WINTER HELP - I'm new to winter driving

[sodjer]

Originally Posted by sweetpea

3. You can get snow tires, but honestly I would not if you have the stock tires and they have plenty of tread.

The stock tires are summer tires. It'll be like trying to drive on hockey pucks. If you don't have an all-season tire at minimum I wouldn't even try to drive the car in any type of winter weather, or extreme cold temps.

My Continental DWS06's got me through winter last year after my winter beater died unexpectedly. They were still somewhat sketchy and did struggle just a bit in deeper snow (4" was the most we got), but never got stuck. A true winter tire would be ideal.

[g e]

Scrape ALL of your windows, not just the bit in front of the steering wheel.

You need to be able to see what is going on around you.

Buy a decent one. Don't use a CD cover

[ToySub1946]

If you are driving a 2018 BRZ tS, don't even think about driving it in the winter, salted streets.


Buy another car, a beater/junker/salt car. Buy that second car from a place where it's never seen salt. Put 4 snow tires on that car. Park your nice car indoors till spring.


Salt does irreparable damage to the undercarriage of cars, even newer model cars. It's not the body of the car, but all the parts underneath the car which get ruined prior to the body.


Guess why I no longer live in the North East in winter....Been there, done that, totally depressing for a car nut it was.

[Chuckls]

Originally Posted by ToySub1946

If you are driving a 2018 BRZ tS, don't even think about driving it in the winter, salted streets.

Bet. I'll drive my tS in whatever weather I choose.

Just because some Jabroni on the internet said not to...doesn't mean I won't.

[FRSBRZGT86FAN]

Originally Posted by Leonardo

FYI, Nokian tires are from Finland. (Nokia is also a Finnish company)


I've been to Rovaniemi Finland; Porsche has their winter test track their.


https://www.porsche.com/silverstone/...y/wintercamps/


https://www.nokiantyres.com/company/about-us/history/

I absolutely love the nokian haakepelittas, I have a friend with a WRX and its night a day difference with blizzaks vs the hkps. They really know there stuff, they also used to have a tire that would get incredibly sticky/grippy in the cold as well in the 90s that they stopped making because of compounds changes.

Originally Posted by BryanE

First off here is a tiny info of me..http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showp...0&postcount=50...

Just recently got stationed in OH which is a huge game changer for me since I've lived in places like Texas and at the beach of MS so never had to deal with cold weather or winter car prep but now that i'm here i'm stressing out about preparing my car. What I can address easily so far is to place weight on my trunk which i can do i'll use weight plates but don't know how much i should use. Main concern is the salt on the road, now should i go to Ziebart and get a rust protection service done? .... so damn lost here

things ive heard to do

-weight at rear
-rust protection
-winter tires
-anti freeze? <- da fuq is that fml im screwed
-warm up car b4 operating

Originally Posted by sweetpea

3. You can get snow tires, but honestly I would not if you have the stock tires and they have plenty of tread. In my case I have aftermarket tires that are horrible on wet roads, let alone snow or ice.


.

I HIGHLY recommend you avoid driving on the stock primacys in any weather below 45 degrees. It's horrible, the tread has nothing to do with there grip level. The compound goes to shit at anything below that temperature level.

Buy some cheap rims and put some cheap all seasons or winter tires and you'll never drive on the stock stuff in the cold again....

[FRSBRZGT86FAN]

Originally Posted by Chuckls

Bet. I'll drive my tS in whatever weather I choose.

Just because some Jabroni on the internet said not to...doesn't mean I won't.

He was just looking out for the value of your car man

[BryanE]

Damn didn't expect more than 2 replies lol.

But thank you for all this info you all just saved me 500$ in the rust protection....money is TIGHT like extra tight after moving.

To address the whole anti freeze lmao my bad i stayed away from driving and cars for as long as possible ~16' and just jogged or rode a bike everywhere to stay in shape. (now that i have a car im glad i did that... shit is expensive!!!)

Can't afford another car im sitting comfortably right now and rather not sit at the edge of finances.

Winter tires might take a while because money. I have the stock tS Pilot tires that's gn have to do.

Warming up the car I've always done since I take a sec to choose music

Heard from one person before about washing the bottom of the car being fine as long as it was done once a week so i guess it should be fine

The extra weight on the back of the car definitely changes the characteristics, had about 100lbs in there for a month and once i cleared everything out of the car it felt so light and different (FUN)
@Everyone Thank you for all the general information it's cleared up a lot of my questions/concerns @sweetpea Thank you for the weather clarification on the WPAFB area

[FRSBRZGT86FAN]

Originally Posted by BryanE

Damn didn't expect more than 2 replies lol.

But thank you for all this info you all just saved me 500$ in the rust protection....money is TIGHT like extra tight after moving.

To address the whole anti freeze lmao my bad i stayed away from driving and cars for as long as possible ~16' and just jogged or rode a bike everywhere to stay in shape. (now that i have a car im glad i did that... shit is expensive!!!)

Can't afford another car im sitting comfortably right now and rather not sit at the edge of finances.

Winter tires might take a while because money. I have the stock tS Pilot tires that's gn have to do.

Warming up the car I've always done since I take a sec to choose music

Heard from one person before about washing the bottom of the car being fine as long as it was done once a week so i guess it should be fine

The extra weight on the back of the car definitely changes the characteristics, had about 100lbs in there for a month and once i cleared everything out of the car it felt so light and different (FUN)
@Everyone Thank you for all the general information it's cleared up a lot of my questions/concerns @sweetpea Thank you for the weather clarification on the WPAFB area

Definitely gonna have a bad time on the stock TS tires in the cold my man.

Disregard the tire comments sweetpea made, some of his other statements were off as well. Look at the comments the forum vets put on here for you, buy some cheap rims and maybe even partially used snow tires while you can and slap em on, you're definitely going to have difficulty driving if the roads start to moderately ice up or get precipitation on em

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by FRSBRZGT86FAN

Definitely gonna have a bad time on the stock TS tires in the cold my man....

Yep. Down to about 49 degrees they will be ok. Between 40 and freezing they will be tricky. Below freezing they are stupid hazardous.

Do not mess around with tires no matter what some guys may say. It isn’t the amount of snow but the cold that causes the issues. Summer performance tires are made of a firm compound so that they have the right amount of flex when hit. That firmness turns them into slippery hockey pucks even in bare dry pavement when cold.

Bryan
Even the cheapest winter tires out there are far better than the best summer ones. Check different places or even on here for somebody selling some used ones for cheap. Take my word for it that this is the only concern you need to have about winter driving. Get proper tires.

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

People will dispute this but I say do not put weight in the rear. It will improve traction yet but the trade off is that it changes the car's balance and if you start to slide will cause you grief.

+1

Originally Posted by sweetpea

Weight in the trunk does help and can throw the balance off, but you can just put a bag on each side to fix that

lol wut


He's talking about front-rear balance. Driving dynamics. VW beetles had an undeserved reputation for being good in the snow. Was true only if you knew how to handle them. Snap oversteer for days.

[Spuds]

Speaking from experience driving in the snow on stock summer tires (twice). Don't do it. You can get away with a dry winter on them if you drive like your grandma is with you, but the minute you get snow, or even melted snow, shit gets dangerous.

First time I tried it, made it 50 feet, turned around and went home. Last time (surprise snow storm), I abandoned the car in a parking lot and walked the last mile or so until the roads were clear. Im originally from upstate NY and very capable of driving in the snow if that means anything with my story.

Get a set of winter tires, or at least all-seasons that are well reviewed in the snow (The older Conti DWS were great, idk about the new version).

Stick some velcro strips or something on a couple of bags of snow melt or kitty litter before you put them in the back to keep them from sliding around. No strong opinion on whether it's best to have them or not.

Wash often. Warm up or not, doesn't really matter. Just keep the revs low until oil temp is good. Warms up faster if you drive it.

Get practice in an empty lot. Scope the lot out before snow to make sure there's no potholes or obstacles. I usually test out how slippery the snow is in a safe place before heading out. On an empty straight, gradually increase braking pressure till the ABS engages then let go. You now know the maximum deceleration the snow can handle. Assume you only get half of that under braking or turning and you'll be fine. You'll know when you try to accelerate too quickly lol.


Edit:TLDR: Get tires capable of winter driving.

[gravitylover]

DO NOT drive with the stock tires on snow, even cold pavement is questionable. Money might be tight but it will be worse when the car is wrecked or you have to leave it in the driveway because you can't go anywhere. Dig up $200-250 and find a set of used winter wheels with tires. Weight in the back seat not the trunk, trust me on this. You don't want the weight out behind the wheels you want it over the axle or just slightly ahead of it.

I've driven a couple of hundred thousand miles in hardcore winter conditions all over this country in all sorts of vehicles, this car when set up right is very competent and will take care of you well but you do need to realize that the other people that haven't set their vehicles up properly can't see you because they didn't clear their windows and they will probably slide into you because their tires are garbage. You need good tires to be able to get out of their way or stop before the problem arises.

[Tcoat]

Has anybody mentioned getting snow tires is a must yet?

[Ezk1el]

Hey man,

I've been living in Montréal and Québec City for the past 33 years, I know what winter looks like.

I owned a 2013 BRZ, 2015 STI and now a brand new 2018 BRZ RS since yesterday

The BRZ is a very capable car during winter BECAUSE it is extremely well balanced, do not mess around with that by putting weight in the trunk, it might help with traction at low speed but will fuck you up if you start going sideways at high speed.

The other thing is that the car is very low, be careful not to hit blocks of ice, etc..

Driving in winter with your stock tS tires is (excuse the language) fucking retarded. Buy a proper set of winter tires (all-seasons are garbage no matter what people say). Get a used set if you have to.

Why winter tires? BRAKING and STEERING, they will brake A LOT better and enable you to avoid collisions if necessary.

Finally, drive slower, much slower. Can't even count the number of moronic kids going 150km/h on the highway in snow I've seen crash and die in the ditch.

Get WINTER TIRES.

GET THEM.