Brace Yourself – Winter Is Coming

"Justin Hughes" (justinhughes54) 10/30/2015 at 13:19 • Filed to: winter sucks

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People of the south: I hate you. Winter doesn’t mean anything to you. Sure, the temperatures drop a little, and you might have to put the top up and crank the heat when the temperature drops below 70. But you can autocross, do track days, and ride motorcycles year round. (Admittedly, I took advantage of that a couple of years ago when I flew to Florida and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! in January.) Up here in the frozen north, it’s time to prepare for war winter. No, that doesn’t mean putting up our Christmas decorations before Halloween. Santa’s not allowed until the Thanksgiving turkey carcass is off the table, in my world. It means getting ready for yet another slog through the worst time of year for car enthusiasts like us. For those of you who don’t have to put up with this dark time of year, here’s what we northerners have to put up with.

Read on Right Foot Down or continue below

Track Day? No!

It’s the end of the world as we know it motorsport activities when the snow threatens to fall. Actual snowfall is not required – only the possibility that a track day or autocross scheduled in November might get snowed out is incentive enough to not bother scheduling one in the first place. Besides, who wants to spend hours standing outside in the cold picking up cones in November? It already gets cold enough at April and October events sometimes. Between now and when the snow flies is the absolute worst – a double whammy of no racing and no snowy parking lots to go hooning around. All we have is video games and poor TV coverage of races elsewhere in the world to entertain us. It’s time for me to go on YouTube and catch up on !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , two of my personal favorites.

Time For The Tire Swap

Good sticky performance tires are made to work best when hot, and turn into solid, slippery hockey pucks in colder temperatures. That’s why I’m swapping !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! over to snow tires this weekend (the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! got its snows put on yesterday), despite no snow being in the forecast in the immediate future. Even if I don’t need the knobby tread to dig into the snow for traction, the rubber compound of snow tires is optimized to work best in cold temperatures. They’ll actually grip a cold dry road better than a hot dry road. Temperatures are dipping below freezing overnight regularly now, and I’m starting to find frost on my car when I leave for work some mornings, so it’s time to make the switch. That means the wide grippy Pilot Super Sports get replaced with floppy snow tires over an inch narrower. They’re not nearly as fun, but they won’t be terrible when the snow covers the road.

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No More Wrenching

If you don’t have a garage, you’re pretty much screwed when it comes to working on your car during the winter. The usual hazards of raising and supporting a car are exponentially greater on a slippery surface. Tools are easily lost in the snow. Your body’s tolerance for the cold makes every job take a whole lot longer, either because you have to take breaks to warm up, or because you can’t feel your fingers or toes, reducing your dexterity. And while the jobs take longer, the days are at their shortest length, meaning that you have extremely limited daylight in which to start and complete a job.

A few years ago, the differential of Miata #3 died on the way to Christmas dinner. It went home on a tow truck, and I had to worry about how I was going to get to work on Monday. I had a spare open diff in storage (as you do), so I had no choice but to thrash the diff swap out on one of the shortest days of the year. I was fortunate. The temperature wasn’t too cold, and there was no snow on the ground. I’d replaced Miata diffs before, though usually to remove an open diff to replace with a limited slip, not the other way around, but the procedure was the same as I was used to. My friend Brian came over to help. I’m not sure whether his extra set of hands or the beer he brought were more helpful, but both were very much appreciated. I started the work at sunrise, and drove the car around the parking lot on its new/old diff just as the sun set. It was a massive thrash, but we did it.

If you have a garage, you have a major advantage. You can make your own light, vastly extending the hours available for you to work on a car. You’re out of the elements. You don’t have to sit or lie down in a snowbank. If you have heat in your garage, you’re in even better shape. You don’t even need to warm it up to room temperature – when it’s 20 or lower outside, 50 feels downright balmy. The only downside is that you’ll have poor schmucks like me begging you to let me come over and use your garage for a project that’ll only take a day or two and end up taking a month, because !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

Scraping Off The Ice

Photo credit: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

Even if you have a garage, you can’t get out of the tedium of scraping the ice off your windows at least some of the time. Add another 5-10 minutes to your commute just to make the car so you can see anything at all from the driver’s seat.

Usually this is merely an annoyance, but after an ice storm it can be a really big deal. I once found my Saturn SL2 frozen in carbonite more than an inch thick layer of ice. My plastic ice scrapers literally couldn’t scratch the surface – I had to turn to careful use of metal snow shovels to crack the ice enough to start clearing it. The windshield cracked before the ice did. (Thank you, comprehensive glass coverage, for covering that repair.)

Can’t Get There From Here

Even if you do manage to keep your car up and running on good tires, all it takes is a good storm to render you immobile once again. I took this picture after a storm last winter, where they just didn’t feel like plowing the corner of the lot where my assigned parking space is. (My car is the partly blue snowbank in the middle.) I can clear snow off my car and dig out the space, but I’m not going to shovel a quarter of the parking lot just so I can get out. At least if I lived somewhere that I could store a snowblower or big friggin yard truck with a plow, I could take matters like this into my own hands, but unless I wanted to die of an asthma attack I was forced to wait for the plows to get around to doing their job.

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As much as I hate winter, I have to admit that even I enjoy just a couple of good things that it brings.

Parking Lot Hooning

I won’t encourage any illegal activity, but who among us can say with a straight face that we’ve never done this? My very first traffic stop happened when a police officer noticed me sliding my Pontiac 6000 around an empty snowy lot. I told him, truthfully, that I was a new driver trying to learn how my new car handled slippery conditions. After running my info he said he had no problem with what I was doing, but I couldn’t do it there on private property, so I left.

I do encourage anyone who drives in the snow to do this soon after the first snow falls. Everyone seems to forget how to drive anytime it snows (or rains, for that matter), so it’s good to refamiliarize yourself with your car’s much lower traction limits in these conditions. It’s also a whole lot of fun seeing just how far you can hold that sweet drift. Just be smart about how and where you do it, and you should be fine.

Ice Racing

Photo credit: Allison Feldhusen

Most racing in the north stops when the snow falls, but ice racing, by definition, can only happen during the winter. It may seem utterly ludicrous to those of you living where ponds and lakes never turn solid, but there are many groups across the northern US and Canada that organize low grip races on top of the vast open surfaces that frozen lakes provide. Many of these races are wheel-to-wheel, either for dedicated race cars or open to anything.

For many years I helped run the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! series, and I still enjoy attending when I can. Since BMW owners generally tend to care more about scratching their paint, these events are run like an autocross on a frozen lake, not wheel-to-wheel racing. The risk to yourself and your car is low, though still higher than an autocross. Snowbanks can be solid, and can crack your bumper when you bounce off them. Ask me how I know.

Still, this is a great step above parking lot hooning. It’s the only motorsport event that runs in these parts during the winter, and requires actual skill to do well. And, like parking lot hooning, the low traction environment is a great way to improve your car control skills, whatever you drive. I had as much fun in the Focus as the BRZ last year. I’ve even run a Dodge Grand Caravan in the AWD/all-season tire class – and won.

Whether these events run are not are entirely dependent on weather and especially ice thickness. Boston BMW CCA won’t run an event unless the ice is at least a foot thick all over the part of the lake we use. There have been years where no events have run at all because of this. But I’m hoping we run this year. If so, I’ll be there to tell you all about it.

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So I suppose winter isn’t all bad. But for me, the bad far outweighs the good. Maybe someday I can live someplace warm and become one of you people I hate for racing and riding motorcycles year round.

(Top photo credit: Allison Feldhusen)

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Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 13:20

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I am prepared for war

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 13:32

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Good sir, kindly change your tag. Winter is AWESOME.

Also, hockey.

cazzyodo > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 13:47

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I got antsy last year and this year I keep checking the forecast for when my winter wheels should go on.

I do have mudflaps being delivered today so that’ll hold me over, I guess.

SO EXCITED FOR SHENANIGANS NOW

CalBearsFan99 > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 14:07

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El Niño rains, driving in S. California is going to be annoying with everyone flipping out over water falling from the sky.

HazeDG13 > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 14:10

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I bought snow tires for the first time last year, best thing I’ve ever done. But... I have kept them on through the summer. Reason, I wanted to buff and Plastidip my 19” wheels and then put new summer rubber on them. I never got around to it. Does that mean my snow tires will not be as good in the snow now? Tread still seems fine.

Rick Cavaretti > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 14:13

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My top stays down year round in Southern California. I love to email pics of me in shorts at the beach in January to my east coast or my north of the freeze belt Milwaukee relatives when they’re digging out of shoulder height snow.

Fortner Industries > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 14:13

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Winter is awesome in a different way than summer is awesome.
From one Subaru owner to another, you should know better. Get out.

LumberJunk > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 14:14

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“Hurr durr I can drift”

That’s what I think about the kids who go into parking lots when I see them.

Yes I used to do it (Great fun in a new Lumina). But I was one of those “Hurr Durr” kids. I don’t want to go back down that route.

ninjagin > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 14:14

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Let it be known that I love the people of the south, even if they don’t have much driving prep for winter. Some of the kindest, most down-to-earth people I’ve ever met are from, or live in, the south. Also, Georgia women have an accent that absolutely slays me.

cabarne4 > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 14:16

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Winter is terrible! I turned my AC off, and so now I have to put up with traffic noise as our windows are open. And, the water is slightly chilly in the pool.

Not only that, but the migratory snowbirds have already started to arrive. Nothing quite like a Buick entering 85mph traffic going 35mph, and cutting across 5 lanes of traffic to the HOV lane.

Oh, and in a few weeks I’m going to have to start wearing PANTS at night, instead of shorts. Can you believe it?

Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 14:16

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It’s all about the ice racing!

If you don’t have a RWD car for the winter, you’re missing out. ;)

TommyK154 > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 14:16

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Its that time of year again where every comment in this place will be an argument about winter tires

fourvalleys > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 14:16

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I’m excited. I hope you’ll agree that the balance of the BRZ lends itself quite well to an enjoyable drive in the snow. Good tires lead to predictable behavior and can make it just plain fun.

I had an, um, incident earlier this month (more on that some other time) so now I have a spare front bumper cover for ice racing. It only takes 10 minutes or so to change out, but that’s no worse than swapping brakes or tires for a warm-weather autocross. So worth it to have to worry a little bit less! A friend lost half of his BRZ Series.Blue STi lip last year while ice racing, and we never let him live it down.

Having said all that, my summer car has to go to storage soon, and that’s very sad. Just in time for my work season to wind down so I’ve got more time for it, and it goes into remote storage. I upgraded to heated storage at a more convenient location this year, though - and my price didn’t change at all. Plus the place has a lift I can rent if I need it. Awesome.

T off the New > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 14:16

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The only thing I enjoy about winter is leaving for work early and having an unplowed empty parking lot to myself. 1 car, tire tracks everywhere , all leading to where I parked. My co-workers have never said anything about it.

jariten1781 > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 14:17

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I can clear snow off my car and dig out the space, but I’m not going to shovel a quarter of the parking lot just so I can get out.

I’ve done this...it sucks but I’d rather be miserable at home than in my car. I kept a sleigh shovel hidden behind a stairwell back when I lived in a more wintery area just for these eventualities.

drdude > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 14:18

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Yeah... I dont have to deal with any of that stuff.

Once, every 3 or 5 years, theres a 3-5 day peroid where its icy/snowy.... everything shuts down, and we get a nice vacation.

Justin Hughes > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras 10/30/2015 at 14:18

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Thank you for guaranteeing that you’ll have NO opportunity to use it!

TheOnelectronic > LumberJunk 10/30/2015 at 14:19

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“They’re having fun. I hate it.” -cranky old person

Justin Hughes > HazeDG13 10/30/2015 at 14:20

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Other than the extra mileage and wear, they should be fine. They probably wore faster in warm temperatures than cold, but what’s done is done.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > cazzyodo 10/30/2015 at 14:20

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I get an insurance discount for winter tires, so when they go on is decided for me.

Cheaper and less thinking to do.

Justin Hughes > Rick Cavaretti 10/30/2015 at 14:20

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Yeah, people like you are exactly who I’m talking about... :)

SZRimaging > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 14:20

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You forgot Rally Racing. Sno*Drift is some of the best fun a car enthusiast can have in the winter, and it doesn’t matter if you are competing, working or spectating. Bet there are a few other good rallies in North America in the winter also, Sno*Drift is just the one I am most familiar with.

Stang70Fastback > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 14:21

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I also have a BRZ, and I’ve done ICE RACING , and SNOW-STORM DRIVING , and it’s been loads of fun! Click the links to see my experiences and loads of photos!

TheOnelectronic > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 14:22

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“Can’t get there from here”

Not with that attitude you can’t. I’ve driven through 4-6” deep snow to get places in a RWD, low-slung car. The only thing that really defeated me were icy hills. The only option was enough of a running start to make it to the top, and I wasn’t real comfortable with the safety ramifications of that.

Justin Hughes > TommyK154 10/30/2015 at 14:22

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So true! I tried to make this not about the tires too much, though I’m sure it’ll happen anyway.

Hayden Lorell > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 14:22

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So genuine question here is how usable is the BRZ with good snows on it? Pretty much the reason that I don’t own one already is because I don’t know enough people brave enough to drive one in the Adirondacks so I have nothing to base my opinion on for how this thing does in the white stuff?

strich > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 14:24

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I know this is really just an article for those that live in the north, so you all can complain/congratulate each other about living in the north, so I’ll not say much, but we in the south get snow as well. Granted, it’s not 6 months out of the year, but we in Texas get it in February. And remember that no one down here can drive on anything but dry roads, so when it rains/snows/sleets/someone spits, traffic locks up for a solid 72 hours.

Why not just move south? Or better yet, get an offroad vehicle that works on the streets? Knobby 35s work great on snow and concrete.

GT86Sheppard > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 14:24

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As a fellow FR-S driver I agree with these 110%. At least the Winter allows me to save save save for next track/autocross season.

cazzyodo > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer 10/30/2015 at 14:25

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Didn’t know that was a thing...cool.

Justin Hughes > fourvalleys 10/30/2015 at 14:26

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The BRZ is well balanced and lots of fun in the snow. Right now I’ve got the Focus as well to keep the BRZ out of the salt as much as I can. I’ll likely also get a spare bumper cover, since my fiancee feels bad that she cracked it and has said she wants to replace it. I’ll take the opportunity to ditch the stock license plate holder, too. Like you, I’ll keep the old one and throw it on for the winter. I know exactly how easy it is to swap - I’ve already pulled it to replace the stock horns with Hella Supertones.

StalePhish > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 14:27

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Just got new Blizzaks installed on the Fiat 500 on Tuesday! I sold my former daily driver including its winter tires a couple months ago. I ordered the Blizzaks last week and figured they would take longer to ship, but oh well. It’s been down to 22 a couple mornings but yesterday it was 70! New England is weird. It will be cold enough soon. It makes the Fiat look like the smallest monster truck ever! Also, fun fact, a complete set of tires fits in the trunk. And the entire stack was light enough to carry into the garage in one trip!

Justin Hughes > SZRimaging 10/30/2015 at 14:27

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Very true - rally doesn’t stop for winter, though it’s not particularly accessible to the average driver. Rallycross is, though, and it doesn’t stop either.

Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow > LumberJunk 10/30/2015 at 14:27

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I did it a fair bit last winter, because yeah it’s fun to do and low risk. Also, I was taking fellow Toyobaru owners with me who weren’t comfortable driving in the snow in a RWD car yet. It’s a very good way to learn better car control and understand how the car is going to act while on icey/snowy/slippery roads. Everyone who came out, who had been unsure before, felt much more confident after feeling what it’s like when their car is sliding around.

Now if you go around bragging about how you can drift, then you’re a jackass. Otherwise, if you don’t take yourself super seriously, it’s a low risk way to have fun in your car. How can you be mad at that?!

Justin Hughes > TheOnelectronic 10/30/2015 at 14:28

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I’m not entirely wussy, particularly since my bumper cover is already cracked...

SZRimaging > HazeDG13 10/30/2015 at 14:29

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Just expect less overall lifespan. We run winters all year on my wifes Trailblazer (stays parked a good amount of the summer now) and we get about 2.5 to 3 years off her snows. I got lazy/too busy and never switched them off my Subaru, so I have 2 winters and one summer on them, and expect to probably only get one more winter out of them (we also put a lot more miles on the Subaru).

aevans24 > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 14:29

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Put the Blizzaks on my 15 Mustang last week it should be a fun first winter in my ride.

Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow > Stang70Fastback 10/30/2015 at 14:30

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You’re goin’ down this year!

HolmerS > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 14:30

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Down here in the south, summer is too hot to play outside. When it’s 95 degrees out and the humidity is 99% the last thing you think is fun is putting on your gear to go riding. And sure, we lie to you people in the north and tell you how much fun we are having at the beach but in truth, we don’t go there because putting on 20 layers of sunscreen sucks. What we really do is huddle in our air conditioned abodes and wish November would hurry up and get here. Now that it’s upon us, it’s our time to break out the toys and play.

Justin Hughes > Hayden Lorell 10/30/2015 at 14:30

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You NEED snow tires. No question. The stock Michelin Primacy HPs can’t handle it.

But with a good set of snow tires, it’s actually pretty good. The Torsen diff guarantees true two wheel drive, and everything that makes a BRZ handle well on the track applies to snowy roads at lower speeds, too. The only thing that’s going to get you is its low ground clearance. If a few inches of snow piles up between plowings, that could be a problem.

Chevylover > Hayden Lorell 10/30/2015 at 14:32

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where in the adirondacks?

befocused > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 14:33

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Hey winter can be difficult for us too... Sometime this January or February I will have to switch to my winter flip-flops and I’ll have to endure the pain of making sure I have a light sweater or jacket in the car in case it gets cold in the evening. You have no idea how trying winters in SoCal can be...

SZRimaging > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 14:33

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Very true. Can’t believe I forgot it (mind you, no events up here, have to drive downstate for Rallycross).

Justin Hughes > strich 10/30/2015 at 14:34

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It’s a very different world down south in the winter. Was it last year when every state except maybe Hawaii had snow on the ground somewhere? But you’re absolutely right. Half an inch of snow shuts down everything, while up here the collective attitude is “meh” and it’s business as usual.

I have a lot keeping me in this area at this point in my life, but I’d like to move someplace warm later on.

SZRimaging > LumberJunk 10/30/2015 at 14:35

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It’s also a safer way to learn how your car handles in a slide. I always do it to test out new cars and new tires.

Hirsch > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 14:35

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Winter tires already? You must be way north! We’ve still got 70F days in the 10 day forecast in SW Ohio.

But I know it’s coming.

Justin Hughes > aevans24 10/30/2015 at 14:35

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Considering how well a Mustang does on a rally stage , I’m sure it’ll do just fine!

Justin Hughes > HolmerS 10/30/2015 at 14:36

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I can completely understand the snowbird mentality - the best of both places.

red014 > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 14:37

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No—hold off on the snows for at least one more week! It’s going to be in the 60’s all next week here in Mass.

Justin Hughes > Hirsch 10/30/2015 at 14:38

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Honestly it was 70 here yesterday, but now we’re back to sub-freezing temperatures overnight and 50s in the afternoon. The other reason, for me, is I’m busy the next two weekends and have no daylight outside of work hours during the week. It’s New England, so we might get snow before my next chance to swap over.

Justin Hughes > red014 10/30/2015 at 14:39

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Well I haven’t put my motorcycle away for the winter yet...

HolmerS > cabarne4 10/30/2015 at 14:41

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Damn, you must be farther north. Still have to run the a/c in Tampa Bay. Getting really tired of 250+ dollar electric bills. But since it still feels like 90 today, no chance of that.

Also, since the milk toasts have arrived in Florida, not only has the traffic doubled with idiots, but the golf courses are now full and cost twice as much to boot. I played 18 holes in two hours all summer. Yesterday it took 4 thanks to all the seniors that come down at the first drop in temperature in their home states.

El Rocko > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 14:41

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Winter is coming to Southern Arizona!

55_mercury > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 14:43

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I lived in Boston ( Bhaastan) for 3 years. I hated the winters there. It actually hurt to go outside in January. Moved to California 16 years ago and about this time every year I thank myself for having done so.

Stapleface-Now Hyphenated! > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 14:43

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I haven't swapped to my snows yet, but then again I'm further south than you are (South Jersey). It's always a guessing game for me every year on when to put them on. A couple of years ago we got a snow on Halloween, so I put them on the next weekend. It didn't even snow again until sometime in February I think. This year I'll probably do it Thanksgiving Weekend. Unless I get lazy again.

AkursedX > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 14:43

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Heh, I have Winter in Buffalo NY! Home of the 7ft lake effect snow bombs!

But I also have this guy with snow tires and a garage, so I’m not really stressing it:

norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer 10/30/2015 at 14:44

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This guy gets it.

skycake > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 14:44

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How do you handle fall/spring borderline weather like I currently have in Ohio when it comes to tires? It gets in the 30s overnight and when I’m leaving a lot of mornings, but is back in the 60s during the day.

Is it better to be careful in the cold of the morning with summer tires or deal with the extra wear on the winter tires in the moderate temperature of the afternoons?

Sergio526 > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 14:45

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Quick question for my fellow Jalops. My car came with run-flat all-seasons (yuck), but being RWD I’m gonna be a good boy and swap them out for some winter rubber, then buy some nicer rims and put some tires on those for doing the swaps twice a year. Ideally, I would get summer tires for the other set of rims, buuuut , living in New England, 20 degree temperature swings are very common in the spring and fall (so, driving on hockey pucks for many days sprinkled throughout September, October, November, April, and May). Does anyone have a recommendation for all-season tires that lean heavily towards summer, never to be used on ice and snow. That way I don’t have to swap until December and can switch back as early as March.

TylerLinner > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 14:46

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I can’t get over how great these three spokes look on the Focus. Are they from a C900?

norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 14:46

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Winter? Bad? WHAT?

Justin Hughes > Stapleface-Now Hyphenated! 10/30/2015 at 14:46

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I remember that Halloween storm a few years back. I found myself with a Miata on Bridgestone RE11s. My snows for that car were still in storage in Maine, where I’d just moved back to Mass from, because there’s no way I’d need them before November...

TheOnelectronic > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 14:47

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Hell, the stock tires can’t handle -rain-

mtdrift > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 14:47

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Are these PROBE wheels on this Focus? That’s some sweet cross-platform action right there if they are.

Hoccy > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 14:48

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I love winter. Kind of have to, living in Norway. Cold, fresh air, no rain, skiing, parking lot/field/frozen lake hooning. The only downside is the lack of daylight, which is even worse here at 60 degrees North. Of course, it helps if your car has at least some of its power sent to the rear wheels. My first car was perfect in that sense.

HolmerS > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 14:48

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It has a good side for us here in the south too. The snowbirds pay taxes so we don’t have to.

toomuchcommuting > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 14:49

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Bring on the snow

As an Upstate NY native and resident I’m ready for winter, snow tires on my Cruze and Wife’s Sorento plus a 4x4 Chevy Truck with beefy tires for when it really gets bad and I have to make a beer supply run.

Hirsch > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 14:49

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Yeah, snow before Thanksgiving is not uncommon in New England. Plus with daylight savings time it’ll be darker earlier.

We’re in the roller coaster days. It’s 54 right now and cloudy, but it’ll be in the mid 70’s next week. I usually swap my tires in mid to late November. The year before last I as lazy and got caught out by an early December snow that dumped a quick three inches during the evening rush hour.

One-Wheel-Peel > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 14:51

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I feel a lot of people don’t appreciate snow tires and their compound. Despite tread they have a traction advantage once temps drop below 7-celcius (44/45 deg F). ALSO, on the flip side, there are people who want to run winters all year round to save money. But the compound wears so incredibly quick in the warm, after a year or two the tread for good snow/ice grip is gone. Also, snow tires aren’t as in the wet as all-seasons/summers. Sure two sets cost more up front but you save money in the long run AND are safer..

Oh, and by the way. by far the worst part about working on your projects in the winter is how damn cold the tools get! Forget about working without gloves, and even then they sap the heat right out of your hands. Its brutal!

Dolla_Bill180 > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 14:52

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Oh yeah that’s Right, Winter is coming! This year I am truly prepared & Extremely Excited to hoon, because I recently sold my 2005 Colorado, and my Yamaha Phazer (2 very capable winter vehicles) for a WRX Bugeye. Ive always wanted one and finally made the jump. This will be my first full winter with the car and will be putting on my winter set of Rims & Continental Extreme Winter Contacts within the month. Below are pics of what I had and currently own.

So bring on the Snow but keep it above -20 degrees

Realityblowsandsodoesyourmom > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 14:53

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I live in central Georgia and own a BRZ. Neener neener neener!

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > TommyK154 10/30/2015 at 14:55

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Argument? On the FP maybe...

Justin Hughes > skycake 10/30/2015 at 14:55

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If I had time to swap snows on my BRZ sometime before late November (between commitments, no garage, and no daylight I really don’t), I’d leave the MPSS on another week or two, and take the Focus, which just got its snows on yesterday, if it was cold. As it is, I’m kind of screwed. But I don’t drive much during the warm part of the day, so I’m setting it up for the cold.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > StalePhish 10/30/2015 at 14:56

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Blizzaks are witchcraft.

Justin Hughes > Sergio526 10/30/2015 at 14:58

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I ran Falken Ziex 912s on my ex-cop car as my “summer” tires. They’re “performance all-seasons,” not as grippy as decent summer tires but they weren’t completely useless in the snow, either.

Justin Hughes > TylerLinner 10/30/2015 at 14:59

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I’m not sure which model in particular, but they’re definitely Saab wheels. Good eye!

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > Dolla_Bill180 10/30/2015 at 14:59

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Hey another Colorado person!! Unstoppable in the snow. Good set of snows, it's practically nailed to the ground.

ConBroMitch > AkursedX 10/30/2015 at 14:59

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Jealous, love that color.

Plasma Blue Pearl owner here.

Justin Hughes > TheOnelectronic 10/30/2015 at 14:59

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Truth.

Justin Hughes > mtdrift 10/30/2015 at 15:00

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Saab wheels, actually. Not just a Swedish/American mashup, but also GM/Ford!

LumberJunk > TheOnelectronic 10/30/2015 at 15:00

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I just make unfair judgements about those kids simply because they usually have crooked, flat brimmed hats. I hate crooked, flat brimmed hats.

Justin Hughes > Hoccy 10/30/2015 at 15:01

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Scandinavia has some of the best roads anywhere in the world. Especially for rally.

ConBroMitch > Sergio526 10/30/2015 at 15:02

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To actually answer your question: Continental Extreme Contact DWS 06

Now, for me to not answer your question and tell you to do the right thing and get dedicated summers. You should have no problem running summers in spring and fall as long as the temps are consistently above 50. No shame in running winters until then.

Justin Hughes > One-Wheel-Peel 10/30/2015 at 15:02

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I meant to mention that about cold tools, but I didn’t realize it fell out of my final draft until now. So true!!!

Cressida81 > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 15:03

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Dallas TX disagrees with your blanket assumption about the south! 3 years in a row we’ve had these random major ice and snow storms. The ice is arguably more dangerous than snow and to make it worse nobody even knows what “snow tires” are let alone owns any. To make it worse we are also the “Bro Truck” Capital of the nation. “Don’t worry bro! My lifted 4x4 can stop on the ice 2x as fast as your car!”

That's BRZ fast > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 15:03

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I know the feeling

Justin Hughes > Realityblowsandsodoesyourmom 10/30/2015 at 15:03

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You’re one of THOSE people... :)

LumberJunk > Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow 10/30/2015 at 15:04

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Yeah, I usually see the wannabe drifters who are all pumped up on energy drinks.

I have also seen a father and daughter out doing some parking lot slipping. I see the two situations as completely different.

One is for learning, the other just looks douchey. “Hey man, it snowed. Let’s go drifting!”

TrueBull69 > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 15:05

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why do people live in the north again? for orange colored leaves 2 weeks a year?

Justin Hughes > Cressida81 10/30/2015 at 15:05

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I think nearly if not every state had snow on the ground at some point last year. Worse is that you guys aren’t prepared for it like we are because it’s more rare.

We still have those “I have an SUV! I can do ANYTHING!” people here, though. I don’t know how many of them blew past me in one particular storm, only for me to pass them a few miles later, waaaaay off the road, while I toodled on by in my Miata on snow tires...

Alex Feinman > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 15:05

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How did I know this’d be your post?

“We go now to our winter correspondent, ...”

LumberJunk > SZRimaging 10/30/2015 at 15:05

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Learning is one thing. I can guarantee that 95% of the time I see it, it’s poseur, wannabe drifters.

Justin Hughes > TrueBull69 10/30/2015 at 15:06

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For me, having a job in the software industry keeps me close to the Boston area. Believe it or not, I haven’t turned ranting about cars into a way to make a living. Yet.

Justin Hughes > Alex Feinman 10/30/2015 at 15:06

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How many years have you known me? :)

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 15:08

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It’s also time to send some people to serve with the Nights Watch to help reinforce The Wall... and check out the action north of the wall...

mtdrift > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 15:08

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Oh, damn, I knew I recognized them, but I couldn’t place it. BAD FORMER SAAB OWNER, BAD. I was probably thinking of these. Close, but no cigar:

Justin Hughes > That's BRZ fast 10/30/2015 at 15:08

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This was even more insulting.

Nice WRX wheels, by the way! That’s a great winter wheel for this car.

SZRimaging > LumberJunk 10/30/2015 at 15:09

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I work at a ski resort, so the ones that make me shake my head are the ones doing it in a crowded parking lot. Watched one particularly bright example almost smack my Subaru....

thedangler > CalBearsFan99 10/30/2015 at 15:09

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You mean because 90% of the population is running on bald tires?

Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow > LumberJunk 10/30/2015 at 15:11

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Well, I guess if saying “Hey man, it snowed. Let’s go drifting!” In an excited, but also consciously self-mocking tone is douchey... then call me a douche! haha

If you think it actually counts as drifting, then I’d say it’s douchey. If you aren’t being a serious Initial D wannabe, thinking it makes you some badass drifter, then I just see it as car folks having fun and sliding around in a low risk environment.

nucciOMG > Justin Hughes 10/30/2015 at 15:11

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I’m ready.

QUAAAATROOOOOOOO