[earthbrown8]

Now that the mid atlantic is the new Alaska anyone care to share about their winter driving and their Forester?

Believe me, I am the first to say if the roads are bad and you don't have to be out, don't be dumb. Stay home. But often we have to do what we have to, or storms start once we are already in the course of the work day or such. I wouldn't want to undertake being out on the roads without my Forester. FWD is one thing. The RWD Police intercepter crown vics we sell. forget it. They are the worst in the snow.

Mine is an 01 and has seen it's share of storms. Its an S model and I appreciate the heated mirrors and such. We went a number of years where we just were not getting much snow. When we did I always appreciated how well my forester would do and how few times I ever had any problems. For around 5 years I started using winterforce snow tires and that increased my traction and abilitlies in the snow greatly. A few told me they thought snows were not need for awd but I totally value having them every winter in the bad weather.

I have been doing great through the storms here but there have been a few times where even I was sliding around. Philly didn't do very well on their roads and driving on some side streets can only be done with AWD. Only once did have I ran into road conditions where I was sliding into the side of the street where there was a lot of snow and might have gotten stuck. Got out of it though.

We got unaccustomed to the storms I guess but we are getting used to it again. Have to. No other choice.

And it is cool when one of your passengers tell you how great your car does in the snow and tell they are really impressed.

 

[Quicksilver]

If global climate change IS in store for the east coast, you'll want to consider studded winter tires for the next level in confidence...here in Alaska, most folks do have studs, and recently the state legislature indicated their intent to legislate required studs...

 

[Bravo12]

Well, this was the first year I put out for real snow tires (and 16" steelies), instead or relying on the all-seasons. I bought them in anticipation of the 48hrs of TriState run, since the past 2 years we ran into some snowy roads in the Adirondacks. Turns out, I couldn't have picked a better year to shell out the money for proper kicks.

The only time I got stuck this year so far was when I decided to show off to my neighbors and pulled into an unshoveled parking space in front of my duplex - 2 feet of pristine powder. Well, the lowered Fozzie high-centered on the snow as it got packed underneath. I spent about 15 minutes digging snow out from under the car to get the weight back on the wheels. Once that was done, it pulled right out. I dug out another spot around the corner, backed the car into it, and was done for the night; no problems pulling right out on the ice in the morning.

The main weaknesses of our cars is two-fold: ground clearance (not so bad on stock Foresters, not so good on lowered ones) as in my anecdote above, and the tires. I know for a fact I would have been in a guard-rail on I-95 in the December snowstorm, when small drifts were piling up between the lanes before the highway had been plowed. I hit some large patches of snow in the road at 50 mph, and felt the front end pull to one side, but the snow tires did their job and kept it under control.

Anyway, Subaru AWD and proper tires will leave you without any real interesting winter driving stories. But, you will have more stories than your friends of where you went during the winter months.

 

[earthbrown8]

Cool, thanks for the replies. A few more days and I think even the big dirty piles of snow will be gone and that will be that for the year.

Only problem this year was one of my wheel covers, which was already cracked a couple years ago must have flown off after hitting a pothole somewhere. Wherever it went I don't know.

I'll have to check but I've had the snows I'm using since the winter of 04, maybe I can get one more season out of them. Not sure. They are on stock 15" wheels and the S came with 16's. Do not want to have to buy new wheels but would like to have 16" snows on next time.

 

[jongrill]

I bought my 06 a week or so before the first big storm hit. I don't really have an interesting story other than being one of the only ones on the road during all the storms!

 

[TonW07]

Last winter I headed home from college for a long weekend which is only about an hour and a half drive. The roads were pretty icy but otherwise not too bad. I turned off the interstate onto a highway and was just 4 miles from my destination. Drove a mile down the highway and hit some black ice at about 45mph.

It was all like slow motion and it seemed like it was the most gentle slide off into the ditch. The worst part was I seen the reflector in the ditch coming that shows were there are culverts and there wasn't anything i could do and went straight into it. There was maybe a foot or so of snow in the ditch and I knew to not get stuck I'd have to keep it going and hope to make it up an approach to a field so I put it to the floor. The thing that worried me the most was when I was driving along the fence line since it hadn't been too terribly cold for a little while, under the snow in the low areas it was just water and it was just spraying like crazy.

So with the white snow I didn't realize the first approach and hit it going a decent speed, didn't quite clear it but luckily I seen the second approach and stopped on it. Had to dig snow out of my wheel wells so I could turn the tires.

I got way lucky with everything and know if I had been in my lumina it would have been an absolute mess. Thankfully when I went in the ditch the snow pushed my car up enough and didn't completely Kapow the reflector and the only damage I had was a bent license plate. Man was I lucky.

 

[Subie 2003]

I'll get blasted for admitting this, but our Forester doesn't go out during the winter season.

 

[earthbrown8]

I'll get blasted for admitting this, but our Forester doesn't go out during the winter season.

Your funny. That's a good one.

 

[earthbrown8]

I bought my 06 a week or so before the first big storm hit. I don't really have an interesting story other than being one of the only ones on the road during all the storms!

Right ON! Great post. It's like that.

When you own a Subaru. For real. Ha.

 

[Elmy]

I can tell you my recent little story. Not much but first off. I use studded nokia tires so I'm all for winter tires. Anyway in the evening I was looking out the window in this little winter storm we have atm. And I see further down a small car stuck on the side of a road. Then I see a bigger car going down that same road stopping for the stuck car on the side of the road. Then another car stops below the car. Belive it or not. None of them helped the guy out. So I got my clothes on and drove down there. found the one place to hook my tow rope and started to try pull him up from the side. Now first off I had to pull him up the hill as his rear end did not have any hooking point. So that made it harder. second: There was alot of loose snow on the road itself and ice underneath so when I did try to get him up my rear went sideways toward the roadside where his car was, just further up. So I corrected the car a bit and tried again a few times. Since the rope is a 4t rated rope I did not worry that it would brake the way I had to pull him up. Anyway half way I had to let him loose to get my car over on the other side of the road so I could get him on the road and not just along the side. After that. a few more pulls and I got him loose and I pulled him over the snow covered road to the parking space where there was less snow.
He thanked me and actually gave me a little money for the job. I never gotten money for pulling ppl loose so that was a first. But then he told me his option would be to call a tow truck and that would cost about 5 times as much. I like my raised king springs.
Makes driving through snow a bit easier. :biggrin:
So that done I went around a bit to see if more ppl needed help and then I went home

Pic from this morning. It was a bit better weather at that point then later on when that car was stuck.

 

[earthbrown8]

If global climate change IS in store for the east coast, you'll want to consider studded winter tires for the next level in confidence...here in Alaska, most folks do have studs, and recently the state legislature indicated their intent to legislate required studs...

Now you've done it. Ha. I used to drive cabs 10+ years ago. caprices and in the winter we used studded snows. Believe it or not my driving skills and those RWD cabs I passed several stuck 4x4's.

but yeah, if we really become like Alaska I'm with you. I do great now. Studded snows, forget about it. It's more than I think I'll ever need here but not saying I wouldn't. It's the clicking and the noise those studded tires make all the time when there is no snow that I don't like so much.

 

[earthbrown8]

Nice Elmy! by the way I spent 2 months in Norway when I was in the Marines. We were in some exercise called arctic bear or something. I can't remember where we were there either but it was a beautiful country and the town they took us to spend our liberty was nice. A lot of hills though. Getting to the hotel or whatever place I was staying was murder I remember. Very steep hill this street was covered with ice. Ha.

 

[Elmy]

Nice Elmy!

thx m8

 

[Elmy]

Nice Elmy! by the way I spent 2 months in Norway when I was in the Marines. We were in some exercise called arctic bear or something. I can't remember where we were there either but it was a beautiful country and the town they took us to spend our liberty was nice. A lot of hills though. Getting to the hotel or whatever place I was staying was murder I remember. Very steep hill this street was covered with ice. Ha.

hehe. they had a winter drill this year as every year it seems with soldiers from around the world. You know big one. They have it in Norway for some reason. And I don't envy the soldiers in the middle of nowhere in the cold winter near -50 degrees celcius