[Drivesthebeast]

Had the same problem, especially after being lowered...but I made a habit, like Anthony to knock the snow out of the front wheel wells as often as I could with the handle of my ice scraper, and also washed the crap out of the car at least once per week (unless it was like -40 every day and night). Having snow tires on the stock 15's helped a lot with cutting the snow/ice buildup too...when I still had the OEM Goodyear RSA's on the rims, the buildup in the wells was noticeably worse.

Waiting to see what happens with the Escape this year...Don't think I'll have too much issue, as I've got Bridgestone Dueler A/T Revo's on it now instead of the stock Conti's, and my buddy's 03 Escape Ltd got around in bad snow with bald stock tires (though getting the truck to drift in 4wd was pretty easy to do on tight corners or in parking lots).