I look forward to digging my car out of trouble with my Lidl folding spade....
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Tips for driving on snow and ice
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Posted 2 years ago #
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rear wheel drive is far more fun in the snow! was what meant , find empty car park and play.!
Posted 2 years ago # -
I saw 5 cars abandoned this morning. All were BMW's with RWD. No traction you see
Really enjoyed the guy in the Evo 7 who braked hard and a whole roof load of snow slid on to his windscreen. I got a few brownie points by getting off my bike and helping him clear it off.I love snow :-))
Posted 2 years ago # -
Wonder what the shiny stuff is all over the ground and consider it to be perfect conditions for driving right up the backside of the teetering cyclist in front (give him comething to concentrate his attention, eh?) and then thrash past a bus wheels spinning and sliding towards a lollipop lady.
And the cyclist just rolled by, smug as you like...
Posted 2 years ago # -
buy a Subaru...
Failing that drive smoothly and keep a good distance between you and the car infront so when the car behind fails to stop you have an escape.Posted 2 years ago # -
Not impressed. My car's in the garage being assessed after some rally driving went wrong last night.
I love to watch low-powered cars with skinny tyres leaving X5s standing. The meek SHALL inheirit the earth!
Was just thinking this morning how I miss my Pug 106. Basicest of basic cars but I remember making my way merrily to and from work on the steep icy hills of Sheffield while all those around were stranded. What a car. And then there was the time after New Year's Eve celebrations when we couldn't get a taxi and a copper in the group said "Right Jim, you're driving". Hand brake turns through the snow all the way home, he said it was OK, ociffer...
Posted 2 years ago # -
And use them about 3 days of the year.
They're not just for use in the snow.
Correct winter tires work better than summer tires in most conditions when the temps are below 8 degrees. They also work better in the wet. At the moment we are buried under a thick blanket of snow here in Germany and everyone is just going about their daily business as usual. The public transport system is running as usual and the temperature is below -10 today. Compare that to the utter chaos in the SE of England.
Posted 2 years ago # -
4x4 won't help, i went to asda this morning and got stuck behind a Land Cruiser doing 10mph on a fully gritted and clear road, now either he was in a low ratio in case the LC broke free or he was a ****t
never ceases to amaze me that people turn into complete sherberts at the first sign of snow
Posted 2 years ago # -
kind of in the same vein, and excuse to have a bitch and a moan (it doesnt take much)
i was parked in a field for an event that required field parking, and as i walked back to my car, i helped push out TWO (women in) 4x4s who were "stuck in the mud". thier policy was, slam it in 4wd, and HOOF it.
lots of wheel spining, lots of steam off the mud, lots of noise, lots of mess.
OAFS.i wasnt sure about whether i was going to be able to get out if a big 4x4 couldnt in my poor little 2wd french car.
1st gear, release the clutch gently, idle out of the field with no fuss
no mess
no noise
no ripping up of the wet rugby pitch.why are some people such morons?
especially southerners**possibly unfounded blanket accustion, possibly not, i couldnt comment
last winter, i chickened out of driving to work, i figured i would stand a better chance of making it on my single speed with mud tyres on, and if i DID crash, it wasnt likely to cost any money.
rode past lines and lines of traffic, all sliding into each other at low speed with expensive sounding thuds and cracking of glass.
I lolled!
i also, didnt fall off! (though i had a dodgey drify moment or two)no snow here sadly
driving in snow.
be gentle, start in second if needs be.
recite constantly "light as a feather, light as a feather"
similar to riding wet roots?
Posted 2 years ago # -
Well my first experience of RWD and snow last night nearly went wrong. Had to do a last minute run to Heathrow to pick the missus up at 1am, after her flights got messed around with. I live on a big hill and a BMW 320d with widish rear tyres in 2" of snow = NO traction whatsoever. I did get up eventually, but there was much slithering and wheelspinning. High gear/low revs didn't work any better than low gear/high revs.
Obviously if I happened to have some big bags of sand or something around, things would have been easier, but at 1am I didn't... Fortunately it was only the local streets round my flat that were snowy. The rest was just wet.
Posted 2 years ago # -
loads of revs, handbrake every corner, pretend your finnish...
lol.Also don't forget drive up the ar$e of other road users, pick the steepest hills in your area and try and drive up them, use back roads only and emergency stop every time you get to a junction (my experiences of 80% of drivers last night, c0cks!!)
All kidding aside, if you do the exact opposite to all of the above you will be fine. If you drive a manual always pick a lower gear than normal when going down hill and let the engine do the breaking. Remember and tap break pedal lightly to let other road users know you are slowing down. Stick to main roads and hope the local counsels don't run out of salt again this year.
Posted 2 years ago # -
I love to watch low-powered cars with skinny tyres leaving X5s standing. The meek SHALL inheirit the earth
Oh yes inddeedy!
Thin tyres cut through the snow, and front wheel drive gives more grip!
(Rear wheel drive is USELESS in snow if you want to get anywhere.)
I used to have a Fiat Panda, with skinny 135x13 tyres. Best snow car in the world! I remember towing bigger cars out of snowdrifts to bump start them down the road, no problem at all. Awesome car in the snow.
Posted 2 years ago # -
RWD in snow is great fun, even if it can be difficult to keep enough momentum going due to muppets in front of you.
Contrary to staying in a high gear, use low gears when setting off as they give more sensitivity and you can balance throttle and clutch to get traction to get moving. Using 2nd etc means you need to put more torque/throttle down and that encourages wheel spin.
Getting any where on snow is about momentum, if you come to a hill with muppets crawling up skidding every where, wait way before the bottom until they have gone and then get some speed, and dont slow down!
Of course this also relys on you knowing what to do when the car starts to slide....
Posted 2 years ago # -
Jon try switching off the ESC on the 320d. Doing this is according to the manual is claimed to switch in a form of traction control which may help but in my experience with the car only a little. If there ain't any traction you can't control it.
Posted 2 years ago # -
If you slide,
DONT brake
DONT stamp your foot on the clutch.
DONT touch the clutch!!DO steer in the direction of the slide, little by little to encourage the car to regain traction forwardsm it doesnt take that much to get it back on straight. Dont over-do turning into a slide, or you'll just end up spinning the other way, which is even more dangerous.
DO ease off the accelerator, but dont come off it completely.
DO keep the engine turning with the accelerator so when/IF grip returns you move do actually go forwards.REMEMBER your tyres are not good in the snow and ice (unless you have winter tyres) and that it takes very little to slide, eg turning slowly on a reverse camber can start a slide very easily even if you think you are being cautious.
HIGHER gears are better than low gears.
LOW revs are better.
If you cant move off without spinning, use 2nd gear.
LEAVE lots of space between you and other cars, particularly if you suspect someone is being a bit to cavalier in their attitude to the snow and ice.
Its worth having a go at sliding on an empty safe corner or empty car park or something, if you get the chance. Just to see what its like when your car slides, eg once a heavy car starts to slide there may be a point of no return!!! and practice turning gently LITTLE BY LITTLE into the slide to feel the car try to right itself back to a straight drive.
OR DONT DRIVE, get the bus. or build igloos!
Posted 2 years ago # -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeO4IVeH23s nobody like my video clip? It says a lot about attitudes towards road safety - particularly when the smart car has their incident.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Goan, where was that corner?
Posted 2 years ago # -
LOL good vid Goan. The Smart car is definitely the best effort.
Though I do wonder who was filming it and why he didn't think it might be an idea to warn people or something.Goan, where was that corner?
Comments say "Near Tamworth"
Posted 2 years ago # -
Note how some of them are able to take the corner at higher speeds without screwing it up. Smoooooooooooth.
You see with the Smart car - what did the people coming in the opposite direction do?
Posted 2 years ago # -
Wonder if the person filming chucked a bucket of water down the road for their personal enjoyment.. We have a Smart Car, rear wheel drive, very short wheelbase, absolutely hilarious to drive in the snow, especially carparks!
Posted 2 years ago # -
A video of how not to do it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeO4IVeH23s
The person filming that is a fanny, why they didnt warn people or call the police is beyond belief, or perhaps they were the police?
Posted 2 years ago # -
I can see the ice, you can see the ice, some of the drivers can see the ice, so it is there to be seen. Why can those that **** it up see the ice? Is it because they are driving along in a daze? I suspect so.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Most of them appear to be jamming brakes on as they skid too.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Its worth having a go at sliding on an empty safe corner or empty car park or something, if you get the chance.
When we passed our tests, our dad insisted that me and my brothers all went to an empty/icy car park to learn about skidding etc in snow.Posted 2 years ago # -
[quoe]rear wheel drive car is very important for these conditions,[/quote]
Given the stock reply to any motorsport question on this forum is
touing cars
I'd have though everyone kew that rear wheel drive is useless when theres absolutley no grip or even just in the rain!The MG just goes sideways round roundabouts at the meerest hint of rain!
Posted 2 years ago # -
Rear wheel Drive + Snow:
Posted 2 years ago # -
wow. plenty of driving gods all in one place...
Posted 2 years ago # -
I'd have though everyone kew that rear wheel drive is useless when theres absolutley no grip or even just in the rain!
But when grip goes you still have steering and you can power out of many problems *if you know what you are doing*.Posted 2 years ago # -
Minis with 10 inch wheels in snow were fantastic. Even better with cheap Colway snow tyres. 2CVs were brilliant too.
Posted 2 years ago # -
I can see the ice, you can see the ice, some of the drivers can see the ice, so it is there to be seen.
Goan, did you film that clip?
Posted 2 years ago # -
I can see the ice, you can see the ice, some of the drivers can see the ice, so it is there to be seen.
But you don't know if it could be seen from the road in the direction of travel.Posted 2 years ago # -
When I first passed firstly I was an idiot and secondly I had a cheap car so when it snowed I went to play rallying out on quiet country lanes. These days I live and work on the same stretch of road so I'm out of practice with snow driving, I just walk it
I loved being asked to give a guy in a RWD flatbed transit a push though, like I'd actually have better grip in the snow in a pair of shoes - he really is a world class genius though!
Driving in the snow though; unless you have to just don't, it's not really you who is the problem usually it's the guy next to you or coming out of the side road at you!
Surly pugsley's for all
Posted 2 years ago # -
M_F - yes you do because not everyone is screwing it up - the red audi for instance.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Well I survived the Metro Centre, did a 30 min shop presents bought and then watched Avatar.
I then drove home in the snow covered roads with my normal tyres on and no problems what so ever. Did see a Hi-lux do a 4 wheel skid though as the muppet missed the junction he'd been lane hoggy the outside lane for the last 7 miles. I reckon he had spring tyres on.
Posted 2 years ago #
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