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Prius Winter Performance During West Coast Winter Storm

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by Tideland Prius, Dec 22, 2008.

  1. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    hahahaha. I escaped the -30C to spend Christmas back home....
     
  2. patsparks

    patsparks An Aussie perspective

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    Who needs to escape?
    I think I might come see for myself. Then I can be glad of the hot weather back here.
     
  3. DaveinOlyWA

    DaveinOlyWA 3rd Time was Solariffic!!

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    AH HAH!!! i knew it!!!, Jayman is responsible for 2 straight weeks of record stetting winter weather!!

    just couldnt stand to hear about our 50 mpg tanks while he was only gettting 35 mpg... so he sent a bit of his weather to us!~!
     
  4. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

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    (Sinister, maniacal laughter)

    I firmly believe in sharing misery.
     
  5. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

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    Jon

    It never got down to -30 in the GTA, did it? Or are you no longer in the GTA?

    My Aunt from PoCo is glad she is spending the holidays with me. Her neighbor claims the heavy snow, especially on the roofs, was dangerous to move.

    She doesn't mind the cold that much, and no heavy wet snow or treacherous roads to deal with

    jay
     
  6. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

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    Once you step out into that brisk -30 C to -40 C weather, don't forget to open your mouth and deeply inhale. It will take your breath away

    Literally!
     
  7. Rae Vynn

    Rae Vynn Artist In Residence

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    When I would drive in from the US, I would get on the highway that circles the city, on the West side, and get almost to the North side, get off into a section of the city that has a a real suburbia look to it, and there was a shopping center with this tiny little Italian restaurant that had, I am not kidding, the absolute best lasagna that I have ever, ever in my life, eaten.

    I also have enjoyed Sacred Ground, a little restaurant more in the middle of the city, which had rustic breads, fabulous soups, and the funkiest furnishings ever! It was like eating in caves, with trees growing through them.
    There was also a dessert place, with a big curved glass front, with pretty decadent stuff... and a local coffee/espresso place where the really interesting people hang out.

    There are things about Winnipeg that I miss, I'll admit. It is a beautiful city, incredibly cosmopolitan.
     
  8. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Nah, in Edmonton now. Thank god I left the GTA, they got a good dose of snow.
     
  9. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

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    Sounds like you took the west Perimeter around, did you turn east at Portage? That's St Charles and Crestview. The shopping centre (Note metric spelling of center) is Unicity

    Did you go north of the Assiniboia Downs? If you had continued north on the Perimeter, the Downs would have been on your left, or the west side of the Perimeter. There's a huge automall next to the Downs now

    Can't recall off the top of my head what this place is. No surprise, not a huge fan of Itallian anyway. How long ago was this? Unicity has had major renovations

    Afraid I don't know that place either. I'm more of a Meat and Potatoes fellow, myself. I really like The Keg and Montana's

    There's a place at Confusion Corner that might be that place. A lot of Bohemian influence in Osborne Village, which is south of the Manitoba Legislature and the Assiniboine River

    Well, don't be shy about dropping in then! I enjoy taking folks out on a night on the town
     
  10. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

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    Ah, that explains that. You know what Cold really is then

    Don't forget to step outside at -30 C, open your mouth, and inhale deeply
     
  11. Rae Vynn

    Rae Vynn Artist In Residence

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    To answer jayman: it was 10 years ago, and a few months.
    Unicity sounds about right... and, yes, St Charles sounds about right.
    Confusion corner sounds pretty descriptive of the other area... yup, it was a lovely tangle of streets & highways, and very bohemian.
    As for visiting...yeah, we'll see ;)
     
  12. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

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    You probably won't recognize the Unicity anymore, it was extensively redone. Seems the city is always changing, for example Bishop Grandin going around to Kenaston. And the CN rail underpass at Kenaston - just north of the Sterling Lyon Parkway - is FINALLY done

    I used to live in Tuxedo. Many a time, visiting co-workers who lived in Lindonwoods, I was trapped at the rail crossing, waiting for that damn train to creep along

    Ah, Confusion Corner. Whoever had the insane idea of having Pembina, Corydon, Osborne just sort of meld into Donald, was probably smoking crack, or whatever the equivalent drug was, 50 years ago

    The Confusion Corner Bar and Grill is there. If you can just figure out how to get to it ....

    As far as The Villiage, what can I say?
     
  13. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    oh I know what cold is. The last time i went to Edmonton, it dropped to -35... who the heck knows what the windchill was like. and yes, i've breathed through my mouth on more than one occasion. Not a good idea.
     
  14. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

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    Hehehehehe

    Seriously, it really *does* take your breath away, doesn't it?
     
  15. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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  16. David Beale

    David Beale Senior Member

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    I'm not sure what you guys are talking about. I have no trouble at all breathing through my mouth at -30C. In fact, due to the cold my nose is usually plugged at those temps. Yesterday I was out sweeping snow, breathing through my mouth, in -28C temp. ;) Enjoying every minute! Hey, at least I wasn't trying to shovel mountains of heavy snow around! ;)

    This morning it's a balmy -33 to -35C. I'd say it's officially cold!
    Pearl is plugged in in the garage where it's probably -10C or so. I'll be taking her out for a drive shortly. In these temps the car doesn't really warm up fully. The max. coolant temps I see are around 60-70C, even after 20 min of running. At least I still get nice warm cabin air. Both grills fully blocked. Shut the car off, and after only 10 min. or so the coolant is down to 0C. But this doesn't seem to have any effect on starting. The only reason I plug her in is so -I- can have warm air sooner.
    Nothing wrong with the Prius heater!
     
  17. AlaskanPrius

    AlaskanPrius New Member

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    It is currently -29F here in Wasilla and our Prius runs like a champ even in the cold weather. At first I was a little skeptical with all the new technology but I've been impressed with how it handles and drives in snow, ice and sub-zero temps. I ordered a block heater for it from Prius Chat Shop so will in stall that as soon as it gets here but for now the car seems to be doing quite well.

    As for those talking about breathing through your mouth versus your nose, you might ask some of our hard core joggers and bicyclists in Anchorage. It doesn't seem to bother them but it then again, anyone jogging in these temps has suffered a severe oxygen deprivation earlier in life. ;-)
     
  18. patsparks

    patsparks An Aussie perspective

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    Thanks for the warning, I'll remember to bring my motorcycle riding neck warmer and breathe through my nose. The neck warmer comes up over my face when it's cold. I have ridden in sub zero temperatures but not that cold.
     
  19. Rae Vynn

    Rae Vynn Artist In Residence

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    Oh, yeah... sinus icing.
    Breathing through a scarf, top of turtleneck, jacket collar... yup.
    It's that first DEEP breath in the serious cold that gets you... if you start with a few shallow breaths, let your lungs adjust to the cold, then you can deal with it okay.
    Have to remember to carry Kleenex, for when you come back in from the cold...
     
  20. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

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    Oh sure, if you're *used* to it. Around 12 years ago, my parents agreed to host an exchange student from Rio. My folks did lots of zany things like that, back then

    Anyhoo, this teenage boy was a die-hard surfer and a dumb blonde at that. Seriously, I was still in the Army, visiting for xmas, and it was comical to look at the very basic maths he was struggling with.

    I guess you don't need to know really basic high school Trig and Algebra to operate a surfboard. I zipped through a couple of his math homework problems to demonstrate, then did some partial derivatives to really confuse the little bugger

    It was also comical to watch this kid bundle up just to step out into -25 C weather. Yes, I realize that Rio is a hot tropical place. But it was still funny to watch, he'd be bundled up like Nanook of the North

    Oh, he also had almost constant nosebleeds. Apparently, with the furnace running in winter, the indoor humidity was just bone dry in comparison to what he was used to. My folks had to set up a humidifier in his bedroom, to keep the humidity levels at Tropical settings

    I'm sure once he got back to Rio, he had plenty of exciting stories to tell the other dumb blonde surfer dudes. Nicely enough, he still sends xmas cards, they always feature a beach photo, so I always take a photo of our frozen winter landscape, write down the temp "-37 C" and send it away

    I'm positive his surfer buddies don't believe that such cold temps can even exist, let alone be marginally habital. Me thinks another visit from this guy is needed.