Hello

The 2005 will be my first car and I have a question about driving the Mustang in the winter months. How does real wheel drive compare to front wheel drive when driving in the snow? We go through hard winters here and I am wondering how the 2005 (or Mustangs in general) handle in the winter months.

Thanks

 

get a winter beater.....May i suggest a nice AMC Pacer!

 

Just as in any rear wheel drive car...if you take it easy on the acelerator and brake you'll be fine. Remember...once upon a time there was no such thing as front wheel drive and people made it just fine. Simple common sense driving and you'll be fine.

 

Everything we have heard says that the 05 will be a huge improvement for the snow. Stick a bag on concrete in the trunk during the winter.

BTW, please use the search function, this has been discussed many, many times.

 

:scratch:

 

to do what...stabilize the rear end or get a h@ll of a spinout what will the extra weight do?

 

Basically nothing other than give more weight for traction

 

Nothing other than traction ... yeah that makes sense ....

What do you need in a RWD car in the snow? Oh yes, better traction ...

 

A driver that can drive with common sense in the snow is a better start for one. Weight doesn't mean jack if you drive like an idiot in the stuff.

 

Very true, however he was asking how to improve handling in the snow. I told him how.

 

Unless its a 4x2 pickup, rwd snow performance has more to do with tire quality then anything.

 

what is winter?

 

We really don't know for sure.

That being said, I plan to drive mine in the winter. I'm sure it will be fine. Don't worry about it. If you want to get a beater, grab one. If not, get some winter tires and a few bags of sand and your set.

Improvements have been made and have been acknowledged by Ford as far as the 05 being a better winter driver. That can't hurt.

 

Where can I find a detailed description of the traction control system?

wanting to about the positive traction and such.

 

derynf: use search, there was a thread on it not even a week ago

 

thanks, i'll give it another try.

 

I'm going to garage mine for about 4 months in the winter and drive an old Durango 4x4. Is there anything special I need to worry about when storing it for that long? I'm driving a '94 Ford Probe (FWD) and it is nothing special in the snow and I assume the Mustang would be much worse so I think winter storage plus using the Durango in the winter should be a good combo. I'm sure I'll also put less than 10000 miles/year on my Mustang so it should last a long time.

 

Disconnect the battery, put her up on blocks (so the phrase goes) so you don't get flat spots on the tires, add a little fuel stabilizer,good waxing and cover her up for winter nap.

 

You people drive your cars in the snow?!?!?

 

But seriously I had a '79 Mustang and it did great in Michigan winters. I had a set of all weather tires on all four wheels and I kept a few bags of pea gravel on the trunk. It gave extra weight for traction and if you got stuck you could pour some of it on the ground under the tires so they had something to bite into. I was actually impressed with how well it handled. I had friends that had Camaros and Firebirds that were squirrely as anything in the snow. I never had that problem.

Personally I prefer a rear wheel drive vehicle in the snow. I feel like I have more control over how the vehicle handles.

jeffro, if you're new to driving and never driven in snow, once you get a good snow go find an abandoned parking lot late at night and practice spinning out and recovering. It will help you to know how your vehicle reacts and it will prepare you if you ever get in an emergency situation. Be forewarned that the cops usually don't like people doing this so you didn't hear it from me. 0:-)