Snow causing you any driving problems?

monkeyspank said:
that makes sense in wet/greasy conditions, but this is snow.

Ideally with snow you want hard thin tyres to cut through it. More surface area on snow = less grip.
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yea with snow, but if there was less air = more road coverage, in the snow select a higher gear than 1st to give more torque to stop wheel spin
 
Sadly I live in the only place in Wales not to have any snow. My daughter was very put out that there was no snow on the ground.

Her mood didn't change when I told her that her school was one of the few still open today :)

Town is dead because most folk can't actually pass the snow where they are. Come within a mile of Haverfordwest and theres not a whiff of snow anywhere.
 
hardc0re_tid said:
yea with snow, but if there was less air = more road coverage, in the snow select a higher gear than 1st to give more torque to stop wheel spin
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exactly... more road coverage with snow means more snow between the tyres and the road = less grip???

if you had 4 inch wide wheels, they would cut right through the snow and give more grip as opposed to say 8 inch wheels. (with same mass on top).

1400kgs on a smaller surface area excerts more force. Ever had someone tread on your toes with stilletos?
 
Won't affect me unless it stays til Saturday. If it stays til then, then the first drive in the Dolomite will be in snow. :o
 
monkeyspank said:
Ideally with snow you want hard thin tyres to cut through it. More surface area on snow = less grip.
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The theory is that hard, narrower tyres will cut slightly into the snow, piling some snow infront of the tyre. With time this pile increases so resistance increases and the tyres dig deeper, this cycle keeps happening until you're stuck.

Flatter tyres have a larger surface area so are less prone to cutting into the snow and piling it up in front of the tyre.

Also, it's a bad idea to wheel spin as this will make your tyres very hot which will melt the snow causing there to be a layer of water between your tyres and the road/snow.

If I am honest though, all of this is pretty rubbish I reckon. If you are just overly cautious then there will be no problems. It's only a tiny bit of snow really and the entire country is in red-alert.
 
Had to drive my girlfriend to work this morning. First time I've ever driven in snow. :o

Getting off the slopped drive was fun but once I was on the road I was fine. Just allowed double the time for the journey and drove really slowly.

One thing I did hate was all those people in Land Rovers. I'm driving along the road really slowly and I had one Land Rover driver up my backside.
 
Just reading up on the whole inflate/deflate thing and liked this:

Rear-wheel Drive

Rear-wheel drive (RWD) is when the driving force is applied only to the wheels at the rear of the car. RWD vehicles usually include sports cars, vans, trucks and older cars. These vehicles are at a disadvantage in winter conditions because the bulk of the weight in a vehicle is the engine, meaning the rear of the vehicle is less secure on the road and more prone to slide. It is best to keep some kind of weight in the back of your vehicle, such as sand weights made specifically for this purpose or other heavy items like cinder blocks. Having a full tank of petrol will make a difference as well, as the tank is usually situated between the rear wheels. Although it doesn't provide a great amount of excess weight it might also be prudent to keep a bag of cat litter or road salt in the back, if you become stuck you can use the contents to provide some traction.

Front-wheel Drive

Front-wheel drive (FWD) is infinitely better in bad conditions because the driving force is applied to the front wheels where the weight is, improving your manoeuvrability and stopping ability. This doesn't mean you will never lose control of a front-wheel drive car, it means your chances of losing control are significantly less if you are driving responsibly.

Four-wheel Drive or All-wheel Drive

The first thing to know about these vehicles is that they do not make you invincible. The false sense of security these vehicles provide lead to a disproportionate number of them being found in ditches when the roads start to ice over. But they do provide better manoeuvrability, because when all four wheels receive power, they provide better traction and are less likely to slide. And as all wheels are driven, the main driving force (as with FWD vehicles) is in the front where the bulk of the weight is. Also, as four wheel drive (4WD) and all-wheel drive (AWD) vehicles are usually (but not always) trucks and SUVs, they will be of heavier construction all around, and larger vehicles provide more protection in the event of a crash.
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saitrix said:
Won't affect me unless it stays til Saturday. If it stays til then, then the first drive in the Dolomite will be in snow. :o
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Surely you drove it when you test drove it before you bought it? :p I mean who would buy an old classic they've not actually driven before, you might hate it! :p
 
Home office so causing me none, and the wife is also working from home so I am getting regular coffee and cookie breaks. More snow I say!
 
lukechad said:
Well first of all, its just getting worse here, its still snowing and has been now for about 6 hours, i went out in the car and it wasnt too bad at all really, just a skimming on the road, got down the hill a bit and was using the gearbox to hold me back when the front just went and i hit a kerb side on, only doing about 5mph, just a scuff on the alloys on the near side, still not impressed! I went about my business and came back, cant even get up the road now, had to abandon at some obscure angle at the bottom of the road, about 2-3 inches of settled snow around here now!

Lets hear some of your snow related stories :)
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Had my first ever proper incident at around 4:30 this morning. I smacked a kerb while attempting to go round a roundabout at an overly ambitous 10-15mph :o . My front left wheel is looking decidedly the worse for wear after absorbing the impact... There's nothing worse than knowing your gonna hit something and can't do anything about it.

The Clio's off to the garage on the back of a flatbed tomorrow. :(

And it's still snowing after 7 hours... It's global warming I tell you.
 
I just drove from Oxford to Coventry up the M40 and it wasnt too bad. The fast lane was completely covered by the 2 remaining lanes were just wet due to the amount of traffic.
Getting out of Oxford was a bit hairy - Plenty of junctions where you're just totally confused as to where you can actually drive (ie sliproads).

Me and my mate laughed when I was in the middle lane of the M40, some trucker going the opposite way decided it'd be a good idea to clear the fast lane using brute force and there was nothing short of a wave of black snow flying full pelt over the central reservation - my car got absolutely battered with the stuff.
 
had 3 inches of snow here and they hadn't gritted my estate. managed 5mph all the way to work loosing control on several occasions. once i braked the abs kicked in and i slid, took my foot off and tried again and nothing. ended up having to bump up the kerb, over the grass verge and onto the path to avoid the car in front. then got stuck and couldnt reverse so had to go forward. Once i made it to work i found they hadnt gritted and the car park was deep in snow. needlesss to say if its bad when i leave i'm walking the 2 miles home.

MW
 
[TW]Fox said:
Surely you drove it when you test drove it before you bought it? :p I mean who would buy an old classic they've not actually driven before, you might hate it! :p
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Yes I did drive it then. Sorry I forgot that. :) I should have said the first time I have driven it under my ownership.
 
Mr-White said:
had 3 inches of snow here and they hadn't gritted my estate. managed 5mph all the way to work loosing control on several occasions. once i braked the abs kicked in and i slid, took my foot off and tried again and nothing. ended up having to bump up the kerb, over the grass verge and onto the path to avoid the car in front. then got stuck and couldnt reverse so had to go forward. Once i made it to work i found they hadnt gritted and the car park was deep in snow. needlesss to say if its bad when i leave i'm walking the 2 miles home.

MW
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Those situations you are best to turn the abs off then cadence.
 
Managed to slide my front wheel into a kerb this morning, got to work ok but my steerring wheel now points to 2 oclock in order to go straight :(
 
Had a lesson 8am in the snow :D Traction control with DSC for the win in the Cooper !!!!

Pupil was understandably a bit nervous but the roads are not too bad here and he enjoyed the lesson in the end, good experiance he said. I have a quiet day today so its not too bad, normally its wall to wall lessons but for some reason or another the pupils are doing exams or going for a funeral etc so not complaining too much.

Got a lesson at 6pm tonight but only if it doesnt ice up.
 
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