Ok, before anyone flames me for driving in winter, here's the deal: I can't afford a winter car (or the upkeep on a winter car) and all that crap. Besides, I love my GT and I bought it to drive.

Anyways, my question is... Is it ok to put winter tires on the back and leave my all seasons on the front? Or should all 4 tires be winter tires? I want to get away with only winters on back but I wanted advice/thoughts from others.

In case it helps, here is some more info...
Obviously all 4 tires will be same size (245/45/17) regardless of winter or all season, so in this case, size shouldn't matter .
The winter tires I want to get are from Tirerack they are Pirelli 240 Winter Sport V-rated (only 2 styles were available with the higher V rating and the pirelli's were much cheaper).
All my life i've owned rear wheel drive cars and drove them every winter with all season tires, so I'm familiar with that type of driving. I just wanted to be extra safe with this one and get winter tires for extra traction

Thanks...

 

Sadly, I have no advice on this subject

 

I drive my '03 in the winter, and the truth is...no tire can help you...you will always get stuck on ice...unless you get tires with metal spikes in them...adding weight in the trunk helps a little, but not enough.

 

Where in NY? I am 5 miles from the lake.

LAKE EFFECT!!!!

I LOVE IT!!! (but not in Mustang)

 

I'm in Corning NY, it's in south NY about 20 mins from PA. No lake effect here lol.
Yea I know nothing will help on ice, we don't get much ice here and if we do I just stay home lol.
And Scott...thanks dude, you've been a great help!! Thanks a lot

 

I drove my 05 GT through a Maine winter on ice and unplowed snow and it did fantastic with 4 Michelin X-ice studless tires. I originally thought the stock Pirelli all seasons would suffice. I was sorely mistaken. I got stuck trying to backup on a sheet of ice. After that, I did some extensive research. CR, Tirerack, and several Scandanavian publications specifically lauded the X-Ice as being as good as or better than many of the studded tires. For around 500$, I got them delivered and mounted. It was a night and day difference through all driving regimes. I lived on a steep unplowed hill on a dirt road. My neighbours FWD Taurus got stuck with some cheap snow tires on it. He called me and warned me. I forgot and just drove right up the hill. He wouldn't believe me when I told him, so I drove back down and did it again.

I highly recommend them on the rear wheels for traction and the front wheels for braking and steering.

 

I second the Michelin X-Ice. Our winters up here in Alberta Canada can be pretty extreme. I had the X-Ice on my 04 GT convertible last winter and the were awesome. Great traction on ice and snow.

 

Thanks guys. I checked on those x-ice and the closest size would be 235/55/17. Would that size fit my 17x8(or 9) rims without any problems? I kind of like these too because they are a bit cheaper

 

I have my 1994 GT, been driving it year round in Detroit area for since 1999... And after one season of driving with BF Goodrich Comp T/A in a snow storm and ended up in a ditch so I IMMEDIATELY ordered a set of snow tires and stamped steel rims from www.tirerack.com for around $500 (it was in 2000, I don't remember exactly how much I paid...) then my problems is solved! The snow tires I have is Dunlop Graspic, I don't know if they still make them now but you can find large selection of excellent snow/ice tires at www.tirerack.com and good luck!

 

I think those would fit great, but I would check with Tire Rack. They are easy to deal with and experts. I have 17x8 wheels on my 2005 GT and that is the exact size I have.

 

Had to drive mine through last Jan and Feb in the snow. It will not be happening this year. I still remember 15mph on 104 with the back end sliding everywhere. Oh never ever again.

 

Thanks for the info guys, I'll probably look into those x-ice's.

Did you have snow tires? I'm sure that would've made a huge difference.

We don't get near as much snow (or ice) as you guys do in the more northern parts of NY and beyond, but we do get a fair amount of snow at times. I've been driving rear wheel drive cars all my life in this weather and i'm used to how they handle. My 1st 3 cars were: '88 camaro V6, '89 F150 302-V8 2 wheel drive and '90 Mustang 4cyl hatchback. The worst of those 3 in winter was the F150 (believe it or not) because of it's power and light rear end and only 2WD. But I always managed to keep them all out of the ditches (on all season tires even). But with my GT having much more power than all 3 of my previous cars (combined probably lol), I want designated snow tires for extra security. People always ask me why/how I drive them in winter and I always say...'ya just gotta know how to drive'.

 

I drive my 400 horse COBRA in Edmonton , Alberta , CANADA all year round(to make a point) and I can recomend the Dunlop Wintersport M2's in the 245/45/17. Some other people will tell you to get a Blizzak or simular compound but I found that if the snow only cover major arteries for a few days to a week, then the special compound only lasts for about 8k miles.(I actually got way less but I can extrapolate from my use) After that the remaining tire under the soft compound is even worse than an old, hardened all season. I add about 50lbs of sand bags double wrapped in rubbish bags to the drivers rear and really enjoy the looks of people in Exploreers and the like when I move out smoothly then get into it a bit. As a buddy says, "I should be petrified, but lets get a coffee."

 

No they were summer tires. Couple of scary moments but no accidents. It will be parked up this year. Will be playing in my Escort this winter when wife buys her car (Explorer?).

 

I'm in new england where we get about 3 major snow storms a year plus generally slushy conditions. Do the (2005) stock pirellis get any grip in the snow or are snow tires necessary?

 

well it can be done. I drove my 99 GT in Chicago snow but i had to go like 20mph whereever i went.

I would suggest you get a spare set of cheap rims and put some snow tires on that you can swap during winter months.

 

Thanks... I'm trying to decide wether to get 17" mustang tuning GT500 wheels that are on sale now, put my stock pirellies on them and use my stock bullits to mount winter tires.

Edit: Started a new thread on the 05 forums, I don't mean to hijack here...
http://forums.bradbarnett.net/showthread.php?p=736675

 

don't worry about it, its not really highjacking...its all the same stuff.

hey if you were thinking about getting those GT500 wheels that sounds like a good way to do it! even your winter wheels will look cool since they would be bullitts.

 

To answer the initial questions:
-Get snow tires at all four corners.
-You can get a much lower speed rating than you would have on a summer/driving tire (less expensive) - how fast are you really going to go on winter tires?
-One of the big differences in winter/summer tires is the rubber compound. Summer tire rubber gets stiff/hard in the colder temps, part of the reason the grip is so bad.
-Better to go with a thinner tire in the winter - helps traction in snow/slush. The 235/55 is a much larger diameter than a 245/45, so it MIGHT fit a car with stock suspension, but you'll probably have trouble if you have even a mild suspension drop. Better to get a 7" wide wheel solely for the winter tires.

 

I agree with putting them on all 4 corners...your front tires need traction when turning so don't discard the fronts thinking you only need it in the rear.

In the past I lived in the Northeast and drove my '88 5.0 LX through some of the worst mountain snow weather while in college...back then I ran a pair of Studded snow tires and it was amazing...I passed big rigs with chains on their tires that were stuck going up the side of mountains in Western MD. Keep in mind though that studded snow tires are illegal in many areas because they tear up the roads .

More recently while still living in the NE I used Bridgestone Blizzak tires on my wifes 5.0 LX convertible and they performed flawlessly....and those tires are especially good with icy conditions.

5 years ago when I moved south I still had those Blizzaks and couldn't give them away down here...finally sold them on Ebay to someone in PA and they loved them.