I have an 05 WK Hemi, but I'm looking for a SRT-8. I live in Chicago, but I would only have to drive the SRT-8 a few times each year in snow. I'm just wondering if anyone has had any experience driving in the snow with the stock rims and tires.

I know winter tires/wheels are always a possibility too, but I'm just curious how well the stock tires do in moderate to light snow with the all wheel drive?

I have an 05 WK Hemi, but I'm looking for a SRT-8. I live in Chicago, but I would only have to drive the SRT-8 a few times each year in snow. I'm just wondering if anyone has had any experience driving in the snow with the stock rims and tires.

I know winter tires/wheels are always a possibility too, but I'm just curious how well the stock tires do in moderate to light snow with the all wheel drive?


I live in chicago too and I drove though that first heavy snow we had, it drove pretty good, braked better than i though...only problem is the low front and the fact that i got a little stick in a foot pile of snow going up the drive way - due to the low profile tires, but overall i feel confident in its winter driving capability

Cool. I don't drive too much in the snow, but only when I have to. I would hate to spend $ on winter tires and rims, and I cant afford a 2nd family car with a SRT-8 in the garage. I'm just worried how the low profile tires would be.

I have a house at Tahoe and made my first trip there in my new SRT8 in a snow storm. The SRT8 handled it well even with the wide stock tires. I did let
some air out of the tires when I got to the house and it had better traction.
With some ice on the roads the ABS did engage before I lowered the tire pressure. I have no problem with the way it performed in the snow. I also have a 2002 Jeep GC with snow tires and chains at the house if I needed to
use it. My wife did, but the SRT8 works just fine for me.

Sounds like Scorpion Ice & Snow are the way to go and probably the only easy solution at the time. Personally, I prefer Blizaks and they are raved in review across the board.

Since I couldn't find a compatible winter solution at the time with same size of things, I settle for tire siping. Siping is available at Discount Tires and Tires of America locations.

Today, I had my real test with stocks and siped tires. I was trying to get home in Bellevue (Seattle area) with an inch of snow on the ground and traffic was at a halt everywhere. I used my NAV to find side streets to get through it faster and I found some steep hills to deal with, but the SRT8 with traction control on just moved on up the hills and stopped very nicely on steep downhills in the stuff. Now this is the stuff that a lot of other vehicles were losing all traction in as I witnessed all over the place. And for kicks, I threw a few twists at the traction control, and I am very, very impressed. The sideways control is for real! It works so well, it's almost scary what somebody might do going from that to a vehicle without any of it :eek:

Thanks guys. I'm not too worried about the SRT-8's performance in the snow, but it sounds like even with the stock tires it handles thru the snow better than the average vehicle. I'm sure it will be fine for me a couple times each year in light snow. Thanks for your input.

You will have no problem as long as the snow is lower than the bottom of the fascia. Then again, we only had one snowfall in Chicago in the past 6 weeks...I am sure we will get bombed again.

How many inches of snow before it becomes an issue with the SRT Jeep?
(front air splitter?)

I had the GC in the snow during a ski trip. No problems. Worked well. Link to discussion is http://www.cherokeesrt8.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2165

The front facia has about 6 1/2"-7" clearance. Depending on what type of snow it is you could probably plow a little if you had to?

Right, you want it about 7" of less or you will plow

time for some air suspension, raise that thing up for the snow, or when the mother in law is driving because you now she'll bash a tall curb with it.

So,
what would be the end result if you drove in snow deeper than 7" ?

Outside of the fact that you can damage or rip off your fascia, nothing at all!

The snow itself isn't going to rip or tear the fascia off considering you can't go fast enough in 8" of snow to do that. Someone hear posted a thread about driving through that much snow for a long distance and no harm was done. (sorry, I couldn't find the thread).

The funny thing about what I am hearing here, is that I used to drive rear wheel drive cars with less clearance than the front of the jeep in 18 inches of snow. I would have to be very careful just where to stop or I could not get started again, but for the most part managed to get around. Drove my Pt Cruiser in 10 in. of wet snow for 30 miles a couple years back. Had no choice, go or just park and spend the night in the car. The Jeep with snows on is so much better there is not any comparison. I am not concerned about anything reasonable.

I need to find a way to retro-fit a plow onto the front of the SRT8.

Like this!

http://www.worth1000.com/entries/32000/32069hudu_w.jpg

Does anyone know who this is in the video?

http://videos.streetfire.net/video/a5e85d49-54c3-421e-be05-98ba0166758d.htm

Does anyone know who this is in the video?

http://videos.streetfire.net/video/a5e85d49-54c3-421e-be05-98ba0166758d.htm

Don't know, but who ever he is....he's not all that bright. Came very close a couple times to plowing into the cameraman and the other GC :rolleyes:

finally got real snow 10" on the level, more in chewed up drifts. Could stop right in the middle of a drift and could just start up no problem. Feel strange to feel it start to slip and start to slip again and thin just go. Have pereli scorpion snow and ice 275/45 20s all the way around and glad of it though.

Well, all of us in the PHL to Boston area should fined out here in the next two days.

I for one think you will be very pleased. It would be possible to hit something hidden in the snow and damage the front, but that is possible with anything.

The real first snow storm of the winter is suppossed to arrive tonight in Northern NJ (6-12 inches). I will keep you posted on how she does tomorrow morning.

wooohoooo... finally some snow..

Its snowing like a b1tch here in the Chicago area. I just returned home from meeting several business associates for breakfast. I had no problem with traction...its solid. Naturally I was sweating and looking into my rear view mirror from the idiots that still believe you can drive in the snow the same way as when the roads are dry. Overall, I am very pleases with it. The snow is coming down sideways. This should be a nice little storm. I have the plow gassed up and all I need is my wife to get motivated and get out there and do it. I may even help her this time.

We have had snow and lots of ice her (Kansas) for about the last month or so. The Jeep does alright. When I had my Liberty with true four wheel it REALy got down to business. Unfortunatly in that regard I prefered the lib, but for the type of machine this is, it is damn good in this weather.

The best performing part thus far is the breaking! I live in a town with some nutty hills, and the GC never slid to a stop, the brembos held up and the anti-lock system performed as was intended.

When turning I did have some drifting issues, especially at low speeds such as leaving a sloped driveway.

Believe or not the other part i was very happy with was the windshield wipers. they are quick and non-streaky. My Lib was fair at best. Maybe it is the shape of the glass, but they kept the coast clear for me.

Fun Side note: two days ago it was 40 and sunny, yesterday it was in the teens and sleeted ice and snow. This is Kansas at its best.

So far so good. For the type of machine we bought, I have to say I expected much worst. I also own a fully loaded 06 dodge ram 1500 sport with the hemi of course, and I find my srt-8 no slouch even in snowy conditions. We're expecting 30 cm of snow here tonight, cant wait to see how well it will drive in that much snow. I find it easier to get around in slippery conditions with the esp turned off. The esp feels real jerky.
On another note I went to order some Pirelli Snow & Ice winter tires at my local tire shop, they told me the only size left was the 255 45R20 and that the 275 40R20 would only be available next fall. I guess I'll just have to settle with my Ram in severe conditions for now!

i think the srt8 does fine in the snow, very smooth but i like driving in the snow with the traction off. when its off it feels more like a real 4 wheel drive when your accelerating instead of the traction cutting in every 10 seconds and cutting power to the wheels. once i am above about 40 mph though i turn it back on. try it somewhere safe the first time but it is a lot of fun. when its off you can feel the electronics working giving power to each wheel pulling you forward smoothly.

Just got mine last week. Got alot of snow here in Indiana yesterday and today. Well I have to take my wife to work because she won't drive in this stuff so I took her car yesterday because I was a little unsure of the Jeep (she has an Aurora which is great in snow), but today I told her I was taking the Jeep.
Turned the esp off and went. It was awesome!! Went where I wanted it when i wanted it. There was some slipping when turning, but not much.

Long story short: for those that are apprehensive, don't be. I used to have a 4 wheel drive and this feels similar, just be a little more careful due to the tires and clearance.

-Jerry

Long story short: for those that are apprehensive, don't be. I used to have a 4 wheel drive and this feels similar, just be a little more careful due to the tires and clearance.

Yeah, the more I drive it in bad weather the more impressed I get, even on the stock all-seasons.

I believe the limiting factor for me is prolly clearance, which shouldn't be an issue here in the mid-atlantic.

Alex

We had less snow than anticipated this morning. I drove 30 miles to work on 2 inches of snow/ice. No problems, other than the other idiots on the road who think an SUV can stop and turn better in snow. The Jeep SRT8 has traction/stopping/turning like any other SUV I have ever owned (94 Explorer, 99 Pathfinder, 02 Pathfinder) on stock rubber.

First snow/ice here in New York City area....drove in to the shop this morning and I was surprised at how good my GCSRT handled it. as someone wrote earlier it was the other aholes that drive 4wd and think they can drive like it can be driven wreaklessly. can't wait to drive home!

The commute to work this morning was decent- some slippage on some turns, but for the most part it handled good. Not as good as my old jeep wrangler though..

First REAL snowfall here - 10 inches. The streets were NOT plowed/salted or anything to prepare for it.

Handled decent. Impressed with the ESP. The front bumper is definitely a giant snow shovel.

No problems cutting through 4in of ice and slush over 17mile commute to work this morning, backed up out of the 30 degree driveway like there was nothing on the ground at all!

We've had 8 inches and a .5 inch of ice in the past few days. The GC wasn't bad once it switches to AWD. I can tell you that my Navigator was infinitely better in the same weather, though.

I just got stuck for the first time in some residual snow left from the ploughs starting from a stop and turning onto a street from an uphill grade. Backed up and tried again and I was off. Stock tires. I am happy with the way it performs considering - and the traction control is very good.
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Everything here was shut down today, due to the four or so inches of snow/slush/ice nasty on the roads. The GC did great up the hill near the house, spun the tires a bit, but was directionally stable the whole time.

Stafford...my old stomping grounds. Virginia is a great State for Civil War Buffs. I was stationed at Quantico years ago for OCS and TBS. Seems like yesterday.

I am sure 4 inches will shut things down there.

He we got about 10 inches and a lot of blowing. The Jeep SRT really handles it well, you just have to use a little common sense. I just leave the ESP on and forget about it.

had my first snow driving today. Not bad at all. I was very impressed. It's funny how it will slip side ways like a rear wheel drive car untill the awd kicks in.

I didn't drive my beast in the snow this week since I just had it detailed on saturday. Plus the wife is out of town, so I just drove her very clean truck and made it very salty and dirty.:D

I have been known to take the subway to work to avoid getting my clean vehicle dirty...
________
Outdoor Kinky (http://www.****tube.com/categories/805/kinky/videos/1)

Drove mine the last few days during the snow storm in Chicago. Definitely had a little of hard time getting out of my parking spot with 4-5 inches of snow behind me (left from a plow). I may consider snow tires for next year.

Definitely different than driving a non SRT8 GC in the snow.

285 20" rear tires will do that. ;)
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I too had a 2005 GC, 5.7 Hemi. HUGH difference...no 4-low or trail rating, no regular clearance, etc. We all know that we bought this strictly for the street, not a typical Jeep. In yesterday's snow/ice storm in NY, my wife laughs at me 'cause we had to rely on her AWD Honda Pilot (our 8 passenger family vehicle for the kids and wifey) to get around. I bought my beast in early 2006 and went through last winter. Bottom line - the wide tires and low front facia is an issue above 3". Also, at 420lb of tourque, we need to really make sure our engines are idleing at normal and well warmed up. 'Cause one tap on the gas, in snow, at high rev's can cause a rear spin - even with our 4WD & ESP technologies. I inquired about a "winter pckg" last year - smaller tires and a replaceable shorter front grille. Basically, there are 3rd party smaller tires available that will fit with our brake calipers - no shorter grille. These tires are not specific to snow, which is good 'cause they are decent on dry pavement as well and are rated for speed and performance. My option this year is to pickup the new 4-door Wrangler for my snow vehicle. See if my wife laughs at me then!! - LOL! - good luck!

The new 4 door wrangler looks .......different. But it will climb and move thru the snow like a goat.

All I know is the SRT8 is better than my wife's front wheel drive. I had a Supercrew 4X4 that was a blast in snow, but when it was slow and I only needed it 2-3 months out of the year.

Had 10 inches in my area of Indiana and the Jeep blew through it with no trouble. I know I made the right choice:D

How do you all drive yours? ESP on or off? Some threads I have read mention turning it off is better. So far I have not driven in snow with it on and am very happy with it. How much different is the Jeep with it on?

-Jerry

All I know is the SRT8 is better than my wife's front wheel drive. I had a Supercrew 4X4 that was a blast in snow, but when it was slow and I only needed it 2-3 months out of the year.

Had 10 inches in my area of Indiana and the Jeep blew through it with no trouble. I know I made the right choice:D

How do you all drive yours? ESP on or off? Some threads I have read mention turning it off is better. So far I have not driven in snow with it on and am very happy with it. How much different is the Jeep with it on?

-Jerry

Best tactic for snow as someone has mentioned before is driving with the esp off around basic streets up to 40mph after that especially on the highways it doesnt hurt to have the esp on.

Best tactic for snow as someone has mentioned before is driving with the esp off around basic streets up to 40mph after that especially on the highways it doesnt hurt to have the esp on.

Another good tactic is to start out in 2nd gear from a standstill instead of 1st. The trans does allow you to do this. Makes a huge difference.

i have the perelli ice and snows on my ml-55, yesterday we got hit in ct with a big ice and snow storm, this truck was unstoppable, after a while i was looking for new challenges,up huge hills, off road, you name it! never even a hint of a problem!! my wifes e class (4matic)has blizzaks and that thing is awesome too, like a summer day out there!!highly reccomend either! as for the srt8, it will never see the salt and sand if I can help it!!!