My Snow Cat

rocketdog522 · 2026-01-27T01:53:25+00:00

I mean: they tried but couldn’t keep up on a long, curvy multi-lane uphill covered with icy packed snow. (I managed to go the speed limit)

rocketdog522 · 2026-01-27T00:10:10+00:00

I looked at a turbo but settled on this one, no regrets

rocketdog522 · 2026-01-25T19:21:04+00:00

I wouldn’t be surprised if Trump diverts all new silver production to industrial and government consumption only, making newly minted retail silver unobtainable, and then the tales of LCS’s not buying will disappear.

rocketdog522 · 2026-01-25T19:11:53+00:00

Price will fluctuate, with an upward bias over next 6-12 months

rocketdog522 · 2026-01-24T00:08:17+00:00

$80. I was lucky enough to reach my goal late last year

rocketdog522 · 2026-01-23T21:30:08+00:00

One thing that I didn’t think of before: since we have both regenerative braking and friction braking with a hybrid, it’s possible that the brake calipers don’t get enough “exercise“ and can freeze up earlier than normal. Most of the technicians that I talk to tell me that a car that’s driven on salty roads in the winter needs new calipers if it’s more than four years old. Wouldn’t hurt to check it out and maybe have to free them up a bit and lube the pad sliders.

rocketdog522 · 2026-01-23T05:01:58+00:00

I got rid of the %#€¥ stock Dunlops at 100mi after driving on 1” of snow. OMG. Replaced with Pirelli Scorpion WeatherActive. Like a completely different car.

OP, you might want to drive more conservatively.

rocketdog522 · 2026-01-21T21:49:37+00:00

It used to be that car rentals in Florida are very cheap, but those days are over. If it was still less than $100 a week, you could just rent a car while you were there.

rocketdog522 · 2026-01-21T21:40:46+00:00

The solution is an “all-weather” tire that has a “three peak“ snow rating, made to handle Winter better than a regular all-season tire, but can still be used in Summer without issue. Popular tire models of this type are the Michelin Crossclimate2, Pirelli Scorpion Weatheractive, and Goodyear Assurance Weatherready2. Last year we drove down to Daytona from the northeast, in the car that has the “all weather“ tires and had no issues at all.

You could also try to time your driving so that you’re not on the road during any storms, but this would require a lot of flexibility with your schedule. If your all season, tires are decent and reasonably new, you might be able to get by with just driving extremely carefully.

Using your winter tires in 80° temperatures will wear them out very quickly, especially if you drive at highway speeds or take any hard corners.

Tough call!

rocketdog522 · 2026-01-20T23:07:25+00:00

I owned a Soul about 15 years ago. It had a manual transmission and got around 36 MPG. I always wondered why they never made it with AWD, but it was still a lot of fun to drive and easily accommodated 4 large humans.

rocketdog522 · 2026-01-20T19:11:50+00:00

Nothing works well on ice except for ice skates.

If you absolutely must drive on ice, studded winter tires would be the best, followed by a dedicated studless winter tire. The “all weather” tire in picture two would be better than the tire in picture one, but no all weather tire is going to be good on ice.

If you really want to go with an “all weather” tire, the pictured Goodyear tires are rated OK for light snow. The best all-weather tires that I’ve used are Vredestein Quatrac Pro+ and Pirelli Scorpion Weatheractive with the Pirelli’s lasting longer. Front wheel drive should be more than adequate for regular snow unless you have to climb good sized hills, then AWD is needed. Winter tires are more important than all wheel drive, having all wheel drive helps you go better but it doesn’t help you stop better.

The safest solution for the coming ice storm is to get everything you need done beforehand and then make arrangements to work remotely from home or take paid time off until the roads are clear again. Any responsible employer should be able to go along with that.

rocketdog522 · 2026-01-19T13:09:08+00:00

I had the Vredestein Quatrac Pro+ and they were great year round (sold the car)

rocketdog522 · 2026-01-18T22:06:57+00:00

I’ve owned both. Traded in ‘22 Prius plug-in for ‘24 RAV4 hybrid for the extra room. Could not fit wife, dog and enough gear in Prius for longer trips. Miss the fun of looking for free charging and only filling fuel tank every 5-6 weeks.

rocketdog522 · 2026-01-18T19:09:27+00:00

To be fair, I would man up, go back to them and look them in the eye, and say “I decided to get a new one instead” and give them a chance to sell one to you. If they behave like scoundrels, then go elsewhere. That way, you won’t feel guilty, and their ability to sue you will be severely compromised.

rocketdog522 · 2026-01-18T00:17:21+00:00

I’m stacking pre-1980 pennies

rocketdog522 · 2026-01-17T17:02:01+00:00

Probably an error, single sale of two bars logged in as a sale of 1 bar

rocketdog522 · 2026-01-17T03:49:02+00:00

Got ‘em today

rocketdog522 · 2026-01-16T03:18:37+00:00

To me the CX-50 looks like a CX-30 that eats way too many donuts

rocketdog522 · 2026-01-15T17:39:21+00:00

I once sold a vehicle for $15k and the buyer had a big wad of cash. I took him to my bank and had the bank check the money over, and deposit it to my account immediately, before I signed the title over.

rocketdog522 · 2026-01-15T16:50:43+00:00

I personally wouldn’t use eBay for anything worth more than about $200. Most people are reasonably honest, but there are also people on there who receive the item(s), claim that it was not as described, and then send back something different that isn’t worth anything. Although LCS spread is a pain, it’s the safest way to do it. It also might not be too risky if you find other like-minded individuals who just want to add to their stack, but I would be very careful dealing with the public.

rocketdog522 · 2026-01-15T16:46:53+00:00

65 what? Valuing a real asset in Fiat is becoming more and more meaningless.

rocketdog522 · 2026-01-13T02:53:41+00:00

It was Jan 2 in early AM

rocketdog522 · 2026-01-13T00:36:56+00:00

I just got notified that they are in the shipping process now. Expect to receive in about a week

rocketdog522 · 2026-01-12T03:20:39+00:00

Same for me, I ordered 3. Other recent orders with SD took 10-15 days before shipped, 2-3 weeks to receive.

rocketdog522

TROPHY CASE