Slippery slopes

Every winter you can’t help but to wonder about the people who totally have forgotten how snow and ice feel like and how they react with your car. People say that the winter comes as a surprise and that they could not know how it affects their driving. It is amazing because most of these people have more than few snowy winters on their track record and snow and ice are always snow and ice.


When the roads are really slippery some people won’t even bother to think how it affects their car or way of driving. These are the people that don’t drive that much and usually find themselves wrapped around the first light pole that they can come across. Driving on slippery roads is like dancing. You have to know all the time what the next step is going to be like because if you think at the current one, you are too late. Driving on ice at it’s best is like art. When you have the best tire (in Finnish: rengas) for ice on you and you have a great 4x4 car to make the car bend the curves, you feel like a king. Everything happens so fast but still you can manage it and keep the entire car in control.


Choosing the right tire for the winter isn’t that easy, though. You have to first think whether you drive more on the snow or on the ice. For the snowy roads you have many options but one of the best ones is the friction tire that doesn’t have any spikes on it. When there is snow there is friction. If you drive more on the icy surfaces you should consider the spikes as an option. The spikes keep you on the road no matter what. The sizes of the spikes vary as well but to keep it roadworthy and safe, you should take the regular ones.


When you have the ability to see the situations and you find the perfect tire for the weather, you should not have any problems during the winter times and you should be all right on the slippery slopes.

Thing called service

Which are the best experiences you have had regarding service?I find it very hard to find proper service these days from basically anywhere. Wherever you go, you will not be able to find one person that is responsible for the service you get. When you find the person, usually the first reaction is that you have done something wrong and you should be the one apologizing. What happened to the “customer always being always right” mentality?

When you look for the service from the places where you spend quite a few bucks, you should be able to get some service. Then when you actually get some service you praise it and think of it as something that is out of the question on a regular basis. One of the best spots for service no doubt has been the local Vianor. Every time I go there to get a new set of tire (in Finnish: rengas) changed, I get superb service from the guys. They can even tell the time they will spend with my car with accuracy of minutes. They also have everything a man needs: magazines, coffee and a place to sit.

Other place that gets points for its service is a department store in the city center. There I’m always happy to pay a little extra for the service they provide. I can always rely on the fact that if the product is bad or does not meet the standards, I can return it without any further questions being asked. They also have a good loyalty program.

So, changing tire and doing grocery shopping are the corner stones for my search for service. Other places that I have tried have been taxi services, banks, restaurants etc. They all seem to have such a twisted image of service. I agree that everyone should be treated as equal but if you are working and your work is to serve people I would think that leaves no doubt to the matter. We should start bringing the old service culture back a bit by bit. It comes by demanding more from the businesses and putting your money into where the best service is.

The season of deals

It seems like there are many seasons for different items to be on sale. I love the seasons when you basically get at least -20% off everything. This happens usually after the New Year when the new collections start coming to stores and stores want to get rid of their old stock. There are different seasons for different items, though. If you really want a new set of skiing gear, why not buy it when the season is over. You will definitely get the best price when you buy them after the season and, in addition, they will most likely be just as good as the ones that will be on the shelves next year.

Cars basically never come into sale but it is true that you can get a better price for a 4x4 during heavy wintertime than during the summer time when there is no real effect on the four wheel drive. You can also sell your convertible easier when it’s summer time, buyers might be quite difficult to find during winter.

Tire is one item that I always long for sale. When you have to get a new tire (in Finnish: rengas) set, you wouldn’t want to wait a year till they are cheaper and seasonal according to your needs. If you’re smart, you will buy your winter tires when the season is over and the summer tires when the winter is knocking on your door. Choosing the right tire from sale is also quite easy. You usually have a big selection of tires that go on sale because of the new tire models that are coming to the markets. People don’t want their tire sets to be out dated and that’s why there are seasonal sales on the tire market as well.

At best I manage to get my once per year far east travels at least half the price they used to be, I get my tires for -30% and all the clothes I need for the next year for at least -20% of the original price. This way I have saved enough money to take another trip far east or even possibly upgrade the car by season.

When the spring is close by

There are many reasons why to be happy about the spring being as close as a month or two away. For a lot of people this means the closing for another year at work. Summer seems to be the milestone for the year at work because of the summer holidays. The speedsters wait that the speed limits are going back to the regularities and that they could get from point A to point B 20km/h faster. For some people spring means a bit of suffering because of the dust of the pollution that goes into the air. This is always quite a short phase of the spring but for those who suffer of, it might actually take some time to recover. Spike tire (in Finnish: rengas) is one of the reasons why there is so much of this small dust in the air: when cars are still using spikes even though the roads are dry, the tarmac starts to wear and turn into small dust. Speedsters also go on about choosing the right tire for the summer. Some people who have the friction tires might actually go with them for the whole summer and then just change a new set for the winter.

Choosing the right tire for the summer isn’t that easy either. One might think that there is nothing to consider when choosing the tire for the summer but in fact there are quite many things to take into consideration. One is naturally the power of your car. You can’t have bad tire with a powerful car. You will need the maximum grip and durability. Another thing to take into consideration is that how it reacts with water. Water slide is just as dangerous as black ice and is not easy to control.

Spring is always full of surprises but for the people with petrol in their vanes, it is the time of excitement. Many people have their summer rides parked close by for the winter and when the summer starts to knock on the door the cars are being brought out. The feeling when you take your ride out for a spin on a spring day is just unbelievable . The summer is almost here, enjoy.

Best memories

Summer is a great time of the year. You get so many really nice memories during such a short period of time. It’s almost as if everything is happening during the summer and nothing is happening in the wintertime. Winter wonderland… as if. Summertime is full of exciting and fun events. Everyone wants to get married during the summer and I have not yet managed to find a couple that would be eager to get married in mid-January. This is mostly due to the weather, but I really think there is more to it. People’s mindset changes when it’s summertime. People always smile and they are so willing to try everything new. People are more considerate and more polite. It is almost as if everything that was all sorrow and darkness during the winter months is healed by the sun.


People gather so many memories during the summer that I don’t even know where to start. When I found one summer tire from the attic, I remembered one special weekend of the summer holiday.


We packed a good set of things to eat and took the camping gear as an extra. We were going to sleep over at our friend’s place but we decided to make sure that we have something on top of our heads if something were to happen. We were going to Ahvenisto. Ahvenisto is a place for all petrol heads around the Scandinavia. It really is the mecca for motorsports and all the big events are there during the summer.


I have driven around Ahvenisto in many different types of vehicles. I have been riding a motorcycle, SUV, racecar, rally car and even an ATV. Ahvenisto is open all summer and you just have to make sure there are no bigger events scheduled if you want your chance to drive on the circuit. The track itself is not that difficult but the location and the atmosphere are truly unique. And what comes to the summer tires (in Finnish: renkaat) I found on the attic, it was a Nokia Hakkapeliitta tire and the tire was used in a Maserati that I got to drive around the circuit. A great memory.

Don’t be too cheap

Post wisdom is the best wisdom they say. When something happens and you get a chance to say ‘I told you so’, that is the greatest feeling of them all. At least that’s what they told me.

There is really only one problem with post wisdom and that is usually the fact that when something happens that one should not be proud of, it might happen to you too and then if you need a helping hand, it’s not that easy to get if you’re a wise guy.


Now seriously thinking about the things you don’t want to be too cheap about. There are not many things you can be too cheap about. What are the most important ones?

A tire (in Finnish: Rengas). What would cars be without proper tires? Seriously people, if you plan on being too cheap about your tires you might as well put some nails on your driveway and see whether you hit one. It is far too stupid and far too cheap to gamble with bad tires because it is not only winter when you should have proper Hakkapeliitta tires to go with the wheels. During summer time it is very important to have a good set of tires, too. When it’s raining, there is always the danger to get into a waterslide and that can cause some serious damage. Also, you should always remember that you are not the only one driving on the roads and you cannot affect how your tires or your car behave in some situations. In short, you cannot master the car or the roads but by choosing the right tires you can make the circumstances work for you and not against you.


I had a friend who used to always measure his tires with coins. He always measured them but he never really took care of them or changed them. He was always running on the edge of having illegal tires. Once he got caught in such a bad waterslide with his mother as a passenger that he realized it sure wasn’t worth having bad tires. Luckily nothing happened but he got so scared that he decided to take care of his tire issue for good.

I have heard many things in my life but…

Every time I hear people rationalizing their need for bigger car, I just find it too amusing to listen to these people telling themselves and most likely their wives about the seriousness of their need for a new car. There is nothing wrong about this but as it is cheating yourself, it does seem a bit ridiculous.


The stories I have heard range from a one piece of nasty rock that can be found on the cottage driveway to some other ridiculous reasons. The rock itself could be removed with the manpower of two but why bother when you can spend 50 000 euros extra for an SUV so that you don’t have to worry about it anymore. Other stories include things like getting a boat for managing a fleet of dogs. What is funny though is that they always seem to make sense. Whenever I hear someone lying to himself about the need for a bigger and better car, I go and browse the internet for one. Then I start the same drill. First, I tell myself many times how cool would a big fat car be like, then I decide to take it a bit further and say it out loud. Then it sounds a bit corny so I start to flavor it a bit and by flavoring I mean these stories about the rocks on the road etc.


When I’m done with all this, I usually go to sleep. If I haven’t figured out to out rule my mind while I was asleep, I always look out and see my pretty small car in the yard and remind myself: I just bought new set of summer tires (in Finnish: renkaat), so why change the car. The tires are actually a funny thing; I see my car’s value in its tires. I bought a new set of Nokia summer tires a month ago and I feel like the car looks almost like new even though it is actually almost ten years old. I can’t really tell whether it’s only in my eyes or if other people can see it too.

Small car can do the trick

When living somewhere arctic, like in Finland, one thing you come to realize is that how important it is to have a good car. Owning a car seems to be a status symbol but owning a good four-wheel drive car in the wintertime seems to be the symbol of wisdom. When you get many meters of snow during two weeks and you are struggling with your front wheel drive, you realize that it’s not even worth trying.


People make themselves believe that there are so many good reasons to buy modern SUVs. There is really only one good reason and that is heavy winter. To summer cottages you can actually almost always get with your two wheel drive, you can even tow a boat with a fairly small car these days but you can’t survive the winter with a toddler. Or can you?


I have had a small Hyundai Getz for a bit over a month now. It is the very heart of winter and I live in the very heart of the city. This equation means no parking spaces and semi-hard uphills with a lot of ice. The winter and all of its ups and downs can actually be managed with a really good set of tires (in Finnish: renkaat). With proper wheels on and great tires you can get along just fine even with a smaller car. I have travelled through hell and beyond this winter with my Getz and having a good set of Nokia Hakkapeliitta winter tires on makes it actually really comforting.


The thing about Finnish winter and the mentality towards it is that it always lasts too long, everyone seems to have their opinion about it and it looks like it is filling two thirds of our year with snow. Still the winter always comes as a surprise to the drivers.


Really, though, having a 4x4 is a great solution for the winter but if you can’t afford it or you are perfectly happy with your two wheel drive then just go for proper winter tires. They are better than a life insurance and cheaper than the first pole you’re about to hit with the old tires. Be smart.