I have a 2009 Toyota Matrix that was ‘born and raised’ in Arizona’s heat and dry weather. I’ve moved to the Boston area and am concerned about two things - rustproofing and tires. Do I need to get the car rustproofed or is that standard no matter where the car comes from? Should I change out the tires to something more able to handle rain/snow even though they are still in great condition?
No need for rustproofing, all modern cars have it. As for tires, I would wait and see, assuming you have a good amount of tread. What do folks you work with do? How about your neighbors?
Rust proofing hasn’t been needed for cars in years…The manufacturers are doing a much better job with making cars resistant to rusting.
Tires - Any decent all-season tire is fine. If you have just a summer tire then they may not be too good…But Boston really doesn’t get that much snow (only about 40" a year).
Don’t get any rustproofing. Most or all of the aftermarket rustproofing solutions actually make things worse by blocking drain holes and trapping contaminants that are already there.
You didn’t say what kind of tires you have now. Are they standard all-season tires or something sportier? Can you find them on Tire Rack’s web site and read the reviews on winter performance? How much tread is left? You really don’t want to be below 6/32 or so in winter.
Rust: You don’t need to do anything, infact you should not do anything. Most of the anti rust treatments cause more problems (by blocking drain holes) than they fix.
Snow: The best thing you can do about that is to get some safe practice at the first snow in a empty large parking lot. Boston like other cities have snow plows. If you are going out of the city or can not stay at home for a serious snow, then get a set if real winter tyres, (not snow or all season).
Remember, to get that practice in. The most important safety device for snow is a safe experienced driver.
BTW it appears Boston does shut down the roads if the snow is too bad. I was walking down the stereo last year early in the season when the first snow was expected, and the two men in front of me were talking trying to decide if they should shut down the roads. Well they did not and the Noreaster did not show up.
Excellent, thank you all for your comments! I’ll keep an eye on the tires, but will probably replace them for something all-weather before snow flies. I lived in Connecticut for 35 years,so I’m hoping that it’ll only take a couple of practice runs in the local school parking lot to acclimate myself to driving in snow and ice again.
You shouldn’t need new tires…HOWEVER…you will have to change your driving habits when it snows…Driving in snow is totally different then driving on dry or wet pavement. Slow and easy is the way to go…You don’t break as well…steering can also be compromised. I’ve seen people move here from Southern states and total their car the first 3" snow storm…
Sometimes, even long time locals can wreck their car during the first snow fall. From the way the post is worded, bosox has summer tires on the car.
If bosox has an XRS, here’s a link for a package deal for winter tires/rims:
http://www.tirerack.com/snow/WinterPackageMain.jsp?autoMake=Toyota&autoModel=Matrix&autoYear=2009&autoModClar=XRS
If you buy rims and tires together, they can mount and balance them for free before they ship them to you, or their installers
If you want all-weather tires that are snow tire rated, take a look at the Nokian WR G2’s. Incredible all-around tire summer and winter. The only con is price is high.
My wife had a set for over 45k miles but a Boston(highway) pothole @ 80MPH took them(2) out.