"Winterizing" my Yaris - Page 2 - Snowboarding Forum

davidj · 09-25-2011, 07:50 PM

Thanks for the advice. So no Yaris in the mountains... I'll bring a bigger vehicle with snow tires. Glad to know snow tires do the trick - that's what I was leaning towards anyway.

snowklinger · 09-26-2011, 02:16 AM

your yaris would rock in the winter with snowtires. its light weight makes it easy to stop and if you are in hazardous conditions would handle at 35mph or less better or as well as anything else out there. i drive a honda civic si (lower suspension then a normal civic) and tears it up in the snow!

every time i pass an upside down vehicle on my way to summit county it is a mid size suv, full size pickup or an excursion/tahoe. those guys all think they are driving proper winter vehicles or something...

Qball · 09-26-2011, 02:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snowklinger

your yaris would rock in the winter with snowtires. its light weight makes it easy to stop and if you are in hazardous conditions would handle at 35mph or less better or as well as anything else out there. i drive a honda civic si (lower suspension then a normal civic) and tears it up in the snow!

every time i pass an upside down vehicle on my way to summit county it is a mid size suv, full size pickup or an excursion/tahoe. those guys all think they are driving proper winter vehicles or something...

It's more about the driver than the vehicle. Those SUVs aren't upside down because it's an SUV, they're upside down because the driver was likely driving like an idiot.

jdang307 · 09-26-2011, 03:55 AM

Snowolf, you drive out in the West so maybe you can provide some advice? I'm in California so we have similar wet, heavy snow. Chains? Tires?

I plan on picking up a newer Tundra Crew Max. Maybe 4x4, maybe not, not exactly sure yet.

aiidoneus · 09-26-2011, 07:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snowolf

This is a retarded argument....

Those pickups and SUV's are in the ditch because they were driven by fucking idiots who don't know how to drive properly in snow and ice. Your Civic would be upside down just as fast if driven by those idiots.

I have been driving nothing but pickups and SUV's for 30 years now in Montana, Alaska, Idaho and Washington and have never put one in the ditch. Sure, your low civic might corner better than my 4x4 pickup but when there is 18 inches of fresh snow in the Mt. Hood Meadows parking lot, I easily make a hundred bucks pulling cars like yours out to the plowed road.....

Exactly, learning to drive in the winter is the most important part.

snowklinger · 09-26-2011, 09:22 AM

I wont deny that skill and being an idiot are the main reasons for any problems with driving. However the fact that i see these vehicles in the ditch is not random, i'm pretty sure they are really doing it at a much higher rate than corollas and civics. Obviously my honda could not pull your truck out, obviously the truck could pull me out. The thing is most people do not need most of the capability of the truck, and being in these big, heavy vehicles gives them a sense of overconfidence, so they tail me half way to summit county before wiping out and i get there first anyway. For professional drivers, granted, being in a big ass truck is no doubt a very safe way to drive in the winter....however for the average joe, driving up and down to the slopes in the winter, they and the rest of us would be much better served if they drove a vehicle within their abilities (both the vehicle and the way they drive it). My point is that the concept that those are winter vehicles while others are not is false and is a widely preconceived notion that is no doubt enforced in car dealerships and enjoyed by gas stations.

Hey ill put it out there right now, about a week b4 i put my snow tires on last year we got caught in a storm and i had pretty bald summer tires, went off a pretty curly exit ramp and a super nice dude in his tahoe pulled me out. The whole ordeal was over in like 2 minutes it was pretty fuckin cool.

aiidoneus · 09-26-2011, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snowklinger

I wont deny that skill and being an idiot are the main reasons for any problems with driving. However the fact that i see these vehicles in the ditch is not random, i'm pretty sure they are really doing it at a much higher rate than corollas and civics. Obviously my honda could not pull your truck out, obviously the truck could pull me out. The thing is most people do not need most of the capability of the truck, and being in these big, heavy vehicles gives them a sense of overconfidence, so they tail me half way to summit county before wiping out and i get there first anyway. For professional drivers, granted, being in a big ass truck is no doubt a very safe way to drive in the winter....however for the average joe, driving up and down to the slopes in the winter, they and the rest of us would be much better served if they drove a vehicle within their abilities (both the vehicle and the way they drive it). My point is that the concept that those are winter vehicles while others are not is false and is a widely preconceived notion that is no doubt enforced in car dealerships and enjoyed by gas stations.

Hey ill put it out there right now, about a week b4 i put my snow tires on last year we got caught in a storm and i had pretty bald summer tires, went off a pretty curly exit ramp and a super nice dude in his tahoe pulled me out. The whole ordeal was over in like 2 minutes it was pretty fuckin cool.

Take an intro stats class, correlation does not imply causation. Maybe idiots tend to buy SUV's because they think it makes them better drivers and they choose not to actually improve. Corolla/etc. drivers probably do not feel confident enough to drive crazy, so they don't. The real question is it the vehicle or driver? My assumption is the driver. A good driver in a good vehicle is the better of the two choices.

Now, I am not saying 4x4 trucks are the be all. If you think your 4x4 will be better breaking on pure ice ... you are a monkey. If one wheel can lose traction, so can all four

At the same time, if you think FWD is better then AWD/4WD for wet and snow you are also a monkey.

Correlation does not imply causation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

snowklinger · 09-26-2011, 10:31 AM

wtf i never said i wasnt a monkey...

**killclimbz** · 09-26-2011, 10:43 AM

A yaris will be fine with snow tires in Colorado. Studded or not is up to you. I rock studded snow tires for the winter. The extra traction on ice is great to have. Haven't had any problem in rain with them, but then again, I don't try to drive at the performance limit either.

I still recommend having cables or chains. It's pretty rare that Colorado will enforce chains for vehicles, but it is on the books, and I have seen it on some of the lesser passes. Wolf Creek for one. It can happen on 70. Plus they can bail you out in some situations. Not too mention you don't have to spend a boat load on chains you 99.9% probably won't need. Also, put a shovel in your car. Avalanche shovels work best as you can collapse them and they store decently. If you do get stuck in a drift, you can usually dig yourself out with a little effort.

jdang307 · 09-26-2011, 01:01 PM

Awesome. Learned a lot in this thread.

09-25-2011, 07:50 PM	#11 (permalink)
davidj Senior Member Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 323	Thanks for the advice. So no Yaris in the mountains... I'll bring a bigger vehicle with snow tires. Glad to know snow tires do the trick - that's what I was leaning towards anyway. __________________ Equal opportunity offender.

09-26-2011, 09:22 AM	#16 (permalink)
snowklinger Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: fuck boulder Posts: 2,834	I wont deny that skill and being an idiot are the main reasons for any problems with driving. However the fact that i see these vehicles in the ditch is not random, i'm pretty sure they are really doing it at a much higher rate than corollas and civics. Obviously my honda could not pull your truck out, obviously the truck could pull me out. The thing is most people do not need most of the capability of the truck, and being in these big, heavy vehicles gives them a sense of overconfidence, so they tail me half way to summit county before wiping out and i get there first anyway. For professional drivers, granted, being in a big ass truck is no doubt a very safe way to drive in the winter....however for the average joe, driving up and down to the slopes in the winter, they and the rest of us would be much better served if they drove a vehicle within their abilities (both the vehicle and the way they drive it). My point is that the concept that those are winter vehicles while others are not is false and is a widely preconceived notion that is no doubt enforced in car dealerships and enjoyed by gas stations. Hey ill put it out there right now, about a week b4 i put my snow tires on last year we got caught in a storm and i had pretty bald summer tires, went off a pretty curly exit ramp and a super nice dude in his tahoe pulled me out. The whole ordeal was over in like 2 minutes it was pretty fuckin cool. Last edited by snowklinger; 09-26-2011 at 09:28 AM.

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

09-26-2011, 02:16 AM	#12 (permalink)
snowklinger Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: fuck boulder Posts: 2,834	your yaris would rock in the winter with snowtires. its light weight makes it easy to stop and if you are in hazardous conditions would handle at 35mph or less better or as well as anything else out there. i drive a honda civic si (lower suspension then a normal civic) and tears it up in the snow! every time i pass an upside down vehicle on my way to summit county it is a mid size suv, full size pickup or an excursion/tahoe. those guys all think they are driving proper winter vehicles or something...

09-26-2011, 03:55 AM	#14 (permalink)
jdang307 Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 2,063	Snowolf, you drive out in the West so maybe you can provide some advice? I'm in California so we have similar wet, heavy snow. Chains? Tires? I plan on picking up a newer Tundra Crew Max. Maybe 4x4, maybe not, not exactly sure yet.

09-26-2011, 10:31 AM	#18 (permalink)
snowklinger Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: fuck boulder Posts: 2,834	wtf i never said i wasnt a monkey...

09-26-2011, 10:43 AM	#19 (permalink)
killclimbz Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Front Range Posts: 9,178	A yaris will be fine with snow tires in Colorado. Studded or not is up to you. I rock studded snow tires for the winter. The extra traction on ice is great to have. Haven't had any problem in rain with them, but then again, I don't try to drive at the performance limit either. I still recommend having cables or chains. It's pretty rare that Colorado will enforce chains for vehicles, but it is on the books, and I have seen it on some of the lesser passes. Wolf Creek for one. It can happen on 70. Plus they can bail you out in some situations. Not too mention you don't have to spend a boat load on chains you 99.9% probably won't need. Also, put a shovel in your car. Avalanche shovels work best as you can collapse them and they store decently. If you do get stuck in a drift, you can usually dig yourself out with a little effort.

09-26-2011, 01:01 PM	#20 (permalink)
jdang307 Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 2,063	Awesome. Learned a lot in this thread.