Winter Car Prep

[Pbrown]

I would go with what Roddy has to say. He drove to Ottawa last February for our winter meet (3 hours one way) in a driving snow storm ( we got 30+cm's that day) and had no issues, although his car was more white than blue when he arrived. Just an FYI. I use the stock rims with I pikes and had no issues, also crowned the car which had maybe 3 drops of drip all winter and very easy to remove in the spring, also always wax my wife's and my car in September for a little added protection. My 2 cents.

[FRiSson]

Forget about putting weight in the back. In a car that is designed as much as possible to concentrate weight towards the center of the car. It makes no sense to add weight away from the center as you are essentially encouraging the car to pivot away from the slide.

[torqdork]

Putting the FR-S in storage Nov-Apr, placing the FJ Cruiser in service. With the cinders used on the roads here, I'd need a repaint every Spring. If I didn't have the FJC, I'd buy a beater 4X4 Toyota pickup.

[Soulman03]

My basic automotive engineering analysis of putting weight directly over the rear wheels (assuming no change in CG, not a perfect analysis):

Edit: Just realized how long that is.. so TL;DR - your maximum traction won't change and the car will oversteer more than previous.

Where µ is the coefficient of friction (irrelevant if we’re comparing identical cars with the exception of added weight in the rear), a is the longitudinal distance from the center of gravity (CG) to the front axle, b is the longitudinal distance from the CG to the rear axle, m is the mass of the car, g is the acceleration due to gravity, h is the vertical distance from the ground to the CG, l is the distance from the front axle to the rear, Rr is the rolling resistance of the tires. In our discussion, the only difference will be the weight distribution as well as the overall mass of the car.

Acceleration: http://cars.about.com/od/scion/fr/20...r-S-Review.htm 53% front (a/l = 0.53), 47% rear (b/l = 0.47) weight distribution, m*g (stock) = 2800 lbs, m*g (added) = 2950 lbs, I’ll assume the CG remains at the same height although that’s probably not entirely true it shouldn’t be affected too much. The equation gets much simpler, as shown. Stock: Wf = 2800*0.53 = 1484, Wr = 2800*0.47 = 1316. New: Wf = 1484, Wr = 1466 (not perfect, I know, but close enough for argument’s sake) > a/l = 50.3%, b/l = 49.7%. So the weight in the front hasn’t changed (a/l) so your maximum tractive effort (maximum acceleration) hasn’t changed.

Steering: The equation that matters is the understeer gradient. The cornering stiffness will not change, nor will the weight in the front. More weight in the rear will cause this gradient to become more negative, meaning the car will oversteer more.

Note: This is not perfect and the assumptions for maximum tractive effort can be disputed; however, the math for the understeer gradient is simple and a car with more weight in the rear than previous will oversteer more heavily than previous.

[Myv]

I ordered Winter i-cept evo, according to a magazine rating, it's pretty decent hopefully it'll hold up. It was also on clearance ($80~/per)

Mounting 205/50R17 XL on stock rims, then new rims and tires for summer.

[KevinBRZ]

I wanted to get a price for winter tires today from some store online, and the rep said I couldn't use any because the speed rating was too low. Obviously it's too low compared to the summer tires, they are winter tires. Who is going to be going over 200km/h in winter? Anyway, now I have to go into the store. I just thought that was weird and they should know better.

Is there any sort of snow brush without bristles for clearing snow off the car? I don't want my clear coat to look like sand paper went over it.

[roddy]

Originally Posted by Pbrown

I would go with what Roddy has to say. He drove to Ottawa last February for our winter meet (3 hours one way) in a driving snow storm ( we got 30+cm's that day) and had no issues, although his car was more white than blue when he arrived. Just an FYI. I use the stock rims with I pikes and had no issues, also crowned the car which had maybe 3 drops of drip all winter and very easy to remove in the spring, also always wax my wife's and my car in September for a little added protection. My 2 cents.

I was going to mention that drive but didn't want to come across like I was bragging or something. If nothing else, it convinced (and surprised) me of this car's abilities in bad weather. The combination of traction control, stability control, and a limited slip differential are very effective at keeping you moving and pointed in the right direction.

Good point on the waxing...I'm on holidays next week, so I should get a couple of coats on there.

[roddy]

Originally Posted by KevinBRZ

I wanted to get a price for winter tires today from some store online, and the rep said I couldn't use any because the speed rating was too low. Obviously it's too low compared to the summer tires, they are winter tires. Who is going to be going over 200km/h in winter? Anyway, now I have to go into the store. I just thought that was weird and they should know better.

Is there any sort of snow brush without bristles for clearing snow off the car? I don't want my clear coat to look like sand paper went over it.

That does sound odd. Watch they don't try to talk you into a more expensive tire on that premise.

There are silicone squeegee type brushes that many car dealers use, but I'm inclined to think that they would drag any dirt/grit/salt that is there across the paint, creating scratches. Once Canadian tire has all their winter stuff out, take a walk through the snow brush isle and feel the bristles. Some of the more modern designs are already frayed on the ends, and are very soft. I used one of these types last year, and the paint still looks great.

[Taro]

Originally Posted by roddy

That does sound odd. Watch they don't try to talk you into a more expensive tire on that premise.

There are silicone squeegee type brushes that many car dealers use, but I'm inclined to think that they would drag any dirt/grit/salt that is there across the paint, creating scratches. Once Canadian tire has all their winter stuff out, take a walk through the snow brush isle and feel the bristles. Some of the more modern designs are already frayed on the ends, and are very soft. I used one of these types last year, and the paint still looks great.

Hmm. I've been worried about the brushes too...how does everyone feel about the Toyota one that (may) have been supplied with the car?



Looks like that. The bristles feel pretty harsh to me.

[rxpx2012]

Would some rain deflectors help with keeping the windows from sticking in the winter?

[Suberman]

Originally Posted by Taro

Hmm. I've been worried about the brushes too...how does everyone feel about the Toyota one that (may) have been supplied with the car?



Looks like that. The bristles feel pretty harsh to me.

Bristles are very important. Some cheapo brushes actually scratch your clearcoat. Made in Canada tend to be better. Just never buy or use a really cheap snow brush, you'll regret it. Swirl is nothing to snow brush scratches.

[Suberman]

Originally Posted by rxpx2012

Would some rain deflectors help with keeping the windows from sticking in the winter?

Not up here. No liquid water after November.

[rxpx2012]

Wasn't sure if it would help keep some of the snow/ice from freezing at the top of the windows.

[NOHOME]

Originally Posted by Zagmeister

I can assure you that this design feature - in all coupes - is necessary for the frameless windows to clear the body. It is certainly not an option for the dealer to deactivate.

As you put it, just add some sort of lubrication around the seals to avoid damage

Sorry. You are wrong. Disabled mine and no issues. Other than no light when you open door.

Its a stupid feature for a car that is used in winter. Would not be as stupid if it defaulted to up rather than down position.