Very similar thread from a few weeks ago with lots o’ good stuff:
I’m not aware of anyone I know that changes tires with the seasons. Not saying no one does but it simply isn’t common.
Make sure you put cold weather washer fluid in your vehicle before it’s exposed to the cold. I’ve told the story of the Florida car I bought and drove home in winter and the washer fluid froze solid for like 2 months before I could pump it out.
I’ve never had or even used a snowblower.
A kitchen broom is an awesome snow removal tool for snow (not ice). Make sure it doesn’t have anything that will scratch.
[oddly specific] If there’s a severe cold snap and you see a bunch of videos of people throwing boiling water into the air which immediately turns to a cloud of wispy snow and you want to try it, make sure it won’t fall on your scalp & face still scalding hot. [/os]
Others have mentioned similar things here, but as a Midwestener myself, I feel obligated to give a list:
Always, I mean always, drive super carefully on icy roads, especially on highways and such. You’d be surprised by how many accidents actually happen in the winter, especially when it just starts.
Depending on the size of your yard, you could use a snowblower, but if it’s smaller, well, shovelling is a pain in the arse, so get used to it.
Winters in the Midwest are way longer than in most other places, so expect snow on the ground in April or even May.
But even if people don’t get enough snow to warrant changing tires, the OP may want to have her tires checked. Tires sold in Texas for Texas weather may not do well in snow in MIchigan.
(Farther north, we do change our tires, twice a year. I had my snows put on earlier this week, just in time for our first real blizzard.)
Consider getting towing/roadside assistance coverage added to your auto insurance. It was only $4/month extra for me. Otherwise, AAA. Odds are good you’ll need it at some point when your car won’t start or you get stuck.
You may want to practice skidding your car on snow/ice in a big empty parking lot to get a feel for it. Getting out of a skid is a trick.
Get yourself a red hot water bottle and use it at night to keep warm. Put it in your bed before you get in. Low-tech and cozy.
this may sound counter-intuitive, but practise driving without using brakes. ABS is marvellous, but still, over-braking on ice can be a recipe for disaster.
I was once a passenger in a car in the hills of Connecticut, after a heavy snow, with the car being driven by a Texan who had never driven in snow before and was very nervous. The others in the group voted me, the Canadian, to ride shotgun to give him gentle couching . We got through it okay, but it was an interesting experience for both of us. The warning about braking took him by surprise, but i explained that locked brakes could turn a slip into a skid.
I always got caught without a scraper on the first frosty morning. A credit card works perfectly as a window ice scraper.
Keep a snow shovel in the trunk, there is no substitute.
Your first winter? Find an unused parking lot on a snowy weekend and skid around harmlessly – get a feel for how your car feels braking and steering with lost traction.
In case it wasn’t clear this is (I hope) sarcasm: do not ever use a credit card or anything else valuable as a window scraper unless you’re prepared to have that card snapped in half and ruined. Just get the proper tools.
If you start up your car, then get out to clear the snow, be very careful not to accidentally lock yourself out. I made that mistake exactly once. Now, whenever I get out with the motor running, I leave the driver’s window open just in case.
A lot of people do use “all-weather tires” now, though they are, as I understand it, not as good in snow as true snow tires.
I went with all-weather tires on my other cars, until I bought a Mustang, with its rear-wheel drive and higher torque. I have winter tires put on the rear wheels during snow season.
Not only do I not know of any that does this now, I don’t know of anyone that has ever installed multiple sets of tires for different seasons and that’s nearly 30 years of driving. My employer has a fleet of vehicles and there has never been a mention of snow tires. Recent improvements in technology don’t seem to play a role. Maybe it’s a rural vs urban (me) thing?
I use to drive pretty far to rural areas and I always kept a blanket, a few water bottles, gloves and a few other things in my car during the snowy months
I walk all winter long in Lethbridge in the Western Canadian prairies, and I make sure to get out a lot when the weather is cooling off in fall. I call it “growing my winter skin,” and people who don’t do this have a much harder time with the cold weather than I do.
Regarding the snow tire debate, my husband and I both have winter/snow tires on our cars right now, and we will change back to summer tires in spring. The winter/snow tires make a HUGE difference - I would be extremely reluctant to drive a car without winter/snow tires now.
Also, get a block heater for your car if you’re going to live someplace that gets actually cold.
Put it inside the passenger door and shut the door on it. Then stretch it across to the driver side and shut it inside the drivers door. That will hold it in place thru the toughest wind.
When removing it, open the drivers side, take it out and walk around to the passenger side, and toss it inside there, handy for replacing it when you are done & parking the car. A thin blanket or even an old sheet doubled is easier to fit into the door crack.
No, it’s either because you’re in an area that doesn’t get particularly cold or else you’re just wrong. In every Canadian province or territory, winter tires are very widely used and recommended by provincial transport ministries and auto insurers, and in Quebec and British Columbia, winter tires are mandatory and you can be fined for not having them during the winter months. See this article, for example:
Some pertinent quotes:
Under the Highway Safety Code, winter tires are mandatory [in Quebec] from December 1 to March 15.
Besides Quebec and BC, all other provinces recommend the use of winter tires.
Interestingly, a report concluded that 94% of Atlantic Canada drivers opt for winter tires despite not being regulated.
In every province, the idea of NOT using winter tires would be considered bad and even dangerous advice by most drivers. My own view is that the importance of winter tires depends somewhat on the vehicle and the conditions under which you drive, but is generally highly recommended throughout Canada. I’m not quite as obsessive about it as most drivers I know.
In (at least in Canada) jurisdictions where they are legal (often illegal due to their ugliness), there are “Tempos” (trademark of a company that makes plastic shelters on metal poles that fit over your driveway - whether you have a garage or not at the other end - meaning you don’t have to shovel it). They are almost always white, and at this time of year, some streets can be full of them.
