Driving In The Snow

[ZeroBlade]

Okay...

had my very first experience of the 2 in snow, this was when i'd finally made it into the city. Man i had to stop on a hill cos of traffic, and was stuck for ages tryin to get the car to go again, tyres just kept spinning.

I found that dumping the clutch to give it a little nudge worked, as did angling the car at a slight angle.

Never driven a MR car in the snow before, does ne1 have experience s of snow driving and things they learnt that would be useful for others?

I don't mind finding things out on my own, but i'd prefer NOT to do it the hard was if ya get what i mean...

Thnx, and i wish u ALL a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

:group-cuddles:

-Z

[dub_boy]

Dont put your foot down as you come off a slip road on the dual carriageway as I did one cold winter night & ended up doing a 360 nearly finishing off in a ditch! :D

[Scot]

Leave it in a gear above what u would when pulling away would help.... but wheres the fun in that :D

Be real gentle, and watch both the back end, and the front for sliping!!! not that i really know....

[Kelvyn]

Think well ahead and do EVERYTHING gently. Allow much more stopping distance and dont take undue risks. If its fun you want find an empty car park (its safer)

[Fidgits]

The most important advice for driving in winter is to be smooth with all the controls

That means, don't turn the wheel sharply, and always try to be progressive with the accelerator and brakes.

The biggest mistake people make, is relying on ABS and/or traction control, thinking this will save them... it will not. If you hit ice on the road, and brake, all 4 wheels could lock (this has actually happened to me), even though the car had ABS, because all 4 wheels were stationary, it did me no good, and i had to deal with a 30mph slide.

Always think ahead, dont just jump into your car and drive, take a short walk on the road, see what the conditions are like.

always leave a bigger gap in winter, by this i mean 'to the car in front' and when approaching junctions etc, always slow sooner than normally....

Also, try not to use your brakes as much, it is far better to brake using the engine in slippy conditions, go down the gearbox, and only use the brakes towards the end. This minimises the chances of a skid/slide/accident..

Be observant.... even in the middle of the day, with the sun shining, there can be black ice. look for shaded patches under tress/bridges etc.. if it was a frosty night, the sun would not of reached these places, and there is a high possibility of ice!

Check your car more often, the tire pressures, oil etc... make sure you have anti-freeze washer stuff in your washer bottle.. and if the car was frozen overnight, do not set off until you have fully defrosted it and checked everything works correctly..

[ZeroBlade]

Good hints people!

Just to emphasise my "going uphill in the snow".

Most of the snow's turned to slush so couldnt really find anywhere to practice, but i found a hill...

if i stopped in the middle of the hill and put my handbrake on, or clutch control going up it again i found was a problem.

Way i did it was just give the car some power (in 1st) this caused my rear end to slip out so car was like this " / " (facing uphill).

It was pretty easily controllable w. a little counter steer, then it seemed that alternating between pressing down the clutch, and gas,

Do clutch, gas, clutch, gas etc. allowed me to make progress.

Do this smoothly too much power and ur rears start spinning, too little and u dont get newhere. Once u've built up a little momentum u dont have to press the clutch down on a 1:1 ratio w. the gas, changes to one clutch for eery to gas taps, then gets less and also u'll find the car starts straightening up again.

driving a car w/o abs/traction etc is tricker than i thought, never really relied on em neway! :)

[MR-S Turbo]

Apart from being smooth with the controls. Also if you do find yourself sliding aim for a fresh uncompressed piece of snow on the road. This will slow you down and also find more traction there. Just be very carefull and drive with the stereo off so that you can here if the revs suddenly rise or the car start to slide.

[ZeroBlade]

drive with the stereo off

Yeh, i find myself doing this unconsciouly when i wanna listen to my 2.

Tho i can be tempting to turn it back on its incredably helpful to have it off!

-Z

[John R]

You're unconcious when you're driving!? lol...

When I drive in the snow I tend to keep the revs very klow, and change gear as soon as the clutch will let you, i.e. as soon as you can without stalling.

Also, when you're pulling off from lights/junctions, do it in second. then you won't start fishtaiing.

[ZeroBlade]

You're unconcious when you're driving!?

Yep, i LOVE driving. U've heard of sleep-walking rite? well i sleep-drive!

heh

-Z

[pizza boy]

Wouldnt lowering your tyre pressure below normal help too? Or is this flawed?

[Titto]

It is all good advice but you will increase the chance of skidding when you use the gearbox to decelerate with brakes. This is normal advice anyway for 'normal' weather but probably the risk of inducing a skid in winter in rain or snow is increased tenfold. (Especially in a mr2).

Best advice has already been given which is to use everything more gently, increase distances between other 'objects' front and rear of your vehicle, use the brakes delicatly and smoothly...and if your having trouble with grip, use a lower gear like 2nd or 3rd - it'll get you rolling!

Hope it helps,

Titto

[Bibbs]

If it's all snow on your trip .. drop the tyres by 5 psi .. makes a bigger foot print and more grip ..

It's just that in the rain, low tyre pressures are a nightmare ..

[jimma]

If it's all snow on your trip .. drop the tyres by 5 psi .. makes a bigger foot print and more grip ..

It's just that in the rain, low tyre pressures are a nightmare ..

That'll be why my car trys to buckaroo me out the window on roundabouts in the wet! :D , Cheers fella (I got an answer and didn't even ask)

[Bibbs]

It's all about grip .. in snow you either want to stay on top of it (think like snow shoes) or get to the road under the snow (rally car thin tyres with metal studs).

In the rain - you don't really want to be trying to drive on top of the water do you.

Most of us go for wider tyres which means the actual weight/area the car puts through the tyre will be less because of the larger surface area. Makes driving in the wet a lot harder.

And as Jimlad found out .. if you go MEGA wide on the back and okay on the front - it means (in the wet) that the rear will be happy to slide about ..

In the dry - you just want the biggest as getting the grip is best.

[Scot]

If it's all snow on your trip .. drop the tyres by 5 psi .. makes a bigger foot print and more grip ..

Why then do rally cars use skinny little tires in the snow? have u ever wondered about that? and bigger ones for the sand....... u remember looking at those snow races in sweeden and stuff.... they must have around 150 - 165mm tires on them??

[Scot]

or get to the road under the snow

ahhhh whoops

[pizza boy]

Why then do rally cars use skinny little tires in the snow? have u ever wondered about that? and bigger ones for the sand....... u remember looking at those snow races in sweeden and stuff.... they must have around 150 - 165mm tires on them??

Yea as bibbs is basically pointing out, its all about putting more pressure per sq inch achieved thru smaller width of tires which creates more grip (hence super skinny tires on snow stage setup in rallying). Best analogy is comparing the pressure of a flat wide size ten shoe on the ground to a stiletto heel (as some behatch showed me whilst in a bar last year..ON MY FOOT!) Which sinks in/grips on snow/wet ground better? The heel (ouch!) because the wieght is more concentrated rather than widely over a larger area.

[Bibbs]

But I don't wanna have 4 space savers on my car .. in snow it's either travel on top of the snow and use that for grip, or get to the road under the snow ..

The reason for the big tyre in sand is there is no road to try and get to if you have thin tyres ..