sooo being from Hawaii, I've pretty much never experienced any seasonal changes. Now that I'm up here with my tC, I have a few questions.

- Do I need different tires or can I use the stock tC tires?
- Any driving tips?
- Anything else I need to prep my car for winter (snow and ice)?

last year while I was rushing to class I slipped over a patch of ice and fell on my a**. you should of seen my face when I fell. I was totally shocked.

soooo with that said, just wanted to be safe for the winter...

Thanks

 

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/winter/

Biggest thing I can suggest IF you decide to drive in snow. NEVER lock the brakes! If you do, you will slide and hit something. Pump the brakes and if your tail starts to swing around think of drifting. If your tail starts swinging to the right turn the wheel right. Doesn't hurt to keep chains in your trunk either. Or you could just stay off the roads and not risk killing yourself or someone else!

 

^^x2

Keep a set of chains (you can see when bad weather is coming so you wont have to keep them with you all the time.), luckly the Seattle area is not to bad for winter though. lots of rain. I try to keep off the road when there is snow or ice becuase of the other people on the road. Check your fluids going into winter though as well.

 

In seattle if the weather is bad (ie snow, ice etc), the whole place pretty much shuts down. Shoot I remember last year when we had a Winter Storm 2007 Watch (dun dun dun), for all of an expected inch of snow.... If its bad, no one would think twice about you not heading out. I have never had winter tires on any car I have driven and done just fine. Just take your time, avoid the hills and dont worry about being late.

 

bag or 2 of cat litter could help too.. quicker than chains incase you get stuck on a patch of ice... or something...

but usually not to bad around here in terms of long lasting issues... random bad day or 2 in a row then back to rain/wet roads.... normally

 

The tC has ABS so locking the breaks is not an issue.

As for sliding you usually want to not fight your car and turn into what ever direction the car is sliding. If you turn the opposite way in most cases you are just hurting your tires. Everyone has their own techniques that work for them whatever it takes not to hit anything .

The tC tends to slide sideways on ice/snow. It feels weird the first time it happens to you.

Best advice in snow just stay home if you can. For ice just be careful. You should be fine with regular tires. I prefer winter tires for all the rain water we get but it is not necessary and I don't need to drive on the freeway to get to work so its not an issue for me.

Good luck!!