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Hi all. I have a 2001 Mustang with rear wheel drive of course. I can't tell you how many times I was in the ditch last nite. It is normally "okay" on the snow....but the roads weren't plowed a single bit. A good 5 inches of unplowed roads equals me gunning it at 100mph, just to get back on the road after people were helping me push it out.
So I was thinking, can I put weight in the back? I know people do this. I just don't know how much or what to use.
I've seen the tube sand before, but could I just get play sand at Lowes for less than 3 bucks? They usually weight 40 pounds I beleive .
Also how much do I put in the trunk? Can I put 500 pounds in there?
What about placement? Stack them on the right and left or just spread them all out so their even?
Another question which might trump all previous questions? I believe my left suspension is "going out" if you will. I can hear it when going over bumps...the left back side. I plan on fixing it of course, but would like to wait till it is a little bit warmer. Would adding several hundred pounds cause it to just plain break? Should I get it fixed first?
A hundred or so pounds would be plenty.. try to keep it just over the rear axle or just in front of it. DEF NOT all the way to the rear... unless you like the pendulum effect which by how many times youve already been off the road in it I doubt itm. Can you say tankslapper?..
Although I think adding weight back there would help you out quite a bit, another important aspect of traction is tire type. It’s amazing what a good set of snow tires can accomplish on a RWD car. I don’t get any snow where I live but I feel your pain because the one time I took my RWD Genesis Coupe into snowy territory (Nevada) to visit family it was a nightmare even with snow chains (summer tires didn’t help).
Second we have found it takes a lot of weight with most of our cars to make a significant difference. You are balancing against the engine and driver which weight hundreds of pounds. With our Ranger, we see significant improvement at around 400 pounds. It continues to improve up to about 600 pounds and then the handling goes downhill fast. My Camaro is pretty hopeless, but there is some improvement at about 300 pounds. My Sons T-bird shows improvement at around 200. 100 pounds really is not very significant in dealing with distribution of vehicle weight. Maybe some cars will see a difference with 100 pounds, I have not in any of our cars. I have to believe 40 pounds will do nothing.
We put really good snow tires on the T-bird. At first we did not think it made that much difference. However in the past year, we compared more and more and realized it does make a substantial difference. When we researched it, there were only two non-studded snow tires that work worth a darn. Blizzack W ** 70 and Winterforce (forget who makes winterforce). We went with the blizzacks because they were considerably cheaper ($450 out the door)
adding about 100lbs to the trunk of a rear wheel drive vehicle is a time honored tradition for driving in the snow. and it doesnt really matter what the weight is made of, it can be lead, sand, concrete, or what ever, as long as it is contained and stable. it doesnt do any good to put 100lbs of say lead in the trunk only to have to move around on you as you go around corners.
We use pea gravel and sand. Simply because it is cheap and we usually have a use for it in the spring. Also if a bag breaks open, it does not rust out your car like salt. Further it does not hurt it to get wet inside. Gravel is better because it is easier to clean up a spill than sand. Plus we find more uses for gravel in the spring. Usually we get some sand and a lot of gravel. That way we have a little of each when we need it.
I solved my Mustang winter driving problem in 2007. Kept it in the garage in the winter and bought a 1995 Jeep YJ.
Already told my GF my next car when this one dies is a 4WD jeep. Not a cherokee though....their hideous.
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