Transition winter to spring

[JayJay]

Generally speaking we have had a pretty mild winter in SW ontario and now spring is officially only days away. I am sure that all of us are itching to get our cars out on the road to start the "driving season". Being a first time corvette owner I was just curious what seasonal weather or road conditions would have to occur for you to cancel going out for a spin from this point forward? I will take a "major late winter snow storm" as a given .

 

[theboss]

Hi JayJay. As mutch I am on a rush to get the car out for a spin, I always waith for all the snow to be melted, streets had been clean from rock and sand + 1 or 2 good rain so it is nice and clean. All the debris hit under the carbon fiber side skirts and the rear fender (they get easily damage by the front tires trowing debris on them) . Maybe I am a little maniac but thats the way it is. Have a great driving season, Steph.

 

[Keith Tedford]

I've been putting cars away during the winter for years. I like to see two or three good rains after the last salt has been laid on the roads. It takes that long to get the sand and salt washed away. Here in the Peterborough area, that is usually mid April or later. Even with dry roads, the salt dust still blows up in under the car and then people wonder why their calipers, rotors and other parts are rusting. Just be patient for that extra week or two. It pays off in the long run. We have a '97 Olds LSS that has never seen winter. We're not OCD but with normal wash, wax and maintenance, the car still looks pretty well like new even with 135K miles on it. The salt is the real killer and once it gets into the seams, it keeps on doing its dirty work. You can NOT get it all out no matter how much you wash.

 

[Black 03 Z06]

Half mile of gravel to the highway and until it dries up the access road is mud. The highway was coated with that liquid salt and it takes a number of heavy rains to wash it away. I will be lucky to have the car on the road by May 1. Keith lives in the deep south and will have his on the road much earlier, possibly April 30. Good luck Keith.

I envy you guys getting out early. Some the the guys never put their Corvette's away the entire winter. It was just one of those year that with luck you could drive year round.

 

[CCO]

Generally speaking we have had a pretty mild winter in SW ontario and now spring is officially only days away. I am sure that all of us are itching to get our cars out on the road to start the "driving season". Being a first time corvette owner I was just curious what seasonal weather or road conditions would have to occur for you to cancel going out for a spin from this point forward? I will take a "major late winter snow storm" as a given .

Cambridge here, and much the same weather you folks get in Oakville.

We've been quite lucky this year weather wise.......just maybe our luck will hold and there will be no late winter early spring snowstorm.

I'll probably insure the vettes towards month's end since the forecast is looking favourable.

Looking forward to a very nice summer.

Colin.

 

[Riley P]

Way over here in Saskatchewan, it's nice that we don't have to deal with salt, or much salt and what they use is salt salt, not liquid salt so it's nice that as soon as the streets are dry, you can go for a rip. However, there is a lot of gravel on the streets so in the same theme as everyone else, I like to wait until the streets are swept and there is a nice rain to get the dust off the road. Normally we can get our cars out late April, early May.

 

[smackYYZ]

Generally speaking we have had a pretty mild winter in SW ontario and now spring is officially only days away. I am sure that all of us are itching to get our cars out on the road to start the "driving season". Being a first time corvette owner I was just curious what seasonal weather or road conditions would have to occur for you to cancel going out for a spin from this point forward? I will take a "major late winter snow storm" as a given .

Jay,

Like everyone has said, most of us wait until a few rains after the last salting of the roads. The other thing to remember is us with the newer C7 have the Michelin Super Sport tires, which can't be driven under -7 ( will cause cracking) and when under +7 is like driving on ice, ass end will hang out on you very easy.

I'm patiently waiting for a stretch of warmer weather before getting mine out of storage, and YES the wait is killing me.

Mike

 

[JayJay]

Thanks everyone for your input and your recommendations have not fallen on deaf ears! I was planning on heading up to Dasilva this Wednesday to have a splitter, mudflaps and side skirts installed but we mutually agreed that this work is best left for another day.

Mike (smackYYZ) I appreciate you raising the issue of the C7 tires. I have always been aware of the M7c tire cracking problem but never gave the performance challenges of the Michelins in colder temperatures (but not below M7c) much thought!