Corey: Yep! Still have it!
I agree with everything you said... except this. My MKS with AWD would go anywhere in the snow but it was unsafe... those fat 20" all-seasons wouldn't steer or stop.
The big snow storm we got after the Super Bowl about 2 years ago (Where Ferndale declared a state of emergency) was a good test for my RS-As. The SHO plowed through that stuff without any issues (literally - lots of snow packed behind the grille). Yes, stopping and taking off on ice is going to be an issue as with any vehicle without dedicated snow tires. I could stop, cut the wheels, and take off. The Crown Vic would have bogged down even with BFG All-Terrain T/As (which are mountain/snowflake rated) or snow tires. I can launch in slush as well with the AWD.
But I'll never go back to RWD for a daily driver and I used to do the snow tire swap exercise but gave up because it was a PITA. We don't get enough snow in SE MI to warrant them, but we get enough snow and cold that I can't run performance tires either. Heck, if I had the dough, I'd go with an AWD performance car. They launch like torpedoes out of a tube even with regular tires. If you want that extra assurance, snow tires on an AWD would make it even better. A car like the Hellcat is fun, but I wouldn't want to drive one in the snow even with snow tires. It's better to split the torque among 4 wheels instead of 2.
My SHO's 60' time is about 1.7-1.8 and that's with worn out 3-year old RS-As. I checked time slips for those with dedicated drag radials, and they are maybe 0.1 seconds faster in the 60'.
There is a reason I went with the non-PP SHO for 2014, it comes with 255/45R19's while the PP SHO has 245/45R20's. There is a difference in tread width based on OEM specs.
For some reason, these 255 RS-As stick like glue in everything except rain - they'd hydroplane badly when new compared to the factory 10+ year old Pirelli's on my 07 Mustang GT (I did a test). The SHO felt unsafe in the rain on flooded roads when new, whereas the old hard as a rock Pirellis on the GT sliced through standing water.
If they equipped the PP with all-seasons instead of those summer racing tires, I'd have gone with the PP. I picked my SHO up with 3 inches of ice/snow in the subdivisions. They wouldn't swap out the Eagle F1 tires at the dealership and wanted me to go to a local shop to do it. I opted for the non-PP.
I forgot to add:
Stock SHO runs 10-11 psi, with a tune they can go up to 20 psi but the turbos lose efficiency (and pump out heat) above 16 psi.
