DEAR CAR TALK: I wanted to follow up on a call I heard recently on your NPR radio show. A caller getting ready to replace a Honda Civic wanted to know if she needed all-wheel drive for driving in the snow. You suggested a Subaru. I had a Honda Civic (that I loved!), but just sold it and bought a Subaru Forester because my husband and I just moved to Montana and are afraid to drive in the snow.
My question is this: Do we also need to buy snow tires? And do you have a recommendation in terms of the type (e.g., studded)? My husband is trying to convince me that it is worth the financial investment to buy an extra set of wheels so he can change the snow tires himself each year. Thoughts?
-- Kelly
DEAR KELLY: Yes, in Montana you will need snow tires. And you'll need four of them. Actually, you might want to put six of them on your Subaru, just to further appease the snow gods.
And it does make sense to buy four inexpensive steel wheels for the snow tires. Otherwise, you have to mount and balance a different set of tires every fall and spring, which runs into money.
Whether you need studs is a trickier question. It depends on exactly where you live and what kind of driving you'll be doing. If you live in a city or suburban area where streets are cleared pretty quickly, and you mostly drive around town, you might not need studs.
Studs have a couple of disadvantages: They chew up roadways, so they're not even allowed on a lot of highways outside of emergency conditions. And they make your traction worse on wet roads, because the metal studs that stick out of the tires have less traction than the rubber does.
And we're not even addressing the constant thrumming noise. So you don't want those unless you absolutely need them.
I'd suggest that you talk to some neighbors and ask them what they do in the winter. A better option, for peace of mind, might be to buy a set of temporary chains.
You can leave those in the trunk, and if you ever find yourself in a dire situation and your snow tires aren't cutting it, you can put on the chains by the side of the road, and at least get home. That's assuming they don't find you the next day, frozen in the "chain-affixing position."
And most importantly, remember this: If you know there's a blizzard coming, you always have the option of staying home -- unless you provide an essential service, like making doughnuts.
DEAR CAR TALK: All these alphanumeric algorithmic specifications on oil these days are confusing me. I have a 2009 Jaguar XF with a 4.2-liter engine. I've owned many older Jags, but this is the first one that states I need WSS M2C913-B, which I learned is a Ford part number. But I can't find it anywhere. What oil would be safe to use in this car?
-- Michael
DEAR MICHAEL: Well, you've fallen into an unusual automotive black hole.
Ford owned Jaguar until 2008. Then the great recession hit, and Ford sold everything it could spare except old pairs of Henry Ford's boxer shorts. So the 2009 Jaguars were basically designed by Ford but sold by Jaguar (which was, by then, owned by the Indian conglomerate Tata).
So if you ask Jaguar for part number WSS M2C913-B, they'll tell you to go ask Ford. And if you ask Ford, they'll tell you that the 2009 Jaguar is not their problem, go ask Jaguar.
But not to worry, Michael. WSS M2C913-B is actually a Ford of Europe part number, which is why you can't find it at your local Ford dealership.
The best I can tell, it's basically a fully synthetic 5W-30 oil. And since oil specifications tend to improve over time, I think you're completely safe using any of the brand-name synthetic oils available here in the United States.
So a 5W-30 version of Castrol Edge or Mobil 1, to cite two examples, should be entirely safe for your Jaguar.
And it should be cheaper than flying to England once a year and coming back with a case of WSS M2C913-B in the overhead bin.
Ray Magliozzi dispenses advice about cars in Car Talk every Saturday. Email him by visiting
cartalk.com
HomeStyle on 11/28/2015