Hey guys, this is my first winter in my maxima. And since i am living on the east coast were getting alot of snow. About 7 inches so far. My questions are: How's the maxima drive in the snow? Good winter car or not? Any tips on driving it in the snow? THanks for your help! Mike

 

get good tires.
no jerky movements...smooth on steering..smooth on brakes...smooth on gas..you're all set.

 

This is also my first time driving in the winter as well, but the only snow I get here are on the grass. The rest just melts away on the road. I'm a little worried about driving the max in winter. Then again I also drove a toyota tercel I was ok with it.

 

main thing to take note of is to start slowing down waaay ahead of time. And dont try pulling no superman moves like going into over a foot of snow cos others are doing it. You WILL get stuck. Oh and avoid high piles, clear the snow from behind your tires b4 u move(if you dont have a garage /covered park) invest in a cheap car cover from kmart. It'll prevent scraping in the morning and the potential to scratch your paint off like I did in january. De-ice liquid in washer fluid bottle. Do a couple of donuts in an open field and have a wunnerful christmas!!

 

To expand on your last bit there... One of the best things you can do, is find an abandoned parking lot that's full of snow... AND NO POLES...
Test your car out there, how it handles, how it skids, how to correct a slide, and how to brake...
It'll be one of the BEST things you've ever done, I make sure I do that with all vehicles I've ever owned, in both winter and summer. You'll learn quicker (And a helluva lot safer) how to handle your car in the snow.

 

be aware of icy spots. they could be anywhere. beaware also on bridges because most likely it will be icy. like all the guys said, go to a parking lot, it will help you a lot. and carry sand bags, or kitty litter in the trunk. 1 it will weight down the car for more traction. 2 you can dump the litter around the tires when you get stuck, for added traction.

 

winter driving is not cool... you have to be slow or your car will slide into somthing.
---gettting a car cover is the best IDEA!! EVER! i got one and its soo great no more ice scraping

 

If you want the same feeling as driving in snow, take trays from McDonalds and put them under your rear tires, then pull your e-brake and drive around. You can "drift" everywhere. Its really safe too.

Seriously, refrain from all sudden movements while driving in the snow. Be smooth. Your max should do pretty good.

 

OMG I never thought of that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HA!

 

one face......

 

I am actually surprised this "drifting" technique hasnt caught on in the USA. Its huge in the UK!

Warning: This thrashes your car. I havent done it, but I have seen pictures.

 

Carrying sand bags in the trunk of a FWD car will do more harm than good. It gives you more mass, thus more inertia to overcome in any maneuver, and it only adds weight over the rear wheels, which is not where you need it.

 

What i like to do is tighten up the E-Brake so it locks up the rears earlier without going up all the way, then tape a bottle cap on the end so the button is always in, that way when you rip the E-Brake you won't have to a) Hold the button in or b) deal with the ratcheting of the catches in it. This really helps out when you want to slide one way then rip it the other way real fast, it's real fun try it some time.

 

.....nah thanks.

 

Toyota Tercels are great in winter! Skinny tires, tiny engines with no power... great in slippery weather!

Maximas (at least my old 90) understeers a great deal. So take corners slowly before this surprises you! Also, I learned this in autocross, but could work in slippery condition as well: When your car understeers, start unwind the steering wheel! I know this run counter to our instinct. But if the car's understeer already, the tires already don't have enough grip to change the car's direction for the current wheel angle, so turning the wheel further won't help any. Haven't tried it in the snow yet.

WHen the road's slippery, this is the perfect time to practice your 90 and 180 degrees handbrake turn! Too bad we can't do donuts because ours is front wheel drive.

Can't wait to see what the VLSD will do in winter...

 

i did this today.. did a 270 spin..omg what a great feeling... ebrake was fun in the empty parking lot

all you need is 15-20 mph an have fun in the turns.. i got on the ice that was at the parking lot and did a drift..

 

You guys must be out to destroy your cars...

 

i thought it was normal wear and tear, adn age that does that

 

... you don't think that's hurting your car? Don't you think that might do a number on your tranny, or your axles, or your brakes, tires, rotors, pads, struts... did I mention the tranny? That seems to be the weakest link on the Maximas, why push it like that?

I destroyed a Cadillac doing doughnuts in a parking lot. Fried the torque convertor. I'm lucky that's all I did, considering it was a 4500lb. RWD with a Corvette LT1.

Just be careful and don't get too mad when you're rebuilding your transmission this spring.

 

i was being sarcastic..lo.. i know that the stress is nto goo on my max.. my max is a ticking time bomb.its still orginal everything...

 

ooohhhhhhh..... got savings?

have fun while you can, then! sheeiittt, !

 

I doubt that doing the e-brake thing on slippery road will do much to harm our cars. Heck the road was slippery, so there were minimal traction in the first place. So what would wear out doing e-brake turn in winter (more than just the normal act of driving that is, which do cause wear)? The rear brakes? No, because when the rear wheel stop moving, there's no wear on the brakes. Transmission? What's that got to do with this? You're not even on the gas, actually you would've had the clutch fully depressed to do this, so the transmission is barely turning... And of course the clutch is not wearing either. I doubt it'll even wear the tire much, not enough friction to do that. No grip = no wear! The engine? It's at idle... Maybe the power steering and steering components from the steering wheel twirling. But no more so than doing parallel parking. So relax, crazy4maxima, and enjoy this winter!

Now if you do it in dry weather...

Doing doughnut might overheat the tranny, like the Cadillac example. But it's not even possible in a front wheel drive car! Even with rear-drive car, if the road is slippery enough (snowed or iced up) it shouldn't take much power to do doughnut, hence the tranny should be OK. So long as you not doing it for hours a time. Nismo1989, did you do it on a non-slippery parking lot? Because if it's on a snowed in or iced up parking lot (and in winter too, i.e. cold weather), and the torque converter blew anyway, which I assume is from overheating, well, that's one weak tranny!

 

When you are sliding, your car is fighting for traction. Not everyone has a manual transmission (crazy4maxima included) and when your car finally does get traction, don't expect your transmission to react well to the sudden change. It also wears your tires (duh) and your suspension. Oh, and the rear brakes, too, because again to do a doughnut you have to get your car in a position where there is little to no traction, and fight for traction. That is a doughnut. It's your natural reaction to loss of traction being countered by the icy condition beneath the tires. Yeah, it'll tear up your car. But you don't have to take it from me, and I won't say 'I told you so' either.

 

thats why you leave it in 1st gear when your sliding around on the snow so it doesnt upshift while your spinning on snow..

As far as other wear, yes there will be a little bit but not much...if your drifting/sliding around on snow/ice (provided you dont suddenly hit a patch of dry pavement) there is a less coefficient of friction therefore less negative force acting on the tires/suspension etc. If on dry pavement, theres more friction and therefore more opposing force. I only drift/slide if the entire lot is covered in snow/ice. If there are scattered patches of ice and dry pavement i wont do it.

 

It's fun. Like that VW 4motion commercial where the guy is doing 360's nice and slow across the screen while he ponders 4motion at work. If you are completely on ice or snow covered lot, not much wear there.

 

... but if you're doing doughnuts like described before, and not drifting, then you are fighting for traction in order to get the car to spin (usually in reverse wiht a FWD), are you not? Drifting around a turn on ice moving forward is not the same as doing doughnuts in a parking lot and therefore the same "physics" don't apply as I see it. I know from experience that it is fun but destructive. Drifting around may only put excessive wear on your brakes and tires and such (yes, tires - there is excessive friction from lack of traction), but I believe that doing doughnuts is inflicting a lot of excessive wear on your car. I'm just not convinced otherwise (although I believe this to be a very constructive debate ).

 

hey i had fun, and it was some patches of pavement. o well. but i did leave it in 1st to keep the tires spinning

 

Stickshift rulez!

If you're doing e-brake turn, the front wheels shouldn't be moving much, and you definitely shouldn't apply any power to it. I agree that if you suddenly hit a patch of good traction during the maneuver it will cause a shock on your car. Not to mention put a sudden end to your car's spinning! But when done in really slippery parking lots and such (not plowed!) then it oughta be OK to do it once in a while.

Anyway I wouldn't even think of doing it unles the road is really, and uniformly, slippery.

Also make sure there's no cars or other objects nearby! The car might not react precisely the way you expected it to do. So don't try 90 degree e-brake turn to slide into a parking spot in a crowded mall, for example. Though that may seem like a perfect application for e-brake turn!

Hmmm, I've never seen a car doing doughnut in reverse! That must be quite a sight!

I'd like to learn to do reverse J turn myself, but haven't had the courage to do it yet. I'm still unsure whether you have to lock the wheels up for this or not...