Our daughter has a 2008 Fit and lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Since September of 2011, she has never complained about getting stuck in the wintertime, thanks to Michelin Ice-X 2 on factory steel wheels. Can't be sure, but I think I stayed with the stock wheel size.

The fuel tank is located under the 2 front seats, is that correct ? If yes, what's the recommended fuel quantity for optimum driveability in the snow ?
In other words, should the goal be to have most of the vehicle weight over the front wheels ? If yes, would that mean a full tank ? 1/2 tank ? 1/4 tank ?

It's my understanding that Winnipeg takes road clearinging very seriously, so that helps. She is a young adult with average driving skills. The goal is to minimize odds of getting stuck and maximize safety !

 

The amount of fuel has no effect from what I've noticed in my 08 Fit. Its just be careful and not to drive like its 80 outside and drive accordingly to the road conditions and weather.

 

Living in Colorado, I have driven in my fair share, although probably no to your levels. Have never had an issue with any level of fuel although I don't let it get below a 1/4 tank. The biggest issue is clearance.

 

I concur with the other posters; based on my experience living and driving in Vermont, fuel level has no discernible effect on drivability in the snow. (Well, if the fuel tank is completely empty, driving on snow (and anything else) is badly affected. )

Having good tires (as your daughter does) and having sufficient good common sense to go slowly or stay home in bad conditions (as I hope your daughter does) do far more for safely getting around than having any particular amount of fuel in the tank.

 

IMO, getting stuck depends on pre clearing snow before you park. If you just ram your car in a snow bank and let that snow harden overnight, you'll have a hell of a time getting out the next morning. As for getting stuck on ice, I carry this in my car:

Motomaster Tire Traction Aid | Canadian Tire

 

I would recommend checking the tread depth of the snow tires and also their production dates. (The production date is the last four numbers of the DOT code, usually in a recessed oval. A complete DOT code is stamped on one side and a partial DOT code on the other, which is missing the production date. <http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=11&bPostID=post-id-e400de69-9ebb-4d1f-8003-42442f989cbc&>) As tires age, they can lose their effectiveness.

With gasoline only weighing about 6.5 pounds per gallon, even a full tank is a rather small percentage of the weight of the vehicle.

 

I agree on the fuel tank level have no significant effect for this vehicle.

Now, if we had been talking a RWD 70s vehicle with an 18 gallon tank then I would say it was always better to have a full tank and a couple of 80 lb sand bags in the trunk.

I also agree that driving with good common sense helps a lot.

 

Remember that in a FWD car, letting off the throttle around corners will be the safest cornering option!

Getting rid of the junk factory tires would also be a good idea

You do not need purpose oriented winter tires to perform well during the snowy days. My Altimax tires are doing pretty darn good, they are aired up to 40psi currently (max for them is 51psi, and I run 45psi when its dry weather and good conditions)

 

 

I also concur with others on gas. I just have my wife fill up just after the halfway point, only so she doesn't run out of gas in the middle of nowhere, esp in the winter time. Only other thing I might advise is studded tires, but if ice isn't an issue, studdless should be fine. My folks live up in Wyoming with snow covered roads all winter, so studs are a necessity.

And 13fit has obviously never driven in snow with snow tires. Obviously doesn't know what he/she is talking about recommending all-season tires.

 

I agree with the others regarding fuel level and traction, especially considering that all the weight of the engine and transmission are over the front wheels. However, I'm the kind of guy who likes to keep my fuel tank as full as possible a) to displace moisture, b) to keep the fuel pump cool in hot weather (this is probably just my imagination) and c) in case of an emergency, like an earthquake or a blizzard.

I would worry about tires more than weight, and the Michelin site says your Michelin Ice-X tires are recommended for winter, so I guess you're good there.

 

Im from the north, guy. I have 11 years of driving and nearly 900k miles under my belt

Some of us cannot afford a second set of winter tires, or afford the space. I dont have a garage or a truck to store stuff.



So the next best thing is to get a good set of tires that perform well in snow and wet conditions. My current tires arre doing great in all aspects. About the only complaint is they are not silent on dry pavement.


I can go through a small puddle on the highway at 70mph and not hydroplane even the slightest.

Ive had the older model of my tires on other vehicles, and my del sol was a trooper in the snow. I made it through more snow in that tank then some of the rednecks with their 4x4s.



Bottom line, you need driving experience more then some fancy tires. I can still drive a car through the snow and rain with summer tires.


I also have ZERO accidents or car issues in my 11 years of driving. Never let the weather stop me from driving either, hence why Im actually experienced in pretty much any reasonable driving condition

 

Wow 11 years! You are catching me. I only have 45 so far.

One winter accident in my first year in which I slide into a car that unexpectedly turned into a driveway in front of me. Minor damage. The other two winter accidents where the cars where totaled were not my fault.

OP is concerned about his daughter's driving. A full tank or not will not make a difference. Tell her to turn off the damn phone, slow down and pay attention.

 

When my kids were new drivers, the first snowstorm of each season saw us at an empty, snowy parking lot, learning how their cars would react in the snow.

Even if they are far from home, the kids could do this on their own. There is nothing like practice and experience...

Who knows, they might become famous drifters someday.

 

Not in Quebec, where winter tires are required by law after the 15th of December. Hmmm, I guess the Quebec provincial government decided that winter tires (or snow tires in Texas lol) were enough of a difference in winter safety that they imposed them on all cars.

Last winter I had Champiro Ice pro tires and I was slip sliding all over the place (handbrake turns! Weeeeee!). I have since switched to the same Michelin XIce 2 tires as the OP and it is a big improvement and maybe a little less fun since I'm having a harder time getting those handbrake turns to work! Too much traction! So to further disprove 13fit's statement that "fancy tires" don't make a difference, I'd argue that even the difference in traction between different brands of winter tire is very evident.

Is it possible to use "driving skill" to drive a car on snow and ice? Absolutely, but why would you want to? You are bound to lose traction more easily which means more ABS overreacting and greater stopping distances forcing you to drive uber slowly. I'm all about safety but I ain't driving around town at 5mph on all seasons during a snow storm!

If you want safety, go with a tire that will give you the best traction in slippery (i.e. dangerous) driving conditions. If you want to challenge your "driving skills", go with 13Fit's recommendation. Just better pray that you don't encounter black ice!

Also, up north (where we lack the driving skill to get by with all season tires lol) people pay to get their summer tires stored (it's like 40$ for 4 tires). Also, having two sets of tires means double the tread life since you put less miles on each set of tires. So from a cost standpoint it's about the same since you will need to buy tires less often.

The cool thing is, my summer tires have way better traction than your all season on wet or dry pavement and my winters have way better traction than your all seasons on snow. To each his own :P

 

I think others covered it well, but your financial situation, space limitations, driving ability of your local demographic, etc. has nothing to do with the statement you made. Snow tires do help. And not just a little bit. A lot. I wish you safe journey with your A/S and/or summer tires. But advising others to take the same path as you, especially an inexperienced teenager, goes against all logic.

Vid from another thread.