Winter Driving

I carry a shovel and a bag of kitty-litter in the back, but the most important thing is to have a spare set of rims shod with decent snow tyres which are put on the car at the end of October and are changed back to the summer wheels at the end of April. (I'm in southern NH, but as they say YMMV! )

 

Tire socks or dedicated snow tires!

 

I've had very good luck with Blizzak tires on all 4 wheels. I've used these on my '04, '10, and now my '16.

 

Tire socks are very popular in Europe. Nobody uses tire chains there. They are super easy to put on and take off and work great and you can get them for about 80 bucks on Amazon

 

I've had this in my wish list for some time, on the fence:


^ Several reviews make mention of a strong rubber odor, which is off-putting.

Also, I'd second getting decent snow tires, on separate rims. These rims and lug nuts worked for me:

Corolla steel rim, part no: 42611-02471 (2003-2008 corolla or matrix, CE, LS, S)
steel rim lug nuts, part no: 90942-01007 (plain, open-ended, galvanized)

Just waive the TPMS sensors, if it's possible in your location. If not, better read up on the issues.

 

To the best of my knowledge it is illegal for repair shop to install Wheels without tire pressure sensors. I did a bunch of research on that last year and we stopped doing it. I think if you're going to get separate rims you need to get the sensors but they really aren't even that expensive if you get them on Amazon

 

In Canada it's legal. That said, check with your State. One problem is annual inspections that'll fail you with a tpms warning, it varies state to state. Also, you may be able to get a tire shop to install regular valves on loose rims, not sure.

The expense is not just purchase of sensors, there's an ongoing need to reintialize the sensors, with EVERY change. Dealerships charge about $75 for this?

 

Buy mini VCI do it yourself!

 

I found a similar thing with the stinky chocks I bought from Harbor Freight, but the cure was to leave 'em bake in the sun on my balcony for a couple of days which fixed the problem in short order!

 

Tirerack has fast shipping with great prices. If you have crazy money, you can run glycol under your driveway and never shovel snow again. A boiler pumps warm/hot water through the pex. Zip tie snow chains for an emergency. Cdc says we are in for warmer wetter winters here in Maryland but anything could happen with weather. Block the grill so the engine stays within temp longer, less engine running=more mpg. Batteries that are warmer will also perform better.

 

If you have the standard Prius IV size P195/65R15 tires, the AutoSock size is AS645.

They appear to be not a joke, and approved in 50 states.

I have a pair, but haven't used them. Like carrying an umbrella prevents rain, if you have autosocks in the back of the car, you don't get stuck.

-Chap

 

For them, yes, in the U.S. For you, no.

Thus, you can have the shop mount tires on rims without sensors, then take the mounted tires home and put them on the car yourself. They don't have to ask you whether these are for a TPMS or non-TPMS vehicle.

But because TPMS has alerted me to 3 of the past 4 leaks, slow and fast (on two separate household vehicles), I'm going with keeping the systems functioning as intended.