I posted this before but wanna try again. On the fence about an 02 HD. I can one at a-plan pricing. Only thing keeping me from pulling the trigger are the Cleveland, Ohio winters. Any thoughts/opinions?

Thanks

 

Hey Sean;

Before the HD I had a Lightning which lived through 2 winters.

The F1's on the L weren't as bad as you would think in the snow-at least when they were newer.

The HD has a different set of tires -Goodyear GTII. Seems to have a more of an all season type of tread as opposed to the race inspired F1's on the L. They are at least equal to the F1's in the rain, which is a good sign.

I would think the HD would be better in the slop than the L given the additional weight and more siping on the GTII's. You will NOT be blasting through 6" of virgin snow without a plow escort however!

It is all about the tires however. You can feather the pedal to limit
wheel spin-it's not just full speed smokin rears or stop. Other people who've had L's have used a smaller take-off wheel from an Expedition or Navigator and mounted snows to those. You definitely would need to go -4 (=16" rim) if you want an aggressive all-terrain tire that won't require a bank loan to purchase.

There is a way to drive it if you want.

Regards,
Frank

 

Sean -

I just bought my 02, I live in Columbus, now by no means do we have anywhere near the snow that you guys do, but my plan is this, keep a beater laying around for the winter. Same as I always did with my Vette's, I will be tucking this beauty away for a winter hibernation. I will swallow my pride for a few months until the sun shines again. Plus, too many uncontrollable accidents happen in the snow, so I will not take the chace of somebody slipping on ice and hitting me, it isn't woth it.

George

 

I live in Park City, Ut and we have a lot of snow and ice. I bought an '02 HD with the plan to put studded snow & ice tires on in the winter months on 17x 8 ARE wheels that I allready have. I plan on using Nokian tires (they make a 265-60-17) My experience is that tires are the secret and stopping and directional stability may be more important than starting ability. Two wheel drive should be OK. Take a look at this link.

http://www.nokiantires.com/indexen.html

 

George620 has a good idea.....I'm originally from Sout Philly, and I know they use LOTS of salt on the roads there. Read a recent article about PennDot having problems storing all the salt they have since this past winter was milder than most. All my old man's cars always had rot out on them, despite Ziebart and other thing the old man found in JC Whitney that stopped rust.
Thinking of that alone, I'd park it for the winter and drive it an hour a week on sunny Sundays with dry roads...Rube

 

Thanks guys. That's what I was looking for, feedback from guys who regularly drive their vehicles in the snow. I had a 96 t-bird and on some winter days it could be a nightmare but I never owned a truck without 4x4. It would have to be a daily driver for me but your suggestions would help out a lot.

Now where did I put my ford dealer's number . . . . .?

 

Sean,

I am not sure where you are buying from, but I dealt with Marshall Ford in Cleveland, very class act, and I nearly got plan pricing without qualifying for a plan, they blew away the local columbus dealers.

I would recommend if you are going to go to them ask for Stephen Douglas, very professional to deal with, and tell him that you spoke with George Milligan, no kick backs here, just want him to know that when a good job is done, I appreciate it by pushing his name.

George

 

Hey George0620,

Marshall was the first dealer I went to and they really wanted my business. They have 2 HDs on the lot that have been there for 3-4 months. I've bought most of my vehicles from Mullinax East who did a spectacular job on getting me the SCrew I wanted after quite a mix with the moonroof. They have 3 there. Were you dealing with Ricart down in Columbus?

 

I purchased a set of expedition 16" rims and some used goodyears for winter driving. The GTII's are rated for all-season but I don't want to chance messing up the HD rims.