Help Me Prep for (local) Snow Road Trip 

"sonicvato" (sonicvato) 12/09/2016 at 16:30 • Filed to: snownewb, roadtrip

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Okay, so...I am a Southern California kid - born and raised -and therefore have minimal experience in snow. I am heading over to Big Bear for new year weekend, and expecting to hit snow on the way. This is where you are all come in.

Please share general tips/tricks to get car ready for the trip, including supplies, etc. I know I need some snow cables/chains. Anything I should take off/cover up for the trip for cleanliness, after (ie. remove splashguards behind tires?)

Car (or CUV) we are taking up is a 2015 Kia Sportage FWD, much like this one:

Not my car, but thanks to Google, you get the idea...

All your help is appreciated, and the more specific, the better. And shared links with pretty, shiny pictures are always welcome...

TahoeSTi > sonicvato 12/09/2016 at 16:33

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How many miles on your tires? Get a set of Tire chains (i see you know this) you’ll be required to carry them in the mountains in CA but make sure you know how to use them....and make sure they are the right type for your car. Put them on and take them off a few times before you go or you’ll end up waiting in line to pay someone to do it for you.

TahoeSTi > sonicvato 12/09/2016 at 16:36

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You’ll also want extra windshield washer fluid and make sure it’s good to -20 degree so you can mix it with the stuff you have and it won’t freeze on your windshield....also rubber floor mats can really help keep the carpet dry if you’ll be doing this regularly.....when driving with chains on let people pass, those of us with awd/4x4 and Snow tires can go much faster and generally we like to.

Bigjohn428 > sonicvato 12/09/2016 at 16:43

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Just because you have all wheel drive or 4x4 and you can go in snow you can’t stop any better with all wheel drive. So SLOW THE “F” DOWN!!! Easy on the brakes. Leave lots of room in between you and the car in front of you. Blowing snow can cut off your vision in a heartbeat. Pay attention to your surroundings. 

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > sonicvato 12/09/2016 at 16:44

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As a Canadian, I can tell you from experience that snow and ice are slippery. :P

bob and john > sonicvato 12/09/2016 at 16:45

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have someone who knows what they are doing come with you.

HammerheadFistpunch > sonicvato 12/09/2016 at 16:49

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Step 1. make sure you bring cards in case the roads close when you are on them, also food and warmth, etc...but mostly cards.

Step 2. make sure to flip up your windshield wipers when you park so you look like a person who’s seen other people do this and assume its a thing to do for some reason.

Step 3. DON’T BLAST YOUR JAMS WHILE YOU GET YOUR BOOTS ON!

Thats about it.

Galileo Humpkins (aka MC Clap Yo Handz) > sonicvato 12/09/2016 at 16:51

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vicali > HammerheadFistpunch 12/09/2016 at 16:52

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God.. #2 drives me crazy.. every time I imagine the question is;

“Who doesn’t feel comfortable/ doesn’t know what they are doing/ has never spent more than a day in the snow?”

e36Jeff now drives a ZHP > sonicvato 12/09/2016 at 16:57

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Does you car currently have all season tires? Preferably with a snowflake on them. If its on summer tires, I wouldn’t even try it.

Braking - dont brake and turn at the same time. get your braking done well before the turn, then turn. use low brake pressure, start braking 3-4x earlier than you normally would. If you feel your ABS pulsing, you are braking too hard, ease up a bit on pressure and start braking earlier. You can downshift to slow down as well, but understand you will still be able to slow down faster with your brakes than by using engine braking.

Accelerating - take it easy, accelerate slowly. much like braking, don’t accelerate and turn at the same time(it’s OK to do it a very low speeds, like parking lot, just not at higher speeds)

Turning - take it way slower than you normally would, get all your braking done before the turn and do all your accelerating after you complete the turn

If you are driving down the highway and the lanes are fairly clear but there is snow piled up between the lanes, and you need to change lanes, do not brake or accelerate(or even have your foot on either pedal) as you cross over the snow.

Don’t do a Clarkson impersonation and scream “POWAH” while flooring it to try to get somewhere. It almost always doesn’t work. Channel your inner May and take it slow. If you get stuck, stop trying to drive out of it as soon as you realize you are stuck, the more you try without shoveling the deeper holes you will dig under your tires. If you do get stuck, and you are now out of your car looking at it, the problem likely isnt the snow under your tires, its the snow under the body, its lifted your car’s body up enough that it can no longer put enough weight on the tires to get traction. In order to get unstuck you need to either remove snow from under the body or increase traction at the tires. a bag of cheap kitty litter is good for increasing traction. A shovel is good for removing snow.

If you come out in the morning and your car is covered in snow, don’t just clear out a portal on the windshield and go about your merry way. This is a dick move as your lines of vision are massively reduced AND you are creating a mini-blizzard behind you everywhere you go. Take the extra 5-10 minutes to clear the snow from your hood, roof and windows. If the snow was accompanied by some wind, check your wheels to make sure you don’t have a large buildup of snow inside the wheels, that can cause them to be unbalanced and may kill your wheel bearings(ask me how I know).

vicali > sonicvato 12/09/2016 at 16:59

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Take some boots/hat/gloves, Cell charger, keep you gas tank full, drive slowly and carefully.

Maybe practice putting your chains/cables on before you need them..

Sam > sonicvato 12/09/2016 at 17:05

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Bring warmth items in the unlikely event you are stranded (better to over-prepare than under prepare)

d15b > TahoeSTi 12/09/2016 at 17:37

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Cannot stress this one enough. Buy chains, practice putting them on and off in your driveway.

TahoeSTi > vicali 12/09/2016 at 17:53

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Have you ever had to find your wipers under 2 feet of snow after work? If you flip them up it’s much easier to scrap the lower part of the window....most cars don’t have windshield wiper heaters so you have to scrap the ice where that’s down where the wipers rest or else they can freezes up on you while driving.

TahoeSTi > sonicvato 12/09/2016 at 17:54

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Don’t lift & Steer into the slide.

vicali > TahoeSTi 12/09/2016 at 19:02

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Thing is, it’s way easier to get the snow off if the wipers are down. Usually if you get that much snow there’s no problem with ice on the glass once you get to it..

It’s telling to me that of all of the places I’ve lived in western Canada the only people who put their wipers up are from Vancouver..

TahoeSTi > vicali 12/09/2016 at 19:29

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I live in the mountains above 7000ft most the locals here flip up their windshield wipers. For most stops to the store and such when it’s snowing it’s faster for those several inches you get at each stop. The wipers don’t freeze to the glass. And it’s easier to get a few inches off. Once it’s more than a few feet nothing but a broom...or maybe a leaf blower saves time.

Autofixation > e36Jeff now drives a ZHP 12/09/2016 at 20:14

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Yup, definitely what he said!

In addition. If your wheels are locked up and you are sliding somewhere you don’t want to be, let off the brakes to get enough traction to turn, then get the car going in the correct direction, then start braking again. It seems counterintuitive to let off your brakes sometimes, but locked up wheels don’t steer.

Another thing I do to test how bad the roads are is to intentionally activate the ABS. Only do this on a straightaway with no one behind you! Basically you press firmly on the brakes and see if the car either tries to screech to a halt, or if the ABS kicks on because traction isn’t great. I’m sure some people wouldn’t recommend this, but I do it when I can’t tell exactly what the traction is like. Make sure to let off the brakes immediately if you start sliding.

One last thing, be ready for your car to possibly either have the back end come out, or to have snap understeer when letting off the throttle because it is FWD. This is because of the engine braking. Essentially, the engine tries to slow down the drain wheels when you let off the throttle (more prevalent in manuals) and because of this the front may slide straight or the rear end may come around because the front of the car has suddenly slowed down.

sonicvato > TahoeSTi 12/10/2016 at 19:41

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Excellent tips. As for the snow chains, how will I be able to determine what ‘class’ of chains (cables) I need? I have used chains once and driven in snow once, but in a different car (fwd minivan).

TahoeSTi > sonicvato 12/11/2016 at 16:41

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The owners manual of your car should say, I imagine any cables will work. Some times with CUVs the sturt or upper control arm get really close to the back of the tire, In that case you have to use something like spider spikes.

sonicvato > Galileo Humpkins (aka MC Clap Yo Handz) 12/12/2016 at 00:24

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Ooooo...pretty...

sonicvato > TahoeSTi 12/14/2016 at 14:26

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Found this in my manual. Standard, low clearance class ‘S’ is required. My local auto parts store have them, as well as the -20F wiper fluid. Thanks @TahoeSTi

TahoeSTi > sonicvato 12/14/2016 at 14:34

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Excellent, Hope you have a great trip. Stay safe out there...we’ve already had our share of incidents on the ski resorts here....I forgot to ask if you have an ice scraper, remember to keep it in a spot you can easily reach. I keep mine between the drivers seat and the front door...because it’s easier to open a door then a trunk with snow on the car.

sonicvato > TahoeSTi 12/14/2016 at 16:25

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I do not own one, but now I will get one. Where might I pick one up in Socal where is does not snow?

TahoeSTi > sonicvato 12/14/2016 at 16:51

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Hahaha, Amazon? https://www.amazon.com/Hopkins-16511-Subzero-Hammer-Snowbrush/dp/B000HACYNY/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1481752219&sr=8-5&keywords=snow+ice+scraper This is all you’ll need. Walmart or Target might carry them...and every gas station will sell them as you get close to big bear, but I bet the costs start going up fast as you go up the hill.

sonicvato > TahoeSTi 12/15/2016 at 12:52

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Added to Amazon cart. Thanks!