Driving in snow

[Emma 172 cup]

Just had my first experience in the snow with my cup........and it was terrible! Couldnt get my car up my drive (its on a slope) and then I couldnt get my car out of the street!!! (Which is also on a slope).
Luckily my neighbours helped out, but it took a while. The car just wouldnt move! How embarassing!!

Although matters would be better if the council would grit and plough my street!!

No female driver jokes please. lol.:quiet:

 

[derv]

best to be really careful in the bad weather, i forget how many threads there were of "smashed the cup" last winter but there were a few!!

 

[The Fatty]

haha female drivers lol sorry coudnt not do it now could i lol.

 

[Emma 172 cup]

Well I didnt even risk driving into work today, its a 30 odd mile journey, and the snow is really bad up with me.

 

[Fletcher]

My girlfreind was driving our 172 in Ipswich just after xmas, and she had a near miss on a small roundabout when she skidded off a roundabout just missing another car. I hate the bloody stuff.

 

[The Fatty]

i love it, its gr8 fun! when we had the last bi snow in devon about 1 and half ago, i went ut in the ungritted back raods and learnt how to handle the car n snow. oddly enougth, its different than ice...

 

[Ali]

I was strugglin to get up market st emma! lol...Shell carpark was bad enought too!

 

[rory182]

traction control is a pain in the chops on snow / ice so the cups at no disadvantage over a full fat

 

[blaze]

there is a technique, I'll try to explain, I've even had to help a 4*4's in the past, having been stuck behind them on an icy/snowy road.

Select 1st (reverse as necessary) and do not touch the accelerator pedal, people have a habit of using the right pedal, no use here.Very gently let the clutch out and find that bitting point and pretty much hold it. Once moving the less you can use accelerator or brake the better.

The unfortunate thing is most people are not taught to drive in these conditions. The thing is everything has to be done with virtually no pedal input.

There will of course be certain conditions where it is impossible even for anyone to progress, normally from lack of traing/experience.

Hope you all take care and use the engine rather that the GO pedal in these harder times. Afterall there are lots of countries that don't suddenly stop because of snow, and don't have chains or special tyres.

Try it you will be amazed at how much traction you will get.

Good luck, the test should without doubt include low traction testing. This is why we find our roads gridlocked when these conditions previal.

Blaze

 

[Daz_172]

i managed quite well myself last time it snowed really bad, got up a 30% sloped hill in very thick snow,thing is you dont use your brakes as they are useless, unless your on a straight bit of road then you dab them, you drive very slowly with hardly any accelleration.

Like you have stated you simply control the bite of the clutch and use your engine braking, stay in the highest gear possible at all time to avoid wheel spin.

 

[Rick]

there is a technique, I'll try to explain, I've even had to help a 4*4's in the past, having been stuck behind them on an icy/snowy road.

Select 1st (reverse as necessary) and do not touch the accelerator pedal, people have a habit of using the right pedal, no use here.Very gently let the clutch out and find that bitting point and pretty much hold it. Once moving the less you can use accelerator or brake the better.

The unfortunate thing is most people are not taught to drive in these conditions. The thing is everything has to be done with virtually no pedal input.

There will of course be certain conditions where it is impossible even for anyone to progress, normally from lack of traing/experience.

Hope you all take care and use the engine rather that the GO pedal in these harder times. Afterall there are lots of countries that don't suddenly stop because of snow, and don't have chains or special tyres.

Try it you will be amazed at how much traction you will get.

Good luck, the test should without doubt include low traction testing. This is why we find our roads gridlocked when these conditions previal.

Blaze

Indeed. A lot of people seem to think that by giving it loads of throttle they'll eventually get enough traction to move them forward. The key, like you said, is to use very little throttle. Then make sure you brake in good time and don't try to use the gears to slow down and make sure all inputs are smooth etc. There are times where the road is simply too slippery to drive safely, but in many occasions its just a case of taking it steady.

 

[fungusman]

u just wanna make sure u always take things slow and pull away in 2nd

 

[blaze]

Fungusman, great idea, however if you've got you car in 2nd how are you going to be able to stop with no/little tracion, brakes will not work and you need slow engine braking.

There is nought wrong with 1st as you will need to use the GO pedal to get the car going smoothly in 2nd. Trouble is you have far less engine braking just after. Go through the gears (if necessary) with no GO pedal and with the lowest gear possible. Afterall you will not be going any speed/ slower and with the lowest gear is best. Don't forget that means not suddenly lifting off any pedal or prodding any too quickly.

Blaze

 

[The Fatty]

u just wanna make sure u always take things slow and pull away in 2nd

also if you have a powerful engine, pulling away in second is more liklyy to spin the wheels!

the "use clutch only" works for some, but i dont like it! lol. i just slip my clutch a bit more and still give it a bit of revs, else my 1.2 engine just dies. ALWAYS USE ENGINE AS BRAKE IN ICE/SNOW! it amazes me how many poeple dont know this.

and finally, for you adventeroius lot (like me) try using that handbrake to takle the roundabouts gr8 fun! dont over slide it tho! remember always steer into the slide!

 

[Jonaldinho]

I missed a CS Karting meet due to being stoooook at home last year. Only just got home that day after giving up several times, was very lucky to get up some slight hills on the last tickover of 2nd gear!

http://photobucket.com/albums/y70/Jonaldinho/Snow/

 

[Emma 172 cup]

Hey thanks boys, I'll give that a go IF (touch wood) I get in any bother again.
I suppose its a natural reaction to use the throttle to get yourself going again. when I go home tonight, it'll be a case of going down the slope! eek, dreading it cause I really hate driving in this weather. 2 years ago I wrote off my fiesta si due to snow. Ended up going down a hill and landed in between 2 trees! I was miracously not hurt!

Yeah Ali I wouldnt fancy going up market street today!! Supposed to be worse over night and -9 tomorrow.

 

[blaze]

God luck Emma, and be as gentle as a lamb

 

[Emma 172 cup]

I am gentle, just not a lamb!! hehe.

 

[blaze]

Good to hear it.

Go girl!!!!!!

Blaze

 

[CabinFever]

Cup + Snow - ABS or traction control = dangerous, be careful em's

 

[fungusman]

Fungusman, great idea, however if you've got you car in 2nd how are you going to be able to stop with no/little tracion, brakes will not work and you need slow engine braking.

Hmm, this is what ive done, and ive always been really realy careful with the breaks.. however ive never driven in more than 2 inches of the stuff so there is no problem with this

What u guys said makes sense as well.. just depends on what you prefer really.. I mena the main thing is to drive slow leave longer distances between yourself and other cars and anticipate/correct things straight away.

 

[Loopz]

Why should the Cup handle any different in snow then any other FWD car?

There are loads of car without the TC out there and most of them have no problem with driving in snow, as for the ABS, in snow, it's actually a disadvantage. I usually disable the ABS when driving in snow.

The most important thing is a set of good winter tyres. They alone make an enormous difference. I personally would think twice before driving out in snow on my summer tyres.

 

[Rick]

Theres no problem at all with using the brakes in snow, you just have to allow yourself more room and time to slow down. Simple really

 

[blaze]

Loopz,

Would be grateful if you could explain how you turn off your ABS?????????


Blaze

 

[Loopz]

I just pull out the ABS fuse.

The fuse box is located behind drivers door. This is how it looks like, it's not a clio's fuse box, but you get the picture.

http://www.audiworld.com/tech/pix/turbotimer1.jpg

 

[blaze]

Sounds really sensible should you have and accident, let's just negate your whole warranty/insurance then shall we?????

Love to see you hit me with this ABS switch off???? NOT

Blaze

 

[The Fatty]

Theres no problem at all with using the brakes in snow, you just have to allow yourself more room and time to slow down. Simple really

haha you wont be saying that when the car starts to slide out and there s**t you can do because you've already lost the traction you had.

 

[Emma 172 cup]

I'm home alleluia.
My back end was offering to go out as I was approaching my house, but I was as gentle as a lamb! lol. Hope it aint as bad again on friday, cause I dont want to have to take another day off work.

 

[® Andy]

Glad you're home safely Emma .

Driving the 172 in snow was always OK ... as blaze said above it's all about doing things slowly and relying more on core torque to go and engine braking to stop vs. accelerator and brakes. Eagle F1 GSD3s don't help much tho' .

However, I'm not looking forward to serious snow in the Vee. Double the trouble - take things too fast and the front will go, over cook the accelerator and the rear will catch you up. Add in the low clearance at the front for extra snow plough fun. I've spent the last couple of days following some snow showers driving home short shifting and at half my usual pace with the stereo off so that I can hear if the wheels loose traction .

 

[Rick]

haha you wont be saying that when the car starts to slide out and there sh*t you can do because you've already lost the traction you had.

Thats why you plan ahead and brake in good time.

 

[The Fatty]

^^^ dosnt matter how far ahead you brake, if your only using your brakes then there alot more chance of losing control...it dosnt take much!

 

[fin_tm]

Why should the Cup handle any different in snow then any other FWD car?

There are loads of car without the TC out there and most of them have no problem with driving in snow, as for the ABS, in snow, it's actually a disadvantage. I usually disable the ABS when driving in snow.

The most important thing is a set of good winter tyres. They alone make an enormous difference. I personally would think twice before driving out in snow on my summer tyres.

The stiffer the suspensions is the harder for you is to notice when you are losing grip. It all then happens suddenly.

I wouldn't never drive without ABS, if possible. It really does help when slippery. The point is that you can still controll the car when braking with ABS, compared to going straight when braking without ABS.

You're correct with the tyre issue. The narrower your tyres are, the better the handling is on snow. So e.g. 185/55/15" tyres are much better for winter driving than 205/40/17".

Oh, and I live in Finland so I know a thing or two about driving in winter conditions ;-)

 

[Loopz]

I agree about the suspension, but i found very little difference in terms of handling in the snow between my old 1.2, which was a boat and my RS which has a rock-hard suspension setup. I'am convinced there is a difference though, but would more likely be shown on a snowed track rather then in everyday drive, where the speeds are ridiculously low no matter what car in question.

As for the ABS - i would like to stress out, disabling the ABS only helps when braking in the straight line and only when the road hasn't been plowed yet (so there is still a couple of cm of snow on the road). In all other scenarios, you are way better off with the ABS turned on.

But the ultimate difference for me was made by the set of tyres i use in the winter. A set of quality winter tyres can perform miracles (well, almost )

Cheers to Finnland. I have no doubt that you have more than a few experiances with driving in the snow, no wonder that there are so many Scandinavians in WRC and other motorsports.

 

[Neil G]

there is a technique, I'll try to explain, I've even had to help a 4*4's in the past, having been stuck behind them on an icy/snowy road.

Select 1st (reverse as necessary) and do not touch the accelerator pedal, people have a habit of using the right pedal, no use here.Very gently let the clutch out and find that bitting point and pretty much hold it. Once moving the less you can use accelerator or brake the better.

The unfortunate thing is most people are not taught to drive in these conditions. The thing is everything has to be done with virtually no pedal input.

There will of course be certain conditions where it is impossible even for anyone to progress, normally from lack of traing/experience.

Hope you all take care and use the engine rather that the GO pedal in these harder times. Afterall there are lots of countries that don't suddenly stop because of snow, and don't have chains or special tyres.

Try it you will be amazed at how much traction you will get.

Good luck, the test should without doubt include low traction testing. This is why we find our roads gridlocked when these conditions previal.

Blaze

Good advice...would have thought it was common sense to go lightly on everything (brakes/throttle) in icy & snowy conditions.

 

[Mack]

Im not looking forward to my first experience in snow with my new car (Well I sorta am ), my 1.2 was easy but I wonder what my BMW will be like, Big Tyres, RWD, LSD and Big Torque, I cant wait . Its an auto though which is a bugger.

 

[Ali]

The stiffer the suspensions is the harder for you is to notice when you are losing grip. It all then happens suddenly.

I wouldn't never drive without ABS, if possible. It really does help when slippery. The point is that you can still controll the car when braking with ABS, compared to going straight when braking without ABS.

You're correct with the tyre issue. The narrower your tyres are, the better the handling is on snow. So e.g. 185/55/15" tyres are much better for winter driving than 205/40/17".

Oh, and I live in Finland so I know a thing or two about driving in winter conditions ;-)

Wise words.

Ali

 

[roadrunner_182]

Its been really bad in North wales snowed all last night and today and i had to go to a bloody course took me 1hour 10mins to travel 12miles lol got there and it was only on for half an hour then was cancelled!!.

The 182 in snow is pants i got stuck on a hill in a housing estate last night just moving forward spinning, traction control cutting in then sliding back lol in the end i switched off the esp and span the fuc*er out whcih worked, at one point i was looking down this steep hill ....no traction oh shi* abs useless (and by the way my breaking system decided to go weird after about 8seconds of abs is that normal i think it gave up lol) i managed to swerve into a nearby turn off and figure out an alternative route!

the main thing that concerned me in this weather is that other drivers seem oblivious to the fact snow is slippery and dont seem to adapt their driving to suit the conditions of the road. lol had some tit in his new range rover sport up my arse all the way home and trying to go in the un treated lane on the carriageway what a WAN*ER.

 

[edde]

I was in third today trying to get grip there a few tricks you can do stickign the car in revese and you cna get a bit more grip but then your driving backwards.