Understanding our Northern Friends

[Tyse]

I have seen plenty of posts (mainly from US and Canada) which I think I am beginning to understand, but I am not sure. Obviously there is a difference in our weather - in my home town in Oz our temperature varies between up to about 45 degrees celcius (113 F) at worst in summer and minus 5 (23F) in deep winter. We might get snow but I can't remember the last time.
I see people in the northern hemisphere talking about "winter" wheels/tyres - does that mean you have to have two sets of wheels for the different seasons for the same car (one set for summer, one for winter)? We only change tyres if they wear out.
I also see passionate chat about the best weather mats/floor liners - is this because of the dirt and slush caused by the snow? Are dirty interiors a fact of life over there? I have put low spec removable carpet mats into previous cars because it is not a big issue for me.
I gather they spread salt on your roads to reduce the impact of snow and the salt causes some paint issues. Is this why you chat about the paint protections? I might get a ceramic coating this time, but this is a new issue for me.

 

[voon]

Yes .. same in Switzerland etc. Nearly all of us have two sets of wheels including rims (the cheap ones being steel wheels). Winter tires are made of a rubber, thats softer, so doesn't harden up below 7C and the "knobs" of the tire are split with wavy cuts to allow better traction on snow. It's a VERY bad idea to drive around in hardened summertires with no snow grip on snowy roads ... always the first to easily get out of a curve into an accident, winter tires perform way better in those conditions.

You change back in Summer, as the winter tire would be too soft, wobbly and destroy itself faster and being poorer for dry and water conditions.

I let my garage do that, they also store the wheels during nonuse.

As for mats: Textile in the foot area won't survive many years of wet anyway .. it will look shit quite soon. I prefer rubber mats.

And salt: yes, everywhere. Salt doesn't do aynthing to paint, though .. it's an issue on the underbody.

 

[Euljiro1ga]

I see people in the northern hemisphere talking about "winter" wheels/tyres - does that mean you have to have two sets of wheels for the different seasons for the same car (one set for summer, one for winter)? We only change tyres if they wear out.

Depending on the person, you can just swap out the tires and not the wheels. Some just use steel wheels for the winter as opposed to alloys, mainly due to costs. But to answer your question, yes, at least two sets of tires.

In some countries, it is required by law to run winter tires in winter. Summer tire in winter is like ice-skating without control.

There are many ways to go about managing two sets of tires. Some people keep a set in their garage at home, some keep at a dedicated storage place (most tire shops/service stations offer that service, fees applied of course).

I also see passionate chat about the best weather mats/floor liners - is this because of the dirt and slush caused by the snow? Are dirty interiors a fact of life over there? I have put low spec removable carpet mats into previous cars because it is not a big issue for me.

Yes, snow is the enemy here. Though fresh snow is nice, soft, and white. The reality is snow get very very dirty after people started walking on them and cars driving on them. Unlike rain, snow (in this case it's like frozen mud) get stuck on the deep grooves of your winter boots, they melt to warmer temperature once you get inside your car. So under normal usage, you carry a lot of mud inside your car.

I gather they spread salt on your roads to reduce the impact of snow and the salt causes some paint issues. Is this why you chat about the paint protections? I might get a ceramic coating this time, but this is a new issue for me.

It's not only salt, but also sand and gravel they dump on winter roads. Thus, rock chips are common in winter.

There are other issues too, like you need anti-freeze for your coolants, and your wiper fluid should also have some anti-freeze properties. Some people change the normal wiper to 'winter wiper' blades that are stiffer to deal with ice frozen on the windscreen. Engines become harder to start, and engine oil doesn't lubricate the engine property because they become too thick, etc. In many cases, it's not possible to wash your car during the winter months, water will freeze and stuck on the paint during washes, that's why many invest heavily in putting all sorts of protection on their car before winter hits. Then comes the 'spring' wash, the first car wash after winter... it's when you will the true beauty of your car for the first time in months.

 

[Tyse]

And did I see that it is important to raise your windscreen wipers when parking outside in winter - so they don't get stuck to the ice on the screen? That would be a pain to remember. You must have to defrost/defog the windscreen before you drive off too. I guess this is why we missed out on the remote start I hear about in overseas Stingers which is a bummer.
This is all foreign to us (literally). We just get in and drive and get out with a service every 15000km or yearly. Wash the car anytime of the year and, if anything, we might need to vacuum out and wipe out dust from time to time.

 

[voon]

Wipers stick to the screen when the windshield ices up .. ripping them off destroys them easily, as their lip is very thin and will easily began to leave streaks when slightly damaged. But a few cars do have them down in an area with a heating pad behind to losen that up. And yes, fog inside is a problem in the first minutes often, even on nicely cleaned insides and working ACs. The best for winter is a parking heater, but they're fairly expensive, especially aftermarket.

 

[Kazz]

I have seen plenty of posts (mainly from US and Canada) which I think I am beginning to understand, but I am not sure. Obviously there is a difference in our weather - in my home town in Oz our temperature varies between up to about 45 degrees celcius (113 F) at worst in summer and minus 5 (23F) in deep winter. We might get snow but I can't remember the last time.
I see people in the northern hemisphere talking about "winter" wheels/tyres - does that mean you have to have two sets of wheels for the different seasons for the same car (one set for summer, one for winter)? We only change tyres if they wear out.
I also see passionate chat about the best weather mats/floor liners - is this because of the dirt and slush caused by the snow? Are dirty interiors a fact of life over there? I have put low spec removable carpet mats into previous cars because it is not a big issue for me.
I gather they spread salt on your roads to reduce the impact of snow and the salt causes some paint issues. Is this why you chat about the paint protections? I might get a ceramic coating this time, but this is a new issue for me.

I understand your confusion after reading this!

Where I live, my range of temps are similar to yours. FWIW, we have very humid summers and many inches of snow in the winter. I prefer to wear the best rubbers I can for each season (rubbers are weather-related boots to you folks, yes? lame attempt at humor).

I like the stickiest tires I can find that are as wide as possible, aren't too noisy, and can sipe away rain fairly well. My roads are terribly boring and straight, but when I can find curves, including Interstate Highway on-ramps and exit ramps, I like to push it. I've spent a lot of time autocrossing and love shooting curve apexes, etc.

Those lovely, sticky tires are unsafe, according to the manufacturers, once temps dive below 40F or so, usually. That's when I need new tires. Because I often have to deal with a number of inches of snow multiple times per winter, I find the best, dedicated snow and ice tires (now being called 'winter' tires) I can. They, like summer tires do in their own way, beat the crap out of any all-season tire in given conditions, hands down.

I prefer to get them mounted on dedicated wheels for two reasons. First, so that I can put them on and off myself and not have to pay to have tires dismounted and another set mounted twice a year. The other reason is that, as much as I like fat, sticky summer tires, that width can work against you in the snow. Also, tire sidewall height is often very different between a high performance summer tire and a quality snow tire. It's not unusual for the wheel sets to be different heights, as well.

Quality mats are needed for exactly what you mentioned, the snow and slush. Plus, you're often tracking in those nasty chemicals (not just salt!) and they will stain the floor carpeting, as well. Dirty interiors are definitely a fact of life if you have snow or a lot of wet weather (mud).

The chemicals historically have wreaked havoc with more unprotected surfaces like the undercarriage, and even the engine bay. Modern cars are much better protected. But once any of that protection is compromised (nicked paint, paint chip, scratch through paint and primer), they eat the metal quickly. I don't think many forms of paint protection can help there. But the "bra" type coverings can help prevent rock chips, etc. If you put a lot of miles on a vehicle on dirty roads, it can have the effect of sandblasting the front surfaces of you car. Many municipalities use sand and cinders in their winter road treatment mixes. That spells doom for paint with frequent drives.

The paint protection I went for is the clear, ceramic type. It helps the paint look it's best as long as possible. I feel it only has marginal paint protection from contact with sand, etc. It makes washing the car and having it look awesome very easy, though! You just use a touchless (no brushes or rubbing on the paint!) wash or a properly setup pressure washer in your driveway. For anything that sticks you use a quality, spray detailer with an appropriate microfiber cloth and wipe gently until it's gone. I've yet to do the latter on my car purchased in mid-December. The weather's been awful with some nice spells and I garage my car. So I just hit the touchless wash and get the pre-wash, double-wash, rinse, spot-free rinse. I'll take a closer look at her in coming days as the worst of winter may have now broken.

And yes, it's not unusual to pull into a business parking lot when nasty weather is on the way and see cars with their wipers in the air. You always know which cars belong to the employees!