[Petrol Head]

So we just got dumped on with about a foot of snow in the greater Cleveland area yesterday. Of course my Camaro is in the garage, all shiny and clean sitting on it's factory summer-only tires. I use my 2009 Accord V6 6 speed coupe as my every day driver in bad weather - it has 180,000 miles on it.

But damn if I didn't have the urge last night to go up to the deserted shopping mall parking lot 5 minutes from my house if the Camaro had a nice set of winter-only tires and just do some donuts and spray some snow around!

I'm not trying to keep the Camaro as some future collectible, who knows - the way things go in that world my Mom's 2019 Buick LaCrosse may be the car that pulls in 6 figures at Barrett-Jackson in 50 years while our 6th gens still go for $4995 at Sal's Used Car emporium lol. The only real reason I don't drive it in bad weather is because of the summer-only tires.

So what do you think: should I invest in winter tires and wheels or just let it sit in the garage?

[Jaxcam02]

salt is the enemy, if your area salts the roads I would keep it in the garage until the salt has been washed away in the spring. I've seen some pretty new cars brought down to Florida from the north that looked great but when you look under the car, all you see is a rusted frame, suspension, etc. In 2019, I looked at a 2018 Z71 Silverado from up north. It was the worst rusted frame I have ever seen down here.

[Staves]

If I already had a car to take the winter beating, I probably would not spend the time/money on swapping tires/wheels on the Camaro. Especially just to do donuts. But that's just me.

[Petrol Head]

Originally Posted by Jaxcam02

salt is the enemy, if your area salts the roads I would keep it in the garage until the salt has been washed away in the spring. I've seen some pretty new cars brought down to Florida from the north that looked great but when you look under the car, all you see is a rusted frame, suspension, etc. In 2019, I looked at a 2018 Z71 Silverado from up north. It was the worst rusted frame I have ever seen down here.

They use some kind of brine I think, I'm not sure how much salt they use anymore. When I was a kid they used salt everywhere since it's easy and cheap from the salt mine under Lake Erie. But I don't think they use as much anymore. Back then cars around here would be a complete, rotted out mess by the time they were 6-7 years old, and today there's 15 year old cars still running around without much if any rust on them.

Originally Posted by BuckeyeROC

Since you already own a beater, I would just use that for winter. I drive my 392 Charger all year round without any issues. But snow is only a factor for a few days a year in central Ohio, and even then, only until they get the roads clear in a couple hours. I know you all get the lake effect up there though.

Yeah the snow factor is always in play up here in greater Cleveland from about Halloween through Easter lol..... about 13 years ago we had a Valentines Day storm that crippled the city for 3 days - I had a 10 foot drift against my garage door! It was up to the gutter over the garage!!!

[Invertalon]

Unless you plan to keep your car 15 years, salt really isn't some huge issue anymore like it used to be. Material coatings for example have come a long way.

My last car had 150,000 miles and had been through 11 years of Cleveland winters. The undercarriage still looked great and it wasn't loaded with rust. It surprisingly looked very good. It could have easily gone another 100,000 miles and 10 years without issue... (Until it got smashed and totaled). Granted, it was a Toyota product, but I doubt GM would be that much worse at this point in time with materials/coatings. At least I'd hope.

I personally have mine in the garage for now, but as soon as the snow is gone and roads are dry again I will certainly be driving! I didn't buy it to stare at it in the garage for months on end, that's stupid. I want to enjoy the car year-round, I personally just plan to avoid driving in any snow/slush and moisture during the winter months as I have another car to beater around in. And I say that this year (since the car is months old), but by next winter I may not care anymore

[Silent_H_]

Originally Posted by Invertalon

Unless you plan to keep your car 15 years, salt really isn't some huge issue anymore like it used to be. Material coatings for example have come a long way.

My last car had 150,000 miles and had been through 11 years of Cleveland winters. The undercarriage still looked quite good and it wasn't loaded with rust. It could have easily gone another 100,000 miles... (Until it got smashed and totaled). Granted, it was a Toyota product, but I doubt GM would be that much worse at this point in time with materials/coatings.

Also, these cars are not collector items and won't appreciate in value any. I say go and enjoy it!

I personally have mine in the garage for now, but as soon as the snow is gone and roads are dry again I will certainly be driving!

+1

[JSH]

Buy a set of dry/wet performance or all-season tires, put them on the car and wait for those inevitable periods of good weather after a snow has melted. If you're really concerned, drive it slowly thru the undercar portion of the car wash

Originally Posted by Petrol Head

So what do you think: should I invest in winter tires and wheels or just let it sit in the garage?

[sengli]

I guess I am old school, these camaros arent that great to drive in the crud. Never were, and certainly not worth it for me anyway.

[HCI2000SS]

I will tell you that with a true winter tire (Blizzak, X-ice, etc) and a decent sidewall, the Camaro does surprisingly well in the winter. I guarantee you it will do better than that front wheel drive Accord with just all seasons.

[ariZona28]

Get a rear wheel drive rental car, do a few donuts in the shopping center parking lot and leave your Camaro in the garage for the winter.

[jamala00]

Originally Posted by Staves

If I already had a car to take the winter beating, I probably would not spend the time/money on swapping tires/wheels on the Camaro. Especially just to do donuts. But that's just me.

+1... Everyone does what they want, but I personally would never have have a rear wheel drive car as a daily drive in WI either... (That's just me) Some don't mind. As someone else said as well... It's not so much the snow anyway, but the salt. I would never want to watch my Camaro rust away.

[jamala00]

Originally Posted by sengli

I guess I am old school, these camaros arent that great to drive in the crud. Never were, and certainly not worth it for me anyway.

+1 Agreed. (Maybe I'm just old school too) ;-)

[SirJangle]

Originally Posted by sengli

I guess I am old school, these camaros arent that great to drive in the crud. Never were, and certainly not worth it for me anyway.

Agreed. Especially if you already have a winter beater/DD. I miss mine when she's parked but I also want to keep her as nice as possible. Not because I'm expecting to sell her for $100K someday. Winters beat the crap outta vehicles.

[UnknownJinX]

Personally, I wouldn't do that.

When it snows around here, the university parking lot becomes a popular spot for amateur drifting. One time, a bunch of my friends went, which obviously made a lot of noise. The students living on campus called the campus security and they came. The guys all escaped on time but one of them got stuck, and so he got all the blame.

The relatively low ground clearance of the Camaro can definitely be an issue.

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