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Winter driving guidance needed

lillatroll
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calalum calalum
All-Looking for some winter driving advice. My son goes to college in New England and I am buying him a Subaru (so much for the watch savings), which has all wheel drive. Questions:

1. Is all wheel drive with the all purpose tires safe for winter driving conditions, or will he need snow tires? He won't be doing a huge amount of driving since his school is in a very small town but maybe some ski weekends, etc.

2. What is the best way for him to learn how to drive in the snow and ice? Not a lot of practice time here in SoCal.

3. Any issue leaving the car outside for 5 weeks over winter break, or is it important to find a place to garage the car?

Any other thoughts will be appreciated as well. Thanks.

I used to live in northern norway, a place that experiences proper winters. Winter tyres are a must. If he is going to leave the car then he should disconnect the battery, otherwise it is likely to be flat when he gets back. As far as driving is concerned its about using common sense and not driving to fast. Driving uphills requires you to take a slower, even pace to avoid wheelspin due to less traction. Keep a reflective jacket and small shovel, jumpleads and tow rope in the back for emegancies. Most of all, good luck to him on his new adventure.
 
Dan S
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I will add another vote for snow tires, or winter-rated all-terrain tires. A Subaru's clearance is pretty limited, so all-terrain tires are probably not very useful. But since I go off-road pretty frequently in the summer, I just have one set of winter-rated all-terrain tires (Goodyear DuraTrac on my 4Runner) and use them all year. By the way, there's no substitute for tire chains/cables in deep snow and ice.

He must also learn to drive slowly, and not brake during turns.
Edited:
 
Mmike1357
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A bit off topic, but I remember starting many conversations with girls in college when you are the only one with a snow brush/window scraper, or you offer to assist. It is the gentlemanly thing to do.

There are also reusable traction pads you can use instead of kitty litter, I’ve used these with great success.
 
WatchWalker
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sjg22 sjg22
Best/Almost Worst cold weather driving story I’ve heard:

I have a client who lives in a remote, northern Canadian city. He has a cabin in an even more remote area - in the summer he can boat, but in the winter he uses “winter roads” - cleared paths on the frozen lake to drive there. These tend to be very infrequently travelled.

He was going up to his cabin for a few days of ice fishing by himself, plus his trusty dog. He drives a GMC pickup. Along the way, as it’s a 3 hour drive, he pulled over due to the call of nature.

His dog manages to step on the door lock button, locking him out of the car in -22 weather in the middle of nowhere. No cell reception. Miraculously, two hours later, another car comes down the road and finds him sitting on the tailgate shivering. They drive him to a fishing camp 45 minutes away, where he’s able to call OnStar and have them remotely unlock the truck, and gets driven back - dog is ok and they carry on their way but hell of a close call. He now always takes his keys out of the car.

You never know in the winter...
I would have smashed a side window instead of sitting there in the cold....
 
Canuck
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WatchWalker WatchWalker
I would have smashed a side window instead of sitting there in the cold....

I carry a spare key for each of my two vehicles with me at all times, in case of a lock out, or a misplaced key. Simple.
 
gostang9
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Some great feedback so far. Minor additional points:
-- object at rest wants to stay at rest: AWD helps acclerate better, snow tires also to get traction in cold weather
-- object in motion wants to stay in motion: AWD doesn't help so much here (but often leads to over-confidence), snow tires help a lot hear to maintain traction
-- black ice is when pavement is icy but not in a visible way. This happens often on bridges (as air underneath creates icier conditions than rest of roadway) and I have several times been driving on a highway at normal speeds thinking the road was fine, only to come to a bridge or portion of the road where multiple vehicles had collided or left the road due to sudden ice on bridges or surprising patches of black ice. The key is to be aware, pay close attention, and try to remain calm with minor adjustments to speed and steering whenever possible.
-- with snow, the grooves of previous vehicles can help keep you in the driving track. It can be very tricky if you inadvertently get out of the groove or have to change lanes. There are times when no amount of skill or caution will prevent a car from starting to spin. Very important to always leave much more distance than in normal conditions.
-- type of vehicle matters less than driving behaviour. I used to travel 50 minutes each way to work in a Mustang 5.0L through winters when I was 18 - 20. I regularly saw vehicles that were much better suited for winter driving and yet they were stuck in the ditch while I drove cautiously by them (not many worse cars for winter driving than a sportscar...)
-- if ever stuck in the snow, make sure tailpipes are clear so that exhaust won't build up inside the car if you sit in the car while running for long periods of time. There have been surprise deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning.
 
X350 XJR
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For possible battery issues, a small but powerful "instant jump starter" can be had for under a $100. Many of these also allow charging of phones etc.

Some kind of small survival kit with at least water and a bit of food, just in case he lands in a ditch. You can easily put one together yourself, just ask google for a list of items.
 
abrod520
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All has already been said in more detailed terms but the most important things to note are:

-Snow tires are a must

-AWD helps you accelerate in snow, but not stop or turn. Don't get into the bad habit of thinking it's a safety net. In fact, I would say an AWD car is not an ideal first-snow experience - he'll learn to respect the limited grip much much more if you put him into a decent FWD car with good snow tires.

-Before snow tires are fitted, I also recommend going to a large empty parking lot and fooling around a bit - it really helps a lot to get a feel for how the inputs (throttle, brake, steering) affect weight transfer and cause the car to react.
 
ANALOGUE
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Just one thing regarding the fooling around. Sure it is good to get a feel, and damn its fun. But... It is easy to think that one can handle a non-inteded drift after such sessions... But it is a completely different story.... It is quite easy to learn how to handle an intended drift, but when you get hit by surprise it is something completely different...

So, sure go practise but dont loose the respect...

And yes I speak from own experience...
 
Marty McDawg
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Subaru’s are incredible in the winter. I lived in Jackson Hole Wyoming for 5 years. Averaging 500inches of snow a year at certain altitudes. My Subaru Forester was a game changer. I used the tires it came with and they performed quite well. Winter tires wouldn’t hurt, but with conscious and proactive driving they weren’t necessary. You just have to be mind full of intersections as you may need to begin braking sooner to avoid sliding. The All-wheel Drive is fantastic.

Subaru was the predominant car on the roads there so I’m sure they would be fine in New England. The biggest difference would be more ice in NE. Perhaps a pair of winter tires and a lot of all terrain come summer.

That all said, if you have a Subaru, you are already ahead of the game. Tire selection is icing on the cake.
 
Vitezi
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Get an ice scraper with a brass blade. Plastic ice scrapers are useless.
SK-12-stronka.jpg
 
calalum
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Thanks guys. Lots of stuff to think about here. Not exactly sure how the logistics of snow tires would work for a student without a lot of storage space. Also need to look into a driving school situation, but not sure what there is where he will be. He is generally responsible, he is starting his senior year (so in a sense it is an early graduation present which will make his life easier and more enjoyable for the year), he has a double major ((including engineering) and a 3.7 GPA at a very hard school, and he is a good kid, so I am happy to do this but just want him to be safe.
 
Foo2rama
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Best advice as another SoCal resident... don’t move to a place with snow.
 
Canuck
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Snow’s not so bad, once you get used to it. Three feet of it on our front lawn last winter, a winter in which we had the second greatest snowfall amount on record. Welcome to Canada!

002C69AC-C53F-4ADA-AAFE-4D62666B1766.jpeg
 
dwboston
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Where in New England will he be going to school? Upstate Maine and New Hampshire are a lot different than metro Boston in terms of road conditions. I live 30 miles west of Boston, and good all season tires with AWD are fine for any conditions one would actually be driving in. In a more remote area, snow tires are a must. The Tire Rack recommendation upthread is a good one, as are a AAA membership, scraper/snow brush, and some general pointers on winter driving.

The biggest issue I see with AWD is it makes people overconfident. They drive too fast, which leads to spinouts, and use their brakes too much to slow down, especially going downhill, instead of braking with the engine by downshifting. Subarus are great cars for the winter - there's a reason New England is their best selling market in the US. A little practice/experience and he'll be fine.
 
Darlinboy
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Hanover, NH. He may drive to Killington to ski..

Winter gear, snow tires, out of state tuition, and now lift tickets too! 😲

I think you should probably sell me a couple of those watches of yours, just to be sure - you know - that you have enough cash in hand. 😗
 
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