What Did You Do To Your 3rd Gen Today?

[96RedRunner]

Back in the day we used to do donuts in empty parking lots in the snow. Good practice as long as no curbs or other detritus got in the way and we didn't get too donutty and fall over.
And who'd want to down the road doing circles anyway?

Back in the day South County Mall lower parking lot fun times party times. Some light posts were harmed.
Parents encouraged such behavior minus the party of course, learned good skills that way.

 

[Devbot]

Note to self, my Wildpeaks didn't impress me very much on the icy roads. I felt like the AWD Subies could run circles around me. Maybe they were just braver, I'm new to snow and ice.

No you're correct, or at least I have a similar opinion. I have Wildpeaks too and they're all but useless in snow to the point it's worrying to go anywhere. Hell they're pretty lackluster in heavy rain too - as in I have to use 4HI to get going again on a wet hill (which is like 75% of my county). If I drop the PSI to <30 it's better but KILLS my mpgs, and at the same time anything above like 35psi rides like a wagon and feels like I have way less traction. Can't wait for new tires, these were a mistake. And I'm not new to snow mind you, my old Dakota with street tires did better than Wildpeaks.
In general A/Ts suck for snow.

Also, welcome to living under tall trees :lol: People from outside the PNW think its so cute and pretty to be surrounded by old growth, and it is at times, but as you can see it rapidly becomes a nightmare too. Thankfully it's winter though, back in mid 2020 my buddy's parents had a giant evergreen fall on their roof with a couple branches bursting on clear through the ceiling, dumping roughly 500-1000 various spiders into their living room with more continuing to crawl inside until it was removed (which was about 8 months after a different tree fell and took out 3 of their 5 vehicles)

 

[Spiker Engineering]

The downside of going faster in snow and ice is the part where you have to stop. Around here that's the part that gets 'em.

Yup, that's the scary part. I was barely crawling down the the hill of our street leading to the main road, just touched the brakes, and the truck kept moving as if on skates. I recalled all those clips I saw on TV of vehicles just sliding along in ice storms - not a fun feeling, I tell ya. Fortunately I was moving slow enough to slow down before getting to the main street - which was completely empty anyway.

But there were other times where, again, I felt that I was going very slowly, and yet as I tapped the brakes, I felt was the ABS kicking in.

Oh well, hopefully just a matter of practice. Or different tires.

I'm curious, does age of tire affect traction? My Wildpeaks have tons of tread left still, but they are about 6 years old by now.

 

[Spiker Engineering]

Can't wait for new tires, these were a mistake. And I'm not new to snow mind you, my old Dakota with street tires did better than Wildpeaks.
In general A/Ts suck for snow.

What are you thinking? Dedicated snow tires? Kenda? Blizzak? Hakkapeliitta?

Also, welcome to living under tall trees :lol: People from outside the PNW think its so cute and pretty to be surrounded by old growth, and it is at times, but as you can see it rapidly becomes a nightmare too.

Yup, indeed. Portland has a very strict tree protection policy, but I think that may change as a result of folks having multiple trees crash on their houses this past week. Fortunately we're just outside of Portland in an unincorporated area, so there are no tree protection laws here.

 

[3bears]

What are you thinking? Dedicated snow tires? Kenda? Blizzak? Hakkapeliitta?



Yup, indeed. Portland has a very strict tree protection policy, but I think that may change as a result of folks having multiple trees crash on their houses this past week. Fortunately we're just outside of Portland in an unincorporated area, so there are no tree protection laws here.

up here blizzaks are the gold standard. I have a set of summer rims and tires and a set of winter. Snow wheels go on in october, off in march. I drive on snow and ice all that time and rarely out of 4wd. Yes they will slip in really icy conditions.

It is not fun to be in a rig and no real control when its sliding on ice. thats how I totaled my first 4runner, sliding on ice, like slow motion , no control rolled it down a short embankment,

my 2nd I slid down a hill at very very slow speed, could have gotten out and walked faster, and ran into a tree, no damage, it was that slow.

there is one road i have to take, and even with blizzaks Ive had to chain up twice in the past 5 years. Also an advantage of studless is they can stay on a lot longer over studded tires. DOT sets a date for when studs have to come off, blizzaks etc dont have to follow that rule a person can leave them on year round, but they will wear out fast, WHen they wear to a certin point, like half tread, they have lost most advantage, the sipes are gone and now into harder rubber. A lot of people replace every 3 years.. This is my 4th season and will replace b4 next season

but it surprising how many people up here drive with all season tires, i guess if they stay in the flats in town they are ok.

 

[habanero]

I'm curious, does age of tire affect traction? My Wildpeaks have tons of tread left still, but they are about 6 years old by now.

Yes, it sure can.

 

[Spiker Engineering]

Yes, it sure can.

Thanks hab!

 

[Devbot]

What are you thinking? Dedicated snow tires? Kenda? Blizzak? Hakkapeliitta?

Haven't decided but definitely not a designated snow tire, I don't see snow NEARLY enough to justify getting some - maybe 6 inches a year at absolute most, some years none at all (which says a lot about how Wildpeaks perform if they struggle with 1-3 inches on the ground). It's funny you say that cause I usually laugh whenever I see people in my area with studded tires and the like, I always say "that's a whole lot of noise and money for something you use one week a year"

More than likely just gonna jump to an M/T that handles snow well. I was thinking Geolandar X-A/T's for a while but I'm not sure how well they handle outside of dry conditions; but I DO hear they're awesome otherwise though

Honestly I haven't really done much research cause my tires aren't horribly worn down yet - which is a good thing about Wildpeaks I guess, their tread lasts forever like you said. I suppose I should start though. They're not gonna change themselves afterall

 

[Spiker Engineering]

up here blizzaks are the gold standard. I have a set of summer rims and tires and a set of winter.

Thanks for the tip! Still deciding if the fairly mild Portland climate deserves a dedicated set of snow tires - thinking not?

my 2nd I slid down a hill at very very slow speed, could have gotten out and walked faster, and ran into a tree, no damage, it was that slow.

Yes, exactly, that is how it felt sliding down on that ice!

 

[Spiker Engineering]

Haven't decided but definitely not a designated snow tire, I don't see snow NEARLY enough to justify getting some - maybe 6 inches a year at absolute most, some years none at all (which says a lot about how Wildpeaks perform if they struggle with 1-3 inches on the ground). It's funny you say that cause I usually laugh whenever I see people in my area with studded tires and the like, I always say "that's a whole lot of noise and money for something you use one week a year"

More than likely just gonna jump to an M/T that handles snow well. I was thinking Geolandar X-A/T's for a while but I'm not sure how well they handle outside of dry conditions; but I DO hear they're awesome otherwise though

Honestly I haven't really done much research cause my tires aren't horribly worn down yet - which is a good thing about Wildpeaks I guess, their tread lasts forever like you said. I suppose I should start though. They're not gonna change themselves afterall

We're in the same climate environment, so I'll be curious to hear what you decide on - I might just follow suit. For what it's worth, Jason (opt offroad) recommended to me the Kenda Klever RT tires for snow.

 

[36degreesnorth]

Starting to work on custom front coil overs. my new to me 98 currently has strut spacers and I've never been a huge fan of those. This is my first concept. a mount plate with tabs for the coil over mount 1 1/2 space between the mounts to allow for misalignment spacers.

 

[phattyduck]

Thanks for the tip! Still deciding if the fairly mild Portland climate deserves a dedicated set of snow tires - thinking not?

Portland doesn't get enough below-freezing weather for dedicated snow tires, in my opinion. Now you know what your capabilities are - just avoid the 'bad' hills and driving for the couple bad days here and there. Otherwise, you'd chew through them pretty fast on all the 40*F+ days on dry/wet (not ice/snow) roads.

I do have distant memories of a bad ice storm the one year I spent at my grandparent's house in Portland (probably late 80's? maybe early 90's?) - it was hard to WALK anywhere - we definitely weren't driving for a couple days. I enjoy driving to the snow and going home after a week or a weekend... :lol:

-Charlie

 

[Spiker Engineering]

Portland doesn't get enough below-freezing weather for dedicated snow tires, in my opinion. Now you know what your capabilities are - just avoid the 'bad' hills and driving for the couple bad days here and there. Otherwise, you'd chew through them pretty fast on all the 40*F+ days on dry/wet (not ice/snow) roads.

Thanks Charlie. Yup, everything pretty much shut down here during the snow storm, so I can get happy staying home next time instead of exploring. Hopefully we won't lose power again for four days... . But I guess it could be worse, if you have (had) a Hyundai:

 

[3bears]

I would agree that in the valley you can get by wiht good all seasons. I lived in the Corvallis /philomath area for 30+ years and never needed snow tires.
However I do like the snow, and would have to chain up when I went to play...sometimes, and my last 5 years in Oregon I worked at a resort near the santiam pass and the upper mckenzie bridge area. After my first winter is when I got dedicated snow tires. Actually bought the rims wihth studded snows, used off a guy in portland.
so I would say....if you like to go play in the snow, and you have the money,
find a good set of used wheels and studded....with a jack they take what maybe 20 minutes to swap out.
I will also add KO'2s are good in snow but absolutely suck on ice.

when I moved to alaska ( almost 6 years now) I brought my winter wheels here, without tires worn out) and found that everyone up here runs studdless so thats what I run now

 

[DED&DED]

​

covered it with a tarp and salvaged all my personal items out of it.

ouch!!!

 

[JBurt]

I'm sure that did hurt, but it was 13 years ago

 

[Zhehan]

Thanks Charlie. Yup, everything pretty much shut down here during the snow storm, so I can get happy staying home next time instead of exploring. Hopefully we won't lose power again for four days... . But I guess it could be worse, if you have (had) a Hyundai:
]

The problem with the snow in the Portland metro area, when it does occur, is that it ALWAYS turns into a sheet of ice. It never stays as just snow. Sometimes, it snows, then melts a tiny bit, then it rains, then that freezes and the road surfaces turn into a super-thick, rutted icy hellscape that is impossible to drive on safely without studded tires. There are also no regularly available road service trucks to deal with any of this because these kinds of winters are infrequent around here. It sure does suck when they do, however.

For most winters around here, studded tires are unnecessary for the low areas below 500'. If you live outside the urban growth boundary and up in the hills, it can get very sketchy and you need studded tires for those times.

 

[96RedRunner]

Spent Mo money.

New T/B after removing old one to replace TPS. Too much chit on it not to go new while you can.

 

[Spiker Engineering]

The problem with the snow in the Portland metro area, when it does occur, is that it ALWAYS turns into a sheet of ice. It never stays as just snow. Sometimes, it snows, then melts a tiny bit, then it rains, then that freezes and the road surfaces turn into a super-thick, rutted icy hellscape that is impossible to drive on safely without studded tires. There are also no regularly available road service trucks to deal with any of this because these kinds of winters are infrequent around here. It sure does suck when they do, however.

Good summary from someone just a few blocks away from me . The bolded part is the thing that I kept asking myself this whole last week - "where are the plows?". Apparently only on the major arteries.

If I ever build a garage with a lift, I may grab a set of second hand studded snow tires just for these once-a-year fiascos.

 

[clearock]

Was able to connect the battery's for the first time...