General How good is the 500 in the snow!!!

[loadswine]

I had an interesting moment with mine today, coming round a corner on completely untreated side roads this morning, after more snow last night on the ice base from before. I had slowed right down, to no more than 10mph, maybe less and as I went round the corner, the back end swung round! I used a little opposite lock and a tiny bit of gas to straighten things up , but it went a good few yards in a sideways fashion. I was a bit surprised, especially with the short wheelbase.
Other than that, I think the tyres have been improving a bit as they are used. I know new Toyos take a good 500 miles to grip anywhere near properly due to mould release agent, so wondering if similar affects the Contis.

 

[FireballXL5man]

ABS can be a blessing and a curse. Overall I'll still take it rather than leave it.

(Apologies if this is a little off-topic)

I totally agree. On normal roads, be they wet or dry, ABS is superb and a great aid to road safety. It's just that in the severe icy road conditions we've experienced recently my impression of ABS, and I could be wrong here, is that you can't brake and steer as the RAC man said on the TV. On my old Mondeo, at least, it also seems to get confused by the wheels locking on ice and the car doesn't pull up as quickly as I would expect. Many years ago, I was driving a non ABS fitted car down a very steep hill. It had been very cold and was raining. The road conditions were terrible as, unknown to me at the time, the rain was freezing on contact with the road surface. I braked on the straight approaching a sharp bend and had the horrifying experience of the wheels instantly locking. It felt as if I was actually accelerating, rather than slowing down. I released the brakes and applied "cadence braking", that is, rapidly pressing the brake pedal and releasing it. I managed to bring the car to a complete stop just before the bend. When I got out of the car, I could hardly stand up, yet it looked just like rain.

 

[jakedeano]

Mine got stuck where other cars where fine, it took ten mins and two men to rock it, push it whilst I was trying to move her and she also kept stalling with the strain and comments like if you dint drive a barbie car are simply embarrassing other than this it has been fine except for the ice on the inside of the windscreen so it take ten mm s to melt the inside and another twenty mins to dry out the water condensation with the blowers sick of it.

 

[keeforelli]

not expereinced any of this.....?!!

 

[306maxi]

Mine got stuck where other cars where fine, it took ten mins and two men to rock it, push it whilst I was trying to move her and she also kept stalling with the strain and comments like if you dint drive a barbie car are simply embarrassing other than this it has been fine except for the ice on the inside of the windscreen so it take ten mm s to melt the inside and another twenty mins to dry out the water condensation with the blowers sick of it.

A couple of things. You shouldn't be warming up the car to try and melt the ice and then get rid of the condensation, it will take ages as you've experienced! Scrape the ice off and wipe any condensation off with a cloth. That's not the cars fault, it's yours.

As for stalling with the strain? I don't understand what you mean? Cars don't stall under strain as such.

 

[sikersh]

Mines sh*t in the snow. I haven't driven it since Dec 20th!! Hopefully all (or most of) the snow will clear with the forecast rain this weekend and I'll be able to get into work myself without having to rely on other people

 

[Mark Elvin]

Hopefully all (or most of) the snow will clear with the forecast rain this weekend and I'll be able to get into work myself without having to rely on other people

Hope so, I'll at least be able to give the cars a quick wash.

 

[YouKnowWho]

Mines sh*t in the snow. I haven't driven it since Dec 20th!! Hopefully all (or most of) the snow will clear with the forecast rain this weekend and I'll be able to get into work myself without having to rely on other people

First time the 500 went out in the icy/snowy conditions yesterday. Have been driving ther 4x4 without any issues.

It got stuck, wheels spinning, the whole nine yards.

 

[franksplace]

Been very impressed with Paolo in all this. Been getting into work every day when people living much closer are being shipped in by volunteers in 4x4's (on the second day they were being shipped in by me! )

In between Paolo and I have been out responding to emergency calls in the local area and, in addition to getting to calls faster (I'm nearby so thats not difficult) on a few calls I've been able to get much closer than my colleagues with the ambulance.

The shovel has been an essential addition to the kit in the boot and my beloved has been out on the responder jobs to jump behind the wheel on occasions when I needed to push but Paolo, for a small family car, has done himself proud! :slayer:

 

[306maxi]

Well my winter tyres are on now

Lots of photos and also my thoughts after a short drive.
https://www.fiatforum.com/500/166084-winter-tyres-people-going-13.html?p=2365523

Tyres £202
Rims £30
Wheel trims £30
Fitting £20
Black spraypaint ~£5

Total cost £287

I know that must seem a lot of expense but there are a few cost factors which make it viable. Firstly summer tyres wear more in winter and they're between £270-340 for a set fitted so I'm wearing out a cheaper set of tyres in the winter. Winter ****s alloy wheels up with all the sale and how much is it to refurb rims? Lots of places charge £50 a rim!!!!

In the long term I know it'll take a while to break even but combine that with the safety benefits and I think there's a really strong case for winter tyres. Personally I wouldn't bother with alloys for winter tyres because of the cost but if you can get some cheap like RobW did then go for it, otherwise just go for steelies because the condition doesn't matter when you put wheel covers over them.

 

[poggy]

I would say £287 was a bit of a bargain for 4 wheels, tyres and covers, where did you get the rims from for £30 (guess second hand). I am tempted to get some for my mother. Do you notice less road noise with them on.

I have spent the last week in the Discovery 3 and have lost count of the number of people I have pulled out of ditches and other places. Sadly a huge number of the car abandoned had been broken into when I gave people a lift back to them.

Some people who drive 4x4's to drop the kids off at school and have no experience of snow or mud think that they can drive as fast as they normally do on snow. The weight of a 4x4 means it is actually harder to stop than a normal car on ice etc, so you need to go even slower.

 

[306maxi]

I would say £287 was a bit of a bargain for 4 wheels, tyres and covers, where did you get the rims from for £30 (guess second hand). I am tempted to get some for my mother. Do you notice less road noise with them on.

I have spent the last week in the Discovery 3 and have lost count of the number of people I have pulled out of ditches and other places. Sadly a huge number of the car abandoned had been broken into when I gave people a lift back to them.

Some people who drive 4x4's to drop the kids off at school and have no experience of snow or mud think that they can drive as fast as they normally do on snow. The weight of a 4x4 means it is actually harder to stop than a normal car on ice etc, so you need to go even slower.

Yeah they were 2nd hand off ebay. Like has been said before 4wd's have more traction than 2wd cars but they don't brake or handle any better so 4wd owners get a slightly false sense of security because they don't feel how slippery it is when they try to accelerate.

 

[baxwalker]

And... the centre of gravity is often much higher in a 4x4 so once they get out of kilter they could turn over much easier. I've seen a Range Rover lose control (well the driver did) and it went on it's side on the first change of direction.

 

[306maxi]

I would say £287 was a bit of a bargain for 4 wheels, tyres and covers, where did you get the rims from for £30 (guess second hand). I am tempted to get some for my mother. Do you notice less road noise with them on.

I have spent the last week in the Discovery 3 and have lost count of the number of people I have pulled out of ditches and other places. Sadly a huge number of the car abandoned had been broken into when I gave people a lift back to them.

Some people who drive 4x4's to drop the kids off at school and have no experience of snow or mud think that they can drive as fast as they normally do on snow. The weight of a 4x4 means it is actually harder to stop than a normal car on ice etc, so you need to go even slower.

I mentioned in the other thread that road noise on smooth surfaces seems to be less but on rough surfaces I think it may be a little noisier.

 

[Rach500]

Hi I have a 500 pop and today the first of the snow has just started to fall, I see there are mixed reports on the 500 in the snow, should I be worried about my little Florence? It's her first time in the white stuff

 

[jrkitching]

Hi I have a 500 pop and today the first of the snow has just started to fall, I see there are mixed reports on the 500 in the snow, should I be worried about my little Florence? It's her first time in the white stuff

I hope you won't be offended, but I think the most important question is how much practical experience you have of driving in snow?

Knowing the limitations of your vehicle and driving within them, having due regard to the prevailing conditions, is perhaps more important than having the latest 4WD 'snowmobile'.

If you're looking for more information, this link might be a good place to start.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/norfolk/hi/people_and_places/nature/newsid_8388000/8388996.stm

Relatively, though, the pop should be the best of the 500 models in the snow, as the narrower tyres will help a little.

You might also consider getting a spare set of wheels and fitting winter tyres; I suspect others may have more to say on that particular subject.

 

[keeforelli]

whoa!

blast from threads past!!

 

[Rach500]

I hope you won't be offended, but I think the most important question is how much practical experience you have of driving in snow?

Lol no offence taken, however I have been driving for 20yrs and live in Scotland, so I have a good knowledge of how to drive in all weather conditions Was just curious as to what she would be like, however shovel, rock salt and wellies are always standard in my boot whatever the car.

Will give her a wee test tomorrow

 

[keeforelli]

Lol no offence taken, however I have been driving for 20yrs and live in Scotland, so I have a good knowledge of how to drive in all weather conditions Was just curious as to what she would be like, however shovel, rock salt and wellies are always standard in my boot whatever the car.

Will give her a wee test tomorrow

i started this thread- and i was very impressed back in january!

 

[306maxi]

Lol no offence taken, however I have been driving for 20yrs and live in Scotland, so I have a good knowledge of how to drive in all weather conditions Was just curious as to what she would be like, however shovel, rock salt and wellies are always standard in my boot whatever the car.

Will give her a wee test tomorrow

To be honest you should be OK in a pop as long as it's got the standard wheels. It would be even better to buy some winter tyres and have them fitted to another set of wheels but it's up to you of course.