Vibe Handling in Snow

Katahdin · Post by **Katahdin** » Sun Jun 08, 2008 2:38 am

How do the Pontiac Vibes handle in snow conditions? We get a llot of snow here in maine and traction and handling in snow, ice and slush conditions is a big issue. Still hedging on buying one..........

WaveAction · Post by **WaveAction** » Sun Jun 08, 2008 2:48 am

they're pretty good in the snow...i have the stock goodyear RS-a's and didnt have that much of a problem.. i know im buying winter tires for sure but they do handle pretty well

Raven · Post by **Raven** » Sun Jun 08, 2008 3:55 am

SNOW!!! It's 87Â°F. If you're worried get a Vibe AWD. Our front drive Vibe works fine here and we got 15 feet of snow last winter plus it's lowered 2 inches. Get real snow tires though for the winter not no seasons.

Sublimewind · Post by **Sublimewind** » Sun Jun 08, 2008 8:13 am

Whatever you do, get snow tires... It's easily the BEST thing you can do for your car and you in snow areas...

dianebrat · Post by **dianebrat** » Sun Jun 08, 2008 8:33 am

my Vibe AWD is awesome in the snow... not as good as a 4x4, but a lot better then 80% of the non-subarus out thereDiane

wyatt89 · Post by **wyatt89** » Sun Jun 08, 2008 11:06 am

mine sucked in snow, i swear had one wheel spinning every time i had to start moving again at a stoplight, lateral grip wasn't bad though!

kunkstyle · Post by **kunkstyle** » Sun Jun 08, 2008 11:40 am

I've had great handling with mine. Although it's an AWD with winter tires...

redlava · Post by **redlava** » Mon Jun 09, 2008 8:47 am

My base handles fairly well. I've never had any issues with not being able to drive around if I need too. It just depends on what type of tires you have and how much snow is on the ground. Very few cars will handle well in 6-8 inches of snow, so if you're wanting to drive through a blizzard at 60 mph with impunity, then the Vibe is not for you. If you want to be able to get to work if the roads have a few inches of snow on them and the work crews haven't been out yet, then it will be fine. Just make sure you have some good tires on.

rated_w · Post by **rated_w** » Mon Jun 09, 2008 2:10 pm

Nothing can outhandle a Ford Crown Vic in snow.......I'm just kidding .. those things are a disaster.. Both my personal vehicles (04 vibe, and 04 TSX) are great in snow, although the TSX will no longer be seeing winter thank god.... I do have performance snow tires that'll be slapped on to the vibrator when winter comes along

sloth · Post by **sloth** » Mon Jun 09, 2008 11:49 pm

With snow tires they are great. I use the blizzaks and they've worked great for 5 seasons now. We had snow on the ground this year from Thanksgiving to the end of February and didn't have any problems driving by the wreckers that were pulling people out of the ditch.

pick41 · Post by **pick41** » Tue Jun 10, 2008 12:00 am

Quote, originally posted by sloth Â»With snow tires they are great. I use the blizzaks and they've worked great for 5 seasons now. We had snow on the ground this year from Thanksgiving to the end of February and didn't have any problems driving by the wreckers that were pulling people out of the ditch.Great news. this was the reason I held out for so long for an AWD!

BlueCrush · Post by **BlueCrush** » Tue Jun 10, 2008 12:09 am

Nothing beats an AWD with snow tires, unless you are an idiot driver in the snow, then that'll beat it. Also: The AWD models sit 1/2"-1" higher than the fwd models. High Rider, FTW!!

pick41 · Post by **pick41** » Tue Jun 10, 2008 12:21 am

Now just have to start saving up for some Snows! Because I don't think the 285/75/16 BFGs in the shed will work.

Daox · Post by **Daox** » Tue Jun 10, 2008 12:28 am

The Matrix handles pretty darn good in the snow even with shoddy all seasons. Last year I put on General snow tires (forgot the model) and they greatly improved handling. I'd highly recommend them.

starmatt · Post by **starmatt** » Tue Jun 10, 2008 1:31 am

My awd '04 vibe did great in the snow with studded snow tires (in VT & NH) and it was a pretty rough winter in terms of driving conditions. One of my coworkers has a fwd vibe and said it was a little shifty in the snow and wouldn't put anything less than studded snow tires on it in the winter.

Sublimewind · Post by **Sublimewind** » Tue Jun 10, 2008 3:07 am

Quote, originally posted by starmatt Â»My awd '04 vibe did great in the snow with studded snow tires (in VT & NH) and it was a pretty rough winter in terms of driving conditions. One of my coworkers has a fwd vibe and said it was a little shifty in the snow and wouldn't put anything less than studded snow tires on it in the winter.Yeah, Studded snow would be great, but only a handfull of states allow it... I used to live in both Burlington and Winooski when I lived in VT, and while I didn't have studded snows, I DID have a Subaru... same difference.. lol... My FWD Vibe did "ok" with snows, I put 100lbs of corn in the back and that helped quite a bit, keeping the 'twitchy" rear end in place decently..

Mavrik · Post by **Mavrik** » Tue Jun 10, 2008 3:18 am

I made it through 2 winters in alaska with studless winter tires on my FWD Vibe before I sold it for a subaru lol

ramenboy... · Post by **ramenboy...** » Tue Jun 10, 2008 3:41 am

my o4 base is lowered, and this year i was too lazy to change out my tires. handled fine. plus i've got my handy voilÃƒÂ© avalanche shovel just in case

Vibe Handling in Snow

Vibe Handling in Snow

Re: Vibe Handling in Snow (Katahdin)

Re: (wyatt89)

Re: (kunkstyle)

Re: (rated_w)

Re: (sloth)

Re: (pick41)

Re: (BlueCrush)

Re: (starmatt)

Re: (Sublimewind)