How is the Prime in the snow?

Can you still scrape the window without destroying the treatment ?

 

Interesting stuff

PGW (Pittsburgh Glass Works) makes Aqua-Pel. Looks like they bought out PPG.

Aquapel Glass Treatment was designed with safety in mind. Developed and patented by PPG Industries, and now owned by Pittsburgh Glass Works, LLC, Aquapel represents a unique product that changes the way drivers see the road in rain.
Designed for professional application on windshields, side and rear windows, glass mirrors, or any other glass surface, Aquapel is a long-lasting glass treatment that:

• Repels rain for remarkably improved vision
• Makes it easier to clear ice, snow, and even dirt and bugs
• Reduces glare in the rain, especially at night
• Helps seal glass to fight hard water marks

About the Product
Aquapel Glass Treatment forms a chemical bond with the glass which increases water repellency, causing water to bead and easily shed off the glass. It applies in just minutes to a clean, dry windshield or any exterior glass surface and last up to six times longer than silicon-based products.

Additionally, Aquapel remains highly effective after months of normal use, including driving in rain and snow, car washing, and glass cleaning.

 

Rain repellent reviews - A windshield glass treatment comparison

 

Yes. Aqua-Pel is supposed to bond with the glass.

 

Does that match your personal experience ?

 

Yes, very much so. I have been applying it every spring and every fall to whatever car I have been driving since 2001. And it is still working before I do the fresh application.

 

+1 for Aqua-pel.

 

I second that. VERY few people switch out to snow tires during the winter.

Edit: I also endorse Aqua-Pel..works great and lasts a LONG time.

 

There seems to be an inverse relation between snow accumulations and snow tire use, lol. A lot of winters I wonder myself why I've got them, but this year at least it's been stubbornly cold/icy/snowy, for over a month. Vindication, lol.

Some upsides:

1. You're employing twice as many tires, so after the initial outlay for extra tires/rims, the expense levels out.
2. It keeps your nice OEM rims out of winter's worst, you can detail them at your leisure.
3. If you DIY swap them, and rotate tires in the process, again: the hassle is not much different than regular rotation without snows in the mix.
4. You've got summer and winter scenarios addressed separately, don't have to worry about an all season that's going to fail you in winter, can run their tread depth down a bit more.
6. Anytime temps are below 7C, bare roads or snow, all seasons start to give up traction, whereas snows remain more pliant and grippy.

 

We had a snow storm here last week. 5" at my house, about 14" at work.

Work called a delayed opening. We opened at 10:00.

Several of my coworkers turned around and went back home after starting to work because the roads were so slippery.

One of my coworkers couldn't get up a very steep hill (13%) on the way to work, and had to back down.

I drove up that same hill, and all the way to work without any issues at all in my 2004 Prius with Ecopia 422+ all-season LRR tires on it. Sure, I drove about 25-30 the entire way, despite the fact that the speed limit is 35-55, but that's just good practice in poor traction and poor visibility conditions (it was still snowing hard when I went).

My point is this. If it's bad enough that the difference between all-season tires and ice-tires like Blizzak's makes the difference between getting there and getting stuck, I don't even try to go. Modern all-season tires are good enough to get me there even in pretty awful conditions.

 

Repeat that exercise in a year or two, when they're down to about 5/32", not so good.

And even now, emergency stop, say for a pedestrian?

 

They were 4/32nds when I replaced them last time. Still working okay.

 

We have the Ecopias on our Prius as well and the do surprisingly well in winter driving. In fact, we have two other vehicles and the Prius handles the best! However, the other vehicles have very poor tires on them....I think Hyundai slapped on the cheapest POS they could find. I'm too cheap/lazy to switch them out though.

 

How about ice? Where I am at we are suppose to have up to 2 inches of freezing rain/ice Sunday into Monday?

 

True, although I've found that the "ClayBar & Wax" treatment (see YouTube & threads passim) even better than Rain-X, did mine again yesterday, first time since winterizing car back at the end of October...

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Well...in all honesty with ice on the road (and no chemicals on the road to melt it)...there are limits to how far ANY tire can go. In fact, I often see more 'big 4WD' vehicles in the ditch in icy conditions that anything else. I think they are just less mindful of the conditions ( false sense of security, etc... ).

 

They equate ability to get moving with the ability to stop.

 

Yeah...in reality, my Prius was better in icy conditions than my wife's 4WD SUV. This is because of its low center of gravity combined with electronic stability control, which the SUV didn't have.

 

I had a Jeep 4WD car and that thing on 4WD mode felt worse on ice, granted it was I believe an older car, 2000 Jeep. But I swear, turning 4WD on caused me to fishtail even more!

 

Not to mention momentum. With no traction it really takes a lot to stop those big vehicles.

I almost had a problem the other day in my 2014 liftback. Road was all fresh ice. Approaching a stop sign, I knew it would be bad. Before the hill crest I started braking. Antilocks went into action immediately. From 30 mph I slid down the hill and through the stop sign before actually slowing down. Total bobsled distance about 1/8 mile. Luckily it was rural and no other traffic. The car stayed straight though even though there was zero traction.

And I saw 7 vehicles in the ditch that commute. Pickups, big and small SUVs, and only one car.