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Thread: Winter Driving Tips/ Tire Chain laws

  1. #1
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    Winter Driving Tips/ Tire Chain laws

    Mods, Sticky this!

    https://www.chp.ca.gov/programs-serv...r-driving-tips


    Winter driving on roads and highways in the snow-capped mountains of California can be a pleasant adventure - or it can be frustrating, tiring and sometimes even hazardous. The California Highway Patrol provides the following information to help make your mountain driving safe and pleasant.

    Before Heading for Snow Country:

    Make sure your brakes, windshield wipers,defroster, heater and exhaust system are in top condition.
    Check your antifreeze and be ready for colder temperatures. You may want to add special solvent to your windshield washer reservoir to prevent icing.
    Check your tires. Make sure they are properly inflated and the tread is in good condition.
    Always carry chains. Make sure they are the proper size for your tires and are in working order. Carry a flashlight and chain repair links. Chains must be installed on the drive wheels. Make sure you know if your vehicle is front or rear wheel drive.
    Other suggested items to carry in your car are an ice scraper or commercial deicer, a broom for brushing snow off your car, a shovel to free your car if it's "snowed in," sand or burlap for traction if your wheels should become mired in snow; and an old towel to clean your hands.
    It is also a good idea to take along water, food, warm blankets and extra clothing. A lengthy delay will make you glad you have them.
    Put an extra car key in your pocket. A number of motorists have locked themselves out of their cars when putting on chains and at ski areas.
    Allow enough time. Trips to the mountains can take longer during winter than other times of year, especially if you encounter storm conditions or icy roads. Get an early start and allow plenty of time to reach your destination.
    Keep your gas tank full. It may be necessary to change routes or turn back during a bad storm or you may be caught in a traffic delay.
    Keep windshield and windows clear. You may want to stop at a safe turnout to use a snow or, ice or scraper. Use the car defroster and a clean cloth to keep the windows free of fog.
    Slow down. A highway speed of 55 miles an hour may be safe in dry weather - but an invitation for trouble on snow and ice. Snow and ice make stopping distances much longer, so keep your seat belt buckled and leave more distance between your vehicle and the vehicle ahead. Bridge decks and shady spots can be icy when other areas are not. Remember to avoid sudden stops and quick direction changes.
    Be more observant. Visibility is often limited in winter by weather conditions. Slow down and watch for other vehicles and for snow equipment. Even though snow removal vehicles have flashing lights, visibility may be so restricted during a storm that it is difficult to see the slow moving equipment.
    When stalled, stay with your vehicle and try to conserve fuel while maintaining warmth. Be alert to any possible exhaust or monoxide problems.
    Chain Requirements

    R1: Chains required - snow tread tires (MSS on side of tire) allowed.

    R2: Chains required on all vehicles except four-wheel drives with snow tires.

    R3: Chains required - all vehicles no exceptions.

    R1 and R2 are the most common conditions. The highway is usually closed before an R3 condition is imposed.

    Chain Controls

    You must stop and put on chains when highway signs indicate chains are required. You can be cited by the California Highway Patrol and fined if you don't. You will usually have about a mile between "Chains Required" signs and the checkpoint to install your chains.
    Control areas can change rapidly from place to place because of changing weather and road conditions. The speed limit when chains are required is 25 or 30 miles and hour and will be posted along the highway.
    When you must put on chains, wait until you can pull completely off the roadway to the right. Do not stop in a traffic lane where you will endanger yourself and block traffic.
    Chain Installers: If you use the services of a chain installer, be sure to get a receipt and jot the installer's badge number on it. Remember, chain installers are independent business people, not CHP employees. Having the badge number may help with any misunderstandings later. Chain installers are NOT allowed to sell or rent chains.
    When removing chains, drive beyond the signs reading "End Chain Control" to a pull-off area where you can safely remove them.
    ROAD CONDITIONS HOTLINE

    The CHP urges you to check road conditions often. The best way to do this is to call the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) Road Conditions Hotline: 1-800-427-ROAD ? (1-800-427-7623)
    Last edited by Skiracer; 09-26-2016 at 02:58 PM.
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  2. #2

    Re: Winter Driving Tips/ Tire Chain laws

    are all season tires with M+S rating counted the same as snow tires? if its an R3 condition do the chains go on the front or rear tires of the evo? any suggestions on good all season tires. any other tips on winterzing the evo? other than checking the antifreeze? do you have to add it to the coolant already there or replace it or just make sure the reservoir isnt empty since it should already have antifreeze in it? im planning a trip up to tahoe at the beggining of the year and dont want to be caught off guard in case i decide to take the evo. any help would be appreciated.
    [quote author=Ricardon link=topic=30392.msg6866286#msg6866286 date=1161709458]<br /><br />Moral of the story: don&#039;t laugh at retards, kick their asses instead.<br /><br />[/quote]

  3. #3
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    Re: Winter Driving Tips/ Tire Chain laws

    Quote Originally Posted by EVOL EDO
    are all season tires with M+S rating counted the same as snow tires?Â* if its an R3 condition do the chains go on the front or rear tires of the evo?Â* any suggestions on good all season tires.Â* any other tips on winterzing the evo?Â* other than checking the antifreeze?Â* do you have to add it to the coolant already there or replace it or just make sure the reservoir isnt empty since it should already have antifreeze in it? im planning a trip up to tahoe at the beggining of the year and dont want to be caught off guard in case i decide to take the evo.Â* any help would be appreciated.
    Just make sure your tires are rated M+S (Mud & Snow) and you will not need cables.Â* If its R3 condition, the roads will prolly be shut down, but if u had to put on cables, put them on the front since their is more clearance.Â* If you put cables on the rear wheels, prepared to have newly flared fenders after driving down the roadÂ* And don't use chains, use lowprofile cables. If you're in the mountain you MUST carry them in your trunk since they sometimes just do inspections to make sure you have chains/cables in your posession. Do not put cables on your Evo, unless its absolutely necessary. If their is a lot of snow/ice on the ground, lower the pressure in your tires 3-5PSI as you will gain more traction by doing this.Â* Once you're out of the snowy/icy area, you can put air back into your tires at a gas station.

    Make sure antifreeze is 50/50 mix and make sure you have windshield washer fluid that can handle sub freezing temperatures. Most autoshops in SoCal do not sell windshield washer fluid that can go below freezing (local laws regarding methanol in windshield fliuid) , so you need to buy some when you get to a mountainous area. If your windshield resevoir fluid tank freezes on you, you can try adding "some" rubbing alcohol from the drug store to the tank and the ice will melt away.

    I do not recommend running a mini-battery since temps can hit zero. If you run a mini battery, bring jumper cables with you since small batteries can die easily in sub-freezing temps.Â* If you plan on staying a few days in the mountains with a mini battery, start and let the car run for a few minutes everyday to let the mini battery to charge up.Â* If you have an OEMish battery, you will not need to start the car every day to keep the charge up.

    Keep plenty of gas in the tank because there can always be accidents on the roads and you might end up idling for a couple of hours. It would really suck if you ran out of gas in sub freezing temps and were not able to turn on the heater.

    If the car is parked and you anticipate it to snow, raise your windshield wipers to prevent the rubber from freezing onto the windshield glass.

    I personally use the Dunlop Wintersport M3 snowtires on my car and has served me well during many trips to Mammoth:
    http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey...ireSearch=true

    Do not use "Summer only" tires in sub freezing temps.Â* Many manufacturers warn the use of "summer only" tires since tires stored and operated at sub-freezing temperatures, i.e., at or below 32°F (0°C), will lose rubber compound flexibility and may experience cracking and/or complete tire failure when operated under such conditions.

    Oh ya, carry a small shovel and ice scraper in the trunk in case you wake up and your car looks like this and/or you get stuck in the snow.Â* Yes i have gotten stuck in 1.5' of snow before and the shovel saved me.

    REI sells various compact hiking shovels like this:
    http://www.rei.com/product/473141


    Lasty, drive SLOW. Ice does not disciminate between AWD and 2wheel drive cars once you break traction and slam on the brakes. So, once you're sliding out of control, you're in no better condition than a Honda Accord.
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  4. #4

    Re: Winter Driving Tips/ Tire Chain laws

    Good info Simon!

  5. #5

    Re: Winter Driving Tips/ Tire Chain laws

    Thanks for the info, im gonna be in big bear in about a month from now.

  6. #6
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    Re: Winter Driving Tips/ Tire Chain laws

    Oh ya, carry a small shovel in the trunk in case you wake up and your car looks like this or you get stuck in the snow


    REI sells various compact hiking shovels like this:
    http://www.rei.com/product/710427
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  7. #7

    Re: Winter Driving Tips/ Tire Chain laws

    ^^^ whoa where is that?!

  8. #8

    Re: Winter Driving Tips/ Tire Chain laws

    why should you avoid putting cables on the evo? would it be better to put cables on all wheels? being that the computer will try to sort things out with the diffs.
    &quot;You don&#039;t really understand it unless you have driven one&quot;-AWD for life

  9. #9
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    Re: Winter Driving Tips/ Tire Chain laws

    Quote Originally Posted by SurfEvo
    why should you avoid putting cables on the evo? would it be better to put cables on all wheels? being that the computer will try to sort things out with the diffs.
    cables won't clear the rear fender.
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  10. #10

    Re: Winter Driving Tips/ Tire Chain laws

    good info.Â* ill look into some cables. and check out a shovel at rei, since i was going to check out some snowboard racks there anyways.Â* how is the treadwear on those m3s?Â* ive heard blizzaks are the best snowtires but they also say unless you are in snow they tend to chip off and wear super fast in normal road conditions.Â* Â*so i was looking into all seasons that are m+s rated since its mud and snow. but dont know if they would clear inspection in chain conditions.
    [quote author=Ricardon link=topic=30392.msg6866286#msg6866286 date=1161709458]<br /><br />Moral of the story: don&#039;t laugh at retards, kick their asses instead.<br /><br />[/quote]

  11. #11

    Re: Winter Driving Tips/ Tire Chain laws

    bump for snow :] recap
    <br /><br />Alex: Anyway, I was wondering if maybe I could crash here for a while. <br />Dante: Whoa, I don&#039;t know, man. I got a business to run. This is like my office as well as my home. Plus, the lion comes in a couple days. <br />Alex: You&#039;re getting a lion? <br />Dante: Yeah. <br />Alex: Why? <br />Dante: To protect my shit. <br />Alex: Never heard of a dog? <br />Dante: Dude, you can get past a dog. Nobody fucks with a lion. <br />Alex: Yeah, that&#039;s true.

  12. #12

    Re: Winter Driving Tips/ Tire Chain laws

    When I went up to bear last week or whenever it was. All I did was show the guy that I had tire chains, he did not check fitment or anything, just wanted to see that I had some kind of chains. they were the chains from my moms GMC Yukon but eh, it saved me money from buying chains so it's good. He saw it was AWD and my tires were M+S, I was than snowboarding.

  13. #13

    Re: Winter Driving Tips/ Tire Chain laws

    how will the Dunlop Wintersport M3 snowtires react to regular highway road on the way back down the mountains? will it wear out faster?

    i have two sets of rims and was planning to have one strictly for mountain conditions and the other set for regular roads.

    http://www.flowerhornrus.com

  14. #14

    Re: Winter Driving Tips/ Tire Chain laws

    are you lowered skiracer?


    do you have a link to the cables you use?

    BUDLoNG
    r u looney tuned?

  15. #15
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    Re: Winter Driving Tips/ Tire Chain laws

    I'm not lowered and i have Mueller stage 1 suspension setup. I used my Dunlop Wintersport M3's during the winter months and i do drive around with them in LA if i get lazy and don't feel like swapping wheels. I had them for 3 years and i'm close to hitting the tread wear indicators. Note, the treadwear indicators on snowtires is a lot bigger than a normal street tire. I do not use or recommend using chains/cables. I only keep a set of cables in my trunk to show the CHP that i do have them if they ask at a checkpoint.
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  16. #16

    Re: Winter Driving Tips/ Tire Chain laws

    clear as the sky now.. thanks :D
    r u looney tuned?

  17. #17

    Re: Winter Driving Tips/ Tire Chain laws

    i think chains take the fun out of it but thanks for the info

  18. #18
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    Re: Winter Driving Tips/ Tire Chain laws

    I added more winter driving tips on the 3rd post on the first page. Check it out if you're heading up to the mountains anytime soon.
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  19. #19

    Re: Winter Driving Tips/ Tire Chain laws

    Good info Ski. Did you say anything about why you left your windsheild wippers up? I usually do that when it is snowing or super cold as the first time I didn't do that in my trunk and I turned them on, theyw ere frozen solid to the glass and ended up ripping the rubber straight off of the metal housing.

  20. #20
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    Re: Winter Driving Tips/ Tire Chain laws

    Quote Originally Posted by PineApple
    Good info Ski.Â* Did you say anything about why you left your windsheild wippers up?Â* I usually do that when it is snowing or super cold as the first time I didn't do that in my trunk and I turned them on, theyw ere frozen solid to the glass and ended up ripping the rubber straight off of the metal housing.
    Thanks, i'll add that tip to the 3rd post.
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