New to Minneapolis-St Paul.. anxious about winter driving

Just remember to drive slow, keep at least double space distance from other cars, and don't accelerate or brake hard. Be extra careful with on and off ramps, and also going over and under bridges. You'll be fine as long as you don't drive crazy. Born and raised in MN and moved east a couple years ago. I never owned a winter tire when I lived there. If you want the peace of mind, then go for it. I recommend after the first snow or two that you go to a big Walmart or Target late at night and "test drive" the car in the parking lot before it is all plowed to get a better feel for winter driving. The natural driving habits of most Prius owners will make them decent winter drivers.

 

And to be 17 again and doing crazy donuts in the snow in the Mall parking lot.

 

I suggest you get a set of winter tires on factory wheels, either the set you have or another set. OEM wheels are generally much better at resisting the pitting & corrosion of winter use than most any aftermarket wheels. I bought a set of nice, but inexpensive wheels for summer use with my factory tires.

If you worry about changing the wheels & storage, some tire store chains have a valet service. I use Belle Tire and they remove, clean, pallet, shrink wrap, and store my wheels in a climate-controlled warehouse. It costs about $80 each time I swap wheels. After selling another car this spring, I sold the winter wheels / tires while they were still in storage. The buyer will just take my receipt to his nearest Belle Tire store this fall and they will deliver the wheels to any store in their network.

Having nearly 40 years of winter driving experience, I can say that the Prius is poor when starting in slippery conditions because it doesn't allow you to spin the wheels (protecting the electric drive motors). This is most troubling when starting from an icy driveway or unpaved side road onto a major crossroad. It's also problematic when starting on inclines. Winter tires certainly help, but the problem still exists. That said, if you're new to winter driving you may have an advantage of not having bad, wheel spinning habits to break.

 

Why would you want the tires to spin? Wouldn't you want them to get traction and move the car or stop the car?

 

Isn't that how you get the car to move when it's icy?

 

By spinning them and losing traction? No. You apply power slowly so the wheels do not spin but turn while applying traction and the car moves.

"Spinning" the tires typically refers to losing traction not something you want to do except in car chase movies.

 

Guess I should have added a smiley to my post!

 

It also leaves behind a slippery trail behind for the next vehicle to deal with. Not a good plan...

 

I don't care to get TMPS. After a while, I don't even see the indicator light. $100 for mounting sounds about right in my experience, but that's each time. You have to take the winter tires off in the spring and put 'em back on early Dec, so that $200 a year.

 

Swapping tires on the same wheels twice a year is not a good idea. It's bad for the tire bead (the part that holds the tire on the wheel) and the wheels can get scraped up. As for not running TPMS, my tire store said that new federal regulations prohibit them from installing wheels without TPMS on a vehicle that came equipped with TPMS.

As for tire spinning, folks are right that the spinning actually provides less traction, except when it clears snow and slush out of the way and allows the tire to contact solid material underneath. Since maximum force is achieved just before the tire breaks free and spins, in most cars it is easy to apply too much power and spin the tires without gaining any traction. The good thing about the Prius is that the lack of power makes it easier to modulate the torque, especially in eco mode. The bad thing about the Prius is that once the car detects wheel spin, it goes into limp mode for a few seconds and provides even less torque. This is very disconcerting when you've pulled halfway out onto a 50 MPH road and you discover you have no power to accelerate in front of traffic.

 

I got through last winter on the original tires here in Colorado. No problems. The streets aren't even plowed that well. I come from Chicago, so I'm used to snow. It's wise to carry a small shovel to dig out if caught in 6 inches or more of snow.

 

Like most people here, you can go one of two ways; you can plop down some extra cash for snow tires, or you can just make sure your existing tires are in good condition, and plan to be careful with your driving. For example, when there's snow on the roads, leave yourself at least twice as much time to get to your destination as normal, maybe longer. Double your following distance, or more.

Personally, I've never used snow tires. Whether you do is a personal choice, based on how well you think you can adapt to completely different driving conditions from what you're used to, and what you're willing to spend to have to do as little adaptation as possible.

 

I'm really interested in the discussion between changing over your existing rims or buying a dedicated set of rims for winter. It seems like the extra expense of a second set of rims makes it a better idea to just get the winter tires changed over each season. I'm primarily interested in straight expense, but that could include the impact of wear & tear for the changeover process itself.

 

My solution for winter driving in the Twin Cities is a AWD SUV. I would never even think of taking my Prius out in the salt let alone risk driving it with all those idiots on our roads in the winter. Salt will pit and ruin a vehicle. Minnesota even salts dry roads with no snow or ice. It's ridiculous the amount of salt they use. I only stay there because my wife is nuts and wont move south.

Mike

Mobile on my Asus

 

Most Prii in the Cities are the regular kind. John may be the only PiP. We should find some other owners and get together for lunch before winter arrives. I'll be home late this week.

A SUV eats gas but is very safe in our ugly winters. It also keeps the Prius safe and sound until spring. I bought a used Saturn Vue AWD a few years ago for under $10k and love it for winters and hauling stuff around as needed

Lookin forward to seeing your Plus Perf later this season or next spring. Likely we have the only pair in the Cities

Mike

Mobile on my Asus

 

I live in Edmonton, Alberta...Canada.
We get a fairly decent amount of snow each winter...and the alley behind my house almost never gets plowed. Any suggestions on how not to get stuck in the snow? And unfortunately, getting a AWD SUV for the winter time isn't an option for me. ;P
It must be possible right? Edmonton isn't full of AWD SUVs/trucks so I assume there is a way to avoid getting stuck in snow.

Thanks for the help.

 

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but if you get over 8 or 9 inches of snow that hasn't been plowed you will get stuck in a Prius.