[Rhobz]

Hi everyone,

I recently moved from San Diego, CA to Colorado Springs, CO. I have lived in San Diego my whole life before this move.

I now own a snow shovel and a ice scraper for the first time in my life and I have to put a coat on my dog.

I have a few car related questions that I hope those of you that live in the more snowy climates can help me out with. I'm not worried about tires, and driving in the cold etc etc. I can handle that stuff. I also will not be "storing" the cars for winter as the weather here only really gets bad for a few days at a time before warming up enough for the cars to come back out. I do let the cars warm up before driving and let the trans temp come up before banging gears. The questions I do have are more maintenance minded/fluid related.

1) Is the manual that came with the car in CA, the same or are there different versions?
2) In CA, I used "coolant" and didn't worry about "antifreeze". Though I do follow the manual. Any special considerations here?
3) I just recently realized that my window washer fluid is "Summer Only +32°". Should I be replacing this?
4) I am a loyal Mobil1 oil user. ESP 0W-40 in the Camaro, Adv Fuel Econ 0W-20 in the Honda and Acura, Mobil1 V-Twin in the Harley. Any special considerations here?

Just so you know, my vehicles are...
2018 Camaro 1SS 1LE
2018 Acura RDX
2012 Honda Civic Si
2017 Harley Davidson LowRiderS

Basically I am just looking for any advice that you guys can give to someone that has only lived somewhere where 35° was "frikkin cold" but is now "not too bad".

I am learning so many things that I never even considered before...blowing out sprinkler systems, sump pumps for basements, etc etc.

Thanks everyone.

[Crushin_LT1]

1. Yes, same manual
2. Follow the manual
3. Switch to a winter one to prevent freezing. Out here they sell -20 for winter, Colorado might have cooler.
4. Follow the manual

Winter tires, by the way if you plan to drive in the winter. SS comes with summer tires.


As an aside, how do you like Colorado Springs? I am looking at moving there from balmy VA...

[FarmerFran]

Big yes on #3 and ASAP

[lt4camaro]

Originally Posted by Rhobz

Hi everyone,

I recently moved from San Diego, CA to Colorado Springs, CO. I have lived in San Diego my whole life before this move.

I now own a snow shovel and a ice scraper for the first time in my life and I have to put a coat on my dog.

I have a few car related questions that I hope those of you that live in the more snowy climates can help me out with. I'm not worried about tires, and driving in the cold etc etc. I can handle that stuff. I also will not be "storing" the cars for winter as the weather here only really gets bad for a few days at a time before warming up enough for the cars to come back out. I do let the cars warm up before driving and let the trans temp come up before banging gears. The questions I do have are more maintenance minded/fluid related.

1) Is the manual that came with the car in CA, the same or are there different versions?
2) In CA, I used "coolant" and didn't worry about "antifreeze". Though I do follow the manual. Any special considerations here?
3) I just recently realized that my window washer fluid is "Summer Only +32°". Should I be replacing this?
4) I am a loyal Mobil1 oil user. ESP 0W-40 in the Camaro, Adv Fuel Econ 0W-20 in the Honda and Acura, Mobil1 V-Twin in the Harley. Any special considerations here?

Just so you know, my vehicles are...
2018 Camaro 1SS 1LE
2018 Acura RDX
2012 Honda Civic Si
2017 Harley Davidson LowRiderS

Basically I am just looking for any advice that you guys can give to someone that has only lived somewhere where 35° was "frikkin cold" but is now "not too bad".

Thanks everyone.

Coolant is antifreeze, put washer fluid in that is made to withstand below 0 degrees, use the 0-40 mobile 1 or the 5-30 mobile 1 and all the manual transmissions are the same across the country . Regarding the manual trans, I would do a fluid change to a full synthetic trans fluid. Let the car warm up a minute longer on those cold mornings, watch your tire pressure, set the pressure to the spec on the coldest morning and make sure your running all season tires.

[Crushin_LT1]

Originally Posted by lt4camaro

Coolant is antifreeze, put washer fluid in that is made to withstand below 0 degrees, use the 0-40 mobile 1 or the 5-30 mobile 1 and all the manual transmissions are the same across the country . Regarding the manual trans, I would do a fluid change to a full synthetic trans fluid. Let the car warm up a minute longer on those cold mornings, watch your tire pressure, set the pressure to the spec on the coldest morning and make sure your running all season tires.

She likely meant the owner's manual.

[c4racer]

congrats on the move - I am considering heading out that way to Colo Springs or Castle Rock or somewhere in-between from San Jose. My dog won't need a coat however - Alaskan Husky. He would be more like - "finally, the weather is reasonable around here!"

Keep us posted on how you like it and if you find fun things to do with the 1LE - I am really curious what the racing and car scene generally is like in Colo Springs and Denver and surrounding areas.

[Rhobz]

Originally Posted by lt4camaro

Coolant is antifreeze.

In CA, you can buy coolant or antifreeze or coolant/antifreeze. Whether or not they are actually different, I'm not sure, but I know coolant tends to be a pre-mix with water.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I will drain and replace the window washer fluid asap.

@Crushin_LT1...
1. I am a he. LOL
2. We moved here right at the beginning of October so with the COVID restrictions, we can't truly experience the city but what we have been able to experience so far, we really like it here. We live on the northwest side of the city. Absolutely love the mountain views. While the weather is a HUGE adjustment from SoCal, we don't get more than a couple inches of snow at a time and it mostly melts before the next storm. We are really happy my job gave us the kick in the pants to move and try someplace new.

[Rhobz]

Originally Posted by c4racer

congrats on the move - I am considering heading out that way to Colo Springs or Castle Rock or somewhere in-between from San Jose. My dog won't need a coat however - Alaskan Husky. He would be more like - "finally, the weather is reasonable around here!"

Keep us posted on how you like it and if you find fun things to do with the 1LE - I am really curious what the racing and car scene generally is like in Colo Springs and Denver and surrounding areas.

Oh your dog is going to love it. My dog shivers while we watch the Huskys and Malamutes take naps on the snow piles.

Once you move here, you will learn that Colorado Springs is just called "the Springs".

I haven't spent much time in the Denver area yet but here in the Springs I see very few 6th Gens and have not seen another 1LE yet. Though there are some very nice cars here. Hellcats, R35 GTRs, a couple R32 GTRs (maybe GTSs), a few C8s, some exotics.

I am still trying to learn the car scene. It's interesting. There is an open car club here in the Springs "719 Wicked CC" that hosts a weekly Friday night meet that regularly attracts close to 100 cars. These cars range from hoopty 1992 Civics on cut springs to GTRs/Ferraris. I can feel comfortable rolling in my Civic Si or I can be a little more baller and roll in the 1LE. So far everyone I have spoken to is super cool. Doesn't seem like anyone cares what you drive, which is nice. Though, the crowd is a little younger. I am 43.

I am really looking forward to better weather for some mountain driving and when Pikes Peak International Raceway (the racetrack, not the hill climb) reopens and starts doing HPDEs.

When you guys move out here, we should get together for a drink and a cruise.

Since we moved out here for work, and are still working remotely, I don't have any family or friends out here yet so it would be nice to start meeting people and hanging out.

[delthawk5]

Hey Rhobz. I finally moved out here too. Been having a great time driving the Camaro on nicer days where there's little to no snow on the roads and the sun is out. Girlfriend picked up a RAV4 AWD for weather/utility driving. Otherwise the SS sits in the garage. Only complaint I have is the roads here suck even more than I thought and I have to keep my tire pressure high to not deal with the constant temp changes. Don't see too many Camaros around here!

[Rhobz]

Originally Posted by delthawk5

Hey Rhobz. I finally moved out here too. Been having a great time driving the Camaro on nicer days where there's little to no snow on the roads and the sun is out. Girlfriend picked up a RAV4 AWD for weather/utility driving. Otherwise the SS sits in the garage. Only complaint I have is the roads here suck even more than I thought and I have to keep my tire pressure high to not deal with the constant temp changes. Don't see too many Camaros around here!

The roads and especially the parking lots can be miserable around here. I have seen potholes in parking lots that I could lose my dog in. LOL

You may have researched already but something I learned after moving out here is that standard tire pressure gauges are calibrated at sea level so being at a higher altitude and lower ambient atmospheric pressure means that out here, at around 6000' elevation, your tire pressure gauge (not the car's TPMS reading) should be about 3 psi higher. So, if you want 32 psi, fill the tire to 35 on the gauge. The in car reading will be correct at 32. Hope this makes sense. It took me by surprise at first as I couldn't tell if my handheld gauges or the car's TPMS were faulty.

Let me know if you ever want to get together.

[WhiteMale]

I concur with the one person that mentioned tires. You're going to have to go with a set of at least all-seasons, you can't (shouldn't) run those SC3's that are on the 1LE below 40 degrees.

[Rhobz]

Originally Posted by WhiteMale

I concur with the one person that mentioned tires. You're going to have to go with a set of at least all-seasons, you can't (shouldn't) run those SC3's that are on the 1LE below 40 degrees.

I will be doing tires pretty quick here. I have 10,500 miles on the OEM tires so they are pretty spent.

[JT58]

I have lived in warm and very cold climates.

Change you washer fluid ASAP with one that will not freeze. You don't want the fluid to freeze and crack the reservoir.

Coolant is anti-freeze as already noted.

And I would follow the manufacturer's recommendation in the owners manual for oil viscosity.

Transmission fluid and gear oil in the rear differential I would go with a good synthetic and you should be all set. Follow the owners manual.

[ctrlz]

I would squirt the washer fluid so you empty the reservoir a bit.
Add about 1 pint of isopropyl alcohol or methanol (or a mix of the two).
That should get your freezing point down to the teens. These alcohols are the "active" ingredients in the de-icing fluids. Obviously top off with different washer fluid from now on.