Putting on the winter rubber

6339 Views 14 Replies 10 Participants Last post by mazda3-turncoat, Feb 15, 2017

bluzer1

Discussion Starter · Dec 4, 2016 (Edited)

Looks kind of quiet in the Canadian forum so thought I'd say hi to everyone. I found GM-Volt a few weeks ago and been having a good time reading stories going back at least 3-4 years.

Has for me, I just bought a 2nd Gen Volt a month ago and am just getting around to putting on the new winter rubber.

Here's a tip that might help people not crush their pinch welds. Many years ago I bought this jack cup saddle for my GF's Subaru. It's not deep enough for the Volt so I modified it. A second benefit is to push the back half of the saddle (left in the pic) well under the pad.

Let me know if you give a try and it works for you.

Cheers all,
Bluzer

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bluzer1

Discussion Starter · #3 · Dec 4, 2016

Hi voganni. Thanks for the info, I actually have a scissor jack on order, but only intend to use it for flats on the road. Nothing like a good floor jack to do the swap in your garage on a level surface.

I don't see how this saddle cup can cause any harm, it sits right on the pad behind the notch in the pinch. In fact I was careful aligning and checked afterwards. No damage not even to the protection material running along the pinch.

BTW, did you get a jack? If so which one and did it fit the cutout below the floor well?

Here's the Volt with one aloy and one winter...

Cheers,
Bluzer

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bluzer1

Discussion Starter · #6 · Dec 4, 2016

LOL, well we can't all live in "Port Riche" and although the last 3 winters have been quite mild, at least in western Canada, there is still plenty of icy roads.

I've driven 4 or All wheel drive vehicles for 29 winters, so the Volt will be an adjustment for me. To help with only 1 wheel drive, I've switched from Michelin Ice to tires with a more balanced snow/ice rating. I'm giving the Kumho Izen KW31 a shot.

Any one try these before?

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bluzer1

Discussion Starter · #9 · Dec 4, 2016

Well it's not that easy to position the jack cup on such a low vehicle. Also the pad behind the pinch well is flat with rounded edges, so it wouldn't take much to slide off as the vehicle angle changes during jacking.

The whole point of this saddle cup is to use the pinch weld only to locate the cup under the pad designed to bear the weight. The pinch itself is unaffected.

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bluzer1

Discussion Starter · #14 · Feb 15, 2017

Those are great deals!
My quattro tires were XIce but this time I wanted something with better snow performance given that I was going back to front wheel drive after 29 years of AWD and 4x4.
The first choice were the Blizzaks but this fall the prices were stupid. So I went with Kumos with a very similar thread pattern and ice/snow ratings. Got them online from PMC Tire which have free mounting/balancing and crazy low shipping.
Durability wasn't rated as high, but time will tell how that will compare to the Michelins.

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