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Whilst people in my old hometown in Melboune prepare for what might be the hottest week in 100 years, here in Tassie – just an hour’s flight south – we’re going to enjoy nice 30 degree celcius days (at most) through this week.
And even in the winter, it just gets a bit chilly here. Not like your northern winters…..
Robert in Quebec City is continuing the Temp Wars with this shot from his Turbo X:
Minus-freaking-33-degrees-C!!!!!
You must need thermonuclear seat heaters to combat that sort of climate!
And then there’s the poor treatment such conditions dish out to your paint! Robert cleans his Turbo X twice a week in the Quebec winter and it still ends up looking filthy:
His wife’s SportCombi gets the garage:
I tell ya….. we could make Tasmania a Saab nation state. We’d have Trollhattan on one side of the planet and Tassie on the other.
Pros:
* Some of the best driving roads in Australia
* Some beautiful untouched wilderness for you outdoorsy types
* Moderate climate without extremes in either direction
* Great views
* Targa Tasmania!
* Comparatively cheap housing
* the best fudge in the world!!
Cons:
* What can I say – it’s as boring as bat$h!t sometimes
* You have to fly an hour to go and watch decent football
* Cheap housing, but expensive fuel, food, power, etc
16 responses so far ↓
1 PT
// Jan 27, 2009 at 10:59 am
That is bloody cold. Surely this level of temperature must have an effect on the engine etc? My diesel sends a warning when the outside air temp is <2.5 degreesC and there are special instructions for regular driving in these conditions. I know its common to change tyres/wheels/coolant for winter but what else should you do? My experience travelling in Alaska taught me that the trucks try to leave their engines running all winter. Not really a practical option with a car. How do you survive?
BTW – it was 41 at 3pm on Saturday at my place – which is close to the ocean and gets some relief even on the hottest days. It dropped 7 degrees in 20 minutes when the southerly change came through at 4pm. I didn’t take a photo as Paul & Alex have already documented higher temps in Sydney but I’d guess that saturday was hotter again for them too.
2 Markac
// Jan 27, 2009 at 11:03 am
Swade: How about taking the Monte to Ben Lomond in the winter for some snow pics, when everyone up north is nice and warm!
3 Mike C
// Jan 27, 2009 at 11:43 am
Robert: I feel for you and your Saabs. I just was able to clean my 04 convertible. It looked like your car. It is going to snow again Tuesday or Wednesday. I also try to clean and wash my car when the temp. gets above freezing. Then do my wax and detail work in the garage. You have to try to get the salt off the paint as soon as possilbe and KEEP SOME PRODUCT ON THE CAR. Here in northern westchester county new york it’s cold, but not -32… Keep up the care for your Saab and try to stay warm.
4 Robert
// Jan 27, 2009 at 11:49 am
Except from winter tyres (you can notice downsized wheels on the Turbo X), which are mandatory over here, there’s nothing else to do on a Saab in “real” winter. It’s really the perfect winter car, I guess it was engineered to work in such a cold environment. The XWD system is just awesome on snowy roads. It’s the funniest car I’ve had to drive in the winter. Braking is also very good in icy/snowy conditions.
Of course, you just have to be gentle with the throttle until the engine is warm, and there have been some glitches with the wipers and cruise control at extreme cold (sub -30 C…).
The defrosting / heating system is IMO the best in the industry, though my old 9-5 was better at that than our current cars.
5 Conan/Barbarian
// Jan 27, 2009 at 11:58 am
I’m surprised that Saab doesn’t offer an electric block water heater. If it does, I haven’t see it advertised in any accessory catalogue. I know that Volvo has it, as I had one in an old Volvo before I got converted and started driving Saabs.
6 Kroum
// Jan 27, 2009 at 12:58 pm
You’re so materialistic, mate.
(I’d move, but I am scared of Taz.)
7 Tedjs
// Jan 27, 2009 at 1:10 pm
How is the employment outlook there?
My SportCombi looks exactly the same – and it was washed late last week. And it looks like yet another winter storm is headed for Cleveland. Just great.
I need to put a battery in my wife’s car tomorrow – the freezing temps have really taken a toll on it and it was stone cold dead the other morning.
8 swade
// Jan 27, 2009 at 1:13 pm
We could always use more intelligent people here, Ted. I don’t think a competent person in any field would take too long finding a job. Having said that, we’re slowing down here in Oz just like everywhere else. But good operators are always wanted, no matter the industry.
9 Richard
// Jan 27, 2009 at 1:52 pm
After seeing the Top Gear Australia episode that profiled those glorious sweeping roads in Tasmania…I have to say that got me thinking. Beautiful country down there. Stunning really.
Need any IT people down there?
10 Richard
// Jan 27, 2009 at 2:07 pm
And….re the cold temps – Agreeing with Robert, I find the Saab runs just fine in these colder temps. When we get down to the -30s celsius my Saab’s floor pans tend to creak as the body twists a bit. But that’s about the worst of it.
I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: these cars are just bloody brilliant in the winter. Snow tires on steel rims and you’re set to tackle anything mother nature throws at you. I can’t see myself driving any other vehicle in the winter.
@ Conan – I don’t think I’ve ever had a vehicle that DIDN’T have a block heater already installed. I’ve heard it’s not even an option in the southern states, but here on the Canadian prairie I don’t think a dealer could sell a car that doesn’t have one already installed.
11 Dan
// Jan 27, 2009 at 2:30 pm
Robert, what’s the winter wheel and snow tire package on your Turbo X?
12 Markac
// Jan 27, 2009 at 2:40 pm
It’s 41 celsius here in Adelaide at the moment and will be that way for a few days. Not much fun! At least it wasn’t quite that hot for the “Tour Down Under” which I was working on at the weekend. But I think those cyclists would still ride if it was 50 degress celsius!
13 Ken H
// Jan 27, 2009 at 6:17 pm
Bah, I drove my old Fiat Tipo in -52 degrees celcius almost 10 years ago. Could never stop the engine for more than 4 hours.
14 MagnusE
// Jan 27, 2009 at 10:14 pm
“You must need thermonuclear seat heaters to combat that sort of climate!”
Nope, regular SAAB seat heaters will do
Coldest day so far this winter in Sweden has been -38 degrees Celcius. Every other winter there are days with like -45 degress Celcius in the northern parts of Sweden. Of course Finland is worse, i beleive there record is -55 degrees Celcius.
And no, no problems driving SAABs in these conditions, even the Volvos make it …
15 MarkoA
// Jan 27, 2009 at 10:26 pm
MagnusE, unfortunately you are right. We get sometimes pretty freaking cold temps in the north! The lowest temp I recall that I´ve driven my Saab (9-3 1.8t SC) was -31C on the gauge.
Robert, have you had any problems with ABS sensors on a cold day? Both of our SC´s (1.8t and 1.9TTiD) had ABS / TCS lights on when the temperature got close to -30C. When you first move the car – bling – ABS / TCS ligths on. But when you “reset” the car by restarting it this problem goes away. I talked to dealer and they told me that the problem is known. The system misses a pulse or two from ABS sensor and you´ll get the fault indication. This has something to do with extremely cold weather.
Saab is excellent car on a cold weather. I know what I´m talking about. I drive Subaru Outback diesel now and it´s “all right” on a cold day. But Saab was perfect. Seat heaters, cabin heating system, auto rear defrost, auto mirror defrost and so on. It really is designed to be used on a cold climate!
16 Robert
// Jan 28, 2009 at 12:12 pm
Dan: The wheels are 17″ from RSSW, and the tires are Nokian Hakka 5 Studded 225/50-17.
MarkoA: Yes, I have had the exact same glitch with the ABS sensors on very cold days, twice. It’s very impressive the first time, the instrument panel lights up like a christmas tree !