I wish I had a camera
 

Earlier tonight, I was out driving to pick up some stuff for my floor's competition. It snowed about 4 inches today and I had to go to somebody's house to pick up some stuff. Insert here a steep unplowed hill with a narrow road going up it made of gravel. At first I thought I might have some issues because my car doesn't exactly have tires that are good for snow. However, I just put the transmission in 3 and just started up the hill. Several places I hit pot holes (I was going slowly though) and I drug bottom a few places too. Needless to say, once I reached the top, I was surprised that I was even there and that I hadn't gotten stuck. I think the person whose house I was at was surprised even more by the fact that a sports car, not a 4x4 was sitting in their snow-covered drive way (I know the guy who rode shotgun was - "I thought you said you have a 4x4? Yeah, it's all wheel drive...")

I just wanted to mention how proud I was of my car. I've traversed treacherous conditions before with AWD cars, but I don't think that I've ever done something as difficult as that hill. Even with bad tires I still managed to plow through snow and not get stuck. Just a tribute to the SVX's awesome drivetrain and traction.

I'm getting my first taste of the SVX's snow capabilities. Unfortunately I was driving the Taurus (SVX had a bum alt) when we got 1+ foot of snow this weekend, but I'll have a better chance to test it out soon I hope.:D

You don't even want to know what craziness I was able to get through in my SVX. With bald summer tires at that.

Over here in Wisconsin we've been getting hammered with snow. Ice storm last saturday, another 4 inches tuesday, lookin at 5 more inches tonight, and supposedly straight blizzard conditions for the whole weekend.

I've been having a lot of fun "backing into" corners around the city with all this silly snow. Also I was rear ended once, slid into a couple guard rails, and regularly bottom out on this stiff deep snow. No body damage, just a few scratches. This thing is a tank.

One time, I took the SVX up to meet some friends at college. On the way there it started snowing, which worried me since I had summer performance tires on. By the time we got there and parked, it was a blizzard.

I was curious though so we went out to an empty parking lot and I tried to get the SVX to misbehave. It just wouldn't. Even on the summer tires, it just went where you told it.

Love ya, Subaru. Good job. :D

Haha, know how that goes.
theres a hill around here everyone has problems with.
4X4 trucks were getting stuck and everything.
after about a foot of snow in 4 hours and no plows.
I made it up the hill by throwing in 2nd and just touching the throttle. lost traction a little once but regained almost instantly.
i did notice tho, the rear end slides out easy?
thought we were more front based AWD?

All factors being equal, our transmissions are front-biased. But if you're in a low-traction situation, it'll most likely want to be in 50/50.

I drove an old automatic '95 Legacy sedan on a seasonally closed road once (accidentally; didn't know it was closed) in the winter. When I found myself on a non-plowed, unclear path, I thought, "Oh crap, I won't be able to cross." I had never driven an AWD before at this point. But aside from losing a little traction in corners, I was able to traverse the path at about 10 MPH without a fuss. I felt like some kind of rally driver afterwards, and I've never gone back from AWD since. :D

Jason, we don't get snow here in Ireland hardly at all, the weather is mild even in winter.

I remember one memorable morning when I had Plum and headed for work by my usually hilly route to avoid traffic. It had frozen over rain in the hills and the roads were like glass, really dangerous, no salt applied.

The SVX was faultless, going up hills or the more dangerous going down the far side with zero slipping. I passed all kinds of vehicles stuck on the ice.

Like you I remember well all these people stuck half way up hills, having glazed the ice with their slipping antics, looking at the SVX burbling past and wondering how a sports car could handle the conditions!

I would love to see how the SVX would cope wearing a set of the tall narrow snow tires the rally guys use. I'll bet it would have fabulous grip!

Joe;):D

Alright, I've heard enough. Packing my bags, moving to Wisconsin.

But it's not just the fact that the SVX is AWD, or properly balanced, but the weight as well. I think that's the main factor that seperates it from other AWD cars. When I took my car out, It felt extremely well balanced. Seating is about mid point between the front and the rear, and there was no excess weight in the back to pull the ass out in a bend, which, every time i broke traction and went to a sideways slide, it was extremely easy to remain in control.

Cheers SVX!

A few years ago I was out taking photos around the woodsy, hilly roads near my house in my 96 Legacy wagon and on one unpaved road there was a Ford Explorer 4X4 on the side of the road. I slipped by him in a very narrow part of the road thinking he was just admiring the scene. I eventually turned back and lo and behold he was still there. I pulled up beside this massive beast that didn't look stuck at all (in fact for Canada there wasn't really that much snow) and asked him if he was actually stuck. He said he was afraid to go any further because he was stuck and didn't want to scratch his brand new explorer. I offered to get in the Explorer and get him out but he said he was going to wait for a tow truck, I just laughed and told him he should have bought a Subaru. He was blocking enough of the road that I had to go off the road to get around him. I blew by him in my little wagon and the last I saw of him was through my rear view window marveling how this little $20,000 red wagon made his big $50,000 sport utility look a little silly. Should a bought a Subaru.

It's definitely different driving the SVX in poor conditions than my Legacy. My Legacy rode on 70 series tires and a taller frame - it felt considerably less stable than my SVX does. It's almost like driving a blob - it's so heavy it just plants easier than my Legacy did. My Legacy was extremely tail happy, the SVX is not.

That reminds me I had alot of weight in my trunk at the time, so maybe thats why my rear end slid a little bit?
had about 350 pounds extra in trunk. (2 bodies ;) j/k)

Man it snowed again last night lol. It's so crazy around here. I'm one of like, 4 people who can make it around, which is funny cause I have a sports car.

Anywho, Nomake. Are you sure your SVX is an AWD model? I can get mine to do whatever I want, and I want to slide everywhere and dog walk down straight roads.

What I have a lot of fun doing is just turning hard and mashing the throttle at a stop sign so my car instantly has a 90 degree slide and just kinda go with it. It's awesome.

edit: I see you have a 92, obviously not a front drivey model

I think the weight is a factor.. my 87 turbowagon (2700 lbs) is VERY tail happy once you get above 55 or so, even with hardly any throttle! I've never had my Legacy in the snow (although my 91 Sedan I used to have did well in mud, as does my 90), and I have yet to have the SVX in any snow...

When I was in Wyoming, my truck saw PLENTY of snow, and it is a BEAST (tips the scales at 7,000 lbs with the canopy) and with the weight of the diesel engine over the front tires (Cummins I-6, 880lbs w/out accessories) it plants and goes, I never had a problem with it, never got stuck or anything, and I did some pretty gnarly wheelin with it when I lived there, and it doesn't even have that meaty of tires on it, they're all-season tires, and the tread's fairly deep, but it doesn't have the big off-road lugs...

Yes, I'm sure it's an AWD model. They didn't make FWD in 1992. :rolleyes: But what I meant was that I couldn't get the car to get completely out of control. I could get it to slide a bit, but it would always go where I pointed it. At no time in that lot did I feel that I was not in control. That's what I meant. I mean, they were summer tires... I shouldn't have had any traction at all! :D

First SVX snow for me.
 

This is exactly why in NJ and Colorado you see a higherpercentage. People with money but also needing to drive in snow. Anywho yes AWD is almost way better in snow than 4x4 due to better power distribution when it counts. I just this week have been able to test the SVX in snow. Only around 4-6 inches here on monday but I leave for work at 5am. Plows were just getting around to most places. Oh and I had my Toyo Proxxie 4's on. I'v been having an issue with 1 tire's pressure cause I messed up the bead seal. So Wednesday in 22 degree weather back on went the stockies. I have to say though I felt more in control in the Impreza though. Shorter wheel base and higher off the ground(if i raise the coilovers) seemed to work better, but yeah the SVX is a tank. Finally a use for our OVER weight. One last note. I was first in the parking lot at work ^^ AWD DONUTS! Which 3rd Manual doesn't like to let you do. Wow that grips well like that.
-Gaddis