Denver and Colorado Springs area?

[ON D BIT]

Could someone drive a rear wheel drive sports car say a 15 mustang GT as a daily driver and only car in CO? I'm in az right now and will most likely be moving back to CA or to CO next July. With one car could it be done? Is awd or 4wd highly recommended as a second car or daily?

 

[SVT_Cobra_]

I do not live in the area but am looking to move out there and from what I've seen they do get snow occasionally but doesnt last for more then a couple days. Average temps for their coldest months are in the 20's and highs of 40's so still might not be a good idea to drive your mustang if it has some summer tires. Maybe with a decent set of all season tires. I use to have a 2003 v6 mustang with snow tires and I could get around just fine in some BRUTAL MN snow.

 

[Norton]

Could someone drive a rear wheel drive sports car say a 15 mustang GT as a daily driver and only car in CO? I'm in az right now and will most likely be moving back to CA or to CO next July. With one car could it be done? Is awd or 4wd highly recommended as a second car or daily?

It CAN be done, but it's less-than-optimal. FWIW, I daily drove my '89 LX 5.0 in all four seasons along Colorado's Front Range for about six years. With studded snow tires in all four corners, ~100lbs of SpeedyDry in the back, and judicious driving habits, I made it through many storms unscathed. Advances in all-season tires since those days mean you'd probably be OK with something like Michelin Pilot A/S 3 tires, rather than needing studded snows.

All of that said, I became much happier when I added a 4WD Tacoma to the stable as my daily driver. That allowed my '97 Cobra, and now the Shelby, to be fair-weather-only vehicles.

 

[ON D BIT]

Thanks guys

 

[sonicblue04gt]

It depends on where you are moving to in Colorado. The city you should be okay as long as you take the proper precautions (tires, weight, etc). The foothills or the mountains is a COMPLETELY different story. The magchloride(sp?) is nasty stuff not to mention the sand they put down on the surface streets. It also depends on how severe the winter is going to be any particular year.

Just take the necessary steps, don't drive like a complete knucklehead and you should be just fine.

 

[noco5.0]

I always laugh at the people driving rear wheel drive performance cars when it snows here. I think with real snow tires you would be fine, but otherwise you'll be sliding around a lot and getting stuck when trying to go up hills etc. The snow here usually melts after a couple of days, but there are times when it is on the ground for several weeks. Relatively rust free beaters are pretty easy and cheap to find here. I have a 1990 K5 Blazer exactly for that purpose and life is much happier not worrying about getting stuck or wrecking my car because of the other idiot drivers out there.

 

[einehund]

It can be done. I see it plenty. That said, it was cheaper for me to buy a beater of a winter car than it was wheels and tires for the Shelby.

 

[Planter]

Could someone drive a rear wheel drive sports car say a 15 mustang GT as a daily driver and only car in CO? I'm in az right now and will most likely be moving back to CA or to CO next July. With one car could it be done? Is awd or 4wd highly recommended as a second car or daily?

I used to live in Kansas City, had an 02 GT, and drove it several times in the snow. I usually had to kick the traction control off to get started, and then once I got going I turned it back on and did fine.

Now that I live in Denver, I'm pretty sure you could get away with it, but at worst, you'll need a set of chains for the rear tires and a few sandbags or cinder blocks in the trunk. Snow studded tires would work too.

Overall it's not what you drive...but HOW you drive it that matters.

 

[Buggywhips]

Absolutely - I drove my 2014 for two winters with nothing but blizzaks on a spare set of wheels. I never got stuck or had any loss of control issues. I'd snicker at the SUV's spun off the road on E470 every morning as I climbed the hill from Santa Fe to Lucent Blvd.

 

[Planter]

I think you'll be alright around Denver and up and down I-25. but if you venture west on I-70 to the mountains, make sure you got cinder blocks and chains. you'll need them. Those are 6% grades up through there. There's 4 big grades. the rest are small.

Just ordered a set of chains for my honda accord last week. Tried going up Fall River Road a few Sundays ago, but the car wouldn't get up the steep grade with just the tires, as there was about a 1/2" - 3/4" of snow on the road. Tires just spun. backed up a little and got turned around and went back down the mountain.

 

[Darivative]

Thanks for info. I'm relocating to denver and was wondering the same thing.

 

[ON D BIT]

Thanks guys as this old thread keeps popping up. Im no longer looking at moving to this area however I may still end up there. I have also added the Focus RS to my may purchase list. Having an awd rally car in this area would be great fun!

 

[99_STROKED_GT]

I daily drove my 1999 GT for about 8 years and picked up a 1996 Cobra a couple months back for a daily as Im Procharging the GT and don't want to risk it. Ive only got to drive the Cobra in snow one time so far, it has nitto 555s and it was a SLOW drive. Im located in Southern CO, in Pueblo so we don't see as much snow and don't have as steep of roads as Springs and Denver though. I would definitely recommend a FWD or AWD daily if at all possible. Theres been times the snow was over a foot and I was stuck home for a couple days.

 

[99_STROKED_GT]

Also, if you do end up coming to CO, I really think you will enjoy it bro, theres a lot to do here if you enjoy the outdoors, and theres a good amount of the Focus STs that I see having no issues in the snow at all. The RS would be AWESOME!