Hi. I am new to this forum and i just wanna ask a couple of questions... How does the monte carlo handel in snow, ice? I have a 1998 monte carlo z34 with failry good tires. I was wondering if i should get a 1998 jeep grand cherokee 5.2 for just the winter as a beater, fix it up and sell for a profit (2k), but if the monte handles good in snow, then i dont know if i should buy one. ..... i live by chicago, and usually get about 4' to 8' each snowsnow, sometimes more than a foot. thanks

 

i have a 2000 so its a different body than yours but my is great in the snow
i think it also has something to do with what type of tires are on it
i have fuzion hri all-season high performance tires for the winter and they have been great for me
so in other words i think it is all about the tires

 

tires matter, yes. but the main thing, i think, is the FWD. i've seen FWD's go thru places 4WD couldn't in snow and ice. in some cases, its better to pull than push. the monte carlo's front wheel drive makes it handle much better than most cars in snow and ice, plus teh weight of our models helps hold them down, but i don't nkow if you got weight on your side with the previous model.

 

Jeeps are fun vehicles, but wouldn't buy it just for a winter beater tho.
Save yourself some money and buy some rims and snow tires just for winter. The rims don't have to be fancy. Just some plain rims that you can put a hub cap on. Or maybe some old rims that you, or someone you know, has lying around not using.

I haven't had the Monte in winter time yet, so I'm wondering the same thing as you. I have the original Goodyear Eagle RS-A's on the car. The same tire my Grand Am GT had. I wasn't impressed with the tire's performance in snow and ice on the G.A. Hopefully the extra weight of the Monte will make a difference. If not, I may be investing in some winter rims myself next year.

 

i have the same car you do. and they are really good in the snow. BUT it always depends on who is behind the wheel of a vehicle as well.

The heavy *** on our MC's plus the FWD and traction control help quite a bit. not to mention 4 wheel disc and ABS

 

I have a 99 LS, and it is GREAT in the snow. I live close to Lake Erie, and we get the dreaded lake effect snow. It will go through 6" snow with no problems, although tires and driver make all the difference in the world. My wife has general difficulty in the snow (you can't be afraid of it) and she has only gone off the road once! (It was a REALLY bad day, I told her to stay home from work, and she went in someone's front yard and not a ditch, LOL. So she calls on the cellphone, I get dressed and get in the truck and go up there, and she never tried to get out of this yard! I tell her, put it in reverse and see if you can get out, the car backs right out, she goes home and calls off, LOL) With that in mind, your life is NOT worth making it any where in a major blizzard or snowstorm! When in doubt, blow off of work, lose that money, and stay ALIVE!

 

The one time I got caught out in my '06 LTZ it handled great on the trip home. We had freezing rain move in and I didn't know it till there was like 2" or more on the ground.

I was really pissed the car was out in this kind of weather (it usually sets in the barn) and since I had to drive past a salt truck salting the roads on the trip home you can bet pissed off doesn't even begin to describe how I felt.

But the traction control and the ABS worked great that night.

 

yea me and my dad drove through the mountains between British columbia and alberta in december. It was ruthless conditions. cold enough the washer fluid lines froze up. My old man would put the bumper into the snowbank on the right hand side to spray snow on the winshield to clean it off. It was an epic drive but the MC pulled through.

 

Yeah, the mc's do really good, I've had an 03 LS in addition to my current 06 3LT. No problems in snow whatsoever. Just be careful of slush... That's where I have the most problem. Not that it' hard to keep it on the road, but you can tell it wouldn't be hard to control. Throttling down will save a lot of trouble, as hydroplaning is really easy to do, and it's really hard to tell when it's doing it on slush.

But yeah, tires make a world of difference... and it's really nice to have a good heavy coupe instead of something lighter in the snow.

 

I'm from the Chicago area too and I drove my 03 Monte in the winter (100% stock) the 1st 2 years of owning it and I never got stuck or had any problems. If i were you I would save my money and get cheap rims with snow tires. My fiance had a 98 Grand Prix GT (which is basically the same car mechnically speaking) through one of the bad snow storms and he never got stuck. Hell, I even drove an 05 Mustang in a real bad snow storm.