Winter driving: learn how to do it

[rudeguy]

Our (also crappy) Neon was great in the snow too. Was going to say the exact same thing.

We have had:
FWD mid-80's Corsica. Fine in the snow. Little 13's cut right in.
FWD 90ish Maxima. Sucked ass in the snow. Wide tires just floated.
FWD 95 Neon. Just sold it off this summer. Worked great in the snow. Little 13's again, weight over wheels.
FWD 03 Vibe. Sucks total ass in the snow. Wide tires, tiny 1.8L Toyota engine had no weight up front. We still have this one.

We just bought a '10 AWD Vibe this summer. Looking forward to playing with it this winter (stay out of the ditch, stay out of the ditch, don't be an ass, stay out of the ditch...).

LOL! Glad I'm not the only one who talks my car through winter. Sometimes it just doesn't respond to the steering wheel so you have to give it verbal directions!

 

[Kaido]

Wipe the snow off your car so you can see. Yes the back window too.

This. So much this. I see people get in their car, use the wiper blades to cut a hole in half the windshield, and then drive off. Maybe a quick glove wipe on the side window too. People are nuts!!

 

[NoTine42]

Really? My crappy neon never had a problem in the snow.

It's probably because I have the "high performance" '02 Neon R/T with the whopping 150hp engine, so I have wider tires. I'm sure snow tires would help, even typical all-season might be better, but I'm stuck buying speed rated tires because I have a theoretical 134mph top speed.

I happened to drive a rental Beetle last winter and had the same (lack of traction) on a slight incline.

 

[Jeff7]

This. So much this. I see people get in their car, use the wiper blades to cut a hole in half the windshield, and then drive off. Maybe a quick glove wipe on the side window too. People are nuts!!

They might be so busy texting or checking Facebook that the windshield wouldn't even be a priority on a clear day.

I'm feeling the opposite with my little FWD car. Try starting on a >.05 degree incline when most of your cars weight shifts to the rear tires...,you ain't going anywhere when that slight incline is a little slick.

My FWD Minivan does better thanks to the cast iron 3.8l V6 over the front tires, but a little 4 banger doesn't provide enough weight.

Same problem here, with my old '97 Elantra. Need to stop on a snowy road with a a slight incline? Dammit. It's going to take a little bit before it'll start moving again.



Now in a Subaru.....still waiting for a decent winter. The first winter I had it was one of the least-snowy winters I've seen here. Second winter, also not too bad.
Now we're into the third winter. (I've started considering "winter" here as being "September through to May.")
I did at least get to experience the antilock brakes and stability control. It's also nice to have a car that applies good braking force to all wheels. If the Elantra even had brakes on the rear wheels, aside from the drum parking brakes, they weren't very good.

 

[Ken g6]

Want to see some skilled winter drivers? Come to Colorado, where we have FL and CA transplants jamming up the roads: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5exATIaQiI&feature=related

And nobody was pumping their brakes while sliding! If you (or your ABS) pump your brakes, you periodically get your wheels static with regard to the ground, and get static friction instead of kinetic friction.

On the other hand...

for the love of god, please brush off the snow on top of your car too.

I shouldn't expect to be forced to drive in blizzard conditions with 0 visibility even though it's a clear and sunny day just because there's 5' of snow blowing off the roof of your car.

Stay several car lengths back from me and it won't be a problem.

 

[nageov3t]

Stay several car lengths back from me and it won't be a problem.

hereabouts, traffic is rarely light enough to stay several car lengths away from another car (and if you do, it's just an opening for someone else to pull into that space in front of you). I'm not a tailgater by any means, but 1.5 car lengths is about as good as one is going to get on a highway during rush hour.

the worst is when I (stupid) take the Trucks/Buses side of the turnpike after a big snow. it's like giant sheets of snow falling onto the highways off trucks.

 

[waggy]

Stay several car lengths back from me and it won't be a problem.

i gotta say this is a idiotic. response to him.

it's not just about the car's behind but people walking on the street. there have been deaths because of idiots not taking the snow off the top of a vehicle.

 

[rudeguy]

i gotta say this is a idiotic. response to him.

it's not just about the car's behind but people walking on the street. there have been deaths because of idiots not taking the snow off the top of a vehicle.

we've had this argument before and someone did the math. There is no way a piece of ice flying off the top of a car can hit anyone following at a safe distance.

 

[DrPizza]

This. So much this. I see people get in their car, use the wiper blades to cut a hole in half the windshield, and then drive off. Maybe a quick glove wipe on the side window too. People are nuts!!

Depends on the type of snow though. That really fine, light powder - yeah, a hole through the windshield, and a quick wipe of the side windows, and by the end of the road, there isn't a bit of snow left on the car.*

*edit: I don't live in a city; I don't encounter traffic on my road. And, I often leave before the plow has cleared the snow off the road.

 

[PingSpike]

Really? My crappy neon never had a problem in the snow.

I had a Neon. Shit ground clearance was the main problem I had with it, but otherwise I got around reasonably well in the snow with it. I'd lose traction because it was literally sitting on a pile of packed snow with the wheels not actually touching anything. Only really a problem in unplowed driveways where you lost all your momentum though.

They keep making the ground clearance lower on economy cars which pisses me off. I don't care if they get better gas mileage if the thing ends up with its ass half hanging out into the road when trying to turn into an unplowed driveway.

 

[Schfifty Five]

we've had this argument before and someone did the math. There is no way a piece of ice flying off the top of a car can hit anyone following at a safe distance.

Doesn't mean you should just leave ice/snow on the top of your car.

It's still a hazard to some degree and if it can be removed easily before driving, then it should be done.

 

[AMCRambler]

I'm not talking about either - I'm talking about a normal snowfall when the tire paths in the right lane remain relatively clear. I'm in the outskirts of the snowbelt area of Western NY (Buffalo area) - we put at least 30k miles on our vehicles each year. I've never wrecked, and except for freezing rain (a hazard for even the best 4wd) or blizzard conditions (visibility), have never needed to go under 55mph. And, along the stretch of highway I regularly drive on, other than freezing rain, I almost never see people off the road. Most drive 55 or better. But, there's the occasional idiot on the road who can't go over 30. My front tires are at the end of their life - I'll buy new tires this week or next week. But even with questionable tires, I was still able to get into the not-been-plowed 2" of snow left lane & safely pass an idiot driving a 4wd vehicle in the right lane.

As the OP said, learn to drive in the snow if you're going to drive in the snow.

I disagree. I'd much prefer people drive at the limit of their ability in the snow. If that's 30mph, then so be it. Just do it in the left lane so people can pass you.

Your 55mph is not safe, even if you think it is. Your driving needs to account for poor little old grandma who may have been at bingo only to emerge to blizzard like conditions. You sound like the rest of the entitled jerks who think they're driving safely at 55 in slick conditions. You may be rocking 4wd but if someone spins out in front of you, you'll stop no better than a 2wd doing the same speed. Miraculous you haven't had an accident yet.

How long does it take to stop a car from 55mph in perfect conditions? Roughly 240 feet. You're driving on wet slushy pavement, add to that it is snowing and you won't see as far as you can normally see. Deer jumps out in front of you, car crash in front of you with cars stopped and no lights, good luck stopping in time. It always amazed me how these 20+ car pile ups happen. The answer seems apparent.

 

[bruceb]

A car with decent brakes, not some el cheapo model, should go 60 to 0 in less than 150 feet .. If it takes you 240 from 55 mph, your brakes or tires are in horrible shape.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

My #1 winter driving tip is to buy a beater car/truck. I've enjoyed plenty of low speed collisions and various shenanigans without the worry of wrecking out a nice vehicle. I look forward to snow.

Ice is a whole different ball game. I no play then.

 

[Apathetic]

for the love of god, please brush off the snow on top of your car too.

I shouldn't expect to be forced to drive in blizzard conditions with 0 visibility even though it's a clear and sunny day just because there's 5' of snow blowing off the roof of your car.

Yeah, that's a huge pet peeve of mine.

Dave

 

[waggy]

A car with decent brakes, not some el cheapo model, should go 60 to 0 in less than 150 feet .. If it takes you 240 from 55 mph, your brakes or tires are in horrible shape.

yes that is exactly true on snow and ice too.

 

[bruceb]

I was referring to the post by AMCRambler, where he was talking about dry conditions. In rain, snow or ice, distance will increase, in some cases by quite a lot.

 

[Colt45]

I've been rocking some Swedish studded tires the last couple years, the traction is just ridiculous.

If I would have had them on the old quattro, that thing would have been invincible.

 

[lupi]

Fuck you and out of my way!

 

[Midwayman]

Nearly running into somebody driving slowly might be what triggers the crash, but the person driving too fast is the one at fault.

So who triggers the accident isn't the one at fault..... err okay. Sharing the road with other requires everyone to behave in a similar logical fashion. If you're the odd one out- too fast or too slow, you're sharing the fault at best.

People who are terrified of the highway should take surface streets instead. Its safer for everyone.

 

[SandEagle]

never underestimate the power of good winter tires.

 

[rudeguy]

hereabouts, traffic is rarely light enough to stay several car lengths away from another car (and if you do, it's just an opening for someone else to pull into that space in front of you). I'm not a tailgater by any means, but 1.5 car lengths is about as good as one is going to get on a highway during rush hour.

the worst is when I (stupid) take the Trucks/Buses side of the turnpike after a big snow. it's like giant sheets of snow falling onto the highways off trucks.

if you are 12 feet behind someone at highway speeds on bad roads, you deserve to get a jack handle in your windshield, forget an ice bomb.

 

[davmat787]

I was going to add that.

Theres always that amusing moment when they pull up sharply at the lights and we get to laugh at the snow that was once on the roof and is now on the windscreen. :biggrin:

Windscreen? Would that be the piece of glass in between the driver and the bonnet on your banger? Or maybe the boot on your saloon? Sorry, couldn't resist, I love British automobile terminology.

Thankfully, at least in my area, traffic engineers are embracing the magic of the roundabout. I love those things, at least once others get used to them and don't stop in confusion at the site of a circle with no stop lights where their 4 way stop used to be. Much more efficient.

Anyone know where roundabouts first appeared? Someplace in Europe surely.

 

[xanis]

Today it was just dark and rainy here, and it took me an hour longer than usual to get home. I'll be working from home if it snows.

 

[nageov3t]

if you are 12 feet behind someone at highway speeds on bad roads, you deserve to get a jack handle in your windshield, forget an ice bomb.

per my original post, we're not talking about bad roads... we're talking about the day after a storm, when the roads are clear, the skies are bright and sunny, and I've got 0 visibility regardless because the jerkoff in front of me on the highway has 5' of snow on the roof of their car billowing off.

not the end of the world -- generally I'd just change lanes and get in front of them as quickly as possible -- but still a major annoyance that's only caused by someone else's laziness.