Moving to WI from southern CA

There's no getting around that. Personal income taxes are high here. Fortunately, a lot of the other fees are low. For example it only cost about $55 to register a car here for a year. Any car. And insurance costs are a lot lower than places like SoCal.

 

Hahahahahaha, high taxes. Psshht.

NC is much worse, the sales tax rate is higher, income tax is higher, living expenses are worse, car registration costs more, they even tax food which does not happen in WI.

WI has more tax credits as well. We have to fill out WI and NC forms, since I'm still a WI resident and earn money from NC sources. Our NC taxes are always a few hundred more. We are paying more in state tax than federal tax. And we don't even make all that much money between the 2 of us.

 

pixie,
We'll be glad to have you back in the Badger State.
I haven't heard of anyone in Madison getting a block heater installed so that does not seem necessary. My little Honda Insight sits out in the cold all day and night starts fine without one.
I'm not sure when you're moving back, but if you're back before mid-July, you can certainly come with the Madison Hybrid Group to our Milwaukee Brewer Event.
Check out the WI and IL Hybrid owners – Sunday, July 17 Brewers Game thread for more details.

 

I discovered a little secret 2 years ago when out in Idaho visiting my daughter. She had gotten a new car and we were going to bring her Voyager mini-van back to WI. It had studded snow tires on all 4. Before leaving I had our Town & Country mini-van tires "siped". We came over 2 passes with one being ice and snow packed for 25 miles. I had better traction with our siped tires than my wife did with 4 studded snow tires. The tire dealer told me they weren't selling many studded tires anymore, because the siped tires performed so much better. My local Good Year dealer has just started siping auto tires now. They have done it for years on large semi tires. I just had our Motorhome tires done and I will have the Prius done soon. Until you have been able to compare siped to non-siped tires you would not believe the difference. The tires will last longer because they run cooler, give excellent traction on snow packed roads, and disapate rain more efficeintly. We will never own a vehicle without having siped tires. It costs about $10/tire.

Doug

 

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Surely not! I thought all the roads from the Midwest to California were one-way.

 

As far as siping a tire, if you examine a winter tire like the Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50 or Dunlop Graspic DS-2, you will immediately see an example of factory-siped special winter tread.

The siping allows the tread to become much more flexible, so it grips snow and ice much better. It also causes the handling to become "squirmy" as the tread can be too flexible. This is the biggest complaint of a "studless" snow tire.

Since the tread is much more flexible and "squirmy" it can also dramatically increase the rolling resistance. At highway speeds, you could see a hit in fuel economy.

Regulations exist on retreading and recapping, primarily for safety in school buses (No retreads on steer axle). If siping is improperly done the tread can quickly fall apart and fail. If done properly, siping really improves traction on roads that are wet, snowy, or ice covered.

A big name in siping and retreading around here is Bandag. You can get more information at:

http://www.bandag.com

 

Before siping our mini-van, my wife was wanting a different tire for winter or she was going to take my Avalanche from me. Upon returning with siped tires, she compared it to her 4 wheel drive suburban she used to have. On hard packed snow or ice, the siped tires are better. In deep snow, of course, the 4 wheel drive is best. Ours are very stable on the road. They currently have 53,000 miles on them and will go to 70,000 before we will replace them. The local Good Year dealer is doing more of it now as word of mouth gets around. Even the newer tires that appear to have more grooves will benefit from it according to them. I know we are sold on it. When I replace the Wrangler ATS on my Avalanche, I will get a highway type tire and sipe them for a quieter ride and improved traction.

Doug

 

The aftermarket siping process can also void the tire warranty.

I like siped tires on ice and on rain-covered roads. There is a dramatic increase in traction.

 

Jayman is right. You have to be sure that the siping is done correctly. The tires that I just put on our motorhome were Good Years and the dealer did the siping. Our Prius has Good Year tires so I know the warrantee won't be affected when I have them done. If done correctly, the performance will be better and longevity should be longer.

Doug

 

Well as an exmidwestener it is not the winter. Winter is easy. It is the summer. Hot and humid, I don't miss summer at all. Even with air-conditioning I want no part of it. Spring and Fall I do miss. Those are still my best memories of the Midwest. I guess it is better than I remember in those days restaurants and movie theaters had air conditioning. I prefer the Pacific Northwest but given present trends I may have to move to Canada eh. I suppose I could learn a new language even at my age. Not Cricket that is another thing entirely. As near as I can tell it does not have rules. Madison is a great town, and I wish you luck in. I assume that a educational institution is in your future. As a rabid Buckeye I might even forgive you... or not!!!! Go Bucks!!

 

No, no. Summer is nothing in the midwest compared to the deep south. We moved here in August- I nearly passed out of heat exhaustion the first time I went out on my trail bike. This is definitely much worse. Another reason I really miss good old Wisconsin.

 

Oh yeah- pixie if you're heading to UWMad, I wish you the best of luck. I had a great time every time I drove down to Madison, there's a lot of fun stuff to do around campus. State street is quite the interesting place.