My new car: 2011 Infiniti G37x sedan.

[AutobahnSHO]

Har, har. I like carports better than garages actually; lets the car dry off and don't have to wait for the door to open.

LOLZ. No.
And you can't keep lots of expensive stuff under a carport- people could swipe it far easier.

-------------------------------------

I have to carefully manage the garge- all the bikes and piles of stuff cuz we don't do storage payments. So to get the Christmas stuff out I have to pull a car out and unpile a 6ft tall stack of boxes then put it all back in.  But the Subie and Sienna are garaged now..

[GoCougs]

Carports FTW.

Anyway, had a chance to drive in the snow this weekend with the new snow tires. Tires pretty much performed as expected however I was shocked at how well the stability control would control the car. I could not upset the car at 25-30 mph. This thing is going to be a tank in the snow.

[MrH]

Carports FTW.

Anyway, had a chance to drive in the snow this weekend with the new snow tires. Tires pretty much performed as expected however I was shocked at how well the stability control would control the car. I could not upset the car at 25-30 mph. This thing is going to be a tank in the snow.

Good to hear.  I'm about to buy LM-60's too, but I'd like to hear your thoughts:

Why'd you go with the LM-60s over the WS-70s?  Cheaper?  Performance reasons?

[dazzleman]

Carports FTW.

Anyway, had a chance to drive in the snow this weekend with the new snow tires. Tires pretty much performed as expected however I was shocked at how well the stability control would control the car. I could not upset the car at 25-30 mph. This thing is going to be a tank in the snow.

Were you able to do any donuts?

[dazzleman]

Thanks to Sandy, I'm at my parents' house, where one side of the garage is used for storage and one is reserved by my mom. My dad and I have to park in the driveway. 

Both my houses have had 2-car garages, with half used for storage.  I don't know what I'd do if I only had a 1-car garage, or actually had two cars.

[GoCougs]

Good to hear.  I'm about to buy LM-60's too, but I'd like to hear your thoughts:

Why'd you go with the LM-60s over the WS-70s?  Cheaper?  Performance reasons?

The WS-70 is a "hardcore" winter/snow tire. This is the likes of the tire I had on the Accord (Toyo Observe G-02). These have marginal traction on bare roads; especially wet. The LM-60 is the WS-70 minus some of the tread compound stuff for pliability at lower temps, and is thus deemed a "performance" winter tire. The end result is it sacrifices a bit of winter performance for bare road performance. The LM-60 is pricey though - cost me ~$1,300 total at the local Firestone shop (and that with the tires being $4 cheaper than Tire Rack interestingly).

Owing to good AWD and good stability control I thought the tradeoff an easy call. I do get a bit of float at highway speeds (i.e., squishy tread blocks) but it rides better and is quieter than expected, but still a bit of a downgrade vs. the factory all seasons. The other tire under consideration was the Michelin Alpin PA3. I went with the LM-60 as they were quicker to get locally (wanted to get them on last week).

[GoCougs]

Were you able to do any donuts?

Only with the stability control off (it's actually never off, turning it "off" just lets it be more forgiving); when on I couldn't do much of anything no matter how slippery things got.

[MrH]

The WS-70 is a "hardcore" winter/snow tire. This is the likes of the tire I had on the Accord (Toyo Observe G-02). These have marginal traction on bare roads; especially wet. The LM-60 is the WS-70 minus some of the tread compound stuff for pliability at lower temps, and is thus deemed a "performance" winter tire. The end result is it sacrifices a bit of winter performance for bare road performance. The LM-60 is pricey though - cost me ~$1,300 total at the local Firestone shop (and that with the tires being $4 cheaper than Tire Rack interestingly).

Owing to good AWD and good stability control I thought the tradeoff an easy call. I do get a bit of float at highway speeds (i.e., squishy tread blocks) but it rides better and is quieter than expected, but still a bit of a downgrade vs. the factory all seasons. The other tire under consideration was the Michelin Alpin PA3. I went with the LM-60 as they were quicker to get locally (wanted to get them on last week).

That was my rationale too.  Just seeing if I was being an idiot not getting full blown hardcore "snow tires" or not.  I figure it's not worth the decrease in performance for the few days a year when the snow isn't cleared yet.

I'm actually considering just going with my all seasons...

[MrH]

Only with the stability control off (it's actually never off, turning it "off" just lets it be more forgiving); when on I couldn't do much of anything no matter how slippery things got.

What if you hold the button down?  Lots of cars are like (Miata and BRZ are both that way).  I can turn off traction, but keep stability on, turn off traction and put stability in sport mode with the two buttons on the console.  But if I hold the traction control button off for 5 seconds, it turns off completely.

You gotta have fun sometimes.

[hotrodalex]

Only with the stability control off (it's actually never off, turning it "off" just lets it be more forgiving); when on I couldn't do much of anything no matter how slippery things got.

My car controls things pretty flawlessly. Lets me get the tail out a few degrees but can reel it back in after a second or two. So I can have a little bit of fun and still have that safety net. If I turn it off, it's completely off. (I usually only do that while in a parking lot or an empty road I'm very familiar with)

[Rich]

My car comes equipped with a stability control system that is defeatable via ESP

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extrasensory_perception

[Rupert]

Some guy told me he's never "seen a young guy driving one of those".

I hear that one a lot.

[AutobahnSHO]

Carports FTW.

Absolutely NOT. At least compared to a garage.  Sure a carport is better than nothing.

Hope you're just kidding cuz otherwise you're completely clueless.

[dazzleman]

Absolutely NOT. At least compared to a garage.  Sure a carport is better than nothing.

Hope you're just kidding cuz otherwise you're completely clueless.

I agree.  A carport is better than nothing, but it can never be better than a garage, IMO.

[280Z Turbo]

I agree.  A carport is better than nothing, but it can never be better than a garage, IMO.

I need a 2 stall garage and a 30'x40' pole barn.

[AutobahnSHO]

...  A carport ... can never be better than a garage, IMO.

That's just fact.

[MrH]

I need a 2 stall garage and a 30'x40' pole barn.

Pole barn?  Is that like a barn countless strippers can perform in, all at once?!  I need one of these too!

[280Z Turbo]

Pole barn?  Is that like a barn countless strippers can perform in, all at once?!  I need one of these too!

I'm beginning to think you're not from the midwest at all.

[Catman]

Could never be without a garage. Car ports are better than nothing though.

[dazzleman]

Could never be without a garage. Car ports are better than nothing though.

No.  Carports are better.  It's an objective truth.

[Catman]

No.  Carports are better.  It's an objective truth.

marlarky

[280Z Turbo]

Only Cougs.

[Rupert]

Carport vs. unheated garage, carport might win purely for car parking... Access is slightly easier.

[sportyaccordy]

I agree.  A carport is better than nothing, but it can never be better than a garage, IMO.

It is when its what Cougs has/can have.

[GoCougs]

I idle my car in the morning when cold, which isn't safe in a garage and I'll be damned if I'm going to wait for door to open and to drive a cold arse car out of the garage.

[Raza]

I idle my car in the morning when cold, which isn't safe in a garage and I'll be damned if I'm going to wait for door to open and to drive a cold arse car out of the garage.

If you're idling your car in the morning, you're already spending time waiting.  The 30 seconds a garage door takes to open is too much?  How long do you let your car idle?

[SVT666]

I idle my car in the morning when cold, which isn't safe in a garage and I'll be damned if I'm going to wait for door to open and to drive a cold arse car out of the garage.

That's funny shit right there. 

When parked in my garage, I don't need to idle my car...even on the coldest mornings since it always stays above freezing inside it...and it's unheated...and Seattle is milder than where I live.  I punch the button for the garage door when I go into the garage and it's open before I can even get in the car, so there is no wait.

[GoCougs]

Guys, I'm idling it with me not in it; and if it's not ~65F inside it's too cold = idling = not safe in a garage = no.

[Raza]

Guys, I'm idling it with me not in it; and if it's not ~65F inside it's too cold = idling = not safe in a garage = no.

I don't get what makes this so difficult. 

1.  Open the door from the house to the garage.
2.  Press the button to open the garage door.
3.  Get in the car and turn it on. 
4.  Go back to the house. 

How different is that from what you're doing now?  Skip step 2?  OH THE HUMANITY!

[AutobahnSHO]

I idle my car in the morning when cold, which isn't safe in a garage and I'll be damned if I'm going to wait for door to open and to drive a cold arse car out of the garage.

My unheated garage keeps the car warm enough no idling necessary.

Doors open in 30seconds- even cheap ones. You push the button next to the door from the house and it's open before you get into the car.  You push the remote as you're turning into the driveway and it's open before you get to it.

You're truly clueless on this subject.