This Florida boy just received orders for Ft. Drum, NY. I've seen snow twice in my life so it is sure to be an experience especially since I'll be arriving in January. One of my concerns is with how well my Civic Hybrid will perform in this kind of environment. I've never driven in the snow period, but people are telling me you've got to have four wheel drive or at least all wheel drive to even consider getting around on a day to day basis during the winter. I'm being told to seriously consider trading in my hybrid before even getting up there. I'm hoping someone on this site who lives in the area can tell me if thats really necessary. If that is sadly true I'd give anyone near my present location looking for an 03' a good deal. It has performed wonderfully in the south the last couple years but I have real concerns about upper New York. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Scouts Out!
~Dan

 

I took my driving test the morning after 8" of snow in upstate NY, and have never owned a 4x4 or an all wheel drive car. A good front wheel drive car works fine, just drive careful the first few times in snow, and consider getting a set of winter tires for the winter (but don't use them in the summer). I have never actually used winter tires, but they do help a lot especially if you are just learning to drive in snow.

Every Honda I have ever driven in the snow handles quite well considering what you are really doing (driving on ice is scary if you actually think about it). If you get up there and you really cannot handle the snow, then you could consider trading the car, but honestly not THAT many more people have 4x4s as compared to in the south.

You might not be able to plow a driveway in a HCH, but they don't do that badly in the snow.

~Droid

 

i live in minnesnowta, and really, contrary to what everyone believes, we don't ALL use 4 wheel drive. as a matter of fact, i recently traded my all wheel drive CRV for my HCH and i don't expect too many problems with it. 'course i am used to driving up here in this wilderness. but the highway to work gets cleared pretty well. don't give it up until you try it for a while first.

 

I've seen a few 4x4s in ditches because people think its gods gift for driving in the snow. Maybe when you get your first good accumulation you could go to a vacant parking lot and practice stoping and turning and emergency braking and stuff like that to get accustomed to a car in the snow.

4x4s are nice, but 4 wheels on ice doesn't do you any better than 2 wheels on ice. Driving in snow is pretty much like driving on packed sand. One thing you have to be careful of is whats called "black ice" its ice that you can't realy see on the road. As long as you reduce your speed in snow and icey conditions don't worry about it. But again I say practice if you get the chance. I personaly love driving in the snow and kicking out the rear end and doing j turns using the emergency break.

 

During this past winter, we had several snowfalls of 4+ inches. My HCH performed admirably. Just remember the ground clearance is minimal and you will plow through snow of 2+ inches which causes a large build up of snow in the front of the car.

 

Dan, I grew up in Western NY and have been through Watertown, NY (near Ft. Drum) many times. While I am in full agreement on the comments so far, there are a couple of sections of NY that get hit by what is called "Lake Effect Snow" (LES). One section is to the East of Lake Erie (From Buffalo south to Erie, PA) and another is East of lake Ontario (from Syracuse, north to Watertown area) Basically LES is caused by winds blowing across warmer (then the ground) open water. The wind picks up moisture and then dumps it on the land, which is cooler. I have been up Route 12, which runs from Watertown to Clayton several times in the middle of the winter. As the winter wears on, plows can no longer push the snow off the road, as it has built up, so the State has to use huge snow blowers to blow the snow away from the road. It is not uncommon for the drifts (where the snow blowers have cut through) to be 10'- 20' (yes...Feet) tall!

OK, I hope I did not scare you! Honestly, the Ft. Drum area can get a lot of snow, but NY knows how to handle it and does a great job keeping the roads open and drivable. I wish I could say the same for Pennsylvania where I live now.

On a related note, NY used A LOT [U]of salt to keep the roads clear. Salt eats car. If you have a car in NY, it is a fact of life it will rust out long before it wears out. Even the newer cars, which incorporate a lot of corrosion resistant metals, are no match for salt. When driving on a salted road, the water on the road mixes with the salt and creates a "mist" which finds it way everywhere. Any little breach in the paint it a target.

Also, the temperatures in that area tend to get very cold in the dead of winter. A good synthetic oil is your best bet, at I found most conventional oils get so thick at the negative temperatures the region sees, that just starting the car is a chore. What weight oil are you using now, the 0W-20 recommended?

While I have never been stationed at Ft. Drum, as a civilian, I find that part of NY one of the most beautiful areas and am sure you and your Civic will do just fine.

 

Thanks everyone, especially Larry. I am using the 5W-20 synthetic since 0W-20 seems to have vanished from store shelves everywhere in my tristate area. I got some great advice and appreciate it alot. I plan on buying a new vehicle anyways but wanted to wait until after a deployment and its good to hear that the HCH should make it just fine up there for a little while at least.

 

My question would be. If I buy a non pzev vehicle out of state and move into a state that mandated pzev would I still be able to pass inspections?