i could cope fine with slick tyres - 'cos I am a driving cod
I thought I could smell something fishy. Don't you find it difficult to hold the steering wheel with fins?
Last edited:
General Driving in snow and ice
- Thread starter suzey
- Start date
Currently reading:
General Driving in snow and ice
I thought I could smell something fishy. Don't you find it difficult to hold the steering wheel with fins?
- Joined
- Dec 14, 2005
- Messages
- 1,247
- Points
- 210
To be fair though, modern cars have lost a lot of "feel" with electric power steering, throttle and general lack of outward vision with thick pillars etc.
Dunno if any of you 500 types have noticed but I disengaged the ASR this morning while driving on snow and that allowed me to keep the power down despite a bit of wheel spin.
Otherwise it kept detecting wheel slip and cutting the power. This in a car with daft wide tyres and huge torque.
Otherwise it kept detecting wheel slip and cutting the power. This in a car with daft wide tyres and huge torque.
ASR is for the weak.
Define "huge torque", I assume we are talking of 400lbs/ft
I had to giggle this morning at the chap in the Griffith 500 who was barely getting off tickover & having to apply opposite lock.
Last edited:
:slayer:
For a small light FWD car, it's not too shabby. Nothing compared to the Romeo Ferrari edition with 360 HP. Any kind of power seems imense on snow anyway! Perhaps my near bold tyres had more of a ski effect on the snow
260 lbs/ft.. what's a 1.4 500 got? We're talking about family cars, not sports roadsters.
260 lbs/ft.. what's a 1.4 500 got? We're talking about family cars, not sports roadsters.
No idea, I have a 1.2
But since you ask I have a [insert toungue in cheek] collosal 75lb/ft.But I wasn't making claims about immense power or massive torque.
Last edited:
- Joined
- May 16, 2008
- Messages
- 1,133
- Points
- 254
the car isn't at fault - learn to use your right foot
Sorry Rob but this isn't the point. When one wheel is on wet ice it will spin however gentle the driver is and, without ASR, there will be NO drive to the other wheel.
For instance I was completely unable to reverse this morning into my usual road-side parking spot this morning for this reason, being a diesel no right foot is required for such maneuvers, just gentle clutch control. Even with a bit of a run-up it just wouldn't do it!!
As I said I don't have ESP so those might be better, certainly my C4P with it is quite drivable.
A previous car, although only 2-wheel drive, had VAG's ASR which is the Audi Quattro system (or half of it) - brakes the slipping wheel to transfer drive to the other wheel. There is no way to simulate this without the technology and made that car quite incredible (for a 2wd hatch) in the snow.
This is the effect i experienced in the Abarth with the TTC or torque transfer control, works in a similar way to a LSD and does help in slippery conditions.
It's OK Rob, I'll finish the sentance for you, I'm guessing you got distractedwinter tyres are for girls
It's OK Rob, I'll finish the sentance for you, I'm guessing you got distracted
winter tyres are brilliant - means you can drive pretty much as normal, i.e. faster than those on normal tyres :devil:
- Joined
- May 16, 2008
- Messages
- 1,133
- Points
- 254
... for the two days a year there's snow that is
What's got in to me today?
What's got in to me today?
******** to all this fannying about. Be a man. Fit a real diff and stop relying on electronic nonsense
If you get really stuck climbing a hill in a front wheel drive car try (if it is safe !!) going from lock to lock (ie full left to full right) as often the car will move sideways and slightly forwards, if you are lucky you'll get up enough speed to enable you to drive straight if not you'll hopefully get to the top eventually !!
- Joined
- May 16, 2008
- Messages
- 1,133
- Points
- 254
******** to all this fannying about. Be a man. Fit a real diff and stop relying on electronic nonsense
Yes that would be nice
Sadly didn't spot it on the options list
Or, if possible, reverse up the hill.
I believe this method is for rear wheel drive cars, the idea being that the driving wheels hit fresh snow rather than snow that has been packed by the front wheels ?
It may work for front wheel drive but I'm not sure you'd gain anything other than perhaps loading the driving wheels slightly but reverse may be a lower ratio than first and more likely to spin up, at least going forwards you have the option of using second gear to reduce the torque.
Possibly one to try after all else has failed ?
It does work, due to having the weight over the wheels, more so as the car is effetively facing downhill, so instead of the rear weight transfer away from the driven wheels, the weight is transferring towards the driven wheels.
Back in my youthfull years I used said technique to be victorious many times in the "who can get furthest along the roman road before getting stuck" in my old Panda in the snow.
Back in my youthfull years I used said technique to be victorious many times in the "who can get furthest along the roman road before getting stuck" in my old Panda in the snow.
