So true. We are having similar temps here and we will probably need to kick the heat on in the house soon- one of the first signs of fall. The other sign is that my sticky summer tires are starting to get hard from the temps and the front tires squeak unusually on fresh asphalt. I was looking at the forecasted low temps for the next week or so and it looks like my snow tires will need to go on by mid-October unless the weather changes. The summer tires are not supposed to see freezing temps and go in the basement for the winter.

 

YES! This happens to me, where every Autumn if feels like the first few miles in the car are "lumpy"... for lack of a better word. It gets better as they warm up, but it's awkward for a while. Makes me second guess what's going on. You know, I always thought this about lower temps and performance tires, but never actually made that solid connection that this is what's going on.

The other thing about this time of year: the cold air really makes a noticeable difference in the engine. It's something you get used to right away, but those first few days around 50° make me grin when I dip into the throttle.

 

You definitely get more power with colder/more dense air. That is one of fun things about track days in April & October in the Midwest- it is usually cold enough to make a difference in performance. However, you do have to be careful with your tires at speed.

About 15 years ago I was doing a track day in April and it was bitter cold with the wind, but still just above freezing. You could still see snow blasted on the face of tree trunks and ice on some spots on the track that was still melting in the morning. I did my warm up lap on slicks and on the second lap I pushed it a touch to see where the tires would break loose/see if they were warm yet. They were not and I went into a 4 wheel power slide into the grass at about 70 mph. It was more fun than anything, but scared the hell out of my passenger. To this day, that is still the only time I have ever gone off the track at Road America.

 

We got over a foot of snow last weekend, you guys can have some of that. My summers didn't enjoy it much, back up to +15C this week though. Going to be swapping the winters before our next snowfall.

 

I'm just glad I don't have to put my 6MT car through winter. You can really tell the difference between my X and my S in terms of working on them. Rust has a huge impact on increasing the difficulty.

 

^ oh god tell me about it. Replacing my cats and working on the exhaust in general was hell.

 

You got over a foot of snow and you don't have your snow tires on yet?

 

Nah, it was 60F the Friday before the weekend and was back to 60F by Tuesday, and it's been nice since then. We get weird weather here. At some point in January it'll likely go from -15F to +40F in the span of a day or two and then back to the cold.

 

Yeah we get weird weather like that here in WI as well. -50 F degree wind chills in the winter and over 100 F degrees in the summer.

 

last year specifically -50 wind chill and within 2 days it was 50 degrees.

 

A couple of days ago, I got a warning on my car. It shows a Key with E&F. Looks like I need a new keyfob battery. I tried using the battery from my other fob but got the same message. I guess the batteries are about the same age. Has anyone gotten this message?

 

I've had that same image in my center screen for a couple months. Which battery are you buying?

 

I guess a 2032, which is what is in there currently.

 

Yeah, that warning is pretty common and is more than likely just a low battery warning for the key fob. Does it go away if you put the key fob in the key port in the dash to the left of the steering wheel? I've had to replace the battery in my key fob every 2 - 3 years since I've owned the car. I use the Energizer CR2032. You can get a 5-pack on Amazon for around $4 or you can buy 25 of them for around $10, which is what I did, since I have key fobs for a couple other cars that use the same battery.

 

^^^
Ordered a pack of 5. Thanks!

You know what else I ordered? A 16 oz can of "Seal and Squeal" from Lithium Products. It caught my eye somewhere here on the forum a few weeks back. Actually, it was their "Gloss Sauce", but I'm going to play with their sealant instead.

https://lithiumautocare.com/product-tag/exterior/