that was the 31" snowfall, during which nothing
was moving.
Like I said, you just have to plan ahead. Choose a route that you know will be
plowed, avoid steep hills where you have to stop, and (as my mommy told me) try
to always keep some forward motion.
Naturally, you're not going to be racing through traffic and you might even
find yourself tip-toeing at times, but if you learn to tame the skid and the
slide, your Mustang can be as much fun as a toboggan to a 10-year-old. It's
all about the approach.
dwight
Walt
I also keep a 4x4 SUV around for those times it snows
(about 1 time per year lately), and when I need to
run to the local Home Center for plywood or something.
Over the years, I have learned that you can't have
a car like a Mustang (or any pony car) was your only
vehicle.
Evan Wessel wrote:
>
> I thought the new Mustang was the right choice until I noticed that it's a
> rear wheel drive vehicle.
>
> In PA, we get a moderate amount of snow and most front wheel drive cars
> are good enough to handle the weather.
>
> Just how bad will this Mustang be in the snow? Will the traction control
> option be enough to compensate?
>
> I don't want to go back to installing snows every winter...Thanks, Evan
Sanders Racing-1
the paint and underbody up!!!
I have a Saturn for a winter beater.
Rusty
I live in southern missouri, and we get snow, but probably not like in Pa.
Just about any rear wheel drive car will suck in snow, and the Mustang is
worse! With "no" weight in the rear, you have to exercise CAUTION
when driving on snow. I've never been stuck with my Mustangs, even
when you get 4-5" of snow. When it snows like that, I drive like the
"little ole lady from pasadena"<G> I have to even be careful when it
rains, the rear can get a little loose if your not careful.
The traction control "should" help, but safe driving is the best way.
Mustang lovers almost lost the rear wheel drive of the Stang back around
88-89 when in Ford's polluted brain, they wanted to make a Mazdang<G>
It turned into the ford probe. Yes the front wheel drive is better handling
in bad weather (at least the experts say that), but burning rubber<G> just
dosen't look or feel as good comming from the front tires.
Rusty
Evan Wessel wrote:
> I thought the new Mustang was the right choice until I noticed that it's a
> rear wheel drive vehicle.
>
> In PA, we get a moderate amount of snow and most front wheel drive cars
> are good enough to handle the weather.
>