Are 9-5's any good in snow?

[tobyd10]

Hi,
New to Saab's and just wondered how people have got on in the snowy winters when running normal tyres?
Thanks Toby

[Audax]

No big car on summer tyres will be good in snow really. They'll cope better than a RWD car but won't be as good as a small car.

Even then, basically, a cars capabilities in snow/ice are dictated by the tyres.

[sgould]

I have run winter tyres for 4 years now. 

If you have summer tyres on your car they will not be good on snow, if they are the 225/45 17 tyres on an Aero/Vector Sport, you could be stranded on near level snow.

Once you have overtaken a stranded BMW X5 with all 4 wheels spinning on summer tyres, you realise what winter tyres are all about.

Now I have retired, I'm considering running winter tyres all year round as I'm not doing the miles I was.

Smaller cars and ones with lower speed rated tyres can get some drive in snow on summer tyres.

Winter tyres will grip better in cold weather too.  Anything below 7 deg C.

But nothing much will grip on wet ice.......

[collywobble]

Have just invested in a new set of wheels - 15" ALU31's at £34.26 each as per the Saab Service Club special offer and Maloya tyres which got a very good review in the latest 'Which' report on winter tyres, scoring just below the premium brands. We will now probably have a mild winter!

[mikeloadsasaabs]

Have just invested in a new set of wheels - 15" ALU31's at £34.26 each as per the Saab Service Club special offer

Collywobble, it will be interesting to see how you get on with the 15s. My 9-5 saloon 1999MY felt terribly unstable on them, even in a straight line. Might have been the tyres, can't recall the make (I think they were Contis), but also they were a lower load rating and I think that was the problem (it was 10 years ago and the details are fuzzy). I do know they were the specification in the handbook. I'm running 16s now on my Aero estate (205/55s 94H) and it doesn't feel much different to driving on the summer 17s.

[Audax]

Now I have retired, I'm considering running winter tyres all year round as I'm not doing the miles I was.

I was doing that (not many miles, not the retired bit, that's a long way off!) now I'm doing more miles I've had to get a set of alloys for summer tyres 

But nothing much will grip on wet ice.......

Apart from studded tyres

[Max Headroom]

Apart from studded tyres

Drove on studded tyres in Norway during winter months - quite amazing! You can almost... ALMOST drive normally!

[collywobble]

Have just invested in a new set of wheels - 15" ALU31's at £34.26 each as per the Saab Service Club special offer

Collywobble, it will be interesting to see how you get on with the 15s. My 9-5 saloon 1999MY felt terribly unstable on them, even in a straight line. Might have been the tyres, can't recall the make (I think they were Contis), but also they were a lower load rating and I think that was the problem (it was 10 years ago and the details are fuzzy). I do know they were the specification in the handbook. I'm running 16s now on my Aero estate (205/55s 94H) and it doesn't feel much different to driving on the summer 17s.

As I already run 215/55/16 97V Falken 912's the Maloya I have bought are 195/65/15 95T so they are extra load tyres.  I run the Falkens at 39 psi all round as per the Falken website. The rolling radius of the 195/65/15 is almost the same as that of the 215/55/16 and I will experiment with tyre pressures to see how the car feels. Good service from 'Mytyres' - ordered 1st of August and delivered from Germany on the 3rd!

[ScarbSaab]

It's been said by the others, really, but my 9-5s struggled in deep snow on the summer tyres. Two winters ago, we simply didn't try and move the car during the heavy snow. (Having said that, we didn't try walking up and down the hill that much either.)

This winter I had Nokian winter tyres for the first time. The difference was incredible. Although I was being more cautious than in summer, I seemed to have so much more confidence and grip than even the four wheel drive vehicles (presumably still running summers) in acceleration, cornering and braking. And at one set of lights, I was behind a BMW 5 series that was fishtailing trying to get above walking pace. Once he was out of the way, I accelerated with no drama at all. Yes, that's partly the FWD/RWD difference, but the tyres do matter.

So, tobyd10, get some winter tyres. I went to 16" for the winters as they were cheaper so it feels a little soft compared to the 17" the Aero normally runs, but you quickly get used to it. Collywobble, don't worry about a mild winter. They handle the lower temperatures much better, and the first time you try them in really heavy rain you will be delighted.

[Audax]

I was behind a BMW 5 series that was fishtailing trying to get above walking pace. Once he was out of the way, I accelerated with no drama at all. Yes, that's partly the FWD/RWD difference, but the tyres do matter.

It's all the tyres that are the difference, a BMW on winter tyres would totally embarrass a 9-5 on summer tyres in the snow. I've seen it happen

[wrighar]

3 years ago I spent 20 mine struggling to get up a 3/4m hill near my parents when 5 up and on summer tyres. I was doing OK until the muppet Merc in front of me spun out and stopped making me stop. It took ages to get goning agian.

So not a bad car in the snow but could be better.

That year I went out and bought snow tyres for the next winter and they are brilliant!

[idlerider]

No winter problems with our Aero, up here in the frozen north - but this reminded me that we once had a 900 turbo that was as grippy as Velcro® on snow. Total opposite of our many varieties of BMW over the years: all vastly 'over-tyred'  - wonderful in the dry but a total pain on any frozen surface. Often considered putting narrower wheels on them, to increase the contact pressure.

[CitTone]

The way the weather's been lately we'll need paddles soon, rather than all-season tyres.

[ScarbSaab]

I was behind a BMW 5 series that was fishtailing trying to get above walking pace. Once he was out of the way, I accelerated with no drama at all. Yes, that's partly the FWD/RWD difference, but the tyres do matter.

It's all the tyres that are the difference, a BMW on winter tyres would totally embarrass a 9-5 on summer tyres in the snow. I've seen it happen

Okay, badly phrased. What I meant was that all other things being equal, the FWD with weight over the driving wheels grips slightly better than an unladen RWD. The first winter I drove, my father put bags of sand in the boot of my Hillman Avenger. I still learned about oversteer... But I agree with you, winter tyres make an incredible difference.

[Audax]

But I agree with you, winter tyres make an incredible difference.

Agreed on that but I can't stress enough that the single biggest difference is the tyres. I've been able to drive several of near enough the same models of Saab in the snow/ice on the same day, some were "OK" and others with the high performance summer tyres were stuck in BMW/Merc land, nothing compared to having winter tyres. An option for people who can't afford 2 sets of wheels and tyres or don't want to use winter tyres is going for something like the Vredstein Quatracs or similar, not as good as a dedicated winter tyre but much better than a summer tyre.