Just wondering for all of you guys that went ahead and got the springs to lower your cars how was it driving in the snow this year? I am looking to lower but just want to see how everyone else thought it was before I went ahead with it.

Thanx in advance...

 

Can't see it being feasible in the Northeast. Frankly, I don't get altering this vehicle...it's a thing of beauty. But to each their own!

 

Just a word of caution; the 7th generation Maxima has the least road clearance (4.5 inches) of any Maxima produced to date. I have not lowered my car, yet my front bumper will not clear some parking lot blocks, and my car already drags on many normal-sized speed bumps.

If I was into practicality, I would RAISE my Maxima an inch, but I just can't bear to think of doing that.

 

terriblee!! i really thought i was going to rip something off the bottom of my car. I live out here in nyc and we got some heavy snow over the pass month, and every block i went down i would scrape all the snow that was in the street, This will be the last snow storm the car will come out in

 

Hmmmmmm..... I havn't had a single problem, even with all these bad storms we've been getting. I live in the hills of Norwich too. They are terrible at plowing around here too. No problem here whatsoever. That may change once I get my front lip on though..

 

1sik4dsc, your crazy enough to lower your car here in NYC especially Brooklyn, there pot holes on every block, well almost...

 

I didn't have clearance issues in the snow (not lowered), but the traction with the stock tires was not great. The VDC light came on almost continuously just going down my block when the road was completely snow covered. I turned about to park the Maxima and take the Jeep.

 

I MUST AGREE WITH TBA!!!!

My car is not lowered but my snow traction on the stock 18" was medicore at best. VDC light came on way too intrusively and did not give the car a chance to plow through.

I live in NYC too.

 

Here in Canada I haven't had any problems but I haven't lowered mine. It was basically snowing for the entire month of december and november here so I did my fair share of snow driving. I do agree with the others in that the VDC light comes on at the first sign of trouble which is what I would expect I just didn't expect so much trouble from a FWD. The first thing I planned/plan on doing is getting snow tires, I guess that will have to wait until next season.

 

Thanx for the input man... I think now I will defiantly have to wait for some good coilovers to hit the market, lol... I am sure that you guys got more snow (inches) than we have in CT so I could only imagine. Any chance that it would have been better if you didn't have the front lip?

Thanx for the info... Thats good to hear from someone in the CT area alittle closer to home.

Nothing new with that here... I had that problem with my car last winter. I was told that the wider the tires on a car the worse they are going to be in the snow because they have to plow through the snow more. Doesn't help that the tires are low profile, lol... I was getting stuck in places that I never got stuck in with my 07 2.5SL Altima.

 

I tested snow driving in parking lots at the beach today.
19 inches perform not so weel but manageable(high performace summer tires)Conti extreme DWS all seasons are next.

The VDC is usless if you stop many of us know all it does is cut power to wheels if they slip so I turn it on and off alot while driving.Especially in snow.Its dangerous in my opinion because it does not allow you to powere out of a slide or deep snow.

Can anyone help with the folowing.

The front end made such a racket in the snow that I though I busted it . It sounded like a can full of marbles shaking around or a plichinco game anyone remebre plichinco?.Clickety clak cla aclak kind of like sound of parking pin trying to engae when you put in park while moving..Has anyone else experianced this when snow drivving?.Is this the normal sound the VDC makes I had it make the noise when VDAC was turned off as well.
Is there another limited slip system in adition to the VDC that would make this kind of noise when engaging.Its much different than the ABS firing noise.

 

My car's not lowered but over here in NYC i'm scrapping everything on the floor as I pass it...it's just snow though, any car you're really going to do that.

The 19 inch all seasons arent the greatest I've driven with in these conditions, although they kick the **** out of my g35 coupes staggered summer tires lol. No, not cuz it's fwd vs rwd either...those tires wouldnt move in 2 inches of snow lol.

 

We have had a lot of snow here in CT this year. I do not trust my 09 Max with its low clearance to be out in deep snow. I used another vehicle for the white mess we've had this year.

 

FWD makes a huge difference in snow versus RWD, good tires or not.

 

I have the OEM 18 all-seasons, and in my opinion they have poor snow performance. I am looking forward to the day the OEM tires wear out and I can put some better tires on the car. But with car payments now, they will have to wait until they wear down some more.

 

Com`e Snow? non comprendere! Is that like white beach sand only cold?

 

I know it does, but I've owned RWD cars that I was able to drive in the snow...they had good tires.

 

The white stuff is very cold. We in the north spread sand with salt on it so we can drive home and get out of the cold. In the end, it's no longer white. Oh, by the way, the salt tends to eat your car.

But you Floridians will get a turn in the barrel. How about baking sun so hot you can fry an egg. Humidity so thick you can store cigars in the glovebox. How about a hurricane or two?

 

Of the seven Maximas I have driven, I am least comfortable driving the '10 in snow. Not sure if it is the stock tires, or what. I just don't feel as comfortable as in the past models.

 

Probably a combination of lots of things. Here are a few that come to mind:

Over the generations, Maxima wheels have continued to get larger and the tires have continued to become lower in profile and wider. But the best performance in snow is with the slightly narrower wheel/tire combos of earlier Maximas.

The 7th gen is lower slung than previous Maximas, and has the least ground clearance (4.5 inches) of any Maxima ever built.

The 7th gen has the most powerful engine ever put in a Maxima, and more power can be more difficult to properly keep in check in a situation where we need to drive very gingerly.

The 7th gen is CVT powered, and although a CVT could theoretically be an advantage in snow once we become very experienced at driving in snow with it, most drivers are more familiar with driving either an automatic or manual tranny when driving in snow.

The 7th gen has all these modern electronic devices (VDC, ABS, Traction Control, etc, etc) that can work wonders on dry or wet roads, but can be 'iffy', or even confusing, in snow.

I'm sure there are others. There are even subconscious elements such as familiarity with the car. I know I tend to be much less comfortable (more on edge) the first year or so I drive a new Maxima. It is sort of like breaking in a new pair of shoes, in which I don't yet feel entirely comfortable. But by the time I have driven it for four or five years, it feels like a pair of very familiar and comfortable shoes that I would not hesitate to run, jump and frolic in.

I have had my '09 almost 14 months, and there are some maneuvers, passing situations, etc, that I am just now beginning to use with this baby. I like to be absolutely sure of how the car is going to behave before asking it to do something at speed or in traffic.

 

Well said!

 

I put on all four blizzack snow tires and have had no problem up here in NH

 

I am picking up my 09' SV prem. today and really appreciate your advice! not sure about turning off vdc as I have read others have done in here..?? I am trading in my 05' Pathfinder LE for this baby and realize It's a totally different vehicle but will get better mpg's..I know I'm gonna need to be ginger in winter even in Lexington KY. I drove one last week and fell in love with it! It's gonna have stk. tires on it and they seem to be really low profile.. didn't opt. for 19's ie. sport pkg. due to stiff ride and possible wheel bearing problems my local nissan mech. mentioned. So any advice on driving in this winter would be most appreciated..!!