Moving to WI from southern CA

You might get some ideas if you watch Fargo......a couple times......brrrrrr.


Good luck with your new venture! I'll save you a parking spot at the beach if you get home-sick!

 

When I lived there my '75 Pinto sat outside and started reliably without a block heater. A Prius should do fine. All-season tires without chains should be adequate unless you live in the country.

 

HI Pixie! Haven't seen a posting from you for a looonnng time. Madison will be quite a change from So. CA in more ways than just the weather. Hopefully, you'll find other Prius drivers there who can answer all your questions. Good luck!

 

Well, since you can get "real" winter in Madison, once you make the move find a good local Toyota dealer.

Have them check the coolant strength. It should be good to at least -30 F. I would think that Toyota uses a common strength coolant now.

A block heater can really help with starting, warmup, and minimizing the cold temp MPG hit. This can be a pricey option though, see if the Toyota dealer in Madison can help you out. More than likely a CA Toyota dealer doesn't even know what a block heater is.

Some folks claim the all-season tires work just fine. I have found that - in Winnipeg at least - they suck. If you do decide to spring for a winter tire/wheel package I'm sure you'll be glad you did.

As far as motor oil, in temps -20 F and colder, a synthetic makes a big difference. Mobil 1 5W-30 should work fine. If you really want to cover all bets, Mobil 1 0W-30 is the same price.

Be prepared for a big MPG hit in bitter cold weather. Keep an eye on the fuel filler door, I've had mine freeze a couple of times.

 

Regardless of what others say, snow tires (I have them on all 4 wheels) make a world of difference in your ability to get around in snowy winter conditions. A winter "survival kit" is also in order if traveling any distances.

My survival kit contains blanket, a plastic tarp, water, a couple of chocolate bars, first aid supplies, some tools, a shovel and a $20 bill. Also, I always have boots and cold weather gear in the car just in case.

 

I lived in Madison for 4 years and drove a 53 Desota, left outside all the time. Had no major problems even with poor tires. However it can get seriously cold, 26 below zero farenheight with phenomenally high humidity. Under those conditions the cold bites right into you. This will be quite a Winter change for you, so keep the car winterised and with proper clothing in trunk. Snow tires would help, but good Radials provide a great grip. I personally like Michilins for snow gripping power. At the time I couldn't afford such things so I loaded up my trunk with sandbags. I don't think the Prius will have any problems, but be prepared to perspire heavily every time you go to the beach, (that is the grass) Beautiful area, Capitol's located between two lakes, Mendota and Mendosa. Do visit Wisconsin Dells up a bit from Madison on the Wisconsin River. Happy to be in Sacramento now tho :lol:

 

Hi Pixie,

We live just outside Madison and I work right downtown just off the square, so I can give you some advice. Still waiting for our Prius, so this is just in a general sense.

Block Heater: Only if your baby is going to be parked outside overnight. It usually warms up a bit during the daytime in all but the coldest streaks.

Tires: We are going to upgrade because I'm a bit freaked out by the stories of the over sensitive traction control and we live at the top of a hill. Madison gets snow, but we aren't in the real snow belt. Areas right by the Great Lakes get "Lake Effect Snow" which is a whole different ball game. We did have one 10 inch snowfall last year and many 2-4 inch snow falls. They are pretty good about plowing around here.

Tire Chains: Unheard of in Southern Wisconsin.

Ice: We usually have a couple of minor ice events here, but it's nothing like the major ice storms they have in the Plain States. Every 5 years or so we get a big one.

Salt: Get ready to see your baby encrusted in road salt. Find a good brushless car wash that's convenient once winter starts.

Dealers: There are only two. Smart Motors is on the westside, John Lancaster is on the far eastside. Opinions are mixed on Smart, but they do sell a lot of Prii. Lancaster does as well, but I don't have any first hand experience with them.

Traffic: Nonexistant compared to SoCal. You love it.

Welcome to Madison! Many people love it here and have a hard time leaving. The quality of life is very high. Some of the best schools in the nation, great University, beautiful natural environs. If you are coming in summer, your first impressions will probably be: Green. It only takes 15 minutes to get out into the country from anywhere in the city. There are some beautiful drives to take advantage of. You'll be here for autumn, which is spectacular.

Anything else you want to know, just ask. I love to brag about my city!

Beacher

 

ALSO: Survival kit is a great idea, I always carry one when I drive to the Sierra Mountains. IF: You have never driven extensively in snow, leave 10x the room between your car and the one in front. The snow in the East, including most of the midwest is more moist and much more slippery. The snow bores no relation to the nice dry stuff found in the west. To get unstuck in snow, keep wheels straight! Enjoy WI.

 

I lived in WI for 21 years. Grew up in Appleton, went to college in La Crosse. You'll eventually get an idea of where those cities are once you get acclimated.

I believe the battery is well protected in the Prius so don't worry too much about cold starting. If you start it up at 7am it will be much harder than at say 10am once the sun has come up and warmed things up a little.

You will get good use of the rear defrost. I was never fortunate enough to have that feature when I lived there.

I don't know about VSC and snow driving but the front wheel drive will definitely be a plus.

Make sure you get a spare set of rims with winter tires on them. Salt will mess up your nice aluminum ones. And make sure to wash the car weekly. You'll have to go automatic since it's impossible to handwash in winter without getting frostbite or having a thin sheet of ice coating your car.

I'd offer more advice but my time's up for now. Good luck getting used to the change. EVERYTHING is different out there.

 

You need cheese. Fortunately, this is not difficult.

You need to go to a Brewers game. This is also easy and you should see the postings of the local hybrid owners who are planning to meet and drive to the Washington Nationals-Milwaukee Brewers game together. This will connect you with many local owners of the Prius and others.

Historical note: as an Illinois resident, I will never forget the first time I visited beautiful Lake Geneva and drove around - and on - it. (It was real cold.) Our 1968 Ambassador was brand new and the six-foot-thick ice cores were on display, so several cars drove out on the ice. It was a great test of the first car we ever had with disc brakes and air conditioning (okay, we didn't use the A/C on that trip). We also enjoyed the rolling hills in the Madison/Lake Geneva area. A challenge for playing the mpg game!

 

Good point about washing. Doing it once a week would not be too frequent in the salt season. Make sure you get all the mud off the bottom and out of the wheel wells. Wetting the salty mud and leaving it in place is even worse than not washing.

 

Oh yeah. I should have mentioned. Most places have a policy where if you buy your winter tires and rims at their store they will change them over for you each winter and spring for free. Don't change over too early in the spring as it will warm up and re-freeze a good number of times before it stays nice. And don't wait too long once the first snow hits (usually November sometime- when I was 16 I took my drivers test on a Nov. 5 and there was a blizzard and whiteout conditions, but they didn't cancel on me.)

Places will not close when there is a foot of snow on the ground. It takes having your door and windows snowed shut to keep people in the house in winter.

If you are buying a house make sure it is sealed up as well- we had foot-high snow drifts inside a rental apartment in La Crosse one year.

Anyway, back on topic, be sure to ask about the change-over policy when buying new rims and tires.

 

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All depends on how long you intend to keep your Prius.

Anywhere in the Rust Belt (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, etc) you're bound to notice cars and pickup trucks 10 years old and heavily rusted. Even 10 years ago the manufacturers all claimed their vehicles had extensive rust prevention techniques, but the rust perforation warranty is only for 5 years.

A spray-on oil really helps. I've had good luck up here with Rust Check but not sure if it's in Wisconsin:

http://www.rustcheck.com

As others have mentioned, it's really important to thoroughly spray out the wheel wells once late Spring / early Summer arrives. It's easier to do if you jack up that side and take the wheel off.

What I do is when I take off the winter tire/rim, before I put the factory aluminum wheel and all season tire back on, I use the garden hose to spray everything out. You'd be surprised at all the salt and sand that builds up in the wheel well, especially the forward part of the rear wheel wells.

 

If you got the 'Toyoguard' package you have some kind of undercoating but it's not worth much. You can go through the automatic carwash and get the 'underflush' with your wash. That sprays the underside of the car down really well and will take care of most potential problems if you do it regularly.

Make sure to do this to prevent underside rust. Rust under your car will make it harder to fix should it need fixing (my husband used to break expensive lifetime warranted sockets on a daily basis when he worked in a shop in Wisconsin) and possibly more expensive to fix in the first place. If you go in for an alignment and your adjusters are all rusted together you have to replace those to get the alignment. Many general things are complicated in this way. So take care of the underside of the car.

Another winter idea: get a good snow brush and scraper, and put a big warm blanket in the car in case you get stuck somewhere.

I really envy you actually, I miss Wisconsin and hope that when I finally get my PhD I can get a job in Madison so we can move back. Things there made much more sense than they do down South. Good luck. Maybe I'll see you there in 5 years.

 

See! People like it here Pixie. You will too!

We have a Salsa on order too. Or should I say, we are waiting for a Salsa. We're expecting to get the call any day that ours has been allocated. :mrgreen: So if you see a woman (this is going to be my wife's car ) with shoulder length dark hair, give her the Prius wave!

 

Beacher - Where are you located? Please change your porfile to include that.

Hopefully, your wait for your Prius will be short.

 

Done.

We have been on the waiting list since last June! We knew the wait would be long and that we could get one sooner if we were willing to travel. But, we are OK with wait because we have a 10 year old Camry that is still running flawlessly and we actually feel kind of guilty about trading up.

 

If you are looking for steel rims for snow tires, rims from the 2004 Corolla fit perfectly and cost a fraction of the cost of Prius rims. In Wyoming we don't use salt so we drive packed snow and ice. We put studed snows on all four wheels. Stoping is important. The block heater will help on the MPG if your car sits outside at night. It is much easier on both the engine and the starter if it is warm. If you have a heated garage it's not important. The coolant tank is not part of the radiator, but a seperate stainless steel thermos bottle the will hold the heat for hours after you have it heated up and the water pump is electric so it will start to circulate the warm water to the cold engine as soon as you turn on the power. Your only problem with snow will probably be clearence when it gets deep. Wisconsin is beautiful. Comming from So California you won't even notice that they have very high taxes.