NEW OWNER!! Questions Re: Tires & Driving from Van To Calgary in Early April

[Mr. Fuji]

I finally did it- I bought my NSX! NSX Prime was an invaluable resource for research, pricing, opinions, etc. I found a great 91 Sebring Silver in the Pacific NW and will be taking delivery late next week- photos & details will follow.


I will be importing the car into Canada- am fully prepared for that (thanks again to the Prime community!) but I am unsure about the drive back from the US border to Calgary. The NSX does not have winter tires; they are summers (Dunlop Direzza DZ101) with some tread left. Here are my questions:


Tires:
I hesitate to buy a set of all-seasons just for this trip as I don't intend to drive the NSX in snow or ice in the future, but of course I want to be safe for this drive. Is there a compromise? Can someone recommend some good-looking all-season tires that I can have installed that will also be useful in the spring/summer in Canada? I do not intend on any high-performance driving, so maybe I should just get some really good all-seasons put on before I get there to pick it up. Thoughts?

Roads:
Also, any frequent travelers in the Canadian Rockies please chime in and let me know if the NSX can handle BC winter roads. I am thinking I'll be taking the Coquihala from Vancouver as it fairly busy, and would be best maintained and drier. What will the road conditions be like? Can the NSX Handle Winter roads in Canada, and What is the "best" route?


Thanks to all for your assistance.

Mr. Fuji

 

[BioBanker]

Do you think that you will encounter snow and ice on the roads? If you do, why don't you delay pick up a week or two later? I know that you're anxious but it would never make sense putting all seasons on an NSX and if the roads are snowy, you can't drive with summers on.

Take your time and do it right. A couple weeks doesn't mean anything in the grand scheme of things.

But seriously, if there is any snow on the roads you won't make it with summers on. One time I was putting my car into winter storage and there was a 50ft stretch of snow on a slight hill between me and the storage facility (300ft away).

I called a flatbed. Don't mess around with summer tires in snow, ever.

 

[nsxtasy]

Do you think that you will encounter snow and ice on the roads? If you do, why don't you delay pick up a week or two later? I know that you're anxious but it would never make sense putting all seasons on an NSX and if the roads are snowy, you can't drive with summers on.

Take your time and do it right. A couple weeks doesn't mean anything in the grand scheme of things.

That was my initial reaction, too. However, if I were doing this, I would check the weather forecast and play it by ear, seeing if I could time it so that I'm driving in warm weather. I realize it can snow as late as May in Calgary, which averages 6 inches in April, 4 inches in May. But if you can plan it for a day or two (even in April) when temperatures are above average (and the April average high in Calgary is 5C/41F), you should be able to have snow-free roads. (I realize there are mountains on the way, and temps and snow in mountains can be worse than those at lower elevations, but Calgary itself is over 3000 feet up.) Right now the Intellicast 10-day forecast shows below-normal highs in Calgary for all ten days although it starts getting close to normal next weekend (April 8-10), just 3-4 degrees colder than the normal high of 47-48F, and those three days have a partly cloudy forecast.

The other thing I would do is take a southern route to the extent possible, for obvious reasons. For example, if you're getting it in Seattle, I'd go via Spokane. Spokane shows predicted highs in the low fifties throughout the next ten days.

I would not want to be driving on snow with summer tires. But I also would not want to be stuck with all-season tires all the time on my NSX when I'm driving it in moderate to warm temperatures, either.

 

[Joy2Drive]

Congrats Sean. You finally did it. We look forward to some pictures.

You are getting some solid advice here so definitely don’t play around with driving in messy weather. Perhaps your other option is to use a transportation service that provides fully enclosed trailer for the job. I mean if you are going spend money on new all-season tires just to help with the drive, you might as well spent that little extra to insure the car gets home safely. I did that three years ago when I imported mine from Columbus Ohio. It cost me $950 and they handled all the cross border paperwork, and the peace of mind was priceless. I used a company in Toronto call TFX International, and they often run delivery across Canada and US, and I know for fact Calgary, Edmonton are some of their key stopping points. Here is their website (http://www.tfxinternational.com/) if you wish to read up on them. Ask for Jacqui.

 

[Jetpilot3]

Sean - contact Dilas Brokers in Calgary.

They are the ones that imported and transported my NSX from California to Vancouver. It cost me around $4,000 including the taxes and duties (enclosed).

My father was caught out on the Coquihalla for a week when he thought it was safe to bring his Goldwing from Calgary to Vancouver. Risky this time of year.

 

[LJZ]

Just one additional piece of advice to the OP. If you do decide to drive (and I'm not sure of the total distance involved) check tread depth on rear tires and make sure alignment is in spec (that is the later/Honda revised NA1 spec that is kinder to rear tires). If tires are marginal be careful. I bought a fantastic /94 in Phoenix in November 2009 and drove it back to Michigan (2,000 miles). Car peformed flawlessly (expected as it only had 19,000 miles when I left Phx). However, although the rear tires (Bridgestone RE010) looked to have plenty of tread at the start of our journey home, neither I nor my master Acura tech friend who did the pre purchase inspection and drove home with me actually measured tread depth or thought to put the car on an alignment rack. After about 1,000 miles the car was feeling very light in the rear. Upon stopping for gas, to our horror, most of the tread on the rear tires had worn away! This necessitated the purchase of new rear tires outside of St. Louis. Indeed the alignment was way off and this helped scrub away the tread. Yikes! And I'm not even going to tell anyone about the snow storm in New Mexico that we had to wait out. Slippery conditions and summer tires (with marginal tread depth to boot) was a pretty scary experience.

Congrats on your new ride -- enjoy.

Jeff

 

[warrenw]

It is always a risk driving the Coquihalla. I hit snow on that mountain pass the last week of June. Your Dunlop Direzza DZ101 are poor tires to start with. You will need to replace them sooner than later. I wouldn't attempt it without newer tires with good tread depth. I once moved a car from Edmonton to Vancouver using a car carrier for $400.00. Not that I would use a common car carrier for the NSX, but like Cam says, price out a car move before trying the drive yourself. I believe Calgary is forecast to have 15 - 20 cm of snow today. It can happen and if murphy has anything to do with it, it will happen.

 

[pfw565]

I drive to the Okanagan from Vancouver frequently through the year. It doesn't matter what route you take there is a risk of snow at this time of year. After the end of April is much more predictable but still there is a risk. Last year I drove my son's MGB to the Okanagan in late April (top down of course) and we had snow through Manning Park and temps around zero. Highway 3 is generally easier than the Coquihalla. Some people have suggested going through the US and up through Spokane. The same issues apply. Going through the Cascades is the challenge and they sometimes have some nasty storms in Apr and May. If you watch the long term weather forecasts you should be able to judge whether you will have a couple of decent driving days.

Did you buy your car from Seth? I looked into that one a few months back when the Honda dealer advertised it.

John in Vancouver

 

[cosmod250]

I live in the Okanagan Valley 1/2 way between Vancouver and Calgary and travel both directions frequently year round. My advice, wait until mid May or use an auto hauler. I as well have had to pull over on the Coquihalla due to hail storms with several inches accumulation in June! There is just no way to predict what will happen on that stretch of hwy at this time of year. My son just purchased an S2K in Seattle which we drove to Vancouver and then trucked home to be safe.

The Snoqualamie Pass going west out of Seattle is no better.

Use a trucking company or delay the trip.

Peter

 

[lpjang]

congratulations on your NSX buy!
I got mine out of Portland last year in May. I drove it to Vancouver from Portland in the rain, arriving into sunny Vancouver thereafter. Then I stayed in Vancouver for a couple of days and thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful driving there. The excitement of driving can't wait for Calgary roads where gravel doesn't even come off until early june.
Then in Vancouver, I used Precision Carriers (604-684-0185) to haul it back to Calgary for me. It's an open deck but they put it in with all the Audi's that came to NorthWest Audi here in Calgary so I felt good about it. They dropped it off at the Audi dealer for me afterwards and I did speak to the driver of the transport who told me they put it in the upper deck and nose of truck. They also walked around the car and inspected for any markings and/or scratches prior to loading. I know this b/c there is a mark on my right rear bumper and they indicated this on their inspection report.
Cost was around $400 and shipped in 3 days. For me, even driving in May through the mountains is risky and there's gravel on the highways too.

I think there's some deadline for you to get an Alberta vehicle inspection for RIV and a little more time to get your vehicle Canadian approved. I remember a week of sitting in Vancouver wasn't going to work for me b/c I was registering it in Alberta and that's where i needed it inspected.

 

[Mr. Fuji]

Did you buy your car from Seth? I looked into that one a few months back when the Honda dealer advertised it.

John in Vancouver

Yes, that is the one I bought. The combination of price/mileage/inspection results/colour/proximity was quite tempting.

Fuji

 

[Mr. Fuji]

Thanks all for the advice and recommendations. I greatly appreciate you all taking time to let me know your opinions.


I have decided to do the drive, for a few reasons:
1. Tires: The PPI on the car recommended new tires, and the seller has agreed to have those put on for me, so tread depth is not an issue. This is a no-brainer for safety, and also because I would be buying new tires soon anyway so why not buy them in the US where they are significantly less expensive?

2. Current Conditions: A look at the webcams posted along the route shows some snowy parts alongside the roads, but the roadways themselves are almost entirely dry.

3. Weather Outlook: The forecast for the rest of the week looks to be really good for the BC interior- little or no precipitation with highs in the 8-12C range.

4. Attitude: We are not in a rush, and if there is a freak storm or dangerous patch, we will be sure to do the right thing. We also plan to do our driving in daylight over a few days.


My good friend will be joining me, so that will make the trip more enjoyable. With decent roads today, no snow in the forecast and a new set of tires, we should be just fine making the trek. However if something unexpected does happen weather-wise, we are mature and smart enough to know what to do.
Now we just need to decide whether we will go through Kelowna or Kamloops?


Thanks again to the great NSX Prime community for your help, please keep your notes coming!

Mr. Fuji

 

[pfw565]

If going through BC, Highway 3 (Hope, Princeton, Keremeos, Osoyoos) is a much more satisfying drive and has fewer potential speed traps. Places to watch for them are in Manning Park near the lodge, last downhill stretch to Princeton, last section of divided highway near Keremeos. From Osoyoos you can either head N through the Okanagan (more traffic) or E on Highway 3 through the Kootenays. Hwy 3 is a terrific route all the way.

Good luck with the drive. From my understanding of conversations with the Honda guys re your car it is an excellent buy.

John

 

[cwillgo]

Congrats on your purchase!

I bought my Grand National in seattle last year and drove it back through the Cohquihalla in early April with zero issues. Roads were very very good.

Looking forward to seeing your car in person!

Wil

 

[Joy2Drive]

Have you brought over the car yet? We need pics? Lots of pics!!

 

[Mr. Fuji]

An update: After doing some thorough research on road conditions and asking the seller to buy new tires - for safety- we decided to drive back. We drove from Portland to the Border (wait, wait, wait), up to Salmon Arm, and on to Calgary the next day. Total was about 1500 km in 27 hours, with a few car import lessons learned:

The US border crossing was quite stressful, mostly because I neglected to print out the precise directions to the US Vehicle export office. This resulted in us inadvertently crossing into Canada and then having to turn around and wait in line to enter the US- which on a Friday afternoon can be a very slow proposition at the Blaine Wash. crossing. Waiting in line with the time ticking down I was incredibly worried that we would not make the office closing time and would have to wait until the following Monday- putting the timing and cost for the trip way out of whack. Luckily, when we finally hit the front of the line (with 10 minutes to spare) the US CBP guard was cooperative once I explained the situation and he told us the best way to get there. Even then, the Blaine Vehicle export office is not very well marked and I ended up passing it, so I had to pull a U-turn (in front of a US CBP agent), park, and literally run in to the office. Long story short: we made it, but only by a minute or 2. The guy behind us was not so lucky; he got there right after me and they literally closed the door in his face.

The Canadian side of the border was not too noteworthy, except that it took almost 90 minutes of waiting while they processed my application. There was a highly modified NSX there that was coming into Canada for some maintenance at a specialty shop (in Burnaby or nearby I believe) before a race who was picked out of the line. His car was being thoroughly inspected and he was questioned. He had a sweet machine, but I never saw how it turned out, but I hope it went well for him.

There was only one problem with the roads: about 5 minutes before Banff I hit a patch of ice under an animal overpass- the tail end kicked out a few feet and scared the s!ht out of us, but all was well once the traction control took charge. There was some gravel along the way, so I will be having my good friend who runs an mechanical/autobody shop repaint where the car has suffered rock chips. The car is great- I am having some bits and baubles repaired right now, but should be on the road by the weekend. Keep an eye out for me in and around Calgary!

All-in-all, it was a great trip with a great friend, to bring a great car home.

Thanks to Prime and the members for the valuable Vehicle Import information and advice & suggestions. There will be photos to follow.

Mr. Fuji

 

[eddy w]

hey Mr Fuji, congrats!!!, im right there with you as i just brought my red 91 over last week, although my drive was alot shorter (6 1/2" hours) it will be one I remember for quite a while. The looks i got, the great feeling of finally getting one and satisfaction of bringing it over yourself and waiting to get just the right one will stay with me for a long time.

enjoy it, im certainly enjoying mine!!

eddy