So, how is the Stinger on bad roads and Ice/Snow

[BoardGameBuddha]

Hey gang,

I am still awaiting my home to sell so I can buy a Stinger Outright and not have to worry about payments, I am in New Brunswick, Horrible Roads and Weather, can any Canadian Brothers or Sisters or even others, tell me how she copes with this stuff?

Thanks,
Billy

 

[AKStinger]

I live in anchorage, alaska and the roads can be pretty terrible here too.. I have a GT2 with the 19s and pilot sport tires currently on. I've been waiting for two weeks for my winter tire and wheel combo, patiently waiting while the stinger sits under a blanket of snow. Yesterday I just couldn't take it anymore, and decided to drive it to work. Long story short, it did fine. Comfort mode supposedly gives you your best awd for bad conditions, but I have very little experience to say whether or not this is true. There are a couple things I can tell you though; lots of stopping distance on these tires. Even at idle, the car has a tendency to feel like it's trying to push forward against the brakes. Going down my driveway, which is very steep and icy I literally had to slip it into neutral to prevent sliding...

Next thing I've noticed, throttle input is stiff. Much stiffer than my past two cars (both audi). Feather the gas on ice, which can be challenging if you're used to a softer pedal, like I am. The first two times I pulled across lanes on icy roads, the tail of the car came out under what I thought was pretty light pressure of the right foot. Also the power may not "spool down" immediately after initial take off. I felt like taking my foot off the gas didn't cause a simultaneous drop in engine rpm, that it was a little slow to let off. Even with the summer tires, the car climbs icy hills beautifully with no signs of slipping or fish tailing. I attribute all of its looseness on icy surface at the moment to the summer tires. Looking forward to my ice wheel and tires!

 

[BoardGameBuddha]

Thanks AK!

 

[EchoesMyron]

I'm not in Canada but here in Colorado we get plenty of snow. I have a GT2 AWD with 18" wheels and Bridgestone all season tires. It does fantastic in the snow. We had around 6 inches this morning and I had great acceleration and braking grip. The car feels very stable and predictable. I had one instance this morning where I was on snow over ice and the front end pushed and slid but that was at a low speed pullout and it would have happened to any car. I have also found that the traction control and stability control are set just about right...not super intrusive but will recover the car before it gets too crossed up.

 

[BoardGameBuddha]

Awesome Thanks EM!

 

[westcoastGT]

I'm not in Canada but here in Colorado we get plenty of snow. I have a GT2 AWD with 18" wheels and Bridgestone all season tires. It does fantastic in the snow. We had around 6 inches this morning and I had great acceleration and braking grip. The car feels very stable and predictable. I had one instance this morning where I was on snow over ice and the front end pushed and slid but that was at a low speed pullout and it would have happened to any car. I have also found that the traction control and stability control are set just about right...not super intrusive but will recover the car before it gets too crossed up.

I agree with Myron , the key is you need to get good AS tires ( or a separate winter set up ) those Stock Michelins are dangerous in winter conditions , lots of AS tire info in the Tire and Wheel section here

 

[Kazz]

I'll always suggest that someone get a dedicated winter wheel and tire setup as well as a dedicated summer wheel and tire setup. But I know in some places there really isn't much summer to speak of. My experience in the worst of it (very cold, dry snow, small flakes, compacting) with all-seasons is that the car will push (understeer) at the beginning of a turn and oversteer at the end of a turn. Takeoff seems slow, but I've kept it in Comfort mode in the worst of it. I've not had to do anything like panic braking so I can't say there.

 

[AKStinger]

Update for you Billy; I just got my winter setup installed and it's a whole different animal. Super confident stopping, turning, and powering into turns on compacted ice. No new snow in a couple weeks so the roads all have a permanent glaze about them. Feels every bit as secure as my last two audis. My winter setup is a set of cooper wsc tires 225/50r18 and he only wheels I could find that fit. They are pretty bland, and really, really black. I'm personally not into the mafia staff car look, but the wheels I ordered did not fit around the calipers, so I was stuck with the only option available in anchorage at the moment.

 

[mldavis2]

Might be camera angle, but the fronts look much larger than the rear.

 

[Crisis]

Those Coopers look like pretty good winter tires for the price. Be anxious to hear a full review after you've gone the remainder of the winter with them.