If you have no choice but to drive your car are there anythings you can do to help protect it from certain things?
salt, ice melt ect...

 

get an undercoating to protect your car from salt... get winter tires (snow tires) to plow through snow... and as awful as it may be, wash your car in the winter to rinse off the salt and stuff... salt is your car's most threatening nemesis...

 

thats why i love living in southern california...consistent weather year round...dont have to worry about changing the car according to the weather.

 

Modified by CardDealer at 4:23 AM 11/16/2006

 

I don't do jack s**t to prepare my car for winter. My snow tires have been RE-71s, AVS Intermediates, and AVS Sports. I might as well strap some ice skate onto my car.

You might want to flush your cooling system if it hasn't been purged in a while. Also make sure you've got a lightweight oil in your motor (like 5W30).
But, ya know, Hondas are bulletproof with a modicum of care.

 

Just make sure u wash your car every 3 days or every week. Salt is not good for your car specially your paint job. It makes it rust.

 

I just got a AEM CAI, I haven't installed it yet. I have the bypass valve. Should I wait to add it in the spring when the good weather comes. Maybe add the other mods I've been thinking about and do it all in the spring?

 

I'd go ahead and put on the CAI AND bypass valve now.
But I dunno, you probably get a lot worse snow up there in MA.

 

Yeah, Ziebart does undercoating... my father has all of his cars undercoated, and my first car, an old 82 Audi Turbo Quattro Coupe (gray market, US didn't get them until 83) had the undercoating and never had one spec of rust... then again, it was babied by my father by being washed in the winter...

 

Who or what is Ziebart, and how much does it cost to have done?

 

oh how do avs intermedias handle in the winter? just bought a new set from tirerack, but now i gotta get old rims and winter tires cuz it blizzards like crazy here in LI.. can avs handle little snow flakes or i shouldn't drive it at all?

 

Ziebart is a franchise found all over the country that specializes in installing custom sunroofs, interior enhancement, and putting goofy things on American trucks and vans. However, they do produce a nice undercoating .

www.ziebart.com

I don't remember how much it costs unfortunately, but the cost far outweighs the higher resale value your car will have as a result of protection from the elements.

 

Driving in snow on any summer tread is extremely dangerous and stupid. Yeah I'm stupid. I do it because I can't afford a dedicated set of snow tires or even all season tires and I don't want to take the frigging bus when it snows.
All seasons and snow tires grip well on snow because snow sticks to the sipes (little slits) on the tires, and the best traction in snow is snow on snow. The big tread blocks of summer treads just slide right over snow. Any incline and you're up **** creak. In the snow I go no more than 10 mph and leave at least 200 feet in front of me for stopping from that measly 10 mph.

Edit: well I could afford snow tires but I'd rather spend the money on go-fast parts


[Modified by 4doorH22, 9:51 AM 10/4/2001]

 

I learned the hard way too... I slid almost 200 feet at 10mph last December into the back of a utility truck stopped at a stop sign. He didn't bother moving through the intersection b/c people from other directions were sliding through the intersection... instead, I got him from behind... my first accident (that was my fault)... and there was nothing I could do... damn you SP9000s! Why can't you grip in the snow!

 

any recommendations on good snow tires? don't wanna kill myself buying them, just need something that wont' rear end someone in the snow or ice during the winter... something around 80-90 a pop?

 

go to www.tirerack.com and do a search for winter tires available in the size you want... from there, they usually have product ratings, reviews, and comparisons...

 

For Long Island you might consider a good set of all seasons with decent snow traction for winter. The MXV4s on my dad's 98 Accord have AMAZING snow grip. That's what I'd do, 'cause they'd still be a bit more fun when the roads aren't covered in snow.

 

MXV4s came stock on many of our Accords... they're good OEM tires, but not good enough in the snow, and not good enough for the performance we desire out of our cars (when the weather is decent enough). After all, the majority of us who frequent this message board are looking for what? Performance...

But I suppose if you're strapped for cash, and you can only have one set of tires, yes, the MXV4s are good all around tires, as are the Yokohama Avids...

 

Nah, man, I mean MXV4s for snow tires, big-blocked summer treads for the other 3 seasons.
I think dedicated snow tires are overkill for our states.

 

Well, I think M+S (mud and snow) all-seasons are your best bet... kinda a compromise between snow tires and all-season tires... but it all depends on where you are too. Are where we live in teh Mid-Atlantic, sure, MXV4s suffice... but for northern, more snowy climates, all-seasons won't perform well enough in the snow....

 

Oh and by the way I'm not necessarily recommending the MXV4s, I just know my dad's 98 Accord has sick (as in really good) snow traction with the OE MXV4 Energy Xs or whatever they're called.
The OE MXV4s on my car totally sucked rain, shine, or snow.

 

You don't need snow tires in the winter. I live in New England, and the only thing you need is a pair of all season tires. If you've driven in the snow as much as I have its no big deal, just take your time. I'm sure all the New England people can vouch for that. I used to have an 84 olds wagon with rear wheel drive, if you can get around with that beast then everything else is cake.

 

But snow tires are so MONEY when driving in the snow... I used to love driving in the snow in my old Audi Coupe... I had a set of Michelin snow tires (I don't remember exactly what type)... and my little Panzerwagen was unstoppable... I could pretty much go anywhere any Jeep Wrangler could... just as long as there wasn't more than 10" of snow on the street... not bad for a regular car, especially one that was 2700lbs...

 

I think snow tires and 2 words come to mind..

Nokia Hakkapeliitta

Now thats one kick *** set of snows!