I've had my 2001 WRX for a few months now and still think its the best buy i ever made, but tonight I got thinking (probly not a good idea)

Up until now I've mainly had rear wheel drive cars which virtually scream at the first hint of winter and refuse to go up my street if theres any snow , but , how do the scoobs do ?? Are they good in snow, ice etc like the other 4 wheel drive cars (i use the term cars loosely) or are they as bad as the other cars I've had. I know the 4 wheel drive on my scoob is different to the type found on the big ugly landrovers where you can change ratios , but will the scoob cope ???

{Edited KoS I KaRnT SpEl}

[Edited by MadGrip - 9/18/2003 10:41:41 PM]

Like any car, big tyres and snow dont mix :(
Forget about the ice too, no contact with surface, no grip, big slide (and not quite a grin factor :eek: )
You are best off with a skinny tyred pug 106 in the snow over a scoob TBH as the smaller surface contact gives better grip in the stuff, that doesnt mean that driving a scoob in the snow isnt fun though ;)
You will feel more though the bigger tyres, every twitch the car does, every bit of hard snow you go over etc, so really, no, there are no advantages to AWD in snow unless you run snow tyres.

Tony:D

If you it ice, it doesnt matter what car you in your gonna slide. there's no stopping it..

My Wife's skinny tyred Clio couldn't get 50 yards down the road last Winter after one heavy fall of snow. My 02 WRX treated it with disdain.

We used to live 900' above Sea Level in the North Yorkshire Moors National Park. My Classic Impreza went up and down the hills no probs at all. 2WD cars were left at the bottom of a very long, very high hill.

Just don't expect the Impreza to defy the laws of physics, drive sensibly, and I've found the only thing that defeats it, is depth of snow, when the front becomes a snow plough.

Cheers

Who would consider running anything else but winter tires in the winter??

Nothing beats a Scooby with correct tires in the winter. The grin factor is incredible. And it´s safe. Took my Fugly to a big parking area (almost empty) last winter and also found a tight, one way, 90 degrees, left hand corner whit no traffic. Sliding out of that corner with opposite lock and the wheels spinning was quite awesome. That was some of the best moments I´ve had in my Scooby. And a good and safe way to learn your cars reactions.

Claus

I wasn't even allowed to drive the scooby when it snowed - also the fact that I would have had to clean 2 feet of snow off first :D
Didn't Saxo Boy have some fun in the snow? - he wrote a thread on it that made me wish I had cleared the snow off :D

ill be fitting my standerd 16" wheels when it snows so if they get kerbed i wont be so pissed off ;)

I feel bad since I never have to fit winter tires. :) It doesn't even go below freezing at my house. :D

BEWARE!
Last winter i decided to see how good mine was with 4 new Toyos.
Answer? I was incredibly good, it pushed through snow which was coming over the bonnet so i could hardly see out anymore.(did this at midnight on empty single track road. Then decided to stop and reverse.
Guess what. It wouldn't move a milimetre in any direction.
Had to abandon the car and come back with shovel, mats etc.
3 wheels were off the ground with snow packed solid under the car.
Took 2 hours 2 free, nearly died of hypothermia and shredded one tyre on a sharp rock.
So there, i've been an idiot so you don't have to .......

when it snowed here last year - it wasnt the snow that was the problem, it was the stopping - especially when some arsehole coming towards me decided to overtake a van!

Beware the ABS- in snowy/icy conditions it becomes a liability.

Where AWD gains is in traction, often meaning you can get up inclines that 2wd cars can't. However if you think you are invincible then you WILL come a cropper.

I did stacks of driving in last yrs blizzards here in the Pyrenees, got a set of 15" alloys with normal tyres which were far better than the normal wheels fitted to my car. When it got really vbad I stuck snow chains on the front and had no problems at all.

I also found out it is possible to cadence brake with an ABS equipped car to overcome the problems I mentioned above.



[Edited by NACRO - 9/19/2003 12:46:57 PM]

When it snowed here last year and the nation grindred to a halt :rolleyes: I found a large carpark and donutted for hours :D:D:D:D

I managed to get it just right after a bit of practice and was spinning on the spot, centre was the gearlever :D:D:D:D WRC stylee :cool:as

more snow, more more more

Scooby is better than most cars on snow/ice (as well). I have been driving one season with 225/45*17 Nokian winter tires and they are just great. There are people on here that have been reading a bit too much about rally cars, that's why they try to set you up with something like skinny tires for your daily ride in the snow :)

Cheers
STIVII

Well, get ready for plenty of snow this winter even in the sunny south which I'm predicting.

drove my scooby in bad snow earlier this year with summer tyres, on the snow was not a problem but stopping was a nightmare also took the fuse out of the abs as all it did was slide, took the fuse out and the wheels locked and dug in to tio snow, I am still here to tell the tale so it wasn't that bad.

I was amusing watching the buses and al the big BMW and mercedes trying to get up hills though :D:D:D It took my m8 over an hour in his BMW to get up a hill which took me 5 minutes in the scoob.

The snow is dangerous even in a scoob so take care they are not invincible.

Now winter in Munich and austria is glorious! Good wintertires, and a scooby is great. Makes a mochery of the other cars out there that is for sure

NC

One advantage of the 4WD is not having to brake with the foot brake! Change down your gears and you can control the braking more effectively with the clutch....

Plums.

Thanks for the big response :D

Glad to hear no real horror stories...or are they to come ?

Whatever happens , its got to be better than my RWD merc was

I took my Scoob on mud quite a bit and I have driven 2 and 4wd cars on ice, I'd definitely say that 4wd has an advantage. The main plus point is that you are not trying to push or drag 2 wheels around that are doing nothing. Every point of contact with the floor is trying to move you along so the grip required at each wheel is less.

Skinny tires will help but who's realisticly going to fit 2CV width tyres unless you're unlkely to encounter tarmac for weeks!?!

I would recommend repect for the throttle pedal, starting off in second gear and keeping your ABS working. Having done training at MIRA in a much bigger car than a Scoob I can safely say that on ice ABS can save your life.

Scooby traction is good in snow, but that only helps you get moving. Cornering is nothing special, ABS troubles are much reduced with decent winter tyres. Driving like a **** will get you into trouble regardless, trust me I've done it :D Didn't find much difference with the CTR to be honest, and they were both on 16" winter wheels of a similar size/width.

I've not driven my scoob in snow yet but had lots of fun with my old quattro, the 4wd allows you to push a little harder but when it lets go usaully with little warning you are up the kerb/in the ditch.

old mk2 landrovers used to beat me round the airfield on a good snowy day

You canna change the laws of physics

Judging by the number of threads last year about smashing up wheels and cars when it snowed, I think you need to take it very steady.;)

Correct! For the benefit of the none country folk out there, all the fruit on the trees has arrived sooner and more prominently this year which points to a cold severe winter. Also the leaves have already started to fall which normally tend to shelter the inner lands from bitter cold easterly winds during late October early November. The trees will be bare within a month thus offering little resistance to the wind. Historically when the berries are ripe and strong the winter chill sets in and snow is not usually far away. I have owned Subarus in various incarnations over the years and I have to say they are blistering in the winter months. I remember chugging through foot thick snow in my Forester in the Cotswolds. Like someone said, its the ground clearance, so the Impreza is a little limited but fun all the same.:D