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2013 Challenger in a blizzard... on summer tires

9K views 27 replies 16 participants last post by  MiniMustangChallenger 
#1 · (Edited)
Yay! Drove down the mountain parking lot through the blizzard Athena, past all the cars that were stuck or had been in accidents, straight into the teeth of the winter wonderland today in my 2013 Rallye Redline. I haven't put my winter rims/tires on yet, and the tires that came with the car are the high-performance summer tires that I ordered back in April.



I can report that (1) the traction control works well, (2) the car handles as it should and is very predictable, (3) I did slip around a little but if you pay attention its no problem at all, (4) getting the heated mirrors, in retrospect, would have been a good idea, because snow quickly made my passenger side blind spot get way bigger, and (5) yeah, as soon as I can, I'm going to put winter tires on there.

Overall, in case you were wondering, the 6 cylinder Challenger at least is fine as a daily driver for the Northeast in winter weather. :thumbsup:

EDIT: The story and the pictures continue here: http://www.challengertalk.com/forums/f5/2013-challenger-blizzard-summer-tires-87839/index2.html#post1194417
 
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#3 · (Edited)
I got caught in it as well. I was actually up at Artioli Dodge first thing this morning to have the defect with my rear seat fixed under warranty. I was going to have them install my mud guards too, but they were taking forever. The snow started coming down, so I told 'em I'd do it another time, and made the drive back down to New Haven... what a nightmare.

If I gave the car even just a tiny bit too much gas, too quickly, the rear end fishtailed out to the side. Pretty much had to crawl all the way home to avoid sliding out. Definitely not weather I wanted to be driving my R/T in, and certainly not without winter tires.

And of course now she's sitting in the garage absolutely filthy, which irritates me even further.
 

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#9 ·
Got caught in similar weather last year in Johnstown on my way to State College in my SRT with lets say "less than new" RSA's... The forecast did not call for snow anywhere that day.. I had very white knuckles by the time I got to State College let me tell you! :)
 
#6 ·
I havent really driven in powder for a while and all the times i have, it has been in a fwd car. This car likes to glide as is with just a little proper romp and with snow, she just wants to float around if she can. I found that driving in manual prevented some unnecessary skids. I did though, where safe, romps it a bit to see how she would handle as i would rather be prepared than startled. I really felt that the traction control would only kick in going slow enough. When i really romped it, the tires spun and the i could hear the wheels slow and the engine crank down a bit from the higher rev.

I dont care if your have AWD, WFD or RWD, the best way to drive in the snow is slow and steady. AWD and FWD definitly help over RWD but they too can and will skid out in snow. I am toughing it out in the stock tires since i am not staying in NJ with the snow for much longer than a few months.







 
#8 ·
The snow birds are going to be early this year......I am a transplanted New Haven person. Sorry to see your poor challengers having to go through this
 
#12 · (Edited)
I don't plan on driving mine in the snow. Figured yesterday was going to be the last day for the season as there was snow forecasted for yesterday evening, into this morning. It didn't happen so I took the car again today. Pushed it one day to far, I got to about exit 25a on the NYS Thruway and noticed they had salted from there all the way in to Albany :mah:. There was no snow, so at least the car didn't get sprayed and covered in it, but I guess it's time to park it until spring.
 
#14 ·
I am really sorry for what happen to all of you in the winter, in my home country Lebanon we are facing the same on the mountains, down in the cities we don't have snow and therefore we only need wet tires.

Here in Abu Dhabi, based on my experience during the last 2 years, we saw rain maybe 3 times only per year, and it was so light rain nothing serious, I mean you can swim all year round, I like this country! It is so hot in summer but everywhere is climate controlled.

Again, I wish you all the best.
 
#16 ·
Yeah, fortunately I got caught in the very start of the storm, and had it home in the garage before any of the plow/salt trucks had been out. I'm desperate to get her cleaned, but I'm going to keep her in the garage until all of the snow on the pavement has melted away.
 
#17 ·
Another scary "Driving My Challenger" story: The warm Arizona sun bounced off my sparkling 20" chrome clad rims like jewels in the desert. The fiery orb in the sky made my gleaming Bright White R/T blindingly white as I drove down the street, the envy of all those who's eyes fell upon my rolling artwork. As the warm 85 degree air blew through my open windows...PANIC! I realized I forgot my sunglasses! :smiley18:
 
#18 · (Edited)
Got home...


Overnight...


Next Morning...


The parking lot at the school I teach at is at the top of a hill, with a nasty 30 degree incline and a winding road. Dismissal was at 2 PM, and the unexpected blizzard had hit at noon. One of my students wanted to make up a test so we both stayed until 3 o'clock. The principal's voice came over the PA speakers about every ten minutes with word of a new road closing. "Any teachers still in the building, please avoid Cherry road and Maple Ave on your way home, as police and ambulances are on the scene of two accidents there." (Our principal also happens to be the town safety marshal). Around 2:45 she came on the PA again to say, "Also if you are still here, exit via the bus loop as we have had a major accident in our parking lot." Turns out a 4WD SUV had hit a minivan broadside, after sliding all the way down the same hill I was parked at the top of.

"Uh oh," I told the student, "this doesn't seem like a great day to try out my new Challenger in the snow... on summer tires."

I have no doubt that an R/T or an SRT, with the double-whammy of extra torque and heavier engine, would be a difficult beast to tame in these conditions... part of the reason I always used to put the V8 Mustang away and drive the FWD Taurus every November - March. The Taurus was so awesome in the snow that I could get by with all-season tires no problem. But I traded in the 80,000 mile 2006 Taurus, not the 30,000 mile '06 Mustang GT, which is why I now have a daily driver 6 cylinder Challenger. Still, a 305 HP rear drive car on summer tires had me wondering. I knew I'd be mounting winter rims/tires for the job, but as we all know, Blizzard Athena was definitely not in the forecast, nor on anyone's radar.

Glad everyone is doing fine, except for those sorry few from Arizona who were trapped outside without their sunglasses. I've said it before, and I'll say it again...stay safe, and ALWAYS keep an extra pair of sunglasses in your glove compartment. You never know when sudden disaster may strike. :5:
 
#20 ·
Where I live, the temprature is gonna drop quite a bit, which means all that wet snow, is gonna get packed down and turn into ice. Not looking forward to driving on that
 
#22 ·
Yay! Drove down the mountain parking lot through the blizzard Athena, past all the cars that were stuck or had been in accidents, straight into the teeth of the winter wonderland today in my 2013 Rallye Redline. I haven't put my winter rims/tires on yet, and the tires that came with the car are the high-performance summer tires that I ordered back in April.



I can report that (1) the traction control works well, (2) the car handles as it should and is very predictable, (3) I did slip around a little but if you pay attention its no problem at all, (4) getting the heated mirrors, in retrospect, would have been a good idea, because snow quickly made my passenger side blind spot get way bigger, and (5) yeah, as soon as I can, I'm going to put winter tires on there.

Overall, in case you were wondering, the 6 cylinder Challenger at least is fine as a daily driver for the Northeast in winter weather. :thumbsup:
:bigthumb: Got ballz?
 
#23 ·
It did not still have so much snow where I live... and I live in North-West of Quebec. :2:

But snow will arrive soon, I'm sure!

There was some snow in street last week-end (already melted) and I tried my Challenger with Michelin Xi3.

Nice, the car is stable and the traction control is really smooth.
And the car brake well.

But it was at low speed, in town.
 
#24 · (Edited)
It did not still have so much snow where I live... and I live in North-West of Quebec. :2:

But snow will arrive soon, I'm sure!

There was some snow in street last week-end (already melted) and I tried my Challenger with Michelin Xi3.
Nice, those Xi3 are THE BEST winter tires! I'm totally jealous; they are very hard to find here (mostly because they send them up your way when they have some in stock). I haven't found them in my size & will most likely get Blizzaks.

I learned last year that if a car is well-balanced and handles predictably minus the traction issues, it should be fine and dandy in the snow with good winter tires. The '09 MINI Clubman was predictable but slipped all over the place until I put on Xi2s. The change was amazing, it was as if there was no snow at all, I could race up hills all day long with those tires.
That's why I'm happy to have had a freak blizzard this year, a full month and a half before our actual winter snow will be arriving. (The snow from Athena has all but melted away already). The Challenger had some trouble getting grip, but it was predictable and balanced, and the electronic aids did a fine job at slow speeds. So once I get the Blizzaks on there, I hope to have a safe-enough-to-drive-to-work-every-day kind of winter vehicle. With an attitude. :pimp:
 
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