Driving in snow

snowdog · 17 Dec 2009 at 22:00

AArgh now I've had enough of this weather, it snowed another few inches while I was working and it was freezing, even the main roads like dual carriegeways were ice tracks

.

Anything more than 15-20% throttle and my traction control light was going mad flashing constantly and if i touched the brake more than just to make the light come on, abs was kicking in. I couldn't at any single point go faster than 20-25 mph on a road that is usually nice to blast through at 70+ ish mph around 11pm

Though on a positive side, I could make some powerslides on empty parking lots

and practice steering into the slide to regain grip

.

Luckily I got off from work tomorrow as driving is **** like this ( except if you have a parking lot for yourself to play on), can't get anywhere on time... I think I'll pass uni too, last day before my uni holiday anyways.

Over Clocker · 17 Dec 2009 at 22:15

snowdog said:
AArgh now I've had enough of this weather, it snowed another few inches while I was working and it was freezing, even the main roads like dual carriegeways were ice tracks .

Anything more than 15-20% throttle and my traction control light was going mad flashing constantly and if i touched the brake more than just to make the light come on, abs was kicking in. I couldn't at any single point go faster than 20-25 mph on a road that is usually nice to blast through at 70+ ish mph around 11pm

Though on a positive side, I could make some powerslides on empty parking lots and practice steering into the slide to regain grip .

Luckily I got off from work tomorrow as driving is **** like this ( except if you have a parking lot for yourself to play on), can't get anywhere on time... I think I'll pass uni too, last day before my uni holiday anyways.

You really shouldn't be using more than 20% throttle in the snow! Or wanting to go faster than 20-25mph mate!

Peter Diffey · 17 Dec 2009 at 22:32

Nice lot of snow outside now, has settled well on the roads too!

Overlag · 17 Dec 2009 at 22:35

Over Clocker said:
I live 'down south' and I always drive in the snow, even though I drive a read wheel drive car. Even in the really heavy snow this February, I was out in the car, even though I got stuck a few times. Only to get to work to find everything closes and all of our customer sites closed for the day! Even when I was 18 and just started driving, I'd go pick my mum and dad up when it snowed as they wouldn't drive!

same here, i really dont see the big deal with snow?

iaind · 17 Dec 2009 at 22:37

Overlag said:
same here, i really dont see the big deal with snow?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7873628.stm

About 200 people have been rescued by emergency crews in Devon after spending several hours stranded in their vehicles in heavy snow.

Rescuers were called to the A38 at Haldon Hill, near Exeter, at about 2100 GMT after weather deteriorated suddenly. A few drivers remain trapped.

There was about 2 inches settled

snowdog · 17 Dec 2009 at 22:37

Overlag said:
same here, i really dont see the big deal with snow?

It's annoying because aside from being in a warm car, there's nothing better about driving than cycling now, driving is supposed to be the quickest way of transport. If I had to go to work tomorrow I'd prolly just cycle there, I'd be there faster than by driving

.

Some parts in NL have had 15 inches of snow today, no matter how much salt you throw at it it's not going to help much...

Lashout_UK · 17 Dec 2009 at 22:40

The problem is the other people that can't cope - or push their luck - much like Lopez was getting at.

Where I am there's quite a tall hill, with a corner on it - you can get up it if you maintain a sensible pace and amble up it, maintaining momentum - but if you stop, you're done for. The person in front of you will usually fail to do this, so you'll have to stop, then you're done for as well - all whilst the person behind you is ever creeping closer then realising that you're starting to move backwards

Either that or there's just a gaggle of 4x4s wheelspinning wildly at the bottom of the hill, stopping you getting up at all - seems to be the norm here.

Over Clocker · 17 Dec 2009 at 23:01

iaind said:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7873628.stm

There was about 2 inches settled

yeah, we end up getting stuck because of other drivers who cannot drive and get stranded! There are hardly a few inches when that happened! I drove in near 10 inches in Feb... People just got to get on with it really.

I'm 29 and can drive ok in snow. I see people who are twice my age, who would have been driving for much longer, and when we used to have more snow when I was a kid, and I see them accelerating on a hill, or jamming the brakes on going down a hill etc etc

Amoeba · 18 Dec 2009 at 00:03

Booner! said:
275's here plus ~300bhp to my rear wheels....should be interesting

It's my work Xmas party tomorrow.......I am doing the Milton Keynes daytona raceway go karting from 12-2.30, I am actually going to kill myself in either the zed or the go karts!

Good luck fella

. Although at least you have traction control! I /just about/ have ABS in the SX, and even that is pushing it

.

Lashout_UK · 18 Dec 2009 at 00:08

Well it's really lobbing it down now here just outside MK - our road's already well snowed over and that was quite wet ground...

Freezing outside - temp's about -2 but feels like -10 as it's windy as hell!

I can barely see the Supra, it's white instead of red - so safe to assume it's probably not going anywhere tomorrow

Vigoro · 18 Dec 2009 at 00:09

I have no snow here, i blame the power station...

Dup · 18 Dec 2009 at 00:23

East lancs is pretty blanketed now. I might go chavvin it up in Maccy Ds car park and get my dori dori on.

My snow drivng tips. Lift, shift, drift Big Mac and fries. WeRd.

Tee Hee Johnson · 18 Dec 2009 at 00:39

Just SLOW the hell down, job done. Dont faff with tyre pressures, unless your doing dome kind of to the millimeter race in the snow, then it will make sod all of a difference.

Lord-Jaffa · 18 Dec 2009 at 03:50

Overlag said:
same here, i really dont see the big deal with snow?

Because your car is front wheel drive

I drove home at 1:30am, got to my car (s2000) was around 3inches of settled snow around here, drove home fairly well considering none of the roads had been gritted, drove sideways for about 100 metres up a slight hill, got stuck once on a hilly bend and parked up for 5mins then just powered my way out of it sideways. Just stuck to 15mph the whole way, wasn't TOO bad but a hell of a lot of clutch work and effort!

Good fun, although next time I think I will leave the car at home

Scania · 18 Dec 2009 at 06:38

Personally, if you can't drive in the white stuff, and given that we hardly have much of the stuff over a year, I'd far rather people simply stayed off the roads during "bad" weather.

The thing with the UK & snow is that everybody moans that they can't carry on as normal because the roads aren't cleared like they are in other countries, that's wrong, in countries that get a lot of snow on a regular basis the people accept that things are going to get done a lot slower or not at all, that's the big difference.

In places like the Alps, Scandinavia, Canada & the USA they have some serious snowfalls, the roads close down while it's snowing if it's that bad, when the storm has passed the snowplows come out & everybody gets on their way again, albeit at a pace that suits the conditions, the ones you see in the ditch are the ones that try to carry on as normal.

And in answer to the OP, nope, leave the tyres correctly inflated as per the handbook.

Five_Star · 18 Dec 2009 at 07:46

Walked in to work, seems the train station is broken as there are people getting on coaches rather than trains and I saw a guy stuff his mk1 focus into some railings at a junction.

Plenty of people driving about with an igloo on their car roof with totally obscured rear windows.

iaind · 18 Dec 2009 at 07:47

Well apparently we shouldnt be making any journeys at all and should just stay at home...

*looks out the window*

Yup, I think I'll risk it

Five_Star · 18 Dec 2009 at 07:50

The main roads are mostly slush but its obvious that in Redcar the council workers are all still asleep. They knew it was snowing last night but I didn't see any gritters when I walked to the shop at 9pm or on the way in to work today either.

Steedie · 18 Dec 2009 at 07:59

Well it snowed last night quite a bit, so was looking forward to a bit of fun in the RWD. But it was rubbish snow, DSC didn't need to kick in once

adam cool dude · 18 Dec 2009 at 08:04

just got back from the night shift and it wasn't easy. was a lot better once i got into town as the roads were just wet. i must have been doing 20mph tops for most of it as i couldn't see a thing. saw a car with its hazzards on which slid right into a reservation at a roundabout too. if it's like this tomorrow i will whip my original 15s on as they have quite chunky michelins on. the p-zeros just don't cut the mustard in the snow. for once in my life i was actually happy to be stuck behind a tractor.