I bought a 2004 E350 15 pass. back in May, and I was curious how they handle in the snow. I am in NJ, so snowy winters are hit or miss. I have the 5.4 gas V8, 3.55 non-limited slip rear. Bridgestone Dueler HL tires, they have the "M+S" rating. The van plus my gear weigh in at a stout 7500 pounds, so I know the weight alone will help me out. Do I need to start shopping for a set of dedicated snow tires?

 

The E350 is right up there as one of the worse snow handling vehicles I know of. All that weight does very little good and you loose rear traction real real fast.

I have a pair of dedicated tires, mounted and all and they DO make a world of difference. I ran Goodyear Workhorse Extra Grips (have to be the extra grips). They were noisy but I felt very confident in the snow with them. But, I also had a set of chains just in case at all times once the snow starts to fall.

With just the regular highway M+S, the van would get stuck on almost any type of an incline. At least that's been my experience with it.

 

My van will get stuck in it's own shadow even with good tires.... the only real way to know you will go in the snow is to buy some chains and keep them with you during bad weather.

They are a little more hassle but a lot less expensive than buying dedicated snow tires


Frank

 

Thanks guys-I've got a good set of roller chains on my *bay snipe list.

 

I have a 91 E150 and any slight incline it will slide all over the place. I always have chains with me and with these on I am very confident anywhere it needs to go.

 

Dad worked for the telephone company for 30 years, weather condition has no effect on whether they go out on a call, he never had an issue with his van. Tires were not upkept either, closer to his retiring, he was doing quite a few tire changes, they'd give him another used tire to replace his spair, and still send him on call that other companies used a 4x4 to get to. It all has to do with proper driving habits and skill, he never had to call a wrecker to come get him. He was quite entertained during the winter, the crew always had a pool going on dumbest accident witnessed, since the public drove on ice as if it was a regular sunny summer day, speeding down hills that end at a cross street, and expect to make the turn.
I went through the Smokey Mountains before the rangers closed the road due to snow and ice, I was amazed at the idiots power sliding around curves, there are drop offs that seem to never end, the snow would ramp a person over the guardrail, but no one gave any thought, were very few vehicles out there thank god. Earlier this month I took another trip to Cherokee, NC on the mountain pass, nice weather, been a long time since my last trip, I had to have been crazy, hair pin turns, steep, long up and down areas, so steep you smell everyones brakes. I had no problems, no sliding or skidding

 

Here's another thought . . . I was reading up on this powertrax (just do a web search for it). It's supposed to send power to the gripping wheel instead of the slipping wheel. Why don't they make this kind of thing standard? I don't see how it could be any price different than a standard differential when built. Anyways, the cost is about $430 for my E350 for parts, no idea on the labor yet. If the van didn't already have 131K on it I would have bought and installed already. I would think that something like this would really improve the snow handling capabilities. My problem is not with slipping or skidding while moving, it's just getting it to move on the slipper roads. If I have to stop and the start on hill, I'm in trouble. We've gotten stuck a few times but we were able to rock it free. I want to be able to just press the peddle and go.

 

Just put my clear corner lamps on, with the amber LED bulbs, they look really good.....

 

 

Carrfamilynj, I've had them a while, love the look, hoping to get up the money for the headlamp housing replacement, believe they would not cut back the light passage as much as the stock set. No, my housings aren't dirty or fogged up, they just give out poor lighting, even with the upgraded bulbs, would like to get the HID kit for it, but $300 is a bit much right now.

 

I like the look of the crystal clear composite headlights, but the reflected beam pattern is awful. I had a set on my S10 and they were nowhere near the stock lens output. It wasn't the bulb, but the reflector surface at the back of the housing just doesn't do a good enough job of putting the light where it needs to be.

 

They have the guard in front of the bulb on these, so all the light is reflected. On the stock headlamp, the light shines straight thru the prismatic lens, which does a much better job.

 

That's what I've been viewing on ebay for the 93+ Econolines, one has the clear corners with it, and not much more than the price of just the heads, hope to get the money to buy them soon. Definately want the HID kit, has the balast and everything for direct hook up.

 

Can you post a link for the HID setup?

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ford-...44311154QQrdZ1
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/HID-X...41810071QQrdZ1
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Musta...43102539QQrdZ1
There are many, a guy on another truck site was selling some too, said the best ones have a seperate wire from the ballast to your battery, said it eleminates the voltage spikes that kill most ballast resistors.