Prius Winter Performance During West Coast Winter Storm

Winter tires were definitely a good investment. I really only had a problem with one hill. It was pretty steep, and icy. There wasn't enough room at the bottom to get a decent running start, but TRAC did the job. It plodded up the hill at 15km/h. Everything else has just been fabulous. I was able to navigate out of the neighborhood, where the snow is at least 10cm high, and the main roads are starting to get plowed.

 

Nokian WRG2 Impression

Last week knowing that there will be alot of snow coming on last Friday in Vancouver, I started looking into buying snow tires for the Prius.
I tried all the Costco in town and none of them has the Michelin X-Ice in stock. Then I called up Canadian Tire hoping they would have some decent snow tires for the car, but again no luck. Finally Kal Tire had the Nokian WRG2 in stock and they're the right sizes! After reading some good reviews on these tires on this board, I bought them without having a second thought.

I was let down. Maybe I expected too much out of the WRG2, after all they are All-Season tires, not Snow Tires.
-It did poorly on compacted snow and ice compare with the Dunlop M3 snow tires I have on another car.
-I stopped half way on an up hill and the car had trouble regaining traction.
-The car had trouble stopping on a down hill.
-No problem on loose snow on cars with front wheel drive.
-I also got stuck a few times on flat roads but that was because of deep snow similiar to Tideland Prius's experience.

For those of you looking for snow tires, get a set of proper snow tires. Try the Bridgestone Blizzaks or the Nokian Hakka R. My guess is they are much better than my Nokian WRG2 in snowy winters.

Tire Info:
Nokian WRG2 185/65 R15 -$145cdn/each
15" Steel Rims -$64cdn/each
Lug Nuts -$25 for all 4 wheels (factory lug nuts won't fit)
Total: $1070cdn including taxes

 

^^^

Ouch, those are some pricey all-seasons. Are they performance all-seasons? My X-Ice2s were $650 installed/taxes-in (stock rims).

For the next year, anyone looking for snow tires should try and get them on before the snow starts. I was barely able to get mine in time. Costco had to bring them in from a few provinces away, which took 3 weeks, and this was near the beginning of November. This year, in Canada, has been particularly tough to get snow tires, because Quebec has a mandatory winter tire law that went into effect this year.

 

This is the second winter with our Hydroedges...
We went out today. First time since the storms hit.
Most streets were plowed/cleared/wet, though all the side streets and parking lots were deep snow, rutted wet slushy snow, and icy patches. The steep bridge we cross to get to the other end of town is packed snow/ice.
When I started off, the yellow light (traction control) blinked a few times. I just kept a steady pressure on the pedal, and let the car figure things out.
Slowly "walked" up the bridge... the light blinked a few times as one or other of the wheels slipped on the ice... just kept it steady, and no problems.
Deep water in some parking lot approaches, as the storm drains are clogged with ice/snow, and it's been warmish today (36 F, or about 3 C)... went slow through the standing water.
Naturally, as the Prius clearance is about 6", I would avoid extended passage through snow/slush that exceeded that, to avoid high centering the car (like our neighbor did in their car... not sure what make it was) or shoving too much wet snow up into the engine compartment.
All in all, I was very impressed with the performance of the Prius. Last year, I was driving 52 miles round trip to work, and had no issues then, either (lot of icy roads last year, too).
Mostly, though... I will sit at home as much as possible

 

In the first light snow, we got around with our TripleTreds without any trouble. The unplowed side streets were more interesting, but we got through with only a few flashes of the slidey icon. Now that the snow is 30cm deep - with more on the way - and the brief melt yesterday has turned everything to ice this morning, Silver's staying right where he is. Even if we did have studded snow tires, enough people don't that it's still dangerous. So what if I'm trooping around the mall in my snow boots?

 

well, i can say for sure, that rocking a Pri when stuck can most definitely be done, and i have had A LOT OF PRACTICE lately.

when moving, the Pri does fine. but with last minute christmas shoping and NOT ONE SINGLE parking lot plowed, everytime i park, its a 5 to 30 min ordeal to get going again.

twice, i had to be pushed. so now i carry a short handled shovel with me. so 5 mins of digging, and im good to go!!

obtw, next storm... tonight... have fun all!!

**edit**

now, with an average of 50 mpg in winter time driving, i now know what you midwesterners deal with... current MPG... 39.5 mpg

OH THE HUMANITY!!!

 

Vancouver, WA... 10-12" snow

I went on a 4 mile round trip last night to purchase groceries and everything went very well with the exception of trying to get back into the garage. Spent 25 minutes shoveling, sprinkling salt, etc. to get the car back in. the traction control had me dancing in circles 3 feet from the door entrance. Riding Kumho tires.

I have chains just haven't put them on yet

b

 

Hey, the poor oil companies need the money! Well, they aren't getting very much. I got a half tank (filled up) just before this snap restarted and currently I'm running at 7.3 l/100 km so I just don't want to hear about your "terrible" 6.6. But the gas was $0.689 per litre, total was $14 even for 20 litres!

Poor Pearl struggles to get the coolant above 60C. The engine won't shut off at lights. And I DON'T CARE!! I'm not going to scrape the inside of the windows. I'm dressed with so many cloths it's hard to get in and out and very hard to do a "shoulder check". I'll be nice when this cold snap lets off and it gets up to a nice balmy -15C!

Traffic is crawling at 50 km/hr so Pearl isn't using enough energy to heat the coolant. When I get a chance to go a little faster, I just get the coolant up above 65C and have to stop at a light. It then drops below 60C again. Sigh.

See, 63C is the "magic temp" for the coolant. Above that the engine will shut off at lights. It's embarrassing sitting there -IN A PRIUS- with the engine running.

Oh well. I guess it's snowy seasonal decoration anyway.

 

funny how weather works. 4 storms in 9 days. the one tonight is expected to have 1-2" tonight and another 1-2" tomorrow afternoon. normally that would be a pretty big snow for us... as is predicted, by far, the wimpiest of the 5 snows this month.

 

we not supposed to get anything until after midnight sometime

 

Here in Portland OR we have had quite the snow, breaking records etc. The city is poorly prepared for snow, because it seldom gets any and then it seldom sticks around. So only the freeways and main roads are plowed, about 6" to 12" of snow on side roads, depending on elevation.

The Prius has performed very well, thanks in large part to the snow tires (Bridgestone Blizzaks, in their third season). We have a steep driveway covered with slick packed snow (as in, you'd easily slip and fall if walking up), the Prius crawls up and down it slowly and under control. On packed snow and icy snow, the car accelerates, turns, and stops well. Only problem is when trying to push through >6" or so of snow that is lumpy and churned up with ice underneath - I've gotten through, but can feel the tires looking for traction. The traction control works fine, so does the stability control. I've avoided anything that looks like 12" - I don't feel like digging.

In previous winters, I've spent time in Eastern Washington (Yakima). On roads covered with 6" of fresh snow, no problem. On packed snow and churned up snow, also fine. On one grocery store parking lots that was all slick ice, the car still accelerated and stopped pretty well. Also using the Blizzaks.

So, I think the Prius plus real snow tires makes a good snow car unless the snow gets too deep, say more than 6".

I just wish the Blizzaks lasted longer. This will probably be their last season - three years isn't very long.

 

I woke up to a lot more snow this morning. There's gotta be more than a foot on the roads. I drove to work with no problems, and the office was closed! Woot.. snow day!

 

I was curious about how the Prius would cope with severe snowfall, and now I've had a chance to find out. I would rate stopping and turning as 'good', but starting out as only fair, with studded snow tires on all four wheels (Cooper Weathermaster 205/60-15). Twice now I've gotten stuck, with one of the front wheels spinning, and no forward motion. Each time, I had to back up slightly and try again. Once it was on an icy street, which was perfectly flat, and the other time it was in deep snow, but again on a flat surface.

This behavior surprised me, as the car has VSC, and I expected better performance. Perhaps the tires just aren't that wonderful, but they do have studs, an aggressive tread pattern, and are not very worn. I may reduce the tire pressure and find out if that helps. Currently running 42/40.

 

Lots of people confuse the various traction systems in the Prius.

VSC won't help with starting out. It's function is to keep you pointed in the direction of travel while moving.

Traction control is for starting out, keeping the wheels from spinning up too much.

ABS is for stopping, of course. It will stop one wheel from locking up, and allow you to steer while in a panic to slow down.

You probably already know, but the trick with the Prius when starting to move is to apply a little throttle and hold it there until you are moving. If you apply too much it will keep shutting down and will take a long time to get going.

A good thing to keep in mind is most of these systems will not help if you are moving very slowly. They shut down around 5-10 MPH. Though Traction control always works.