cheekymonkey Posted February 5, 2015 Report Share Posted February 5, 2015 I recently purchased a 2012 FE (SE) hoping it would be a great snow car. Oh my goodness, just a little slush and slop this am on the driveway, and I was slip sliding all over the place. I have on the tires that came from the Ford dealership that I purchased it from. They have tread. Is this normal for this car??!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XB70 Posted February 6, 2015 Report Share Posted February 6, 2015 If you bought a FWD Edge you will notice it's not much good in snow. This is especially true if you're running the standard all season tires. But it's not just the Edge that has trouble in the slippery stuff. The trend toward taller and wider tires is the big problem. I have a customer with a Toyota Avalon that had the same problem. His older Toyota got around OK in snow. The new car just spins. If you plan on keeping this ride then you'll want to get a winter tire package. Winter tires are made of rubber compounds that stay pliable in colder temperatures. Your local tire joint should be able to size up a package that stays close to OEM diameter. The tries will be taller and narrower. And yes there is a slight whine when you're on pavement. But it's nothing like the noise in times past. I went through this with my FWD Taurus. The first snowfall nearly crippled the car. it wasn't much snow either. My local tire guru ordered a tire, wheel and TPMS package for me. It's expensive but it works. The Taurus is gone but the wheels and tires fit my AWD Edge. I've swapped them around to compare the difference. Yes AWD makes a huge difference but the tires make everything work well. Stopping and cornering with winter tires is way better than it is with the Pirelli Scorpion tires. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuardianEdge Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 I have a AWD Edge, 2008, with BFG all terrains, and it drives great in the snow, in fact, just as good as any 4x4 i've had. It snowed about 6 inches here in South Jersey, and could not get the thing stuck! I have full confidence in driving in the snow with this thing. Obviously, no matter what vehicle you have, stopping is the problem. Brake early. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOEHIO Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 No problems getting around in my AWD MKX. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frozennuts Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 I'm running on these http://www.nokiantyres.com/winter-tyres/nokian-hakkapeliitta-7-suv/ during the winter and it completely changed the vehicle handling from the non studded Toyo winter tires I ran before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulSchott Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 My 2007 FWD is running Firestone Destination Le2's 235/65R17 in Connecticut. They have been great all winter. I drive 25 miles each way to work and have only stayed home once because of ice. We have had a horrible winter with at least 1 snow storm a week since January. I have confidence in the vehicle and the tires. If I didn't think it would make it I could have used my Grand Cherokee, an option I never needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimp Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 I have an FWD 2012. The first winter with the original all season tires it handled the snow well enough here in Michigan. The second winter with more wear they were 'adequate' but not I wasn't feeling too comfortable about the performance. Even though they had tread, less tread made for poorer grip in the snow and ice. If you have FWD and your vehicle is handling that poorly, then I suggest that your tires do not have enough tread for the record snow conditions you're getting where you live. I haven't followed the temperatures in Massachusetts, but if it's been as cold as it has been in Michigan, the rubber composition of those original tires isn't made for your situation so you're losing even more grip. I think you need new tires. After last winters horrendous driving conditions I resolved to purchase actual snow tires this year. I bought Bridgestone's in December. With my FWD, I've had outstanding traction all winter long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
professorfingers Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 I drove in ice a couple of weeks ago and made it just fine. My ride is an 09 with FWD. I replaced the worn out factory tires with Michelin. My wheels are the 20" plastic ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffcarl Posted March 11, 2015 Report Share Posted March 11, 2015 I only bought my FWD '13 SEL 3.5 liter in December, it was a great deal left-over. Probably sat on the dealer's lot for 2 years because it's front wheel drive and most people up here (Buffalo-Rochester NY) want AWD. I am not having much difficulty with this year's brutal winter. Car has the OEM Michelins on it. As they wear over the summer & fall I'm sure snow tires will be in order next year, but it's been fine so far. If you're having traction issues I'm guessing the tires are just not well suited to the conditions even though they appear to have tread. The rubber compound, tread pattern and who knows what other factors make for good winter performance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mirage52 Posted March 11, 2015 Report Share Posted March 11, 2015 Ironically I just posted on the FWD forum about how well my '13 FWD SEL has been so far in the snow. Last year was a beast, snow-wise, but I got around fine. This year wasn't as bad but we got a foot last week and people were commenting on how well it handled in the snow. I know it all depends on how the tires hold up but I've been rotating my Michelins regularly and so far they've been fine. I would also suggest buying s pair of Tire Socks. I've considered it myself and I might buy them before next winter when my tires start wearing. With good tires, a FWD vehicle should be ok in most snow conditions. Obviously blizzards and ice is another thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NKopp83 Posted March 12, 2015 Report Share Posted March 12, 2015 A week ago we had about 17" and I was one of the very few that made it to work. 2008 sel fwd. This is my first vehicle with traction control, it has taken a while to get used to it but I like it. There were still times when starting from a stop I turned the TC off just to get going... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NKopp83 Posted March 12, 2015 Report Share Posted March 12, 2015 A week ago we had about 17" and I was one of the very few that made it to work. 2008 sel fwd. This is my first vehicle with traction control, it has taken a while to get used to it but I like it. There were still times when starting from a stop I turned the TC off just to get going... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmmick Posted April 3, 2015 Report Share Posted April 3, 2015 I recently purchased a 2012 FE (SE) hoping it would be a great snow car. Oh my goodness, just a little slush and slop this am on the driveway, and I was slip sliding all over the place. I have on the tires that came from the Ford dealership that I purchased it from. They have tread. Is this normal for this car??!! I had a 2011 edge sport fwd with the 22" pirelli's.....in cleveland on the Eastside, in the snowbelt. Never any probs...if you have good meat up front, you can go thru anything...hell most of us learned how to drive in rwd cars, 1972 cutlass for me and on bald tires usually. Fwd is like driving a tank comparatively speaking in my opinion...rotate 'em every other oil change, keep proper inflation and balancing, I got 65k out of those tires and they still had another summer in em, but I traded in the car... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nyrangers1022 Posted May 30, 2015 Report Share Posted May 30, 2015 Last winter I tested it going up a steep hill. I got stuck and slid into snow bank. Then I put it into Low on the shifter. With the accelerator floored, RPMs only climbed to 1800 and it climbed the rest of the hill no problem at a couple miles an hour. Then when it had enough traction the motor sped up and I was on my way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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