Son needs an awd to get to Idaho

He is stuck in Florida & sold some his wrecked CRX & LM7 to a guy on GRM. If it was not winter he could use about anything but since half the country is in a deep freeze an old Subaru wagon would be great. So if anyone has a Subaru Legacy, Forester or Impreza wagon that would haul a B16, other car parts, his stuff & make it from Panama City, Florida to Idaho - please let me know. It will be quite the adventure. I have many cars here but as usual they're in the wrong place.
Or how about this - we start a cross country car challenge where the same car is used to go back & forth cross country & the seller sells it for the same amount that they bought it for. Anyway text him at 540-219-0989 if you have any prospects.

It's negative 25 degrees Celsius here (so thinking about Florida only makes me snarky), and anyway I don't have an old Subaru kicking around, but I would love to read episodes of the cross country car challenge, or C4 for short. Great idea!

Having lived in Idaho for a long time, you don't need AWD to move your stuff.

If you can swing it, great. But if time and money are a big deal, a good set of tires will win the day. Even in a pick up truck. My first cars were RWD big engine pick ups, my second was a RWD Alfa. It wasn't until I finished school in Moscow did I get a FWD car.

Again, if you can find the car, go for it. Still need good tires to really use AWD to it's fullest.

I would NOT want an AWD anything for long haul work. If a Subaru eats a tire, you will be eating 4, or held up 2-4 days sourcing a replacement and having it shaved. Anything FWD with an iron block will go through snow up to the floorpans on any cheapo m+s tire with 1/8"+ tread left on it, and if the snow is much deeper than that, you need a truck for the ground clearance.

I know we don't "need" an AWD but driving cross country in this weather is not optimum & would make it a bit more secure & keeping the stuff inside a wagon would be better, plus the mpg is better - so we're thinking Subaru Wagon. Yes C4 - just need the car for the first trip.

Would start with new tires & the Subarus I've had. all have full size spares.

Well having just spent the night stuck on I-77 in Va because of snow, the biggest problem isn't you, its every other non-driving SOB. Trucks don't like snowy hills. We were in my wife's Solara, and it did a magnificent job with just all weather tires.

Many people in Florida seem to think that anything north of there is in the artic. that you need AWD to drive any where.

But then, with no experience , I guess maybe they do.

I find it interesting, when driving on the interstates in snow, most of the vehicles off the road are AWD's.

Last Spring we went cross country in our AWD allroad - it also is equipped with a full size spare.

Ya most people drive them too fast on bald tires thinking nothing can happen. The wagon would just fit all his stuff.

Snow tires give more traction for cornering and braking. Much more important than AWD. Don't get me wrong, Subaru makes some great winter vehicles and I love the size of their wagons. My parents have owned several in a row and probably always will have one. But I'll take a Mustang on snow tires over a Subaru on crap tires.

Another option is to simply pad your schedule by a day or two. If the weather turns sour, rent a hotel room and watch HBO. Interstates get cleared pretty quickly.

Our Grand Cherokee is exactly what all the various haters imagine about SUVs and AWD. It has stupendous traction under power, it's actually boring in a snowy parking lot. It'll always add speed. But it also has absolutely no feedback through the controls, so you have no idea what's going on under the wheels. Ice? Snow? Pavement? Can't tell. It's a pretty terrible snow car in that regard.

Civic hatch or similar will do just fine. Add (studless) snow tires if you want to be super prepared. Take the southern route and zig north, you'll be fine. My family has lived in Idaho for years and only need AWD or 4x4 to get into town from their house in the boonies. The highways are fine in all but the worst weather.

Bryce

There was snow before AWD cars. People sometimes didn't get stuck.
I agree with Keith. Snow tires are much more important than AWD.

General Altimax Arctic tires on a Civic can get through alot of snow. Ask me how I know.

Datsun1500 wrote: If I was hauling a bunch of stuff across the country, I'd buy a $2,000 dodge caravan. Front wheel drive, plenty of room, easy to sell on the other side.

Good advice. If I had to move less, it would be a Saturn SW wagon and 3 extra quarts of oil since they all burn a little oil but keep on going. The 35+ mpg and low purchase price could save you enough to buy the better tires as needed.

besides the Subby... you might look for an All-Trac Corolla wagon.... (1988-1992)

cheap, AND Toyota reliable

Kenny_McCormic wrote: I would NOT want an AWD anything for long haul work. If a Subaru eats a tire, you will be eating 4, or held up 2-4 days sourcing a replacement and having it shaved.

Not to start trouble, but tire pressure can cause more variation in effective diameter than treadwear.

Besides, unless conditions are perfect none of the wheels are rotating at exactly the same RPM.

The blow one tire, replace all 4 mentality is for the shops profit and liability, not mechanical reliability.

jstand wrote:

Kenny_McCormic wrote: I would NOT want an AWD anything for long haul work. If a Subaru eats a tire, you will be eating 4, or held up 2-4 days sourcing a replacement and having it shaved.

Not to start trouble, but tire pressure can cause more variation in effective diameter than treadwear. Besides, unless conditions are perfect none of the wheels are rotating at exactly the same RPM. The blow one tire, replace all 4 mentality is for the shops profit and liability, not mechanical reliability.

Last I checked Subaru specs a MAX circumference difference of 1/4", thats ~2/32" of diameter, any more and you will overwork the center diff.

Also, I agree with the Caravan suggestion, they are surprisingly tough for a dodge, and hold an insane amount of crap if you get a LWB model and take the seats out. Just make sure the trans is full of clean fluid and the strut towers arent falling apart.

I'm not surprised that they have a spec., but it is based on only the design diameter.

But in real world situations the "effective" diameter (2 x distance from ground to center of wheel) can vary more than .063" due to vehicle loading, tire pressure, and road conditions.

So the treadwear is only a contributor to diameter ( but one they can control), and may be only a small contributor if there is a variation in tire pressure or axle weights due to passengers and cargo.