STi in the snow

Yes; it would -- lower torque, the wheels don't break loose, suspension is less stiff -- so less bounce.

The problem with "performance" cars is that they're designed for performance, not "all around usage".

The good thing about performacne cars is there a blast to drive in the rigth situations -- way more than "all around usage" cars.

You should be able to "tame" the sti (ie: you should be able to learn) so that the car drives fine in the snow & ice.

Take your time and learn how the car handles & try starting off in 2nd or 3rd gear.

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Tires make a huge difference with the STi. My 06 came with "performance-summer tires" from the factory and was told by many to change them for winter duty use here in New England. My sti is a "nice weather toy" only, (use 4x4 truck) ,so it's never seen snow/ice. However I did drive in rain twice, which it still had great traction with the summer-performance tires. I hear Bridgestone Blizzaks are great winter performance tires.

Good luck..................CC

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Yes, I was wondering if when they sell an STi in the winter, it still comes with RE070s on it.

Cool. So far I've been pretty happy with my Michelin Pilot Alpin PA2's but I don't have enough experience to compare well.

-- Mark

Josh Assing writes: (snip)

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Mmmm, true. It's all tradeoffs.

I should have added, I had an interesting problem lately where it felt like the front wheels were unbalanced. I fixed it by removing a large chunk of ice from between the spokes of the driver-side front wheel!

-- Mark

If a buyer is serious about that level of performance and has that kind of cash he should arrive with a set of 17"s with winter shoes. I don't see why this is a problem. Btw what do you have on it now?

Michelin Pilot Alpin PA2's.

-- Mark

Got it. You had it in your post but I somehow skipped "Alpin" part. Looks like you need two sets of "winter" tires, one the performance winters like you have for snow and something like REVOs for ice. The latter would suck on snow though. Or so some of the reviews on tirerack imply.

snipped-for-privacy@ixod.org (Mark T.B. Carroll) wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@ixod.org:

Yes, it does. Luckily it was a mild December (two months ago) when I picked up my STi Ltd so I didn't worry too much. But I drove it only about

10 days before having 960AS's put on it. They've made the ride a bit more forgiving, plus they've been great in all the rain and snow lately.

Dee

I forgot to ask - is this exactly like what I get out of a regular 4WD truck with center differential locked, or is the AWD with the center differential locked still different somehow?

-- Mark

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Ah! Thanks very much. That certainly explains a lot about how it feels.

Mmmm, right, okay.

That's interesting. I never tried anything like that - too strongly trained to never left-foot-brake. (-: I'll give that technique a go.

-- Mark

I am too. It takes a lot to overcome. I only do it when I get stuck; which is not too often. But it works a treat if you need all four wheels to spin at the same speed. It also has EBD which is great in low traction situations.

I just tried the left foot braking technique when my tires started slipping on snow. The ABS light came on. What does that mean? I have a 99 Outback Sport.

It means there is no center diff, lsd in the rear and, consequently, you only have 1 driven wheel per axle as opposed to 4 on the STI ;-) Your experience puts the $14-15k of the price difference in perspective. You get what you pay for.

It means you're in the market from the front, rear diff, possibly DCCD and dedicated snow tires not necessarily in that order. The difference between two and one driven wheel per axle and the $14k price difference in case you wonder. Of course STI gets better suspension and the engine but $50 spring take offs from STi take care of the suspension problem. I bet installing LDSs is more work though. Probably at least 3 hours for the front according to cobbtuning last time I checked. I think they have a bolt on in stage 3 for the drivetrain upgrade kit. In this context it's a bit ironic that FHI does not recommend sti for snow (and ice) where every bit of grip counts.

I don't know. Probably not. In case of one driven wheel per axle the proper winter shoes are more important. But, then, you don't plan to change anything on your car.

It always works for me. It forces the car to drive both wheels on each axle