SNOWBARU!

"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678) 12/03/2018 at 10:34 • Filed to: None

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Finally got my Subaru into some proper snow this weekend and had a chance to test out my snow tires. It was entertaining laughing at the people crouching over in the cold/wet outside in order to install their chains or alternatively laughing at the other people who ignored the “CHAINS REQUIRED” signs and were subsequently stuck at a slight incline. I have some video footage of driving in the snow, although it is relatively uneventful since it is just like normal driving except it is whiter outside.

First on Friday heading up to the mountain after the big 3ft storm had rolled through the couple of days before:

And then on Saturday heading home in the middle of a smaller 6 inch storm, but it was dumping pretty heavy at the time:

And then of course an obligatory photo dump of the ocassion:

This car certainly makes a more practical ski trip vehicle than my Miata! Although the shenanigans driving around are much more subdued in the Subaru. There is just kind of always grip and the rear end isn’t anywhere near as “lively” in the snow. Sure I was able to get the car to slide around a little bit with gratuitous amounts of throttle while turning, but it never stepped out or moved around unintentionally. The tires handled stopping and turning excellently and behaved like true snow tires. I am happy for Nokian making an “all season” tire that truly means ALL seasons.

Now, you can head over to PowderForward if you want to hear about the skiing portion of this trip:

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Nibby > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 12/03/2018 at 10:37

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listen dude

you need to talk to your subaru about its cocaine addiction

Chariotoflove > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 12/03/2018 at 10:41

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Always knew you were a one percenter. And by that I mean the one percent of people who actually rejoice at the sight of snow to drive in, instead of groan. :)

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 12/03/2018 at 10:41

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Snowbaru status achieved!

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 12/03/2018 at 10:43

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/oblig

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 12/03/2018 at 10:46

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Driving a subaru in snow with snow tires is a very “seeing the light” experience. I have never driven a car as competent as my outback with blizzaks on snow and ice.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Chariotoflove 12/03/2018 at 10:49

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My response to snow is usually this:

Because either the roads will become unnavigable completely* or they will merely be hard to drive on, and hard to drive on is also fun. Also, the Galaxie is much better in the snow than my Benz, oddly enough.

*Usually around here the snowfall happens along with temperature fluctuations making an ice layer under the snow or on top of it in short order. Also, mountains just steep enough to wrap windy roads around and over instead of going through or avoiding.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 12/03/2018 at 10:55

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You should do some big orange vinyl stripes, or battleship camo just to make your car visible in the snow. the idea of driving an all white car in the snow always scared me. something like this but with orange instead of grey. Or maybe STI pink. 

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 12/03/2018 at 10:55

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accurate 

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Chariotoflove 12/03/2018 at 11:03

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If I had to deal with snow on my commute or anywhere near home for that matter, I would most certainly be part of the 99% of people groaning! Snow is awesome when it stays in the mountains where it belongs lol.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time 12/03/2018 at 11:05

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Missed title opportunity. I am going to change the title but you need credit where credit is due.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 12/03/2018 at 11:06

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Perfect!

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 12/03/2018 at 11:07

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Good point. I figure I at least clear the snow off of my lights so that people can see them. I followed way too many vehicles around that were near invisible due to the mountain of snow covering the entire car. My first video has a prime example of those idiots near the end.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 12/03/2018 at 11:11

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Yeah I could only imagine that using real snow tires would be equivalent to putting 40TW racing tires on my Miata on the track. These tires are more like 200TW tires in the sense that they are a bit of a compromise for use at other times but are still very excellent for performance. 

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 12/03/2018 at 11:13

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Too many people really heavily on their automatic headlights, and the light sensor won’t turn on during a white out. Plus as you said heavy snow can cover your lights even when they are one 

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 12/03/2018 at 11:41

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Generally if you clear the lights (along with the snow from the roof and windows) and keep moving, the car should stay relatively clear. This idiot was seen on Friday (a good 12+ hours after the last snowflake had fallen from that storm):

I could only just barely see his brake lights when those lit up. No idea if they could see anything out of the back of the car. Would have been simple to just wipe the crap off real quick while the car is warming up. The stupid part too is the cops sitting down at the base of the hill, I assumed to enforce chain restrictions. Obviously this dumbass passed them so the cops should have at least given them a talking...

whatisthatsound > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 12/03/2018 at 11:43

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Now get yourself a roof box!

Chariotoflove > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 12/03/2018 at 12:01

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This is the correct reaction.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > whatisthatsound 12/03/2018 at 12:12

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Those things are wayyyy too expensive. And I really dont want the gas mileage penalty either. Since we dont salt the roads here, I dont worry too much about road grime on the skiis either. Even the car was not all that dirty after getting home. Yeah it desperately needed a wash still but it was just some mild dirt up the sides and rear.

whatisthatsound > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 12/03/2018 at 12:33

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Put it on your christmas list to get a used one off Craigslist. It is the perfect thing to put wet boots and gear in and keep the interior pristine.

$150 on CL.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > whatisthatsound 12/03/2018 at 14:05

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Haha yeah I had gotten the interior so wet while trying to change and get in the car while it was snowing pretty hard. I just keep my boots in my boot bag which helps keep some of it out but it would probably be nice to just throw everything in something like that. Used market is definitely the way to go since new ones are often $400+