Winter Driving

[vonVeezelsnider]

Sucks!

Oh my nerves are shot... Scary stuff out there today!

[gmpartsgirl]

Funny, if it were 10% of that here in Oklahoma the whole state would shut down. We empty the grocery store if they say theres even a chance of snow, even 1/2 an inch. LOL

[balthazar]

I friggin LOVE driving in snow; kicking the ass end out, doin a few 360s where prudent, churning ahead in the left lane while the rest of the plodders huddle and creep in the right. Whoo-hoo, bring it on!

Actually, I am tired of snow in general, not that I get much here, but I don't have any problem driving thru it.

I'm in 4WD now, but everything before my current daily has been RWD only.

[2005 EquinoxLS]

My new Impala is all dirty like that from what we have gotten so far this year. And its only going to get worse. They are saying 6-9 inches for Tuesday.

[vonVeezelsnider]

I friggin LOVE driving in snow; kicking the ass end out, doin a few 360s where prudent, churning ahead in the left lane while the rest of the plodders huddle and creep in the right. Whoo-hoo, bring it on!

Actually, I am tired of snow in general, not that I get much here, but I don't have any problem driving thru it.

I'm in 4WD now, but everything before my current daily has been RWD only.

That wasn't you driving the city bus that nearly forced me off the road, was it?

Suffice to say I think I may have bent a rim today (I certainly cracked a wheelcover), as a bus started to lose traction and began drifting into my lane (I was in the curb lane, he was in the middle lane)... so I moved over a bit and the next thing you know I'm sliding sideways into a curb (the bus regained traction thank god). since it was on a bend to the right in the road the wheel was angled out a bit and bore the brunt.

[mustang84]

I don't mind it at first, but it does start to piss me off after a while if the city doesn't plow the streets...especially when you're at a left turn protected light with a bunch of people behind you or ahead of you and can't make it through in time because no one can get any traction.

When the snow is fresh it's fun to take corners fast and let the rear end whip around, something you never get to do on dry road with a FWD car.

Edited December 8, 2008 by mustang84

[Intrepidation]

Driving in the snow is fun if you know what you're doing. :3

[vonVeezelsnider]

Driving in the snow is fun if you know what you're doing. :3

and not dealing with the imminent threat of becoming an open-faced "bus sandwich" :AH-HA_wink:

[Intrepidation]

and not dealing with the imminent threat of becoming an open-faced "bus sandwich" :AH-HA_wink:

That too!

[trinacriabob]

Oh my nerves are shot... Scary stuff out there today!

You come from a beautiful city and I've been there...and to Edmonton...while visiting Banff in winter...I used one of my free Air Canada tickets.

What I recall is that I had trouble walking down the icy sidewalk on whatever street that is that has your LRT line going east-west through your downtown.

I remember driving my RWD Cutlass Supreme during the winter in the Midwest while in grad school. Generally, the snow was pretty trampled on and I did ok, but there were a couple of "close calls" as I was adjusting to it, coming from a land of palm trees. It convinced me I'm not cut out to live in a cold weather climate.

[ocnblu]

Well, last year for me was spent in a 315-hp 2WD pickup truck with G80 locker. We didn't get much snow, but it did fine the couple of times we got accumulation. This year I'm in a FWD car without ABS or traction control nannies. I'll make it, but these Continental "low rolling resistance" tires have me concerned a bit.

[Lamar]

Well, last year for me was spent in a 315-hp 2WD pickup truck with G80 locker. We didn't get much snow, but it did fine the couple of times we got accumulation. This year I'm in a FWD car without ABS or traction control nannies. I'll make it, but these Continental "low rolling resistance" tires have me concerned a bit.

Darn eco-friendliness...

I just thought about it... this will be my first winter EVER with FWD and traction control. I won't have to drive as much though.

[Intrepidation]

Well, last year for me was spent in a 315-hp 2WD pickup truck with G80 locker. We didn't get much snow, but it did fine the couple of times we got accumulation. This year I'm in a FWD car without ABS or traction control nannies. I'll make it, but these Continental "low rolling resistance" tires have me concerned a bit.

Might be a good idea to buy a set of snow tires?

[Justin Bimmer]

In California, when it snows on roads here, they either close the road (I-5 between Bakersfield and LA Basin) or you get "CHAIN CONTROL". No salt here, just sand. Also, there is this History Channel Modern Marvels out there about winter roads and I-80 over Donner Pass is featured on how well CalTrans cleans snow.

[daves87rs]

Snow doesn't bother me, ice, on the other hand....

[vonVeezelsnider]

Snow doesn't bother me, ice, on the other hand....

Ice scares the crap out of me... like yesterday. Here are some pics of my handiwork:

Also in case anybody's wondering those Bridgestone Insignias are really $h!ty in the Snow, I took the G5 out with the Tripletreds this morning and grip was like night and day.

[MikeyMo84]

that wheel is f@#ked...my g5 is pretty decent in the snow with a good left foot (for the clutch)...my dad has a 2wd z71 canyon with a LSD and its unstoppable in snow....f@#k 4wd lol....they dont call me Son of Snowmaster (my dad) for nothing

Edited December 8, 2008 by MikeyMo84

[Drew Dowdell]

On Saturday we got snow in the morning and for what ever reason the salt trucks never came out. All of the snow that cars were driving on got compacted and turned to ice. After I dropped my BF off at work and I was headed back home, I spotted a Port Authority bus crossing onto the same bridge I needed to cross. At the end of this bridge, I have two choices to go home once I've crossed the bridge. One choice sends me down another bridge town, the other choice takes me up a hill. Up the hill is where the bus heads.

I look down onto the other bridge and watch a Suburban slide into the back of Focus. Scratch that route.

I decide to take my chances behind the bus.

The bus stops half way up the hill to pickup/drop off. I think "Oh hell, I'm never getting home now! There's no way the bus will be able to take off again in this weather!"

To my surprise, with no drama at all, the bus just takes off back up the hill.

The Pruis behind the bus but in front of me however........

yay for hyperactive traction control that you can't disable.

[PONTIAC06]

I love the winter weather most of the time, but the roads around Laramie are atrocious! Laramie never budgets for snow removal so everyone just drives it down until every road is a giant sheet of ice...plus, since it's a college town every idiot from anywhere south of the front range thinks they can drive like it's normal conditions...I love seeing all the kids with messed up cars after the first big snow of the year! Although, when I can barely make it into town and to the campus with my Jeep in 4WD, that bothers me.

[Satty]

Ice is easy once you get used to it. The ice storms we've had the last 2 years have pretty much made me the world's greatest ice driver. This will be the first winter in a long time that I've had RWD, but I'm not too concerned. Unless its windy, cause that tank gets blown around on dry roads if its windy.

[Cory Wolfe]

Driving in the snow is the only good thing about snow and winter in general. Otherwise, it's my least favorite time of the year.

[§carlet §wordfish]

I like winter, and I don't mind driving in the somw much until I almost crash.

I was driving to school the other day and came to a red light at an intersection that goes downhill. Of course I didn't brake early enough and was headed straight for a TrailBlazer, so I swerved to the right, went over the curb, narrowly missed a phone pole, and ended up on the sidewalk/grass. Fortunately no cars were damaged.

[trinacriabob]

In California

winter roads and I-80 over Donner Pass is featured on how well CalTrans cleans snow.

I'm laughing right now. I know they stay on top of it, but I've also been stranded on both sides of Donner Pass without chains, having crossed to the other side on a Friday night before the weekend only to have an unexpected storm dump snow like crazy on Sunday.

The solution is horrendous. You have to go around the long way up through the Feather River Canyon (CA 70) because it "only" reaches an elevation of 5,000 instead of 7,200.

[mustang84]

I was once going down a hill in a residential neighborhood near home. The road curved gently and was a solid sheet of ice. I tried taking it about 10 mph, but a couple seconds later I was sliding at an angle and headed toward a snow bank. I ended up hitting the bank of snow, now practically sliding sideways down the hill and came to rest in the middle of an intersection (luckily there was no traffic). If it wasn't for that bank of snow, I would have hit a couple mailboxes or a street light. My car escaped damage free.

[Camino LS6]

Snow is fun to drive in. But then, I've driven in every snowstorm since '79. :AH-HA_wink:

[Robert Hall]

I bought a new set of aggro Goodyears for my Jeep about a year ago, and they were great last winter. This winter so far, though, in Phoenix, I haven't had to put it in 4WD or drive thru snow yet.

[XP715]

my dad has a 2wd z71 canyon with a LSD and its unstoppable in snow....f@#k 4wd lol....

My father doesn't believe in the need for four wheel drive, nor do I. This winter he'll be driving his 2000 Silverado C1500 with a G80 posi and 3.73's without snow tires, and I'll be driving my 1990 Suburban R1500 with a G80 posi and 3.42's without snow tires. The both of us are veterans of driving RWD in the winter with no ABS or tration control, and wouldn't have it any other way.

I had a beat up four wheel drive Suburban once and it seemed like more of an invitation for me to be stupid with than anything else. All I ever really did with it is took it into deep snow to see if I could get it stuck (never happened!), and drove over snowbanks and islands in the grocery store parking lot with it. I'd love another one to have to do stuff like that with, but as far as a daily driver goes, I'll take my RWD Burb that goes just as good through snow and DOESN'T ride like a stagecoach any day of the week.

[mustang84]

I'm driving to Appleton, Wisconsin tomorrow for a grand opening of one of our buildings. Apparently they got 14 inches of snow today, but luckily the rental I'll be driving is a TrailBlazer with 4WD.

[Satty]

I left work today and my car was covered in ice. That sucked. The roads were clean, but that didn't stop morons from going 45 on the highway.

[mustang84]

I left work today and my car was covered in ice. That sucked. The roads were clean, but that didn't stop morons from going 45 on the highway.

Yeah, I broke my ice scraper trying to get that stuff off today and both doors were frozen shut. It took about 10 minutes just to get into my car and another 15 to get enough ice off so I could drive.

Edited December 10, 2008 by mustang84

[Satty]

I'm just glad I remembered to buy a new ice scraper, I broke the one I had in the Fusion. I bought new wiper blades (Silicone!), but never bothered putting them on, because I'm an idiot.

[Paolino]

Living on Long Island, I'm very used to driving in ice. I don't fear driving on ice. I fear being on the roads with other asshole drivers in their SUVs driving on ice.

[MyerShift]

I fear being on the roads with other asshole drivers in their SUVs driving on ice.

+1!!!!

I replaced the Contintentals on my Golf with Bridgestone Blazzaks for winter, and of course wouldn't you know it? I haven't gotten to drive in any of the interesting weather due to the transmission SNAFU.

[Robert Hall]

Living on Long Island, I'm very used to driving in ice. I don't fear driving on ice. I fear being on the roads with other asshole drivers in their SUVs driving on ice.

Living in Colorado, I remember the first snow storm of the season every year---that's when the newbies from CA/AZ/TX etc would roll their SUVs into the medians and ditches. Having come from the Midwest, though, I know how to drive in the winter.

I worked w/ a guy that moved to Denver from Houston--he and his wife had 2 2WD SUVs..kind of pointless in the winter.

[MikeyMo84]

My father doesn't believe in the need for four wheel drive, nor do I. This winter he'll be driving his 2000 Silverado C1500 with a G80 posi and 3.73's without snow tires, and I'll be driving my 1990 Suburban R1500 with a G80 posi and 3.42's without snow tires. The both of us are veterans of driving RWD in the winter with no ABS or tration control, and wouldn't have it any other way.

I had a beat up four wheel drive Suburban once and it seemed like more of an invitation for me to be stupid with than anything else. All I ever really did with it is took it into deep snow to see if I could get it stuck (never happened!), and drove over snowbanks and islands in the grocery store parking lot with it. I'd love another one to have to do stuff like that with, but as far as a daily driver goes, I'll take my RWD Burb that goes just as good through snow and DOESN'T ride like a stagecoach any day of the week.

exactly...my dads always had 2wd suburbans b4 the canyon (high gas prices FTL) and my last car b4 the g5 was his old 94 suburban 2wd g80...ive NEVER EVER gotten stuck anywhere....even on nearly bald tires one winter

[knightfan26917]

Driving in the snow is fun if you know what you're doing.

AMEN!

Roads were not pretty this evening on the way home, but I made it home ... in ONE piece ... in my RWD car. Meanwhile, I noticed quite a few FWD and AWD and 4WD cars in ditches and in accidents. Makes NO sense............

*shrugs*

And, while I LOVE to drive in snow ... I'm rapidly becoming irritated by cold and snow. I need to move south . he he

Cort | 35swm | "Mr Monte Carlo"."Mr Road Trip" | pig valve.pacemaker ...Chitown #2 = 07/25/09

WRMNshowcase.legos.HO.models.MCs.RTs.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort

"It's a pudding made of figs ... and bacon" ... Gonzo to Miss Piggy/John Denver and Muppets ... 'We Wish You A Merry Christmas'

[2005 EquinoxLS]

No troubles so far with the Impala. Tonight I passed a Ford Explorer that made its way in the ditch. They were down far too. I actually like the Impala in snow better than I did the Equinox. Seems like the tire choice was a better one than what they picked for the Equinox. The 2 old cars have not seen a flake of snow unlike last year when an emergency made the need to use the Bonneville twice and I was forced to drive the Caprice once. The Bonneville is pretty good. I wouldnt fear driving it in a snowstorm if I needed to. The Caprice on the other hand is scary as all heck. The slightest touch of the gas sends the rear end in one direction or the other. But I am still a FWD person like most people here are when it comes to driving in the winter.

[pow]

Tonight when I was driving home, my dashboard beeped and scared the crap out of me.

It wanted to tell me that it was 39F outside.

It was the first time it ever happened... I don't think I've ever driven on snow or ice.

[!!!TED!!!]

Love the snow!

--->

:sign0200:

[XP715]

The only winter driving aid I approve of is the one year only "Liquid Tire Chain" option for the 1969 Camaro:

Everything else is for pussies.

[Sixty8panther]

I friggin LOVE driving in snow; kicking the ass end out, doin a few 360s where prudent, churning ahead in the left lane while the rest of the plodders huddle and creep in the right. Whoo-hoo, bring it on!

Actually, I am tired of snow in general, not that I get much here, but I don't have any problem driving thru it.

I'm in 4WD now, but everything before my current daily has been RWD only.

Exactly. It's what separates te ME from the BOYS!

[Sixty8panther]

It's RWD or nothin' as far as I'm concerned.

http://sixty8panther.deviantart.com/art/Li...-snow-100204974

one day before it got totalled by a moron in BMW: http://sixty8panther.deviantart.com/art/on...efore-100483913

Ups parking lot: http://sixty8panther.deviantart.com/art/4x...u-ies-100300072

my "Special" winter beater....shouda never sold it. http://sixty8panther.deviantart.com/art/Sp...-Buick-96864932

and just in case anyone forgot this: (the day I bought my B-59)

[scharmer05]

Sweet pics 68.

Well here in ND, it is getting ready to dump another 8-12 inches on us. I f@#king love it. Driving around town in the Suburban is great.

Although people are absolute idiots on a little bit of snow. Even here in ND where it is on the ground at least 4 months out of the year.

On Tuesday a deadbeat came around the corner by my house, lost control, and smashed into the back of the Suburban parked at the end of my driveway. Here's the kicker, he had no insurance, no license, and then took off. I was still awake, got outside, followed him, and caught him. My insurance is going to cover it but I still have to kick in the 500 dollar deductible. Although my insurance company is going to sue him on my behalf, and I might get that 500 back some day.

Anyway, I will be having fun on the roads come Sunday with another foot on the ground.

[ocnblu]

Mr. scharmer, the rims on that Impala in your sig, are they by any chance American Racing Aeros? And if so, how have they held up for you?

[!!!TED!!!]

[caddycruiser]

Funny, if it were 10% of that here in Oklahoma the whole state would shut down. We empty the grocery store if they say theres even a chance of snow, even 1/2 an inch. LOL

Aye, how foreign to me Here in the land of Oz, er, I mean Delaware, even the mention of a potential flurry in a system moving through possibly in about a week ALWAYS elicits the "bread, milk, and eggs" comments from the local news reporters. Every time. Seriously. They must stop.

This, after living in western PA (at first, oddly to me, eastern PA around Philly acts like Delaware in reference to snow) and with a driveway inclined steeply from the house & yard up an embankment to the road, 1" or 4ft of snow, you shoveled, started the car and just stomped it to the top and went about your merry way on the roads--regardless of how they were either.

Also in case anybody's wondering those Bridgestone Insignias are really $h!ty in the Snow, I took the G5 out with the Tripletreds this morning and grip was like night and day.

Definitely. Oh the fun times in my '07 'Bu rental with the identical wheel/tire package sliding like skates on some slippy stuff, let alone rain. Kind of made me wonder, why bother with the tread, hah. Then again, maybe they were also a reason for it getting 37+ mpg on dry highways...

My father doesn't believe in the need for four wheel drive, nor do I. This winter he'll be driving his 2000 Silverado C1500 with a G80 posi and 3.73's without snow tires, and I'll be driving my 1990 Suburban R1500 with a G80 posi and 3.42's without snow tires. The both of us are veterans of driving RWD in the winter with no ABS or tration control, and wouldn't have it any other way.

Praise you! I despise 4WD & AWD largely, and until my dad's Subaru, no one in the family has had a vehicle so equipped--even in PA, eons ago. 24/7/365 extra weight, drivetrain friction, maintenance, etc. no thank you. Reminds me of, not long ago actually, in January/February trekking along the streets and roads around the Philly Mainline during a snow/ice blitz in my '95 Fleetwood WITH the 17" Impala wheels & huge 275-50 Nitto's. Just steamrolled like a tank even on a mixture of solid ice & snow, and I blew past other people in FWD & AWD whatevers puttering along and slipping, dead steady. RWD, depending on the vehicle & equipment can be iffy, but generally reigns supreme rolling along in and on anything thanks to a thing we like to call BALANCE.

Then again, not that my FWD/TC/Stabilitrak Malibu wasn't mighty fine in some iffy stuff and the curves & hills of PA over Thanksgiving, but the weight all on front still didn't feel as natural as I've been used to for years with the old tanks. Better traction and electronic control, however, at the core.

The worst about winter driving? I don't experience it much living in Delaware or even when in Philly, but visiting PA over Thanksgiving...all the CRAP they use on the roads chewed up my month old 'Bu like nothing else. Paint chips, big and small, all over the front, 2 small glass chips, chips and scratches on parts of the wheels...ugh. It was a nasty surprise washing it the day after. At least for the chips, I now remember why we thought it was such a good idea to get a bra for our new 300M right before the same trip 8 years ago...

[trinacriabob]

Winter driving sucks and this weekend I learned why I have always liked Florida.

The '92 Regal was going to turn over the quarter of a million miles mark this weekend, so I was going to go up to Lake Tahoe to watch the odometer turn and grab a top-floor of Harrah's lunch buffet. I was able to make it up over the summit at 7400 ft on US 50 without chains, as the snow was pretty trampled on because of the cars. It was a little scary and there was a line of cars going 20 mph.

After lunch and on the east side of Lake Tahoe, the white stuff starts coming down. I could either wrap around the lake, at an average 6200 elev., and hope that the north side of the lake was snow free, or drop down real fast into the Nevada side where Carson City and Reno sit in the 4,000 + feet range and were more likely to be snow free. That's what I did.

Well, I then couldn't get up over Donner Pass on Interstate 80. I actually got turned back. My trusty Regal just kept on going. I came back on an arc I've done before up through the Feather River Canyon in northern CA which was only dusted in snow...and added 3 hours to the trip.

Since I don't give a $h! about skiing anymore, I doubt I will endeavor to cross the Sierras in a car during the winter again. In fact, a more southerly latitude is looking more enticing all the time.

[2005 EquinoxLS]

Actually the old B-bodys are front heavy too. I thought I saw a figure of 67% of the weight is on the front and 33% on the back. Again much as I love my 2 old B-bodies I wouldnt want to drive them on snow when the Impala to me is far superior in staying steady. Found that out last week when I was driving on about 6 inches of snow and more falling. The Impala didnt flinch.

[1990Suburban]

After taking the suburban out in the snow this morning I've now officially declared I hate all metros and their drivers. :angry2: Ok so I'm driving up a road that has a pretty steep grade and I'm doing fine going up the road with no more than a slip or two here and there until I almost get to the top where an idiot who thought their little piece of crap metro would be ok in the 4-6" deep snow and since this is only a two lane road and since traffic was coming the other way I had to stop. I know I should have just rammed the guy and went on my way. I tried to get some traction again but couldn't get more than a foot before we started going backwards down the road so I say screw it put her in neutral roll back a little while turning to the side of the road till I face east and west (road runs north and south) turn the wheels down hill and go the long way around. Oh the joy of trying to get a heavy truck up a slippery steep snow covered road. Since I live where it snows and there are idiots that can't drive in it and a lot of two lane mountain roads I think a 4x4 Suburban with the 5.7L engine will be my next truck for those times when I get behind idiots that stop going up hill and when chp decides to close the roads to people with 2wd vehicles.

[Drew Dowdell]

Actually the old B-bodys are front heavy too. I thought I saw a figure of 67% of the weight is on the front and 33% on the back. Again much as I love my 2 old B-bodies I wouldnt want to drive them on snow when the Impala to me is far superior in staying steady. Found that out last week when I was driving on about 6 inches of snow and more falling. The Impala didnt flinch.

just need a B-Body with LSD