I recently had the chance to drive through a blizzard and i noticed that my steering was extremely loose. I couldnt keep the car in a straight line no matter how hard i tried up to 45 mph, then i was fine. Is that an outer tie rod or sway bar endlink problem? Could all of this be a Z rated tire problem? What do you think?

lol! snow on zr tires! hahaha! dude i lose traction in 5th in the rain, you're insane for driving in the snow man :bowdown

Originally posted by EclipsedChef
I recently had the chance to drive through a blizzard and i noticed that my steering was extremely loose. I couldnt keep the car in a straight line no matter how hard i tried up to 45 mph, then i was fine. Is that an outer tie rod or sway bar endlink problem? Could all of this be a Z rated tire problem? What do you think?

Have you ever compared the tread of your tires to the tread of a dedicated snow tire? I think once you have you will answer your own question. our cars are'nt that great in the snow to begin with then when you throw stiff z rated tires into the mix its like having skis on all four corners, if you plan driving your car through snow, slush, ice or anything of the sort get a dedicated snow tire.

snow sucks! snow will own you if you drive fast. get snow tires and it will make atleast a small improvement for you. any kind of high performance street tire will suck. bad.

i had z rated tires on my car for 2 winters...and they were all bald from the time i get them :+

You jus gotta know how to handle yourself...i only had issues once or twice.

Z rated tyres will NOT track well in the snow. For one, they are probably wide (215s? 225s?), for two, the tread is not designed to bite into snow.

Leave your suspension alone and get some snow tyres. Blizzaks are nice, if you can find them. Grab a set of steel wheels and throw them on. Don't go wide... 185s are enough. Can you still run 14" wheels, or have you upgraded your brakes? If you can still use a 14, go with a 14" steel wheel and a set of blizzaks, and you will be wondering how you were driving in snow before.

I would also recommend getting a better rain tyre and mounting a set of steel wheels, and bringing them out when the weather is crappy, but above freezing.

Save the Z rated tyres for nice days. Tyres are designed with a specific purpose. Race on race tyres, drive in nice weather on fair-weather, tyres, drive in the rain on wet weather tyres, and use snow tyres when it is snowing. At least, if you want the most out of your car's handling... If you don't give a shit about that, e-bay the ZRs and grab up a set of S rated tyres.

The overall cost is not that much higher (after all, you are only using one set of tyres at a time), but getting them in the first place can get pricey. Now, however, is the time to get the snow shoes for your car. Worry about wet tyres and race tyres when it is raining or when it is race day.

you saw them tires bill...lol. The metal was showing n whatnot....twas good fun.

I think that the metal was improving the snow performance, Frank...

hell man i got zw rated (up to 170mph) and i live in MN, and luckilly i am used to it, because for me its fun as hell!

I've got 225 wide "all-seasons" that suck hard in the snow. the car does not go straight when I am spinning the wheels. it's totally a tire problem but, if you let off the gas a bit and slow down a lot, it's no problem to drive on any tires you want. You just won't be able to get where you're going without pissing off the people behind you.