ready for snow

[my little snow ball]

just was wondering if everyone is ready for the snow that is suppose to come tonight:eyebulge:

[Benggolf2]

No snow for us in Richmond, B.C., but lots of rain in the forecast! :frown:
Driving the Element more nowadays; it will be our winter vehicle.

http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/9765/weeweareonourway326fv2.jpg

[voodoo22]

I put snows on last week. I drive to work pretty early and temperatures below 12-8 are best handled with winter tires. Of course, when I drive home this week and it's 18 degrees the winters aren't the best, but I'd rather wear them out a little sooner and survive the morning drive which has already involved ice rain and snow several times.

[Mordarvia]

I'm wondering I live in northern ontario and have a brand new set of all seasons on my car well they came with the car. I've had the car about a month I'm wondering If I should shell out the money for snow tires? or just cross my fingers

[voodoo22]

The best all seasons will perform about 10% worse in winter than the worst winter tires, based on all the info I've read. It's up to you whether the time and space inconvenience is worth your safety. It doesn't cost much more money, because your all seasons aren't wearing out when they aren't being used.

New all seasons are still made from a type of rubber which gets much harder than winter tires special rubber compound. New or old, all seasons will never be as safe in the winter, it's not possible.

[Pars]

I just got a set of Yokohama Geolandar T/I for $800 installed on my RAV4. I'm looking forward to the snow, but the forecaster don't think it'll be recap of last years.

I was set on getting the Hakapolita 5, but a friend of mine at the tire shop thought they were over priced and recommended the Geolandar.

[jambo101]

My 08 sedan came with Goodyear Eagle summer tires and would never get through anything resembling snow..Just installed some Ling-Long snows from China $70 each.

[gboezio]

I have got 4 brand new studded tires that I will put on the car the 15th December.
It should grip more than enough, I work 55 km away so it's well spent money

[voodoo22]

I just got a set of Yokohama Geolandar T/I for $800 installed on my RAV4. I'm looking forward to the snow, but the forecaster don't think it'll be recap of last years.

I was set on getting the Hakapolita 5, but a friend of mine at the tire shop thought they were over priced and recommended the Geolandar.

That's one of the sweet things about winter tires for the Yaris. They are so small that it only cost me $150 more to go from an ok rated winter tire to the highest rated Nokians and I'm glad I made that choice. These tires are by far the best winter tires I've had in all areas of performance and I see virtually no hit to fuel efficiency.

[gboezio]

you guys realise it's a government scam the new law for winter tires. it has nothing to do with safety but everything to do with the economy. and i find it very selfish of the government to force us to have winters yet none of the transport companies, ambulances, cops , taxis and other non-private are obliged to change to winters. i drove all my past vehicles without winter tires, never had problems in winter driving. although i agree that winter tires perform better in these conditions they wont reduce the risk of accidents, in my opinion they will increase it. since all the morons on the road will be under the impression that once they have winter tires on they are invincible and the laws of physics don't apply to them, they will increase their speed (since they will feel more in control), they will reduce their following distance (since winters will save them in case of an emergency situation and because the commercial said the stopping distance is reduced by 60%) and they will weave in and out of traffic more often (because winter tires are safer). I sincerely hope this law blows up in the face of the government , so i can sue them for my wasted time/money/and nerves.

I sooo agree :thumbsup:
I drove countless km with all season tires and bought Blizzaks and Dunlop graspic, I was not impressed but wanted to buy some sleep to my dad. Under some well defined conditions they do perform better, but on ice they suck as bad as all seasons tires, on heavy snow you'll get stuck in the same way. But two sets of tires wear half as fast, so I guess I have bought my next set of tires.

I did drove a pickup with studded tires and liked it, this is the only thing that can make a difference on ice IMO, even if won't grip like summer, it helps to keep the car straight. For stopping distances, I use my common sense to have plenty :D

The problem with this stupid law is that people will keep their winter tires on in the summer, when the road is hot they are really bad for stopping distances, they melt and slide like marshmallows.

If all fails, there those sheetmetal screws that do a heck of a good job, but sta away from that slippery dry pavement :bellyroll:
Studded dirt bikes on ice (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LFloPiZADM&feature=related)

[sketch182]

The softer rubber of winter tires stops faster because it has more grip, especially at lower temperatures. The same principle is used for race car tires around the world.
Of my 3 cars, I leave all seasons on 2, but on the one that I drive everywhere, including the highway, I use winter tires. They serve me well.

[IllusionX]

i'm using my yokohama IG20's from last year. They do not perform as i thought, and i've been told they just don't have much grip :(
I so should have bought the hankook w409 last year...

[Pars]

That's one of the sweet things about winter tires for the Yaris. They are so small that it only cost me $150 more to go from an ok rated winter tire to the highest rated Nokians and I'm glad I made that choice. These tires are by far the best winter tires I've had in all areas of performance and I see virtually no hit to fuel efficiency.

Yep, the Nokian would have cost $300 more then the Yokohama. Last winter, when I got the Continental Viking for the Yaris, they were about $200 cheaper then the Nokian Snows. After putting on 40,000km on the Continental, I was happy with the tire/deal, but I think next time, I'd pay the extra for the Nokian Hakapolitta.

I've still yet to put the Yokohama Geolandar through it's pace, but it came with high praise from a reliable source, so I'm expecting good things for this tire. In the dry, the Geolandar snows are more quiet then the stock tires (also Geolandar, but all season) :thumbsup:

[mojoyaris]

No snow for us in Richmond, B.C., but lots of rain in the forecast! :frown:
Drivng the Element more nowadays; it will be our winter vehicle.

http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/9765/weeweareonourway326fv2.jpg

Beng! That pic is 2 blocks from where I live in Steveston.

[06vitzRS]

I've been running the Nokian Hakka R for the past 2 weeks. Got 680km (city) before the last gas bar started to blink. That's the best i've gotten since buying the car. They wern't kidding when they said it was a fuel efficient tire.
http://www.nokiantires.com/tyre?id=11949&group=1.01&name=Nokian+Hakkapeliitta+R

[voodoo22]

I've been running the Nokian Hakka R for the past 2 weeks. Got 680km (city) before the last gas bar started to blink. That's the best i've gotten since buying the car. They wern't kidding when they said it was a fuel efficient tire.
http://www.nokiantires.com/tyre?id=11949&group=1.01&name=Nokian+Hakkapeliitta+R

When I researched winter tires, I didn't seen one complaint from an owner of these tires. Everyone who owns them loves everything about them except for the odd person who thought they were noisy after they wore down.

Last year in the GTA was a great test for any winters and I got great mileage all winter on my Nokians. Congratulations on getting an awesome tire.

[IllusionX]

awesome, next year, i'm buying nokia haka's..

i'm having hell of a time with the yokohama IG20's. Obviously, because they cost me 160$ shipped + 90$ install at sears and a nice 45min drive to the states for shopping. If i were to buy them in Montreal... i would have paid no less than 600$.

anyways... they are really quiet, but they are horrible in deep snow. It also seems that's all they sell at Toyota.

[06vitzRS]

awesome, next year, i'm buying nokia haka's..

i'm having hell of a time with the yokohama IG20's. Obviously, because they cost me 160$ shipped + 90$ install at sears and a nice 45min drive to the states for shopping. If i were to buy them in Montreal... i would have paid no less than 600$.

anyways... they are really quiet, but they are horrible in deep snow. It also seems that's all they sell at Toyota.


Nokian gives us 50% off branch cost every year so i get mine dirt cheap. $180.00 for all 4. I've run the Hakka RSI's the last 2 winters and they really shine in deep snow. Now if it would only snow around here already, i want to see how the Hakka R's compare.

[voodoo22]

Once again the Nokian rSI's continue to really impress me. I've had a few sets of winter tires, but these are a notch above all my previous tires.

Today, no one could get out of the underground parking in my apartment. A Jeep, a Honda Accord with their all seasons on and a Carolla with some sort of winters. After they finally moved out of the way, I drove out of the icy snowy ramp no problem, not even a slip.

When I got to work the parking lot was empty to I tried spinning the car pulling circles in the parking lot at 30 km/h and there was only a very little bit of hopping from corning too fast, but no sliding at on on a sheer, ice covered parking lot. After over 10,000 km, these tires continue to be a fantastic purchase which I recommend to everyone who drives on ice, in snow or temperatures below 7 celsius.

[mojoyaris]

There's been some talk about winter tires VS the all seasons and if there really is a difference. I tried this at an autocross once and it does make a difference when you are autocrossing in the snow with winter/snow tires. We had WRX's slipping and sliding on summer tires taking in lap times twice or three times what the cars on snow tires were doing.

http://ubcscc.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=9787&g2_serialNumber=1
http://www.ubcscc.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=4888&g2_serialNumber=1
http://gallery.brunowalter.net/d/8347-2/Slush+3+_2_.JPG"]http://gallery.brunowalter.net/d/8347-2/Slush+3+_2_.JPG

[thebarber]

studded tires ftw!

[Black Yaris]

just had a light snow today here in the wonderful land of Ohio

[voodoo22]

just had a light snow today here in the wonderful land of Ohio

Did it kill the corn :laugh:

Sorry, had to say it. Everytime I have driven through Ohio I have been amazed by all that corn.

[thebarber]

Did it kill the corn :laugh:

Sorry, had to say it. Everytime I have driven through Ohio I have been amazed by all that corn.

ever drive between k-w and st ratford in the summer/fall?

[IllusionX]

http://www.ubcscc.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=4888&g2_serialNumber=1


oh Yeah... the pulsar is a great little car for winter :w00t:

[voodoo22]

ever drive between k-w and st ratford in the summer/fall?

Yeah there's a lot there, but it can't touch Ohio. Seems like over half the state is corn.

[Pars]

Did a round trip to Strathroy and was following the snow plows on the 401 until london. After 500km of constant driving, (a goodly portion while behind the snow plows) i'm pining for the Yaris's fuel consumption. The Yaris would have done the round trip and gotten 6.8L/100km, while my RAV4 only got 9.5L/100km.

But wow, what a difference in ability when handling the snow. Granted, the snow tires on my Yaris wasn't the vaunted Nokian, but the difference when compared to the RAV4 was night and day. The traction control system on that RAV4 really shines when equipped with some good snow tires (Yokohama). Toyota knows how to make a good traction control system on an awd car...

Now the question is, when are they going to give us a awd Yaris! :burnrubber:

[WeeYari]

^^ I was stuck behind the same plows on my way to Petrolia. Right around 10:30/11 am Saturday right?

[Morgan]

you guys realise it's a government scam the new law for winter tires. it has nothing to do with safety but everything to do with the economy. and i find it very selfish of the government to force us to have winters yet none of the transport companies, ambulances, cops , taxis and other non-private are obliged to change to winters. i drove all my past vehicles without winter tires, never had problems in winter driving. although i agree that winter tires perform better in these conditions they wont reduce the risk of accidents, in my opinion they will increase it. since all the morons on the road will be under the impression that once they have winter tires on they are invincible and the laws of physics don't apply to them, they will increase their speed (since they will feel more in control), they will reduce their following distance (since winters will save them in case of an emergency situation and because the commercial said the stopping distance is reduced by 60%) and they will weave in and out of traffic more often (because winter tires are safer). I sincerely hope this law blows up in the face of the government , so i can sue them for my wasted time/money/and nerves.

what is the new law? is it a requirement that everyone has to be on "winter/snow tires?"

[voodoo22]

That doesn't make any sense that those other vehicles are exempt. I believe in winter tires, but exempting certain vehicles removes all validity from the law.

[onizuka]

a very clear example of socialism. A set of new snow tires ain't cheap neither. What if I'm so poor, just recently got laid off due to economy crisis of today, and cannot afford to put $600 for a set of snow tires and wheelies. why is the government punishing and ticketing me for not capable putting down $600 for tires instead of putting food on my table with the same money. Doesn't make sense. The only one that should be ticketed is the one with improper tires. Seeing the tread of some tires on some ppl cars make you worry.

[voodoo22]

Communism and Socialism are great ideas if they were practiced in a utopia where people didn't get greedy and turn every model of government into a monopolistic dictatorship hell bent on only benefiting the rich.

[thebarber]

imo, snow tires are a good idea...

[voodoo22]

yes they are, but also driving mentality has to be addressed. just because you have snow tires doesn't mean you can go back to driving like in the summer

Even though snow tires are proven to be much better in the colder temperatures, I bet that you're right and more lives would be saved if the Quebec government focused on enforcement of other laws already in place to get people to drive within the posted limits, signal lane changes, not tailgate etc.

I personally would never go without snow tires, they saved my but again today in all that ice and slush.

[Pars]

It just occured to me that I have 8 nokian hakka 1 tires that are 8 years old wasting away in my in-laws garage (I used to have two Civics and sold both of them). I probably could get money for them...they still got a good amount of thread on them, but it probably harden so that it isn't much good in the snow...but, it would keep the law off your back in Quebec.

What's next? I'm sure Quebec isn't going to stop at the snow tire mandate. Next thing, they'll probably mandate dedicated summer tires for summer :rolleyes:

Personaly, given the overhead invovled in driving, (minum of $2000/year for insurance), spending $600 every 4 years (or probably a one time investment for those who don't drive alot) shouldn't be an issue. Factoring in that the snows will give summer tires a break and thus make them last longer. The snow tire will out perform a similiar car that has 4 wheel drive and traction control (assuming snow condition and 4-wheel is running on regular tire). Piece of mind and less stress while driving knowing that you've got some traction vs none. It's an incredable smart move, especially in Quebec where the winters are much worst compared to Toronto and area.

In these tough times, what u need is a government that will think outside the box and have the guts to do whats needed. Cause with the world economy going down the shithold, it's the government that's going to save those contry that are sinking.

[thebarber]

same as ppl w/ 4wd...they drive like asswipes.....but if NONE of your tires have traction, youll still end up in the ditch

imho, drivers licenses should have to be renewed every couple of years w/ a road test....

[edisonfire]

hey guys, i'm not ready for winter yet. I'm looking for new winters and rims for my RS.

Anyone live in the GTA and know of a good place, type of tire, and tire size?

RS comes with 185/60/15 but i got a quote from someone telling me that 185/65/14 would be a good tire size for me yaris

[thebarber]

hey guys, i'm not ready for winter yet. I'm looking for new winters and rims for my RS.

Anyone live in the GTA and know of a good place, type of tire, and tire size?

RS comes with 185/60/15 but i got a quote from someone telling me that 185/65/14 would be a good tire size for me yaris

anyone make 185-65-14? i have 185-60-14's on my yaris....they work fine (but mine came stock w/ 14's)

14's = cheap rims and tires

if you have to buy steelies, id roll on 14's for sure....

[thebarber]

lol, i takes what i can gets, PK

when my wifes mom had the aveo in montreal she bough stock sized 185-60-14's for it. i commandeered them for the yaris last year. in spring i picked up some snows that a guy w/ an echo hatch was selling.....175-65-14's.....now theyre on the aveo.....

not sure the 10mm is going to make THAT huge of a difference

[thebarber]

no not a huge difference but from personal experience last winter , i haven't got stuck once with the 175s, btw you want 4 stock bridgestone 4seasons?

lol, 14" oem no seasons? ill pass....i swapped mine w/ crandall on his paseo that he traded for his yaris....now i have his fuzion hri's

i ran 185's last winter and also had no problems...

now if you ran 215 snows....you might see a difference in traction

id be more inclined to run a wider tire with a less open tread if i drove on plowed city streets/highway more often. i find the snows are the yaris SUPER annoyingly loud on the highway since theyre quite open (did 15h from fredericton to niagara falls last weekend....)

you can see the tread im running here:
(and yes, ive replaced the tip since last winter...now its stainless..)
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b339/dabarber/yaris/yaris-feb2908004.jpg

[Black Yaris]

Yeah there's a lot there, but it can't touch Ohio. Seems like over half the state is corn.

don't really see too many corn fields around here, then again I am in one of the bigger cities in Ohio...... but out side the cities there is nothing but corn and soybeans

[Pars]

all the things you said about safety are correct, i just see it as hypocritical from the government to pass a law and say they are not included in that law just the regular joe. you have to understand one thing about most Quebec drivers, they rely too much on gadgets and add-ons then on proper driving skills. i regularly see 4X4 SUVs doing 130km/h in a snowstorm then ending up the wrong side up in a ditch.

The 4x4 SUV guys need to remember that once you come off the gas, there's no longer any advantage to having an extra set of of driving wheels. Personally, I tend to use the accelerator to get out of trouble and the 4cyl RAV has a very quick kickdown (when stumping on the gas) which should work in my favour.

It sucks that the government has double standard, normally it's the government vehicle that are the first to make an eco/safty example so the rest can follow. I suspect Quebec most be strapped for cash...perhaps this law is just an excuse for the province to save on their winterizing and clearing the roads. but, If it gets rid of salting, I'm all for it! I hate salted roads! (unless it's up an incline) ....otherwise, the crap totally takes all the fun out of driving

[Pars]

For snow tires, the place I've been going to for the past 20 years is Nantucket Tire & Mag. In Scaroborough. But I'd be surprised it they still have anything. The installed my Yokohama Geolanadar i/t (225/65/17) for $800. I highly recommend these tires if you got an SUV/CUV. Last year, they charged me $340 for a set of 175/65/14 Continental Viking snow tires (installed).

[gboezio]

I'm in total love with my studded tires, but I have found a drawback, sine the average Joe run studless tires when you come to a icy stop rather quickly, watch the rear view mirror, Joe is sliding all wheel locked aiming straight to your behind, now use those studs to pull your arse out of there ASAP :biggrin:

[mojoyaris]

http://photoshare.shaw.ca/image/d/7/7/50907/preview_websnowday10050.jpg?rev=0
http://photoshare.shaw.ca/image/d/7/7/50907/preview_websnowday11130.jpg?rev=0
http://photoshare.shaw.ca/image/d/7/7/50907/preview_websnowday10100.jpg?rev=0

[thebarber]

you can make some extra money plowing peoples driveways, mojo!

[tca4]

Holy crap richmond has so much snow!?

[gboezio]

Snow and later ice storm over east, beautyful tough
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa145/gboezio/DSCN1284-2.jpg

[mojoyaris]

Did a trip to the interior of BC last Friday and Saturday. Wow. lotsa snow and lotsa fun.
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/images/funkygarage/203/webDec20%20047.jpg

I had to cover up the front vents with cardboard to keep the snow and wind from getting through.
The LSD worked nicely, but when I parked the car overnight at -28 degrees, my clutch and gearbox froze and couldn't get it to move. I was able to get the car started and held the clutch in till it warmed up. Then I was able to get it out of gear and get it driving back to Vancouver where that night I was met with....more snow.

*The tranny and clutch froze since my gear oil was the heaviest weight I could find for the LSD.

Currently I'm using a cheap set of Nexan Snow tires which work pretty good. I don't think they're as good as my Nokians (on the wifes car now) but they're a third of the price. Next year, I'll get a set of Toyo's with my discount.

[thebarber]

hope that duct tape doesnt ruin your paint come spring...

[Benggolf2]

Just got back from a 7-night Caribbean cruise last night and shocked to see so much snow in Richmond and Vancouver!

Our Yaris is lucky as the Element is handling all our transportation needs at the moment. :wink:

[hop]

at my place we got 4 1/2 feet of snow that added up. On first dump I had to drive from work in nanaimo to home out in shawnigan lake about 3 kms on the road from my house it was getting deeper fast, I was plowing snow with my bumper had snow pile onto my hood. I was pushing on until a part of the road where it gets steep and does a sharp turn at the same time along with my bumper pushing snow, i could not go any further about 1 km from my house.

I have 4 nexen winter tires i got at walmart in Nov. So far i am liking them for the price and the traction you get is awesome i cant say anything about wear i just got them. over the 2 weeks this snow was building up i was driving to work in my yaris i only missed 1 day and that was the next day after i had to park my yaris 1 km from home. I didnt want to go cause they hadnt plowed the road yet and I wanted to play in the first snow fall of the year lol went snowshoeing for 14 kms in the mountains behind where i live.


the second photo is the latest dump, every dump i cleaned the yaris off. Its parked on the road where i live.

fourth pic is of the ford ranger and a bit of the house, the ranger is only 2 wheel drive and is crap in the snow

last pic you can see very well the total snow accumulation, that shed is 10 feet high on the high side after i took the pic i had to dig it off the 2x4s in the roof were cracking.

[Benggolf2]

Awesome pictures Hop. Looks like you can easily get stuck in the snow where you live.

The roads in Richmond are a mess; hope the rain will clear them quickly.
City Hall is definitely doing next to nothing clearing the roads. Wonder where our tax dollars are being spent. :frown: