I wish people would start understanding basic physics

[Paratus]

Someone in this thread doesn't understand basic physics. Probably the OP!

Let's See!

 

[Binarycow]

my family vehicle (Highlander 2013) has a "Snow" button that makes the tires seem to grip the road surface much better. However the heck they design it, this function really works. It also has windshield wiper heater. I'm enjoying driving this thing around this week with 3 waves of snow storms hitting us.

 

[vshah]

My favourite is watching guys in 4X4 pickup trucks fishtailing all over the place on icy roads.

or trying to take a turn and watching the inside rear wheel spin fruitlessly as they slowly move forward

 

[Newell Steamer]

Car goes perfectly fine on the ground. Ice is on the ground and car can't go; can't explain that.

 

[Gunbuster]

Even worse are the people who severely underestimate their performance envelope and you're stuck behind them doing 8MPH on a straight road with a sprinkle of snow.

 

[Red Squirrel]

What amazes me is how people with AWD and other fancy features still have trouble in the snow. For many years I drove 2 wheel drive with summer tires throughout winter and I was fine. Just need to not do anything stupid like slam the brakes or try to turn going too fast. AWD and such will help you be able to go a bit faster without slipping but it's not magic, either.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Even worse are the people who severely underestimate their performance envelope and you're stuck behind them doing 8MPH on a straight road with a sprinkle of snow.

Yeah or people who completely stop the car, and actually sit there for a minute before taking a turn. I don't know what they're waiting for, they're stopped, they wont be taking the turn any slower than that, no need to wait for the car to slow down more. :biggrin:

 

[smackababy]

What amazes me is how people with AWD and other fancy features still have trouble in the snow. For many years I drove 2 wheel drive with summer tires throughout winter and I was fine. Just need to not do anything stupid like slam the brakes or try to turn going too fast. AWD and such will help you be able to go a bit faster without slipping but it's not magic, either.

The majority of people with AWD seem to believe since their car has little trouble going 0-60 in snow, it has just as little going 60-0. Every big snow, I see at least one AWD car (usually an SUV) in a wreck.

 

[darkswordsman17]

The majority of people with AWD seem to believe since their car has little trouble going 0-60 in snow, it has just as little going 60-0. Every big snow, I see at least one AWD car (usually an SUV) in a wreck.

Sorry to be an a-hole, but your anecdotal evidence sucks. Simple probability would likely entail at least that much error. Basically what I'm saying is that there are idiots like that (more than your story seems to purport), and thankfully they don't do more harm than they do.

The biggest problem by far is that people are not properly trained to drive cars. In the US almost none of the standard licensing tests require training beyond simple written tests for hazardous situation driving. We really need special training centers where they rig up a vehicle so people can see what hard braking (with and without ABS so they can understand what its doing and why, and why they need to alter their reactions because of it), emergency maneuvering (slaloms), hydroplaning, ice, blowout at speed and other rare but dangerous situations are like.

Yes I know there are driving schools but they're expensive and optional and often focused on high performance (racing) driving.

 

[olds]

As long as you fill your tires to sidewall pressure, you'll be fine.

 

[JulesMaximus]

As long as you fill your tires to sidewall pressure, you'll be fine.

:thumbsup: The answer to all of life's automotive questions. :biggrin:

 

[destrekor]

or trying to take a turn and watching the inside rear wheel spin fruitlessly as they slowly move forward

Bad AWD/4WD is just that - bad.


Quality AWD systems will have a good approach to minimize individual wheel spin.
With a really good AWD system, it's also typically beneficial to feed the car more throttle when you are no longer have much traction under any wheel. Of course, you have to thoroughly know how to steer and modulate throttle and brake when in a full powerslide situation.. so, it's not wise to do just that and risk making the situation worse if you don't understand. When that's the case, it's better to try and finish out the slide with less input all around so that you're more predictable to everyone else and you have less chance of going into a complete lack of control.
Simply losing traction isn't necessarily a loss of control, not if you can create a predictable slide and try and get it to rest or gain traction in a non-dangerous location.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

When I lived in New Hampshire there would always be someone stuck in a snow bank the town deliberately plowed up. This was done so those who came down a rather long downgrade with a sharp turn at the bottom didn't just continue into the stores the vehicles surely would have run into. Usually it was a Boston or surrounding MA driver, but sometimes some other city such as NYC, and almost always the surprised driver would say something like "But I have 4-wheel drive" to which the locals would say something like "Yes you do and not everyone has that, but we do have 4-wheel brakes. Maybe you should drive like everyone else here." If you know New Englanders (not the faux MA/CT/RI types) you can imagine a rather dry tone of voice being used. It was amusing.

 

[-slash-]

This.

They don't understand that when you lock your hubs in 4WD, you're actually taking a chance on losing traction if traveling at higher rates of speed. You see this most often when people are in 4WD on highways... This is the one place that AWD is superior to even 4WD because of the advanced limited slip differentials they typically have....but alas, you still have the same braking technologies.

If you know how to effectively downshift in an AWD or 4WD, you can potentially stop in a shorter distance while maintaining control, but all it takes is having more than 1 tire break loose and without limited slip, you can be up the creek (or down) quickly.

A whaaa? Explain to me how you lose traction at higher speeds in 4wd. You realize that many 4wd vehicles have locked differentials and limited slip differentials in the axles. Also without advanced computer control a limited slip differential can perform worse than an open differential in snowy conditions. A locked axle tends to push and slide out sideways as opposed to an open diff which will just spin.

As long as you fill your tires to sidewall pressure, you'll be fine.

Lower PSI creates a wider contact patch for the tire increasing surface are and traction. I dont recommend airing down on the street though

 

[Muse]

It was 50 years ago (winter of 1964 in NYC), the last time I drove on icy roads and at the time I was a physics major at the university. I was driving my VW bug and the car spun out of control and gradually (very gradually) came to a stop. I probably went through 720 degrees of rotation, it was that kind of spin. It all seemed to happen in slow motion and I was lucky I didn't hit anything. I realized right then and there that driving on icy roads is treacherous. Obviously, no 4W or AWD system is going to prevent that kind of loss of control or going to save you once you are skidding and spinning.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Lower PSI creates a wider contact patch for the tire increasing surface are and traction. I dont recommend airing down on the street though

Since you're new here...

"Fill the tires to sidewall" is an inside joke around here. There was a member who went around insisting that you should always fill the tires to the maximum pressure listed on the sidewall and completely ignore the numbers listed in the car's owners manual.

He was so insistent about it that he brought it up in nearly every thread and now "inflate the tires to sidewall" is jokingly given as the solution to pretty much every automotive problem.

ZV

 

[-slash-]

Since you're new here...

"Fill the tires to sidewall" is an inside joke around here. There was a member who went around insisting that you should always fill the tires to the maximum pressure listed on the sidewall and completely ignore the numbers listed in the car's owners manual.

He was so insistent about it that he brought it up in nearly every thread and now "inflate the tires to sidewall" is jokingly given as the solution to pretty much every automotive problem.

ZV

Ah:awe:

Generally you should ignore the manual, god knows if your tires on the car currently match what was on it from the factory. Filling to sidewall pressure every time is asinine too. Talk about driving on balloons:awe:

 

[Zenmervolt]

Generally you should ignore the manual, god knows if your tires on the car currently match what was on it from the factory.

Even with different tires, you should always use the recommended pressures in the manual as a starting point. It will be at least close to optimum for any tire with even remotely similar performance characteristics.

ZV

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

pressure depends on the compound and how hot they get. some tires get real greasy after a few sessions on the track also.

oh and profile also. you can turn in faster with some tires.

 

[-slash-]

Even with different tires, you should always use the recommended pressures in the manual as a starting point. It will be at least close to optimum for any tire with even remotely similar performance characteristics.

ZV

Should. Always double check size listed in the manual/door jamb with what you have on your vehicle. Over inflating tires is very dangerous. I know the door jamb on my Dodge doesnt have the tire size listed I have on my truck right now, stock height.

 

[ImpulsE69]

...always fighting the urge to plow/jump into/over a snowdrift..sigh.