my FJ80 landcruiser with 33x12.50 Cooper STT's was pretty unstoppable in the snow, it was nice too that it was full time AWD so you could drive around with power to all 4 wheels but not have it binding up on the streets but also could lock the transfer case into true 4wd as well when you really need it. The only downsides to it was being super slow with only 150 hp (was the old FJ80 that didnt have the DOHC motor) in a 4000+ lbs SUV and getting 13 mpg highway... still miss that thing
I always thought one of those early 2.5RS Imprezas with some skinnier winter tires would be pretty freaking awesome for driving on snow-covered roads.
This works well in snow up over the bumper 
This worked very well for me last January in 8" of new snow. I can't wait to try the new wheels and tires this winter.
Best snow car I've ever driven was my mazda protege, one of the awd ones, lsd in back and center, 2600 lb, with a full 323 gtr swap and 23 psi on snows. Stop on steep hills where there is stuck traffic, ask if assistance is needed, receive scowly negative answer, take off uphill in grand roostertail-ey and smug fashion...
akylekoz wrote: I once ran an 85 RX7 for a winter beater to keep my 78 CJ7 off the road. With proper tires and weight distribution it was a blast, my friends called it the snowmobile. Only good for up to 4-5 inches of snow but very confidence inspiring.
My favorite winter car was an 82 RX-7 GSL (limited slip) with 165/75-13 Haaka's. It was a beast and a blast.
My best snow vehicle was an '88 GMC Safari Van on winterforce tires, studded in the back. Did over 200 miles in a blizzard and the only times I had to stop was when I had to clear the grill of ice when it froze over enough to start to overheat. Did fine on shear ice that shut the highway down and on the fresh 8" once I got off the highway. It was a beast.
I'd also love to get the rear diff from a Ranger FX-4 Level II. 31 spline Torsen for an 8.8. That way, I can quit scuffing the inside tire all the time at intersections.
About neutral to stop RWD vehicles: Yes! Absolutely, and always! That was the first lesson my dad taught me about driving on snow (in a '77 T-bird on Dayton Quadras). One time, Car and Driver answered a reader question by saying it wasn't necessary. I wrote a letter saying that it worked (and the worse the surface, the better it worked) and why I felt qualified to say so. They edited my letter from a page and a half to two sentences, and replied with something akin to "Silly boy, we're professionals. Don't argue." Of course, that was the last C&D I ever read.
Step 1: Find a late 80s Golf. Get a base model with manual steering. You can't feel the road as much with power steering.
Step 2: Blizzaks. Not Altimax Arctics, not Winterforces (E36 M3tiest winter tire in modern era, it skates on ice and sucks on hardpack), but actual Blizzaks. Yes they're $20 a tire more, so what. You're buying tires for a 2200lb econobox, tires are cheap no matter what.
There is no Step 3. Light front driver + controls that favor driver feel over road isolation + awesome tires = wintertime God Mode.
One of my favorite moments when I had my '89 was driving down a narrow side street that turned out to have over a foot of heavy slop on it. The road was blocked by a whole bunch of people in cars, 4wd SUVS, everything, all stuck and trying to get unstuck. I stopped, checked mirrors, backed up and did a 180 spin turn and drove the hell out of there. I could clearly see where I'd driven in because my airdam had halved the height of the snow in my tracks 
Trucks are scary in the winter, all that mass means they can't stop or turn. Light makes might.
Step 1:
Find an old 4 speed super beetle, say... around '74.
Step 2:
Put 4 aggressive snow tires on it.
Step 3:
Put sand and shovels inside. Not that you will need them - but you will have to help people in Land Rovers and plow trucks dig out before you drive off again so they don't die from the elements waiting on snow mobile or helicopter rescue.
I just saw on The Weather Channel that snow tires don't help you stop. Who knew?
I was thinking hard about this the other day when my 15 minute drive to work took an hour and ten minutes because of all of the people crawling around because dagnabbit a Real Man (tm) can get through winter on four bald tires. (I was also wondering what the crossover is with this group and the group that believes society shouldn't have to pay for other peoples' poor life decisions...)
Pretty much anything that you can fit 155-165 width snow tires on is going to be awesome. Anything with wide tires on is going to suck, hard. And by wide I mean anything over 205.
"Funny" moment was moving a customer's Charger in the parking lot and being unable to stop from walking speed because the ABS was having a panic attack because the big fat 225/whatver/18s were simply too darn wide to have any grip at all. My primary reaction was that the car was just plain unsafe, my reflection on that thought is this is the new normal. Everything nowadays has big huge wide tires on them and there isn't much you can do about it.
I'm pretty happy with my e30 325iX.
snailmont5oh wrote: I just saw on The Weather Channel that snow tires don't help you stop. Who knew?
That is just crazy talk. Traction is traction. If it helps you get going, it will help you stopping.
My wife had a lowered Audi A4 that would plow the street with snow tires.
I has a MINI Cooper S that was pretty stout on snows.
Flyin Miata FMII equipped MX-5. Remove soft top, add hardtop. Add 14" wheels with 65 series Blizzacks. Go shoot 10-15' tall rooster tails of snow, and destroy all 4x4 trucks off the light at intersections.
Ask me how I know. 
I absolutely refuse to drive any FWD cars in the snow or ice. Trucks, vans and everything else is no problem at all. FWD is insta-death.
Good enough for Antarctica, probably good enough for you. Just take it up to Canada to have it rustproofed annually and learn how the cooling and heating systems actually work so the heater won't suck and the engine will warm up.
Nick (Bo) Comstock wrote: I absolutely refuse to drive any FWD cars in the snow or ice. Trucks, vans and everything else is no problem at all. FWD is insta-death.
You don't know how to drive them then. They actually work great if you know how to drive them.
Plan ahead and let the wheels roll through the corner and keep the momentum up. If you need to rotate use your left foot or worst case, the e-brake.
The biggest limitation is that so few come with limited slips, which makes a huge difference in any vehicle when it gets slippery.
My only problem with FWD is you often can't put much power down with the wheels turned. Makes parallel parking in winter super easy though since you can set the handbrake and rotate the car around the rear end.
Limited slips are a horrible thing. When you lose traction, you lose directional stability. In a rear driver this means you slide or at least bang the curb if the road you're on has a curb instead of a ditch.
My first RX-7 was great in the winter. My second one was almost scary. First had an open diff, second one didn't. The first one felt calm, cool, and collected at 70-75 on hardpack, the second one was kinda white-knuckle at any speed if the road had curves, or any camber.
I agree with ProDarwin. The wider the better for snow. The only thing tall and skinny tires are good for is digging to a hard surface which means you are now limited by ground clearance.
Arctic Trucks build specifically for snow and ice. They use large wide tires aired down to about 10 psi to spread weight as wide as possible.
jrflying wrote: I agree with ProDarwin. The wider the better for snow. The only thing tall and skinny tires are good for is digging to a hard surface which means you are now limited by ground clearance.
Agreed, the pizza cutter concept on a car doesn't work out all that well unless maybe you have a light flat bottomed car (e.g. bug, old SAAB, etc.) that will plane on top of the snow with minimal drag when it gets deeper than ground clearance. I kinda regret putting 175s on my car, you get in the deep stuff and it will surf up and then get stuck bad, next time I'll probably pick something stock width and a step or two bigger on the sidewall to try and mitigate that.
2010 CVPI
All services up to date
245/45R17 square Hakkas.
3.27 Traction-Lok
TR3650 swap
ASD pullback hydraulic handbrake with an flocked handle.
Rear-mounted winch (just in case)
Custom high-angle steering knuckles.
Universal front overfenders (because you'll have some crazy fitment with the new knuckles)
Cloth Recaro Speed buckets with heating elements
Alcantara-wrapped steering wheel and armrests so the touchpoints are not crazy cold.
Fire extinguisher (just in case)
Matte black hood and flocked dash (to reduce sun glare).
Pick a speed, pick your throttle, pick your angle. Steady and composed when you want it to be, but can still turn any empty parking lot into a Hoon Depot.
The Bravada did pretty good in southern Kentucky "snow" on really terrible tires. Ignore that part where I buried it in a ditch trying to be Ken Block and then wrecked it a few minutes after I dug it out.
So using these findings, I vote Typhoon on good tires as best snow vehicle.
While top gear america isnt popular around grm they did a pretty decent episode with builds for just this reason. But it was for deep deep snow and trying too stay on top.
My personal choice is a 2wd truck with a good mtr on the rear. Im not fond of front wheel drive vehicles and my 4wd truck has more trouble then anything else ive owned. Likely a combination of tires and mass.
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