Winter Driving?

[Suberman]

Originally Posted by Kazuya

It's white and like a u shape, it's the only piece that sticks out under your hood. I scraped the fuck out of it. Worry it might cause damage to the engine pieces later on.

Are you referring to the tow ring/shipping tie down ring?

That is pretty strong so I wouldn't worry about it. I think there's one at the rear as well. These cars are tied down to the deck of a ship in transit across the pacific so they need places to attach the tie down chains.

[Suberman]

Originally Posted by daiheadjai

I've been meaning to do that (as if the BRZ needed any less trunk space), but I'm concerned about it sliding around in the trunk.
Have you encountered any movement in those bags? Should I get that, or sand (factoring in also the possible need to use it to get the car out of sticky situations)?

Most of the stuff I put in the BRZ trunk ends up sliding all over the place anyway

Subaru has two nice accessories I bought for my car in anticipation of cornering forces throwing stuff around the trunk. One is a folding organizer and the other is a non skid flexible rubber mat. I bought them from Subaru because I thought the pricing was quite reasonable for the quality of the Subaru branded products.

Ditto the Subaru windshield sunshade which is nicely made and reasonably priced.

http://www.subaru.ca/WebPage.aspx?We...&WebSiteID=282

For all Subaru BRZ accessories available in Canada from our dealers:

http://www.subaru.ca/WebPage.aspx?We...&WebSiteID=282

[krayzie]

Originally Posted by Suberman

Subaru has two nice accessories I bought for my car in anticipation of cornering forces...

When I read that sentence the first things that came to my mind were the Flexible Tower Brace and the Flexible Draw Stiffener.

[krayzie]

Originally Posted by Kazuya

It's white and like a u shape, it's the only piece that sticks out under your hood. I scraped the fuck out of it. Worry it might cause damage to the engine pieces later on.

Okay I think I've found the right picture:



Crap I think I scratched that too when I bottomed out leaving PMall one evening ugh!!

[1Cor10:23]

Originally Posted by Kazuya

It's white and like a u shape, it's the only piece that sticks out under your hood. I scraped the fuck out of it. Worry it might cause damage to the engine pieces later on.

It's the shipping tow hook, scrapped mine pretty hard as well during my first week (loud as hell when it happened) backing out from a driveway, clipped the corner as the curb started to rise near the extremities of the driveway.

[Kazuya]

Originally Posted by krayzie

Okay I think I've found the right picture:



Crap I think I scratched that too when I bottomed out leaving PMall one evening ugh!!

Exactly that!

I'm sure it's like welded into our body frame for it to give me a big vibration when I hit the curb.

You guys gotta watch for hidden snow banks on curbs

[7thgear]

pro tip, if you have trouble controlling your drifts, upshift to 3rd or 4th, the throttle becomes much more manageable.


also, always have a GAME PLAN, you absolutely NEED to know where you intend the drift to end up. This means planning and looking ahead, if you simply drift for the sake of drifting you will eventually run into something.

[daiheadjai]

Originally Posted by Suberman

Subaru has two nice accessories I bought for my car in anticipation of cornering forces throwing stuff around the trunk. One is a folding organizer and the other is a non skid flexible rubber mat. I bought them from Subaru because I thought the pricing was quite reasonable for the quality of the Subaru branded products.

Ditto the Subaru windshield sunshade which is nicely made and reasonably priced.

http://www.subaru.ca/WebPage.aspx?We...&WebSiteID=282

For all Subaru BRZ accessories available in Canada from our dealers:

http://www.subaru.ca/WebPage.aspx?We...&WebSiteID=282

The rubber mat seems very reasonably priced.
I'll try to get it for free from my salesman (given my GPS doesn't work)

[Suberman]

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=181

[Suberman]

Finally got stuck today, twice. Had to reverse out to get clear.

I will say one thing in this car's favour for driving in winter, that Torsen just keeps the tires digging. If there's traction available the Torsen will find it. The Torsen also works well in reverse.

I'll be putting two 20kg bags of traction sand in the trunk soon and see if that tames this beast.

This BRZ is definitely the worst winter driver I've ever tried to drive in heavy snow.

I do find second gear starts beneficial. The TC is also very competent. Even the fully on TC allows some wheelspin in these severe low traction conditions.

Definitely not the tires. The Sottozeros are more than up to the task. Stopping just isn't an issue and neither is steering. Straight line traction is just pathetic. There's no other adjective more suitable: pathetic.

If you're wondering what severe means, check the snowfall for Calgary since December 1.

[7thgear]

in your other thread you mention that your winter tires are 225/40


had you put on 205's/60 or thereabouts you might have found your car respond much better to the snow.

[daiheadjai]

Originally Posted by 7thgear

in your other thread you mention that your winter tires are 225/40


had you put on 205's/60 or thereabouts you might have found your car respond much better to the snow.

FWIW, I'm on 205/55R16 - I had been doubting my choice to go with 16s, but after the last few days, these tires have proven their worth.
Is a thicker sidewall really that necessary though? Would 205/45R17s have been just as good?

[7thgear]

Originally Posted by daiheadjai

FWIW, I'm on 205/55R16 - I had been doubting my choice to go with 16s, but after the last few days, these tires have proven their worth.
Is a thicker sidewall really that necessary though? Would 205/45R17s have been just as good?

thicker is the wrong word

the taller sidewall is softer, providing the much needed compliance to an otherwise stiff car.

the narrower cross-section creates for a balanced contact patch for straight line and cornering, as well as aiding the car to cut through the snow and slush.

For next winter i'm even considering going down to 195.

[Suberman]

Originally Posted by daiheadjai

FWIW, I'm on 205/55R16 - I had been doubting my choice to go with 16s, but after the last few days, these tires have proven their worth.
Is a thicker sidewall really that necessary though? Would 205/45R17s have been just as good?

I'm thinking this might be the $64K question for these cars.

Does a taller sidewall really help solve the problem of appallingly low straight line grip?

The really weird thing is that cornering and braking seen fine. The rear axle steps out rather easily under any power but it seems controllable. It is the squirming from side to side when you're trying to go straight that is a bit bizarre. We only have 200 hp!

I'm on 225/45x17 slightly taller sidewalks than stock.

205/45 would have shorter sidewalls than stock. 205/50x17 would be the same as my 225/45 and slightly taller than stock.

Narrower tires on the same diameter rims would require higher tire pressure.

I ran my 2001 Audi S4 (chipped up to 360 lb ft of torque) on 205/50x17 Nokian RSI and found the tire performed less well than a 205/55x16 Nokian Hakka Q or a 225/45x17 Sottozero. I put that down to the smaller air chamber volume in effect increasing the stiffness of the tire.