Your best bet is to get really good winter tires. A set of bridgestone blizzaks will do the trick in the snow. The altima will not be nearly as good as your AWD 4runner, but I've handled a maxima (fwd) in the PA ice/winters and it held up fine with winter tires.

 

The tires really make more of a difference than anything else. Last winter I remembered I still had my craptinentals on for the rear's and I was always wondering why I kept fishtailing in the snow. After all if you lose traction AWD won't mean jack.

 

the altima will not drive wort shit in the snow it's a FWD dont even think about it but ther are lot of other altenatives. depends on your budget VW Passat 4Motion has 380hp and it's AWD but it's $37,000, a BMW 328xi sedan is AWD and 32,000. or you could settle for a puny impreza for like 18,000, the altima is a great car, But Altima+Snow= Oh shit!

 

Bullshit of the first order. I drove for my '01 Maxima through 7 winters worth of snow - always on quality snow tires - and it went through anything winter had to offer, drama-free. Can't tell you how many all-season tire-clad AWD sedans and sport utes I would pass in the ditch in a bad storm. And that car didn't even have traction control.

To the OP - quality snows will serve you well.

Jaeger

 

The first two posts here were right on the money. Tires are everything to any car in the snow. Omaha? I'd keep the big 4WD but if you just have to have a mid-size car like the Altima go with tires with known good snow performance. I have Kuhmo ASX's (high performance 4-season) on two of my family cars; both front-drivers. They go like tanks in snow of 4" or less. Over 4"....that 4WD will excel.

 

We live in vermont and will probably end up putting Winterforce M+S tires on our Altima for the winter. they did an Excellent job on both our civic and integra. For the really wintery trips we'll use the Ridgeline like we did the last two winters. The winterforce tires were great for my commute (27miles each direction). We don't usually get Ice as it rarely gets warm enough to melt so that is actually an advantage over when we lived in Pennsylvania that had snow and Ice. I didn't ever get stuck or feel unstable on the tires and I have some hills that I need to go over.

~SB

 

I haven't put snow tires on a vehicle since my 1976 Cordoba. Never had a prob driving in snow. And yes, I live in NH.

 

They drive fine

We have had various makes of front wheel drive cars for over 27 years now and never had a problem driving in the winter. I have gone through one winter with the Altima already, no problem. But I also had winter tires on all 4 wheels. We have always put winter tires on steel rims for all the cars we own for winter driving. We live in northern Canada so we can get some mean winter storms with snow and the aftermath of lots of ice. The only car which we did not put winter tires on was a 1990 Ford Taurus, it had crappy Wal-Mart A/S tires, but it went through some really bad winters with no traction problems. The main thing is that you have to know how to drive FW drive cars in the winter. Most of the dough wads with SUV's, trucks and Urban Assault vehicles forget that all vehicles generally stop the same way in snow and ice and all season stock tires do not cut it in the winter.

 

i have driven through a lot with my maxima. I always saw Infiniti G35c's stuck at red lights during the winters

 

I had an AWD Toyota Tundra when I had my G35 and M3 vert.(not winter cars)!

Live in Chicago area, over the years I had many FWD cars including 3 maxima's, never had snow tires, never had a problem. Of course you have to be carefull and take it easy.

Chicago gets occassional snow but is plowed and salted instantly. If I lived further out in the country then I would get Snowtires.


John

 

A larger, heavy front wheel drive car like the altima will do alright in snow. not great, but you won't get stuck either. But you'll have to settle for being one of those slow people that everybody in the 4wd vehicles blow past.

 

Then 10 minutes later and 1 miles farther. They are stuck in a snow drift cause that 4wd is only helpful when getting started from a dead stop and forgot the laws of physics. Higher speeds and heavier weight requires more distance to stop. 4wd won't make anything slow down any faster. I usually see more SUV/Trucks stuck in the ditches on interstates than cars during the winter.

 

It is a beuatiful site

 

The Altima should be fine in the snow. I haven't had the Altima in the snow yet, but I've owned and driven many other FWD cars over the years and they're all pretty good. Weak point could be the Continental tires, they don't have an agressive enough tread pattern to work well. FWD cars are good in the snow. Remember - the handbrake is your friend. Four wheel drive gives better traction, but they don't turn or stop much better than anything else. I love seeing 4X4s thrown off the road because the driver's think they can stop and turn on snow like they can in the dry! Hint: if you can't drive up a hill forwards, turn around and back up - they go even better that way! And don't forget to try FWD donuts...

 

all you need is a nice set of tires and im sure the altima will do just fine. i live in MN and drove my dropped integra the last 2 years and never had a problem, and we get some snow up here.

 

FWD cars with traction control or limited slip differentials + a decent set of tires is fine in snow

you won't get stuck in most situations, only if the snow is really really deep

i used to have so much fun in my specV (had HLSD) with blizzaks

 

Too bad we can't have the limited slip. I've driven rear-wheel drive with limited slip in the occasional snow we get in this part of NC, and done Ok, but when I had a car without it, it was much trickier to drive in snow. In ice, which we get sometimes, it really doesn't matter. Chains or studded tires MIGHT help, but ice is going to be risky no matter what.

 

Living in NYC. My previous Altima drove okay in the snow. It is these damned Continentals they put on OEM. Before my current 07 2.5S I had an 05 2.5S befoire that i had a Mercury Sable. All of them had Continental ContiTact tires and they ***$*$*$*$*$ suck in the snow. I changed them to a good all season.

 

I went to firestone and found out that they have a trade in program where you can swap tires in the first 500 miles. I don't know if it would be an even swap, but it would at least put a dent in the cost of new tires.

I talked to them about the tires and they recommended that instead of getting snow tires just get some really good regular tires. Does that check with you guys? I live in Omaha, so there is a significant amount of snow in the winter.

 

NO, not at all. If you winters are like ours in vermont. Packed snow for months at a shot, all season's just have nothing against snow tires. Even if you don't pick up a set of Blizzaks, get a set of winterforce M+S tires and they will do wonders. Tirerack has both and they are about $85/corner on 17" wheels and should be less on 16's. - More than worthwhile. I've had the winterforce on my integra GS-R and Civic EX for the last 3 winters and will be putting them on the 3.5SE come December.

~SB

 

Sounds like most responsible drivers on the road would put appropriate tires on for winter months. I started using all snow tires on my 99 Civic Si(R) 5 years ago and they were great. Those were Artic Alpins(discontinued). Even with the car lowered, I still plowed through slush, snow and ice. Icey conditions definitely required slower driving but I could still accelerate, brake and turn with confidence. I would never drive with all seasons during winter ever again.

I just picked up a set of Pilot Alpins for the Altima. They're not mounted yet as I'll wait till it gets colder before putting them on. I'm sure the Altima would be great in snow with all snow tires. I feel really optimistic about the car's handling when it snows. On the other hand, the all seasons would be alright, just not great. I'd hate to be stuck in a dangerous situation with them on though.

 

I keep hearing bad things about the tires that the US market got on their Altimas. (Continentals?) I just checked my car and the tires on my car are the Bridgestone Turanza EL400 M&S and in my opinion work just fine in the winter. I've had my Altima since Feb. of this year, live in central Alberta, Canada and we had alot of snow last winter and I had no trouble whatsoever manouvering around.

VDC works perfect in the snow and ice. I travel 135 kms. round trip to and from work and as others have mentioned, I see alot of 4WD pickups, SUV's and the sorts in the ditch on my commute.

Alot is how you drive. Before I bought my Altima I had a Mazda Millenia with a set of TOYO wnter tires on it and couldn't believe the difference they made. I will be putting a set of winter tires on this year.

Altima + Winter Tires + good driving habits = easy winter driving

 

Don't you only get the Turanzas if you buy an SE?

I have Turanza LS-Ts on my Civic Hatch, we never have snow(except once in '98), but they stick to the ground, even in the first rains of the year. I want to take them to a place with snow to drive, but haven't been able to do that. Once we get some mileage out of these Conti's, I am going to try to persuade my mom to get some LS-Ts for her Altima also.

 

Just a quick quote to all who think they know everything:
"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt."
Abraham Lincoln

Front wheel drive vehicles = good snow cars

 

Front wheel drive vehicles = good snow cars

For 95% of driving conditions, absolutely! Take it from a person living in the lake-effect snow belt.

FWD works just as well as AWD in snow when driven properly. After all, AWD helps to accelerate, but NOT to steer or stop any better.

It's funny how many SUVs/crossovers/pickups with 4WD or AWD I find in ditches during heavy snow events, while there are few (if any) FWD vehicles, with or without snow tires.

 

my altima is horrible in the rain so i dun wana think about how its gona be in winter, im getting winter tires soon but even still i dont think it'll drive good in winter..

 

AWD is better than RWD in snow..

 

The tires on Altima's in Omaha are Bridgestone Turanzas. I called Firestone and they said they are excellent in all weather, so what I'm going to do is just try them and see what happens. From talking to Firestone I think that they will do just fine.

Thanks for all the advice!

 

my dad puts turanza's on his GS430 for the winter... They do a pretty good job keeping that RWD roller skate pretty planted and straight in the snow.

 

The Turanzas are NOT good on snow. Take a look at the ratings on "Tire Rack . Com". There are a lot of all weather tires that are better than the Turanzas. The Altima, or any FWD, would be better with a limited slip differential. But Nissan decided we didn't need one, so we get "one wheel drive". I would do better with RWD and a limited slip, but we don't get that much snow most years, so I'll get by, I hope, even with the Turanzas.

 

I grew up in VT, now live in MD and I've always owned FWD cars. I had to run dedicated snows on my Prelude to really get around in VT, but got away w/ AS tires on everything else.

To answer your question - with heads-up driving, and semi-cleared roads, you CAN drive an Altima through the snow w/o an issue...

However, in this day and age I'd opt for AWD in snow country, I'd get something AWD and possibly stick w/ SUV. Like I said, you CAN drive FWD in the snow, but you'll have a much better time with AWD...hills, starts, and engine braking all go much more smoothly w/ AWD in the snow.

If you have to drive uncleared roads a lot (more than 8" or snow or so), I'd stick w/ an SUV. You can put chains on an AWD car but you'll eventually end up turning it into a snowplow in deep snow, or you'll beach it up on top of the snow and be stuck due to ground clearance.

 

You can put chains on an AWD car but you'll eventually end up turning it into a snowplow in deep snow, or you'll beach it up on top of the snow and be stuck due to ground clearance.

We can't have chains here :banghead:

They say it'll eat up the road too much, but trust me, nobody would notice.

 

Good Driver+Good Driving Habits=Good Driving in Snow

I drove my 88 and 94 Corollas here in Jersey during the past 2 blizzards up and down the parkway and the pike. No problems. All that matters is keeping your foot alert and light on the pedal. Flooring the gas and Accelerating too fast is what you see SUVs do so often in the snow that you'll see them all in the trenches...some flipped over - I remember driving down the Parkway once and the snow started dusting the roads a bit...and see SUVs in the ditch already. :crazy: Apparently - those who drive SUVs seem to think that just because you're driving an SUV - traction is not a problem. WRONG! Keep your eye on the road and the car ahead and behind you and drive accordingly. :shift: