So I've decided that I wanted to drive my s2k in winter once again.. Last year it was horrendous driving on Hankook rs3 summer tires in snow. (DO NOT RECOMMEND AT ALL)! It was basically a death wish lol. But anyways, since im driving my s2k again this winter, and now that i have my oem '04 wheels as spares, i was debating on dedicated winter tires. I need recommendations on what tires to get. My budget is no more than $400 if that is possible. Also, one last question, how do you guys clean underneath the car from road salt to avoid rust after driving in snow?

 

I run 235/45-17 up front and 245/45-17 out back on my '06 so if your '04 is stock they should fit your S to. If I needed winter tires I would run 235/45-17 front and back, it's not like your going racing on winter tires. And the extra height will let you roll over some stuff that you would hit on stock size tires.
I found these on sale at Tire Rack, if you can get four of them thats cheap for a set of winter tires.
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...omCompare1=yes

As for washing the bottom of the car my buddy made a cleaner out of 1/2 galvanized pipe(about 7' long with a T on one end) with water jets every 2" that hooked to a water hose. All he does is drive over the pipe and the water washes the bottem of his Jeep, gets the mud off.

ROD

 

I live in Vermont. We get a lot of snow. I would never drive my S in the winter here. I have a pick up truck for winter. But, Pa. is different. Still, it would not be my choice. Nevertheless, as far as choosing tires - my life time of winter driving experience has convinced me that the best tires for driving in snow are high quality snow tires with modern composition on the narrow side of the spectrum.

 

Drove the S in snow with snow tires on it before, its a bit tricky but with throttle control youll be okay.

 

Most that have tried have concluded its just not worth it. The car gets covered with that brine and sand above as well as underneath. Its hell on paint. Can't be good for the top either.

You can't just drive through a carwash like a regular car. You gonna use a diy carwash hose in frigid weather to wash the whole car weekly?

If you build that underbody wash pipe as mentioned, you gotta hook it up to your hose. My hose is shut off from the valve inside my house all winter, to prevent pipe freeze. Plus, you'll need to drain that pipe washer, and the hose, after every use. What a colossal pain to go through all that. In the cold. Every week. All winter.

Then there is the very real chance some idiot will slide into your car when they can't drive on snow.

Hence, winter car...

 

I’ve decided to drive my S in the snow considering the fact that i dont have the money right now to buy a daily SUV. I somehow finesse my way of driving in snow last winter with SUMMER tires!! So i decided i wanted to try it out with a dedicated winter tire. I am not concern in driving in snow, even if im the slowest car on the road lol. My ONLY concern is rust. How often would i need to wash underneath my car to avoid the road salt. Are there any other methods to washing it?

 

So buy snow tires and make the washing thing someone else recommended to wash under the car. I would think you would need to wash the car weekly at least to keep the salt buildup at a minimum. Worth noting I hope you have a way to wash the car with warm water. Seems a little risky to wash it and have the water freeze on the driveway or street in front of your house. As Car said you'll have to make sure you don't let the water freeze int he pipes, hose, or cleaning tool.

https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...t-off-car.html

the last post in that thread has some good tips.

 

I never drive mine in winter just because I do not want salt eating away at it. I do know folks here in MN that have beater Miatas for winter cars and love it. But yes, run winter tires. It makes a big difference on any car. If I drove the S in the snow, I would go for Blizzaks if you can get the right sizes.

One of my dailys (05 Scion tC) gets Michellin Ultra Ice winter tires in winter and they do pretty good. The 4Runner has Blizzaks on its winter wheels (an 01 4runner on those is an absolute beast in snow by the way! :P ) and the Tacoma we bought this year will get Blizzaks as well.

 

I used to daily my S and just like you I started on summer tires my first winter and learned it was a bad idea. So in the winter I had a dedicated set of AP1 wheels with winter tires. My tire choice was Bridgestone Blizzak and another winter I had a set of Dunlap WinterSports. Both with excellent results. I washed my car weekly using the two bucket method and warm water using the hose to spray the wheel wheels and under the car. Once the weather breaks I take the car to a car wash or detailer where they put the car on a lift and steam clean or pressure wash under the car. Afterward I take the car home and polish and wax the winter crud off. People crack me up when they say they need an SUV to daily in the winter. Snow doesn't cover the road most of the winter so you won't need an SUV to daily just something to get you back and forth to work. If it snows so hard I need an SUV then I ain't going to work anyway.

 

While we love our old 4Runner and my wifes pickup, I agree you certainly do not NEED an SUV in the winter if you live in the cities. Here in the Twin Cities, they plow like crazy so the roads rarely have much on them. If it is snowing during rush hour... I just work from home, but have a job where that is doable :P Now, the truck and SUV come into play when we are heading out on trips, up north to Superior in the winter, etc and hit weather. I have driven 14 hours in whiteout conditions in the 4Runner before and just drove past the hundreds of cars in the ditches. The car would have been useless there as it was piling up faster than they could plow.

But, people can be surprised at how much a set of good winter tires can transform a car in the winter. People get bent out of shape on "buying more tires" but you are not buying any more tires. You now have a set for winter and one for summer, thus you make each set last longer in effect, so once you buy the first set of winters you are not spending any more overall, especially if you can get some used wheels so you are not paying to mount/dismount each season.