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12-26-2012, 07:17 PM | #1 |
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Vehicle:2013 Mustang GT Black |
Driving in the Snow, Tips?
This is my first heavy snowfall that I have been in with my Subaru. We got about 6-8" locally.
I learned a few things today about my car in the snow: -The ass end can easily kick out when turning. -Need to pump brakes every now and then because they lose there bite (not sure why). -All snow is not equal and thus your car handles differently depending on the snow. -Downshift to slow down and then apply brakes. -It seems I spun out more when around my peak torque. I up-shifted to get more "linear" power and not spin. -TCS on this car seems pretty good. Also, I watched someone behind me almost plow into a guide rail on a turn. They then proceeded to tailgate me . Edit: I'm running General Altimax Arctic tires. What did you guys learn about driving in the snow? Share any tips for a newb?
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Last edited by dave07; 12-26-2012 at 07:42 PM. |
12-26-2012, 07:21 PM | #2 |
Scooby Guru
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What kind of tires are you using? Sounds like 95% of your problems.
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12-26-2012, 07:23 PM | #3 |
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ummm.. you drive a Subaru. get good snow tires and drive like normal
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12-26-2012, 07:26 PM | #4 | |
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Quote:
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12-26-2012, 07:27 PM | #5 |
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12-26-2012, 07:29 PM | #6 |
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Proper snow tires are the most effective 'trick' to driving in winter weather.
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12-26-2012, 07:30 PM | #7 |
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Throttle to steer.
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12-26-2012, 07:31 PM | #8 |
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Wrong LFB to steer. Get some.
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12-26-2012, 07:33 PM | #9 |
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12-26-2012, 07:34 PM | #10 |
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^^^Those two.
Or drive slower. |
12-26-2012, 07:35 PM | #11 |
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I have dedicated snow tires. General Altimax Artic.
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12-26-2012, 07:37 PM | #12 |
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Be aware of slush, its drastically different than driving in powdery snow. Regardless of being awd or not, it can suck you off the road quite easily.
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12-26-2012, 07:44 PM | #13 |
Scooby Newbie
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Do you guys keep TCS on or off? It seem to work pretty well. My ass end kicked out/wanted to kick out when accelerating and turning. Maybe I need more weight back there (no spare/tools and muffler delete).
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12-26-2012, 07:51 PM | #14 |
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engine braking is your friend
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12-26-2012, 07:52 PM | #15 |
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try lower pressure in the tires...snow tires usually like 30-33psi range
and ya always ALWAYS gotta drive AHEAD......if ya like most of the idiots out there and ya lookin 10 feet in front of ya and no farther...ya GONNA crash drive AHEAD ^^^^this driving in the snow/winter is a REAL test of how well you actually know how to heel and toe...most just think they do it right....but get 'em in the snow and |
12-26-2012, 08:26 PM | #16 |
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Easy to start moving, harder to stop. Take that into account.
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12-26-2012, 08:36 PM | #17 |
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12-26-2012, 08:40 PM | #18 |
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Engine breaking is your friend, keep your distance, switch lanes slowly. Also get snow tires.
I think switching lanes slow is important...I told my GF this and not 10 seconds after i said it a guy in front of us decided to switch lanes fast and drove right into the ditch. It was snowing a decent amount, on i5 in eastern oregon. |
12-26-2012, 08:43 PM | #19 |
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ABS isn't the smartest on deformable surfaces, so take some care in stopping early. The ABS system also wants to roll the car, always. This can be problematic if you get too sideways because it will actually roll you straight into the ditch.
I think people have different perceptions of the rear end kicking out. For some, anything, anything at all is the rear end kicking out. For others, the car has to be quite sideways to really care at all about what the rear end is doing. If you're not used to a car floating around and sliding around, get some practice. Because it is a loose surface, your car will seldom be straight if you are pushing the car at all. The behavior becomes a bit more dynamic as the car reaches its operating limit. Some movement is expected. The higher the slide angle, the more you need to know about car control or you can get into big trouble. I grew up in snow. I don't really have much to say in terms of driving on the stuff. Deep snow can pull the car around, especially if rutted. The most dangerous thing you can get is drifting snow because depth and hardness is not consistent and the smoothness of the shape hides its size well. Hitting deep snow with only one side of the car can pull you into the ditch, spin you 180 degrees, and/or make you do a 360. The only other danger of winter driving is ice. Winter will often generate a mix of surfaces from deep snow to packed snow, to ice, and then bare road all in the same area. Grip can vary a lot from second to second. A little worse is hidden ice under a fresh snow fall. You can have glare ice under some new fluffy snow, and you won't realize it until it's too late. If it's a road you take on a regular basis, read the road surface as you drive and make notes where the ice is building up. That way when the fresh snow does come, you know where the icy spots are. Semis like passing people in blizzards. They seem to go slow during the summer but in winter they love flying by cars on the left lane. Every time one passes, you are blind for a period of time. Know where the road goes and mentally drive it till the micro blizzard passes. Semi drivers tend to be exceptionally careful because any accident means a lost job, but you will still find many drivers taking unnecessary risks. Expect to be both blinded and run off the road some at times. That's just the way it is. |
12-26-2012, 08:47 PM | #20 |
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12-26-2012, 08:53 PM | #21 |
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I use all seasons in PA as snow tires would go to waste as we only see snow here and ther and do fine. Throttle if you feel the car kick out as discussed, it sounds odd to push the gas when feel you are losing control, but it works. Most of us here, do it for fun when given the opportunity. We got about 2 inches today and I still have on my high performance tires (need to switch to winters asap) and came out of the gym and saw snow on the roads and thought ****. Drove home and slid a lot, but LFB and trottle and home safe. I also pulled my ABS fuse ages ago as well.
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12-26-2012, 08:56 PM | #22 |
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1.) drive slow, no need to drive fast and crash just because u have a Subaru and think you should be able to drive fast
2.) engine brake ftmfw 3.) Take you car in a parking lot and experiment with getting it loose and correcting it, you can read all you want but its all bout how the car feels depending on if you want to steer out or throttle out or both 4.) More tire pressure if you are expecting mostly slush or snow on top of slush, less tire pressure for snow with no slush 5.) I hate abs and think its worse than no abs, but my impreza has it so i deal with it. Turn it off IMO but to each their own 6.) SNOW TIRES!! Im running all-seasons and having just got home from work in a white out with about 5-6 inches of unplowed snow, im def. getting a winter setup for next year |
12-26-2012, 09:01 PM | #23 |
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Drive slower and stop sooner of course ! Let your ABS do its job aka dont pump the brakes.
Snow tires are great a few days out of the season here in Michigan, wish I had em today on the short ride home. |
12-26-2012, 09:08 PM | #24 |
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Kick the clutch whenever you take a turn.
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12-26-2012, 09:10 PM | #25 |
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