My Tercel in the Southern California Storm

[Neu]

I'm a big fan of no studs. They ruin the roads and just really aren't much better then simply knowing how to drive in snow, or at least for me. When I had studs on, they annoyed me when I'd hit patches of road without anything on them..that NOISE.

if I need to, I'll throw chains on.

[Highlander]

Well there's good reason for having them here in CO. The sun's intensity melts the snow off very quickly, the problem with that is that in the canyons we only get about 1-2 hours of sun if we're lucky. Just enough sunshine to melt the snow, make it run across the road and then turn to black ice. The studs may make noise, but with the black ice, they're a life saver (literally) winter driving technique won't help when you have NO traction or grip whatsoever. I've been driving in the mountains all of my adult life, both here in CO and in upstate NY where we had ice storms, and winter driving skills aside (which, yes, I do have) I abhor having to put chains on anything other than my plow truck, 'cause you just have to take them off again. 99.9% of the time, I'll get through with my studs and my Terc warm and cozy. JMHO

[Neu]

Yeh, i've taken defensive driving, winter driving, track driving, all kinds of driving courses (expensive, but worth it) and the winter driving instructor said studs weren't a necessity in oregon for the most part. Not in the valley anyway.

With a 4wd car like the tercel, winter tires are really all you need.

I have BALD from tires right now, and i can still manage to go faster then people with chains/studs.

I test to see if I still have traction by braking hard enough to lock them on snow, and turning just a tiny bit. If when I let off the brakes, I straighten back out with that nice jolt, I know I have traction, so I'm good.

[Petros]

Friday, Dec 19th, 2008

I did manage to make it all the way back up to our driveway that night, but the power was still out. I had to drive over the downed power lines to get out and back in fact, they were down and buried in the snow on our road. But I did see the Power company trucks on our road on my way home however, so it should not be long now.

Late that night our power came back on, the heat system fired up (though our wood stove was doing a reasonable job of keeping the main floor warm), and we had water pressure again. So I ran the dishwasher, flushed all the toilets which we had used, My wife ran the laundry, and we recharged all our cell phones and camera batteries, and finally went to bed. This time of year you just do not know how long the power is going to stay on, and there was another snow storm forecast for Saturday, with high winds to boot.

Saturday, Dec 19th, 2008-12-21

Morning was Sunny and clear, but very cold, 11 degrees, coldest yet. It turned out we did have one pipe freeze up on us, right at the kitchen sink, it was one of the only pipes on an outside wall. Normally with the insulation in the wall it is not a problem, but with the power out for some 30 hours or so, it was just not enough. Fortunately everything else worked. I put a heat lamp on the wall under the sink by cutting an access hole through the back of the cupboard, it eventually ran free again;. Good thing because this also supplied the dishwasher and it ran all night without fresh water, it was acting very strange. Once we cycled it again the dishwasher went back to normal. Then I went to work putting the generator back together, the temperature continued to drop through the day, and the wind picked up too, but the power stayed on. Now that I spent all that time getting the generator working, the power will almost certainly not go off again this winter. It is just as well, because I want to convert it to propane anyway, less maintenance and we already have a 500 gal propane tank on the property for heating and cooking.

That night I pulled the skis out and braved our hill. I got a lot of exercise climbing back up the hill between each run. I made sure I avoided my wife's Rhododendron, and I only crashed once, turned too late to avoid a giant blackberry bush at the bottom of the driveway. The girls keep trying to build a track for sledding, but the snow was too deep and soft to get any speed up. Perhaps tomorrow I will help them build a real bobsled track with big banked turns. We have enough snow for it.

By now a total of about 3 feet of snow has fallen, with accumulations of over 2 feet. It snowed again all night, but we were warm.

Sunday Dec 21, 2008

Happy winter solstice. It continued to snow, and Church was canceled, it warmed up to 19 deg today. So we stayed home and made waffles. I am going to try skiing again. I hope to make it work on Monday, which I probably can depending how much more snow falls today and tonight. It looks like we are going to have a very white Christmas this year. The power went out again late Sunday night. This time the whole valley was out, dark from one end to the other (not very common), the power company reported they had 40,000 customers without power. At least it warmed up to 28 degress, but it snowed all night.


view from our kitchen window, those are a Mazda MPV 4wd, a Corolla All-trac and a Suzuki Vitara, all useless in this snow! Notice the icicles, some where up to six feet long on our house! Very usual, we are only 500 feet above sea level.


This is our 1-ton Ford van (a full sized one!) on our lower property below the house, also useless


View of the house and garage from half way down the driveway. Look at all that snow! Notice the plywood in the lower left corner, I used that to place the jack on to change the tires. BTW, I bought this property as a raw 5 acres in 1992, and I designed and built the house and garage. Too much work, I would rather play with cars.

Monday Dec 22, 2008

Stupid stupid me! I just remembered, I have a set of studded snow tires mounted on Honda rims, they fit right on the Tercel. I should have put them on a week ago! And hear I was thinking all week about forking over money for studded snow tires, and I already have them! I feel like an idiot. I got them last summer in a "free" pile at a garage sale. If I had to pay money for them I would remembered them. The power was still out so I got my stuff together to hike down to my car. I decided to dig out the studded tires since we will have ice tonight after the "warm" day. They were under 2 feet of snow behind the shed with a home made boat and a utility trailer (also buried in 2 feet of snow) block the way. I got them out and lugged them down to the car. I decided to put them on now so I would not have them loose in the back of the car. It is a real pain doing in the snow, I used a piece of plywood for the jack, got the two rear ones on and decided that was good enough for the drive in. I put the other two in the back for switching over later today.


First view of my Tercel at the bottom of the driveway since I parked it there late Friday night. The snow on it fell over the weekend. Notice the condition of our private road, at least it has been driven on.


View looking down our road, and up the lower part of our driveway. The driveway is about 16 percent grade, the road steepens below to about 20 percent down the hill a bit! It can be quite scary getting up and down our road in these conditions. Our house is directly up the hill from where my Tercel is parked.


Digging out to install the studded tires. this would have been much easier to do in October! Notice the handle of the jack in the snow right behind the car.


This is what main street Arlington looked like after driving into town 10 miles. It looks like a ski resort town somewhere in the mountains. Downtown Arlington WA is only about 120 feet above sea level! Many stores were closed, but there was a lot of very slow traffic. After it warmed up the compact frozen snow was very wet and slipper. Even with 4wd it still took caution.

[Mattel]

Great Shots Petros (do you have bigger one's?), it's amazing what you guys have to go through out there in the North-West US. I appreciate your resourcefulness, good that you were enjoying the snow a bit on the ski's, that should stop you getting Seasonal Affective Disorder I guess it could get a little depressing as winter drags on? On Dec 22nd I got some surfing in and a touch of sunburn as the Mercury reached 30°C here. Cheers guys, keep the posts coming in!

[Petros]

I do not know why the pics posted so small, I did the same as I always did. Does someone know how to get them to post bigger?

If I did not like playing or driving around in the snow I would get cabin fever being cooped up without power. When I was younger I used to go out into the mountains with backcountry skis, tents and climbing gear just for fun. It gives you a confidence to handle pretty severe weather with minimal gear, and enjoy it. With a whole house full of outdoor gear, it is easy.

If this kind of Global Warming continues I am going to have to mount taller studded snow tires each fall on my Tercel. I will be ready for next winter. Extra power with a bigger engine in the Tercel, taller springs and tires, and a propane powered generator hard wired into the house electrical system. Then it might even be fun when the snow falls and the power goes out.

Next I am going to rig a big winch as a rope tow on the garage to pull me back up the hill for another run on skis or sled. Maybe I can charge $1 per ride to the local kids to help pay for the generator installation.

[ARCHINSTL]

Petros - WOW !
Well, one thing for sure - you have certainly eliminated any posts from anyone else on snow and coping with same!
Who can top this?
Good reportage! Thanks! - Makes me glad I am in STL.
Tom M.

[Petros]

STUDDED SNOW TIRES RUUULES the dark winter roads!!!! Wow, I would have never guessed how awesome they are on frozen snow and ice!!!!

I am a Texas Cowboy riding a wild stallion on roads of donkey riding cowpokes, charging ahead with confidence and power! I am a snow leopard with claws that dig deep into my unwitting prey, the frozen ice laying in wait on the highway. Rather than being ambushed by that most wily of opponent, the black ice: I have become the hunter, seeking out the slippery surfaces to surprise and awe all unsuspecting SUV owners. The lowly Tercel has been transformed, the car's and my mind and body melding as one as we pass big SUVs as if they are standing still, with grace and control. It is like a great super natural power that you can wield for good or for evil, the choice is yours. You are in control and flying over doubtful surfaces with confidence and power.

I flew home at near normal speeds. I drifted it through empty parking lots to see the car's (and my) limits of traction. Doing circles and figure eights. And wow! what fun, what grace, what unprecedented control! I have been driving on snowy roads for almost 35 years, and the combination of the light and nimble Tercel 4wd and the studded tires (plus my modified engine) is the most fun on ice I have ever had.

If I was not so cheap I would have done this years ago. I fell for the same anti-stud propaganda and lies. It would have saved some walking in the past, and more than a few times being stuck. Well worth the investment of a separate set of winter wheels and tires. I will never be caught without them again. As a bonus, I got these at a price I am willing to pay of course, FREE!

All that anti-stud propaganda are lies and nonsense! Obviously from people who never drive on ice, or who are bribed by the hwy people who would rather you wreck your car than wear out their roads. They become unwitting agents of the road maintainace departments. Hah! I say, Hah!

While it is true the studs help only a little on snow over good snow tires, they are the only thing that grip on ice and frozen snow. They also reduce your traction on wet or dry pavement, which does take caution, and affects your mpg, so they are less than ideal for MOST driving. But they are the only way to drive on ice or frozen snow. If you have to drive on ice, it will mean the difference between an unavoidable accident and driving safely. Way better than snow tires and 4wd. Even better on something as light as the Tercel, once those big SUVs start sliding, there is no stopping all that kinetic energy, you are done!

[Neu]

I will agree,on straight ice they are better, but for something like where i live (a rainy/snowy area) they are terrible.

[ARCHINSTL]

Petros -
Good Lord...
After reading your latest post and viewing anew the now-enlarged photos...
What are you - some kind of Renaissance Man?
Not only do you have T4WD (and other mech) knowledge, but you are an architect and now travelogue-writer!
I loved your flow-of-words and images.
Have you no mercy?
Incidentally, the house is gorgeous and the "garage" is what we here in STL would call a BIG carriage-house of the old City.
Tom M.

[Petros]

Thanks Archinstl. BTW, I have edited the pictures and cropped a couple so they are centered better.

I have a lot of creative interests, and I am an adult with Attention Deficit Disorder, so I have a lot of different interests. I have been accused of being an architect, but I would not want to malign their reputation any worse than it is. My current engineering consulting firm prepares construction plans (among other things) so I do have a lot design experience. I also write a lot reports which gives me a lot writing experience.

I will likely being writing a lot more in the coming weeks on why there were construction failures due to the snow load. My secretary's father was almost killed Sunday when he was shoveling snow off his patio and the patio roof collapsed on top of him. He was crushed under about 2 tons of snow and roof. He was hospitalized and has had two surgeries already, broken hip, legs, ribs, head injuries, etc. Fortunately he will be home for Christmas. But the company that installed the flimsy pre-fabbed patio cover (without permits) will be facing a heavy duty claim backed by my engineering report. This is why we have building codes.

We got another 5 inches of snow last night, but it has warmed up to 30 degrees this morning and it appears to be above freezing at the lower elevations. It also appears the Seattle airport is up and running again, I have tickets to go see my parents in California the day after Christmas, and I was wondering if I would still be grounded. But right now it looks like a go.


This is a picture of my neighbor's 2wd Toyota pick-up on off the road on the first hill up to our neighborhood. Notice the door is wide open, I gave him a ride up to his house one day (he was walking in the snow from the bus stop a mile away) and asked why he left the door open for a week while it was snowing. He said he had no choice, on the first day of snow he slide off the road, when he opened the door to get out it started sliding again and the door stuck in the mud on the bank of the creek right behind him. The door is keeping the truck from falling into the creek channel.

Merry Christmas everyone!

[Kumppari]

Petros; nice pictures, and beautiful house! I especially like that garage, is it two storey? Thats just mad

There was some snow here also, but not anywhere near as much as what you got, and most of that is gone now. Hopefully there will be some more coming after new year. Here are some pics what it looked like in here:




Our driveway, front yard and some random picture.


The Turbo Wagon



This is what I used last winter for commuting. Great fun, but can be a bit cold at longer trips. Other people also tend to look bit strangely at me when im driving around.



My other Toyota. There is a leak in the roof panels, so it was very damp and nasty smelling inside. It is in the garage now, waiting for summer.

This was my first winter driving with 4wd car, and it felt very different than the RWD ones I´ve done most of my ice/snow driving. There is just so much more grip! Seems that I have to learn a whole new way of car control. And with added power that the turbo brings, I can spin all wheels while in second gear! Sometimes even on third, depending on road conditions. This turns out to be a bit of a problem, as with good grip and power speed will rise frighteningly fast, and when it comes time to turn or stop, it very suddenly loses all grip and control. 2WD cars usually gives some sings of warning before total loss happens.

I agree that studs are vastly better on ice and hard packed snow. In soft snow the difference is not so big. Then there are summer tires with M+S markings, but those sould not be confused for proper winter tires. Even the very rubber is much softer in real winter tires, so much so that some tires get warm while driving, even in cold days and snow. Downside is that they also wear faster.
Yes, studs make some noise and they turn asphalt in to sandpaper (especially under heavy SUVs) which in turn eats up everybody elses tires. The noise is something that I usually get used to in few days, and hardly notice after that, and I use two sets of winter tires, one crappy to use at fall and spring when roads are most coarse, and one good set to use in proper winter. This helps to reduce tire wear, but doesn't do any difference to roads, and I have to change tires four times each year.

Storing tires outside is not ideal, as sunlight and heat tend to harden rubber, and make it more prone to start craking. Since winter tires rely for the rubber to be soft to work well, this is especially bad. This is how I usually get my crappy tire set, most of studs still intact and plenty of tread left, but hardened rubber. Recently This is has become smaller problem tough, as (quality) tires keep getting better.

[sdoan]

Great Photos and stories from all over the world!

My story is much more mundane.

Here's a pic of the '84 in 11" of snow. (this is in Bellingham about 1 hour north of Petros)

The car in front is a 2006 WRX - it's still parked there because the Tercel is a better snow car.

Later that day we went to friends for a party and I got the car out by rocking it back and forth and drove it out of the driveway pushing snow with the undercarriage. Then we had to go pick up friends because they are snowbound and didn't want to drive their wimpy cars. We crammed 5 people in the Tercel. So it's official 25 year old Tercel 4wds are better than WRXs, Ford Explorers, Volvos with chains, and VW Passats.

[sdoan]

The image didn't load so here it is (again?)....

[Petros]

Keep the pictures and stories coming, I love them.

Kumppari, I would think Finland gets more snow than that. How cold is there in a typical winter? Do you have to do anything special to protect the car when you park it outside in those low winter temps?