If this car is your daily driver, how is it doing this WINTER? With the potholes.....

[Porsche]

Originally Posted by Wattage

This car has been a lot better in the snow than I expected. I didn't skimp out on snow tires though - I have some pretty good Nokian ones.

Good man on the Nokians.

I am amazed that anyone would risk their life (and mine), and their FINANCIAL FUTURE driving on summer only rubber in the snow. If they were to lose control and cause someone else a serious injury, the victim's lawyer could, and probably would, sue for negligence. The victim might win a massive judgment in their favor, which could mean the driver on the summer rubber might lose their assets and have their pay garnished for the next twenty years paying off the judgment to the injured party.

But, mostly, who wants to hurt someone else?

Summer tires do NOT work in the snow.

What actually pisses me off is that the windows start acting all screwy. Windows go down when I open the door, but then don't go back up. I'm not sure if this is cold weather related or not but I can't even operate the passenger side window from the drivers side door anymore.

Yes. A Subaru that dislikes winter! It's bizarre.

Your windows are behaving as they were designed to do. It doesn't require much moisture around the base of the glass to freeze up and impede the glass lowering automatically when the door is opened.

It the system senses much resistance to opening the glass, it triggers a protection mechanism that "turns off" the way the windows normally work.

On my 2013 BRZ Limited, that seems to happen pretty much every time there's snow or ice and I open the door.

The window must be reset or "initialized." The manual explains how, and it's simple enough. There are numerous threads here outlining the procedure.

Note that when resetting the passenger side window, one must be seated in the passenger seat and use the window switch on that side to initialize the window computer again for that door.

It's a nuisance.

[Porsche]

Oh, and I thought maybe the glass was just freezing to the upper rubber trim. So, I slathered silicone GREASE all over everything. It was a right mess.

It didn't help at all.

The window froze up and "malfunctioned" every time.

So, it was NOT sticking at the top along the weather stripping. For what it's worth, in case you were inclined to try that...

[Wattage]

Hahaha nah, I figured it was the electronics.

Thanks for the advice on resetting the logic, I'll have to try that when it warms up.

[Nevermore]

I put some stock sized Hankook winter i*Pikes on the stock wheels and they are handling winter pretty well. I'm guessing for more intense winters people would want these studded, or something more serious like Blizzak. These are a good winter performance tire that don't squirm or shimmy at highway speeds and have pretty good grip on dry roads. If this was a normal winter they would be perfect, but since there's been so much snow this year it has been slippery in some places, but so far no issues.

As for the pot holes, my daily commute takes me over a road that has some pot holes and the most manhole covers I've ever seen on any one road. It can get a bit bumpy, but I haven't had any problems. I'm worried it might wear out the suspension though.

[Lizai]

Originally Posted by Zzzquil

Winter driving, drives nothing less than awesome! I pass people on the highway all the time when its bad out, dedicated winter tires does wonders!

As for the potholes, they get me once or twice but I memorize where they're at (for my route to school), so I can easily avoid them.

I live in Michigan btw, and am currently using Blizzak ws70's.

I live in Michigan too. Do you think it's a good time changing back to all season tires?

[BRZBlack]

16 inch steelies wrapped in Blizzak ws70. Almost impossible to lose control (when going a reasonable speed). Example... I drove from my apartment in Wilmette to Gurnee during the snowstorm (bout 30 miles or so) we had earlier this week to pick up a PS4. I saw cars in the guard rail and others pulled over about every half mile. Mostly SUV's too. Dedicated winters are a must for this car. I picked up my set mounted and balanced with shipping for $800 on tirerack. Just as soon as it gets above 50 degrees on a regular basis, switch back to whatever summer wheels/tires you have or they will wear out really fast.

As for the potholes in Chicago? I stay off the roads that are bad. They aren't really potholes here.... more like pot craters.

[Aaron.H]

Originally Posted by Lizai

I live in Michigan too. Do you think it's a good time changing back to all season tires?

Generally If the temp will stay above 7C (45F) than it's ok to switch back to the all seasons but below those temperatures the winter tires will perform better

[Sarlacc]

I've said it before and I will repeat myself:

GET WINTER TIRES. Get good ones. The difference in grip is HUGE.
If you expect to drive on ice a lot, get studded winter tires. Otherwise, studless are better.

I have no sympathy and no respect for anyone driving on winter roads with inferior tires.

This is my GT86 with Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2 215/55R16 studless tires.

[dp1]

Originally Posted by Sarlacc

I've said it before and I will repeat myself:

GET WINTER TIRES. Get good ones. The difference in grip is HUGE.
If you expect to drive on ice a lot, get studded winter tires. Otherwise, studless are better.

I have no sympathy and no respect for anyone driving on winter roads with inferior tires.

This is my GT86 with Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2 215/55R16 studless tires.

That

[ninedice]

I have the Turanza "all-season" tires that came stock on the car. They are the worst tires I have ever used. They make the car unusable in almost any snow; even on level ground I can't move. It gets rather cold here in Wisconsin, (was getting down to -25F here for a while) and these tires are basically plastic at that temp. Hopefully most of the snow is done for a while. I'll be getting snow tires next year and putting a bunch of weight in the back.

The car itself however mostly works fine. It starts right up even at -25F. The windows don't like going up/down when the door opens/closes but that's fine. It refuses to shift into second when its that cold.

TLDR; buy winter tires and 2nd gear doesn't work when cold.

[Regalo]

I was coming home from work and saw a snow covered in parking lot, and on the way home, I kept fishtailing all over the place and I couldn't drive over 20 mph. I kept getting stuck as well. Once I had to call out because I couldn't get out of my driveway. This was with the stock tires and I thought to myself never again. I finally got myself a set of 16" wheels with michelin x-ice tires thanks to a certain member on the forum and we had a snow storm that night. I can actually drive in the snow with no trouble at all. I rarely ever get stuck and fishtail.

As for potholes, my city looks like a warzone so I'm mapping out where they are on my daily commute and drive like I'm either drunk, or I'm in autox. I was once pulled over by a cop because he thought I was drunk and laughed when I told him I was avoiding potholes like a plague. I did run over one nasty pothole and got worried. No damages thank god.

Here's a pic with the snow that hit us that night. Drove through it like a boss.

[userjack6880]

It doesn't snow here (but maybe once a year), but a heavy rain will wear holes into the horribly maintained roads of my city. I deal with them year-round. I just take it as an opportunity to test the car's handling. A makeshift slalom course on the way to work.

[shaunsweeney]

When I traded my rubicon in for the frs I made them cute me a check for $1k for a winter set. Went with 16" steelies wrapped in continental extreme winter contacts. The car is manageable in the snow. I live on a very steep hill and if it isn't plowed and more than an inch or two I can't make it up. Makes me miss the jeep. Luckily winter doesn't last forever.

[Deslock]

Originally Posted by rogerdalien

and, well, snow itself! For snow driving did you replace the wheels with a winter set? How'd that go?

Also, what about the potholes, has that been a problem for anyone?

I think maybe 16 inch wheels with some fat balloony sidewalls would've helped this winter.

Please chime in with your thoughts.

It's fine as long as your remember the 5 Ds:

Dodge, Duck, Dip, Dive, and... Dodge