Driving in snow

[Kies]

The comments about German rear wheel drive cars above are correct. I knew about bags of sand in the boot (but didn't apply that knowledge on Friday).
As for winter tyres - an added expense when London gets a few days of snow at best, and the met office advises us to stop driving anyway ;-)

I can see Northerners needing winter tyres, only because 30cm of snow is classed as a sprinkling "up north"

 

[green1]

I can see Northerners needing winter tyres, only because 30cm of snow is classed as a sprinkling "up north"

Funnily enough we've not had much up here (the real NE not Newcastle) but the wind is now blowing and it's drifting everywhere.

 

[Drago]

Driving in the snow is easy and painless for those of us prepared for it.

 

[Hotblack Desiato]

It can be, the inherent woolly steering certainly is.

I drive both though and quite honestly there is little difference. The fwd drive car is brand new though so maybe your fwd car needs maintenance? I'd a car that had very poor steering, something called the 'kingpins were cream-crackered' they said. Whatever that means.

 

[Drago]

Is it proper 4wd with diff locks, low range, and modern grip control doobreys (Landies, Bruisers etc) or is it simply AWD where all 4 wheels are driven but that's about it? (X5s, AWD saloons, Korean 4 x 4 rubbish posing as an off roader etc). The latter is barely any better than 2wd in these conditions, hardly worth the expense.

 

[green1]

I drive both though and quite honestly there is little difference. The fwd drive car is brand new though so maybe your fwd car needs maintenance? I'd a car that had very poor steering, something called the 'kingpins were cream-crackered' they said. Whatever that means.

Nothing wrong with the the other halfs car, it's just woolly compared to my car which has been rated on one of the best handling cars on the road.

 

[Drago]

Hotblack, I'm loving your username!

 

[Black Sheep]

Some problems are avoidable. It would help things out there if drivers cleared the snow off windows and lights before setting off - unlike many of the cars I saw this morning. IMHO just using the wipers front and back isn't enough to give all round visibility. One guy's brake lights were so covered they could barely be seen in the dark.

Not clearing snow off the top of vehicles can lead to problems too. Over the weekend, Mrs B and I saw a van slow down suddenly on the approach to traffic lights and a whole sheet of thick snow slid off the van's roof and onto the windscreen completely obscuring it. For several seconds that driver - in a moving vehicle - couldn't see a thing.

It can also result in being blown off the roof onto the vehicle behind, in a car it's not so bad as the snow tends to be broken up a bit by the airflow over the following vehicle and the wipers deal with any on the screen.

I'm told it's not particularly pleasant being hit by a lump of flying snow when on a motorbike and I assume it's similar on a pushbike.

 

[Night Train]

I learnt to drive in snow and ice. Then did a lot of driving in mud.
I don't have a problem with driving in varying conditions, nor the locations and number of driven wheels on a vehicle.

The main reason is that I take the time to learn about the abilities of each vehicle I have driven, in the conditions I am to drive them in, and then to apply that learning and knowledge appropriately.


However, some people seem unable to do that with any level of effectiveness.

 

[Black Sheep]

Is it proper 4wd with diff locks, low range, and modern grip control doobreys (Landies, Bruisers etc) or is it simply AWD where all 4 wheels are driven but that's about it? (X5s, AWD saloons, Korean 4 x 4 rubbish posing as an off roader etc). The latter is barely any better than 2wd in these conditions, hardly worth the expense.

You don't really want low range for snow as, on a proper Land Rover then 4th gear low range is the same as 1st gear normal range.

having all wheel drive, I'd argue, gives you a slight advantage over 2wd, provided you don't assume AWD is going to, on it's own, get you through the snow and continue to drive as though it's a July afternoon.

If you drive as though it's snowing (which it is) then where a 2wd would loose grip on one wheel and start slipping, AWD has two more wheels finding grip and so pushes you onwards, that and the power from the engine is split between 4 wheels instead of 2, so less likely to slip as readily than 2wd.

 

[green1]

If you drive as though it's snowing (which it is) then where a 2wd would loose grip on one wheel and start slipping, AWD has two more wheels finding grip and so pushes you onwards, that and the power from the engine is split between 4 wheels instead of 2, so less likely to slip as readily than 2wd.

Assuming it has diff locks which most soft roaders don't. If it doesn't all the power just goes to the spinning wheel.

 

[Linford]

Apparently the usual reason for the typical German RWD having problems in the snow is because their owners have not swapped over to winter tyres which offer superior grip.

Winter tyres transform the handling of such cars in the snow. All cars benefit from being shod with winter tyres and some european countries insist that they are fitted to all cars for the winter.

They just need to use snow chains to get some decent grip .....look, she put some on the front

 

[vernon]

Nothing wrong with the the other halfs car, it's just woolly compared to my car which has been rated on one of the best handling cars on the road.

We will just have to take your word for it. What I can't understand though is, if it's one of the best handling cars on the road, why are you not driving it instead of your wife's car?

 

[Drago]

You don't really want low range for snow as, on a proper Land Rover then 4th gear low range is the same as 1st gear normal range.

having all wheel drive, I'd argue, gives you a slight advantage over 2wd, provided you don't assume AWD is going to, on it's own, get you through the snow and continue to drive as though it's a July afternoon.

If you drive as though it's snowing (which it is) then where a 2wd would loose grip on one wheel and start slipping, AWD has two more wheels finding grip and so pushes you onwards, that and the power from the engine is split between 4 wheels instead of 2, so less likely to slip as readily than 2wd.

AWD isn't appreciably better than 2WD in these conditions. Without either mechanical diff locks or grip control to create the same effect electronically you simple end up with 4 wheels scrabbling for grip intead of 2. Hats why Audi Quattro and Insignia X4 drivers aren't soing any better than most folk. These Kia and Hyundry 4 x 4s are laughable on these conditions - all the downside of 1.8 tonnes of mass to steer and brake but with only AWD. My employer for rid of its Range Rocers a few years ago because of the horrendous fuel consumption and replaced them with X5s and Homda CRVs. cOnce they'd slithered and skidded through their first winter they were all binned and back they went to Range Rovers and Land Bruisers.

 

[Archie_tect]

35 years messing about in cars teaches you how to drive in any conditions... sadly people don't get any experience or take the time to have a go to find out these days- then they haven't got a clue what to do. There are some really stupid people out there who need a good dollop of common sense.