Forgive me for subjecting such a wonderful machine to a snow storm, but I really thought I'd miss it. Honest! However, I thought I'd share the experience.

The temperature had dropped to 34 degrees; still above freezing, but the snow was sticking and building up to about 6 inches. Thankfully my ABS/DCS Fault problem stayed away the whole time. Although the Stability Control only winked-on once, it was nice to have that system in reserve (for once!).

Out of the blue I get a Restricted Performance annunciation. I was able to maintain traffic speed, but pulled off at the next exit to check out what I suspected was the problem. Sure enough, the entire front end of the car was ringed in built-up snow and ice, and the mesh inside XKR's "snoot" had significant build-up blocking the left and right ends.

I cleared as much of this off as I could, rejoined the road with no further problems. Those of you with some aerospace background could of course surmise that the acceleration of the air into and around the snoot could have caused just enough of a drop in both the ambient pressure and temperature of the airflow to allow the build-up to occur. Of course, the temperature gauge stayed glued to its middle indication, but I'll bet the real temperature had begun to rise. Wish I had thought to take a picture - sorry.

I hated subjecting "Kitty" to such abuse, but to tell the truth, she did OK. If you know how to handle bob-sled / toboggan conditions, these sports cars can do just fine. My main concern was simply based on the shear WEIGHT of the car, and if she did take an errant course, my reactions would have to be instant and precise to reel her back in.

And the adventure continues......

 

Thanks for sharing your experience. Fortunately, I've yet to be caught in any snow with mine (or rain, for that matter), but its good to know that under worst case scenario it wouldn't drive like my friend's '97 Trans-AM with bald tires did... that's a story for another day...

 

This is a heavily disguised development XK8 coupe on test in the snow. The photo is from Jaguar XK8 - The Authorised Biography by Phillip Porter.



Now you know where the limits are!

Graham

 

Mine is in the snow fairly regularly and is not bad handling at all. I have good quality Michelin tires on and I rebuilt the ABS controller so everything works as designed.

The weight is an advantage. The road height is no different than many cars but requires some forethought.

My major gripe is the heater - it just isn't up to the task in my convertible once the temperature gets significantly below freezing. That whole business with the secondary electric pump is silly over engineering.

 

Not to be rude, but this car is a one wheel rear wheel drive spinner, only the right rear tire moves the whole car, so driving this car is is dangerous in the snow and I recommend perhaps obtaining a weekly rental car during a storm event for your own safety sir.

Now if you have posi traction, snow tires and two sand bags in the trunk, you will be just fine, but without each o those components, without separating, its over.

 

I got caught in a snow storm last year and would have to agree, the car did pretty well, even with the summer tires and wide rear wheels.

Day of. Nasty wet snow coming down most of the day.


The day after. Bright, sunny, hardly a cloud in the sky once the sun came up. Crazy place.

 

Snow cars they ain't. Both of our Jaguars sit at home whenever the snow flies. That's what my Ram pickup is for....

 

Wow! Mine hardly knows what rain is. My kids have only seen snow twice and one of those times was in a movie.

 

Since I installed 20" wheels on my car, taking it out in the snow is a NO-NO. It handles very well in the rain, but I try not to expose it to wet weather elements. The roads here in the North-East are in the worse condition that I have ever seen - a shame!

 

So true. Never have seen it this bad. I hope it's the brutal winter and not the beginning of a trend.

My '01 has been my daily driver for 7+ years ... snow and all. True, it's nothing like having front-wheel drive, but I grew up on rear-wheel drive, before traction control, so it doesn't seem so bad to me. You just have to sort of make peace with the idea that there will sometimes be an angle between the direction the car is pointing and the direction it is going.

 

I'm the same with sunshine. Only ever see it on the screen.
Graham

 

Quite a few humorous responses here. I was hoping for that ("and" not too much chastizing - lol). Yeh, I grew up with MGs and Triumphs in NYC so the rear wheel drive thing isn't new to me either. I used to love blasting through fresh snow on an empty highway in my 280ZX 2+2. Yup - the the car's course and heading were RARELY the same on those jaunts! (But I'd like some practice in Kitty first!)

AODE06: Our differentials do distribute power to both wheels. However, if one wheel breaks loose, all the rotation will be wasted on that one - which is where the value of your positract / limited slip diff comes in. But I agree, it IS an undeniably handy thing to have between your wheels when driving on snow.

 

Not too much snow here, but the weather does change enough to keep you on your toes. Yesterday was 78F and top down time. Less than 24 hours later it is 28F and freezing rain. Go figure.

Mine does well in the rain and OK in what little snow it has seen (once?). A couple of ice storms, but nothing helps you on unsalted/unsanded ice.

 

I just drove past a XK8 totaled driving in the snow, it looks like it slid into a telegram pole. I left my number and contact info, because I need a few odd and end things from it, after the insurance totals it.

Don't let this become you.

And snow tires are $1,000 installed and don't last long, so I know most of us don't have them lol.

Its not the meat on the outside tire, its the compound , WHEN IT COMES TO WINTER.

Regular tires we all have, called all season, gets slippery in ice and snow.Winter tires stay soft and sticky,they get stickier as you drive and they warm up.However they don't last long.

Which again, I state your best option is a cheap weekly front wheel or awd rental.

I have done this for a few years and still have not got to the cost of a set of winter tires yet.So that is my suggestion.

 

Hey Adode,

When you get that guy's contact info, spread the wealth a bit buddy. There's a bunch of guys who'd be interested in a source of parts!

Got the FWD/Rental message loud-n-clear. However, too many of us actually enjoy the challenge. Yup - idiots - everyone of us! At least I don't ride my motorcycle on the ice (almost 60 you know - time to grow up - NOT!). B-)

 

It's a poor car for winter/snow driving. Have an extra car for those days...

 

Actually, I do. It's a huge, almost pristine '94 Cadillac DeVille (with the mafia sized trunk to boot!) that my girlfriend has named "Vinny". 4.6L Northstar V8, FWD w/traction control and everyone seems to run away when it comes barreling down the snow. Fewer obstacles. Cool.

Despite being nearly pristine, Vinny trumps Kitty in the white stuff because of one additional reason: Its traction control / DSC doesn't turn itself off whenever it wants!

 

I grew up in Syracuse, NY (central NY) and all of you from NYC, NJ, MD, etc. don't know what snow is; what you guys get wouldn't count as a hard frost! I cannot count the times that I drove to work or home from work with the windows rolled down so I could see the side markers to see if I was close to the center of the highway because it was snowing so hard you couldn't see straight ahead. In those days it was normal to get over 200 inches of snow a year. Not only that but it was up hill both to work and back home .


Mark

 

I had to get out and push the car to get it moving on this 1/8 of an inch of snow last year. Very emabarassing.

 

A Damsel in distress! (Pretty damsel too) "You" need an ex-Navy Pilot for situations of such dire circumstance.

The swim may take a while though - bummer.

;-)

With regards to NY snow: I grew up in NYC, but had friends in Corning, and Buffalo. No contest - those guys got pounded year after year. We did have it much easier: shut the city down for a day, and all is back to normal.