WINTER HELP - I'm new to winter driving

[MuseChaser]

Originally Posted by Stang70Fastback

..

• Warm Car Up Before Operating: I do the same thing year-round. I start the car. I let it sit for the 30-or-so seconds that it remains in that loud, "initial startup" mode with the exhaust droning. This allows time for the oil to flow to all the areas of the engine, and start providing basic protection. As soon as it completes that mode, I drive. 30 seconds. That's it. You are welcome to let the car sit if you prefer the interior to be warm before you drive, but you aren't doing the vehicle any favors by letting it sit for more than a few seconds. An idle engine will take a LONG time to get up to operating temperature - especially on cold days. In that entire time it is warming up, it is operating outside of its normal range. This means poor tolerances, and increased wear-and-tear. The best option (though this differs depending on who you ask) is to give it a few seconds to allow the oil to flow, and then DRIVE THE CAR gently until it comes up to full temperature. This warms the engine up MUCH more quickly, reducing the time spent operating outside of the ideal temperature range. I just keep the RPMs below 3-4,000 until that happens. ....

That... exactly that, at least in terms of caring for your car. You may run into issues, depending upon temp/humidity inside and oustide the car, where the windshield will continually fog/frost over and blind you. Depending upon how good your washer fluid is, your wipers are, and if your nozzles aren't frozen or blocked, you can sometimes "squirt your way" to an eventually clear windshield as the engine warms up enough to allow the defroster do to its job, but it's generally a bad gamble.. sometimes if it's really cold you just end up with a nice thick coating of frosty ice. Needless to say, if you're on a road of any kind with other people, this is extremely dangerous.
Although I hate to do it, there have been times when I've had to just sit and let the car warm up enough so that the defroster blows at least fairly warm air. We see -10F and below frequently, and sometimes it's just better to wait and make sure that the windshield will stay clear before heading out in traffic.

[gravitylover]

Originally Posted by Stang70Fastback

[*]Warm Car Up Before Operating: I do the same thing year-round. I start the car. I let it sit for the 30-or-so seconds that it remains in that loud, "initial startup" mode with the exhaust droning. This allows time for the oil to flow to all the areas of the engine, and start providing basic protection. As soon as it completes that mode, I drive. 30 seconds. That's it. You are welcome to let the car sit if you prefer the interior to be warm before you drive, but you aren't doing the vehicle any favors by letting it sit for more than a few seconds. An idle engine will take a LONG time to get up to operating temperature - especially on cold days. In that entire time it is warming up, it is operating outside of its normal range. This means poor tolerances, and increased wear-and-tear. The best option (though this differs depending on who you ask) is to give it a few seconds to allow the oil to flow, and then DRIVE THE CAR gently until it comes up to full temperature. This warms the engine up MUCH more quickly, reducing the time spent operating outside of the ideal temperature range. I just keep the RPMs below 3-4,000 until that happens.

I start the car and let it idle for a few seconds until the idle stabilizes then let the clutch out and roll down the street utilizing the initial high idle to get the fluids flowing in the motor and tranny. I have a few blocks of downhill before I need to put my foot on the gas so everything is lubricated and ready to go. Like Muse said there are times when it has to idle for 10-15 minutes until the defroster is blowing warm, that's a PITA.

[Stang70Fastback]

Yup. Obviously don't start driving until you can see!!! And also clear the snow off of the ENTIRE vehicle. That includes ALL of the windows, the hood, roof, and trunk! None of that "half-the-windshield-is-good-enough" bullshit!

[Adam_L]

tires… tires….. winter tires, get a set!!

[BryanE]

Thanks guys for all the info and help. Sorry I went away for a while, got a new job and well you can assume the rest.

[dodj]

Hope the new job affords you the ability to buy some winters. I drove my BRZ once on the snow before my winters came in. The BRZ is a ridiculous handful in the snow with the factory original tires. Mine were Michelin somethings.
But with winter studded tires, Hankooks, the car is awesome until you start to drag the bottom and plow with the nose. About 10cm or so. So IMO, if you can't afford winters at the moment, only drive it when the roads are clear/dry.


As to the weight in the back debate, 30 or 40 pounds of sand in the back of the car can really help you out when stuck and need a bit more traction to get moving. Especially when the temp is right around the freezing point and snow gets really greasy. By 'a bit more traction' , I mean you can take some of that sand and sprinkle it on the ground for your tires. Not that the 40 pounds will make that much difference in whether you get stuck or not.



And if you are driving in the snow in such a way that the 40 pounds in the back makes a noticeable difference to the cars handling - you are pushing way tooo hard. Winter insn't the time to clip the apex and come out of the corner with maximum speed. Have patience until spring time.

[Sasquachulator]

Originally Posted by dodj

Hope the new job affords you the ability to buy some winters. I drove my BRZ once on the snow before my winters came in. The BRZ is a ridiculous handful in the snow with the factory original tires. Mine were Michelin somethings.
But with winter studded tires, Hankooks, the car is awesome until you start to drag the bottom and plow with the nose. About 10cm or so. So IMO, if you can't afford winters at the moment, only drive it when the roads are clear/dry.


As to the weight in the back debate, 30 or 40 pounds of sand in the back of the car can really help you out when stuck and need a bit more traction to get moving. Especially when the temp is right around the freezing point and snow gets really greasy. By 'a bit more traction' , I mean you can take some of that sand and sprinkle it on the ground for your tires. Not that the 40 pounds will make that much difference in whether you get stuck or not.



And if you are driving in the snow in such a way that the 40 pounds in the back makes a noticeable difference to the cars handling - you are pushing way tooo hard. Winter insn't the time to clip the apex and come out of the corner with maximum speed. Have patience until spring time.

Its a handful cuz the stock OEM tires are Michelin Primacy. they are grand touring summer tires, which means they have non-existent winter capabilities.

[Swaggrenox]

I have 12k on my stock Primacys and last week we got our first snowstorm in Montreal. The roads were very slippery and half cleared. I had my appointment to get my winter tires mounted on that same day. I managed to get out of the snow bank with some throttle control, I drove slowly on the streets and managed to crawl my way to the garage without exceeding 30km/h. A police car was driving behind me 3-4 blocks before taking me over on the left and gave me a thumbs up.

I wouldn't do that again but that early snowstorm really took me by surprise. I wouldn't recommend the stock tires for winter driving to anyone.

I have not seen a single person here talk about studs on a winter tire but it makes a HUGE difference if studs are allowed in your area.

My recommendation for winter tires :
- Michelin Xi3, Blizzaks or Nokian Hakkas if no studs
- Cheaper Chinese brand with studs (Ironman Polar Trax WPS, Zeta Antarctica Ice)

I personally got the Ironman tires on 4tires.ca for 100$ per tire, and they are the best winter tires I've ever had and grip like no other tires. I have no problems getting out of snow banks. However, they are VERY loud. If noise is a problem to you, don't go for studs.

About weight in the trunk, this is my 5th winter on a BRZ in Montreal winter with public outdoor parking. I never had any trouble without added weight in the back, but I had trouble getting out of snowbanks during huge snowstorms. It was so bad even SUVs around me had trouble. I would not recommend any extra weight on the car.

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by sodjer

Holy crap! I just noticed Mt. Holly and Gastonia. Word to my East Coast fam.


Yeah, you know who you are.

[RToyo86]

If price is no object bizzaks or hakkapelittas. The hakkapelittas work better on pavement, which would be a better all around tire for our cars in my opinion.

X-ice, Altimax arctics, pirelli ice zero r Are good cheaper alternatives.

Currently I'm on a set of ice zero R tires[205/55r16]. They're very quiet and work well on pavement. They don't bite as hard in deep snow as the blizzaks or the hakkapelittas, but I got a good deal on them and I'm more than satisfied.

[Breadman]

Originally Posted by Sasquachulator

Its a handful cuz the stock OEM tires are Michelin Primacy. they are grand touring summer tires, which means they have non-existent winter capabilities.

its also useful on winter tires. especially when the plus kicks a bunch of shit under your car or it freezes up under. when ever it snows i put 2 things in my trunk, a sack of salt, and a toe rope. ive had to use both

[Willie Swoopes]

Don't like 'em! I don't like winter tires!

They ride like tall SUV tires, all rubbery and wiggly when the temperature gets above 40° F.

But, I got caught in a snow storm that arrived sooner then I hoped. I was glad to have them. I live in the fields and forests and rolling hills of southeastern Pennsylvania where the roads wander all over the place, and hills are frequent. Winter tires are a must. The car handles just fine in the slipperiest of snows, up hill and down.

And yes they are safer even on dry pavement.

Continental WinterContact SI plus a set of FRS rims I got off this forum. Good luck with your BRZ.

[dodj]

Originally Posted by Sasquachulator

Its a handful cuz the stock OEM tires are Michelin Primacy. they are grand touring summer tires, which means they have non-existent winter capabilities.

My primacy tires say 'all season' on them.... But you are correct, non existent winter capability.

[Stang70Fastback]

Originally Posted by dodj

My primacy tires say 'all season' on them.... But you are correct, non existent winter capability.

No they don't. Unless they aren't the same Primacys that came with the car from the factory. I'm only aware of two factory-equipped tires for these vehicles: Michelin Primacy HP (summer tire) or Bridgestone Turanza EL400 (all-season tire.)