Driving in the snow 101 - how not to drive like an idiot
99 replies, posted
[QUOTE=PvtCupcakes;26857135]Fuck ya'll. I drive like a maniac in snow and I do fine.
I consistently do 55-60mph on sheets of ice. As long as you're going in a straight line it's fine.[/QUOTE]
And then die if you suddenly need to brake.
Being a Zamboni Driver has helped my winter driving skills alot. Seeing i drive on ice for 8 hours a day.
I live in iceland and the winter here is brutal and snowing all the time. One of the requirements to pass the icelandic driver license test is a slippery road test.
Don't forget your snow tires :v:
Living in a super cold climate and getting a lot of winter storms, I know my shit, but the drivers here are really fucking stupid sometimes, or a lot of the time.
Seriously places that get real "winter" should reallly make Winter tires manditory. Nothing like watching a car slide backwards through a red light with 1mm of snow dust on the road cuz he has 10 year old bald All seasons....
I love having an AWD car. I am certainly not one of those morons who thinks my car is invincible because it is AWD, but I love being able to have more control in the snow. I have practiced a lot for snow conditions, by doing drifts in parking lots and such. I have gotten so good I can drift ovals around 2 cars parked 8 spots apart. With 2 spots separating each car with a cement island. Then you drift the gap. Nothing gets your adrenaline going more.
God snow is awesome.
Also don't open your window when drifting in snow. I did, and ended up with a face full of snow that shot up from my front wheels.
I just wanted to add something for FWD Drivers.
If you are trying to accelerate from a stop on a snowy/icy road, and you can't get traction, let go of the throttle.
I lent my car to a friend yesterday, and he did exactly the opposite of what I just said. He just floored it when he didn't have traction, and blew my gearbox.
So if you hear a humming sound, it's the gearbox, so fuck off the gas pedal.
[editline]21st December 2010[/editline]
[QUOTE=Jax Strife;26856481]I hit a guard rail :buddy:[/QUOTE]
You wouldn't be so thrilled if you did. I call BS.
[QUOTE=yngndrw;26850880]Haha, I can't imagine driving a RWD car in the ice / snow, sounds like fun but also sounds like it's easy to get into a bad situation which you can't easily recover from.
In my FWD car just coming into my estate I was braking and turned before I lifted off - The back end sit 'round quite nicely. Was like a handbrake turn without needing to touch the handbrake.[/QUOTE]
i miss my bmw rwd so much, this shitty audi that i have now with fwd isn't fun at all.
[QUOTE=FoxDonuT;26861941]Seriously places that get real "winter" should reallly make Winter tires manditory. Nothing like watching a car slide backwards through a red light with 1mm of snow dust on the road cuz he has 10 year old bald All seasons....[/QUOTE]
hah yeah. last year people down south tried put a proposal shit that all car should use all seasons tires. funny. they had to close E6 european highway today, not to forget that there's been like 50 (probably more) car accidents last week because of the weather. they can use their all seasons tires how much they want, i'll stick to my studded tires.
[editline]22nd December 2010[/editline]
[QUOTE=Superstormj;26862284]I lent my car to a friend yesterday, and he did exactly the opposite of what I just said. He just floored it when he didn't have traction, and blew my gearbox.
[/QUOTE]
some people shouldn't be allowed to have driver's license
Snow ain't gonna stop me from speeding
because we ain't got no snow in california
but seriously
This is really helpful for people who have difficulty driving in snow
[QUOTE=Cuel;26862337]
hah yeah. last year people down south tried put a proposal shit that all car should use all seasons tires. funny. they had to close E6 european highway today, not to forget that there's been like 50 (probably more) car accidents last week because of the weather. they can use their all seasons tires how much they want, i'll stick to my studded tires.
[/QUOTE]
Problem is here They never fix the roads as it is, So even I frown upon the studded tires. But i will admit they make a hell of a difference. I've driven Zambonis with unstudded Snow tires instead of the Studded Baja Tires they normally have. What a difference.... I refuse to drive them without studed bajas now.
Speaking of 4WD cars, there was a long queue of traffic coming out of our local supermarket and an off-roader was waiting in the queue. He decided he couldn't be bothered waiting so he just went off-road and joined back onto the road ahead of the queue. Reminded me of that episode in the Simpson's - Was the most awesome thing I've seen in a while.
[QUOTE=ChestyMcGee;26861026]I love watching the shitty rear-wheel drive cars go unintentionally sideways down roads near my house.[/QUOTE]
yeah man rwd cars are so shitty
[img]http://www.insixthgear.com/bmw/images/bmw-m5-e60-.jpg[/img]
front wheel drive's where it's at
[img]http://hyanniscarrental.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/chevy_aveo.jpg[/img]
Performance in snow is more about tires than anything else.
[QUOTE=Dotmister;26849623]You may slow down faster, but you still lose a lot of control while using ABS[/QUOTE]
Not sure why your dumb rating this guy, its true. The ABS can still cause skids on snow/ice because it pulses the breaks too fast which doesn't give the wheels time to gain traction again.
[QUOTE=Prismatex;26866097]yeah man rwd cars are so shitty
[img_thumb]http://www.insixthgear.com/bmw/images/bmw-m5-e60-.jpg[/img_thumb]
front wheel drive's where it's at
[img_thumb]http://hyanniscarrental.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/chevy_aveo.jpg[/img_thumb]
Performance in snow is more about tires than anything else.[/QUOTE]
Yeah man front wheel drive is so shitty
[img]http://cache.jalopnik.com/assets/resources/2007/03/civic_type_r_japan.jpg[/img]
rear wheel drive's where its at
[img]http://ford-explorer.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/ford-explorer.jpg[/img]
how does your post even make any sense
[QUOTE=Ama-zake;26866794]Yeah man front wheel drive is so shitty
[img_thumb]http://cache.jalopnik.com/assets/resources/2007/03/civic_type_r_japan.jpg[/img_thumb]
rear wheel drive's where its at
[img_thumb]http://ford-explorer.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/ford-explorer.jpg[/img_thumb]
how does your post even make any sense[/QUOTE]
he generalized all rwd cars as being shitty.
i drive a mustang and if you take it slow and don't be an asshole, snow is no problem.
RWD cars are terrible in the snow.
Terribly fun :3:.
[QUOTE=***zer0***;26854822]Do it :smug:
[img_thumb]http://www.canyonchasers.net/albums/md08/IMG_5266.sized.jpg[/img_thumb][/QUOTE]
i did and i crashed
the main rule is to know how to drive and im afriad all of you have failed that rule
[QUOTE=Flon22;26849448]Recently whilst driving round in the snow, I've noticed that actually there's an awful lot of people who can't drive in the snow for shit. So listen up drivers of Facepunch, you're about to get schooled:
LESSON 1
Possibly the most important rule about driving in the snow, try to keep you're revs down to the lowest your car can possibly do, 1000-1700 typically. This means that you aren't putting much power down to the snow. I presume less power = less pressure on the snow, I don't 100% know the science behind it, but it simply means you'll rarely spin up the wheels, even up hills etc.
At least 7/10 people that I see don't do this, and end up either having to leave their car or crashing.
Example:
Some guy in a beamer trying to exit a road near me. This road has a bit of a lip up to the road it's joining, this guy was trying to get up it at full power, wheels spinning etc. He eventually gave up after 5 mins and let me go, I crawled up in third gear no problem and waved as I left.
LESSON 2
Try to brake as little as possible, even down hills or around corners, use the gears to slow your car down. When you approach a corner, change down a gear. This should slow you down enough to go around. Same rule applies when you are coming down a hill, sit in a middle gear and let that slow you as you go down the hill. Obviously braking can't be avoided all together. When you need to brake, pulse your foot on the pedal, this minimises risk of locking the wheels.
Braking hard in the snow will lock the wheels, if you do this at the wrong time you will probably crash. All control of the car is lost. To recover from this, simply taking your foot off the brake works in most cases (next lesson expands on this)
Example:
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hk7_JI2OEPU[/media]
LESSON 3
If you go into a skid, turn towards it, lightly brake then turn away when you feel the car get traction again (be careful not to overcorrect though, this could put you in a skid in the other direction!). You have to be able to do this pretty much instinctively so I'd suggest try it at low speeds in a big empty carpark if you can, but be aware of bollards/curbs being obstructed by the snow!
Example
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xkbLEMb3Y4[/media]
Note how people are turning as they skid, they're doing it wrong
I can't think of anything else, if i go out today guaranteed I'll see someone doing something that I've missed[/QUOTE]
Most of this can be explained with a little Physics I.
Tires require friction to work. If there was no friction, tires would slide, not turn and move the car. So, the higher the friction, the better you stay on the road.
Snow and ice are damn near frictionless. They are really tough to maintain traction, which is what occurs when your tire encounters a friction force on the ground.
Total force is measured by subtracting the force of friction from the force applied. Since your tire spins, it actually applies a force backwards. As it applies the force backwards, it pushes the car forward, assuming it gets a solid grip on the road.
Force of friction will be the same for your car no matter how fast you spin your tires. It just depends on the coefficient of friction of the ground (how 'sticky' it is) and the weight of your car. So, when you spin your tires faster, you apply more force. When your force applied is greater than the force of friction, you don't have traction anymore - your tires begin to slide.
Also, when making turns, the force is not only determined by the speed your tires are turning, but also by the speed your car is moving and the radius of your turn. The faster you go, the higher your force. The wider you turn, the lower your force.
:science:
[QUOTE=Watevaman;26859938]Shouldn't even be passing in the snow.
Fuck around in the snow on your own time, not when there's traffic around.[/QUOTE]
He's passing from the right and not on a highway, should point out said person idiocy well enough.
And ABS helps to an extent. The moment's moments when you slip with it on anyway. Comes down to your tires and what's underneath.
I live in Ireland(been gettin ALOT of snow) and I heard that you should drive in your highest gear(lower gear on hills and such), don't follow the car in front as it creates a false sense of security and and if there is a car behind and you want to slow down, use your brakes to warn them.
I don't drive(yet!) but just thought I might share.
[QUOTE=geoface;26868507]use your brakes to warn them.
I don't drive(yet!) but just thought I might share.[/QUOTE]
Ah yes, this is also a good practice during any time of the year when some douche is riding your ass and you don't want unexpected passengers in your trunk.
[QUOTE=TestECull;26849810]7. If you're in a 4x4, select 4-LO. Not 4-HI. 4-LO lessens the urge for your wheels to spin on the basis that it doesn't rotate them fast enough. You'll be amazed how much grip you gain by doing this.[/QUOTE]
No. You don't want to be just driving around in 4 low. Not even with 4 high even. You should only use 4 low when you really need it.
Don't even use 4 wheel drive unless you really need it is all I can suggest.
[QUOTE=Carnotite;26868989]Ah yes, this is also a good practice during any time of the year when some douche is riding your ass and you don't want unexpected passengers in your trunk.[/QUOTE]
He just means to tap the pedal lightly enough that not much braking force is applied, but your brake lights still go on.
[QUOTE=Virtanen;26850668]the driving schools in your country don't teach that stuff?
wow, talk about unsafe[/QUOTE]
Driving schools? What are those?
No, srs, Tennessee doesn't have those. You get your permit, then you rely on your parents to teach you wtf to do. That might explain why half of Tennessee is in a ditch when it snows...[QUOTE=Symmetry;26850945]Disagreeing here.
There are all-year tires that fare perfectly well in the snow. There's snow on the ground for up to six months where I live, and most people around here stick to a good set of all seasons just fine. Alot of it depends on what kind of roads you're driving mind you, most of the streets here are well plowed and gritted, and no there's no doubt that you'd be in trouble driving through thick powder with all season tires.[/QUOTE]
My pickup is on Mud and Snow tires. It drives fine in three inches of snow. My mom's van is on all-seasons. It is completely fucked by just half an inch.
[QUOTE=mpntball2012;26869068]No. You don't want to be just driving around in 4 low. Not even with 4 high even. You should only use 4 low when you really need it.
Don't even use 4 wheel drive unless you really need it is all I can suggest.[/QUOTE]
Sense: You make none. When traction is that low you need all the help you can get. If you have all four tires able to pull you along you'd have to be a moron to not take advantage. I know I'd be in 4-lo in the snow if my truck had 4WD.
Snow and ice is one of those conditions where you need 4WD.
It comes naturally when you live in a place where there's snow for a little bit over 6 months.
[QUOTE=TestECull;26870403]Sense: You make none. When traction is that low you need all the help you can get. If you have all four tires able to pull you along you'd have to be a moron to not take advantage. I know I'd be in 4-lo in the snow if my truck had 4WD.
Snow and ice is one of those conditions where you need 4WD.[/QUOTE]
On horrible roads where you aren't getting the slightest bit of traction in 2wd then yea, now would be a good time to pop it into 4. I'm talking about when it's snowy but still getting good traction (dry, packing snow) you don't want to have it engaged constantly.
I use my ABS as a precursor to not being able to get through a light. A lot of times if it turns yellow shortly before I arrive at the light I will apply the necessary force to stop and if that bad body activates I know to let off the brake and continue on through (and not end up stopped in the intersection etc.)
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