Using my 1997 Silhouette in the Snow

[sailoholic]

Hello, i recently purchased a 97 Silhouette and wondered if i will be able to use it to drive to the mountains to go skiing. I live in Washington so ice is usually a bigger problem than snow. Will front wheel drive and the Traction Control System be enough with All-Season tires to take it in the snow and ice? Also is there anything i should do to winterize the car? Thanks Alot!!!

Oh and i bought the car with 60,000 miles from a local dealership, it came from the factory with DEX-COOL but i don't know if the dealership used another kind of coolant. Is their a way to test whether it's really DEX-COOL or something else...??

['97ventureowner]

Originally Posted by sailoholic

Hello, i recently purchased a 97 Silhouette and wondered if i will be able to use it to drive to the mountains to go skiing. I live in Washington so ice is usually a bigger problem than snow. Will front wheel drive and the Traction Control System be enough with All-Season tires to take it in the snow and ice? Also is there anything i should do to winterize the car? Thanks Alot!!!

Oh and i bought the car with 60,000 miles from a local dealership, it came from the factory with DEX-COOL but i don't know if the dealership used another kind of coolant. Is their a way to test whether it's really DEX-COOL or something else...??

You shouldn't have much of an issue getting through the snow, and probably the ice as well. The FWD coupled with the traction control worked well for me. I used snow tires in the front of my vans seeing I live in an area that can get 200" of snow in a season, and they were excellent. What color is the coolant? Orange or reddish orange usually indicates a long service interval coolant, while the greenish color usually is the old ethylene glycol based coolant.