HOWY

As the weather people predict snow this weekend and I only got my WRX in the summer was wondering what they are like to drive in snow/ice. Does the 4 wheel drive give them an advantage over front wheel cars (like my old 206gti) or are they at a disadvantage cos of the power/ bigger tyres any driving tips appreciated

Trap2Terrorist

iTrader: (3)

I drove my WRX on ice for the 1st time last week, up in the welsh hills. My honest opinion - if I hadn't had AWD I'd have ended up in a ditch or embedded in a tree.

Driving style at the time - AGGRESSIVE.

StickyMicky

GroupN

its simple mathematics and laws of physics

a) 4WD = better traction = faster
B) fat tyres = less grip

therefore a / b = scene of accident quicker

but the usual applies for safer driving on snow / ice - don't accelerate hard, brake hard or make fast changes in direction, give yourself loads more room than normal and expect the unexpected - such as a chav coming at you round a bend sideway, backwards or on his roof depending on his skill level

davedipster

My RE070's and 300hp+ will be 'interesting' on snow and ice.

Be careful out there, 'you cannot defy the laws of physics' even with 4wd.

Dipster

SC008Y_MAD

iTrader: (5)

Why don't you get some smaller wheels 16" and put winter tyres on them, like the yanks do.

Mikkk

Wide tyres + low profile + snow = fun ... or panic, depends on your definition of fun.
AWD is better than 2WD for traction but it doesn't mean you can drive without a care in the world like some seem to believe.
Oh the joy of watching arrogant 4x4 drivers bounce all the way down an iced up mountain before finding something big enough to stop them (usually a hedge or wall part way down or a parked car in one case) ... walking up it was hard enough

Slow 'n steady wins the day ... and even then you might find yourself crossing the finishing line backwards

billythekid

When talking about public road driving:

AWD will help with hill starts etc. It will help with engine breaking as its more difficult to lock up all 4 wheels where FWD can lock front wheels with poor clutch control on slowing down.

It can cause problems with over steer at speed, but you have to be unlucky and the same will apply to RWD.

My tips, do everything fairly slowly - stay well under the speed limit, no sharp movements, esp of the throttle.
Do remember breaking is going to be very very poor. Break gently and about 3 to 5 times before you normally would do for a stop line or corner. Lateral grip is going to be very low so take corners slowly. If the front starts to slide out lift off the throttle and apply more lock (you can apply more power in 4x4 but this is mainly an advanced / off road technique to under steer at speed and its not advised on the road). If the back end starts to slide slowly reduce power and apply opposite lock. If the slide is not slowing down and yaw is building up you may well spin so be ready for that. Other than the above there is not much else to do as on the road you want to keep everything safe as possible. If you have some skid pan training you can do other things but its not advised. Most important keep an eye on other motorists and people not just yourself, you might have to get out of the way of sliding bus or truck.. not fun... or a ped who has slipped into the road. Keep your lights on in snow in the day to help others see you. If you get into trouble SOUND YOUR HORN as it will give people time to get out of the way, dont just slide into them.

Other tips over driving - If you get stuck in a snow drift use your mats under your tyres to give you grip. If you get a lot of snow dont bother driving unless you have too as your chances of getting stuck / crashing are much much higher. Remember to wear your seatbelt and if you are going to crash into anything hard remember you are not going to slow down much so its going to be a big impact so take your hands off the wheel and cross them over your chest. In thick snow I tend to move my seat back a bit more than normal to give an extra few inches of clearance from the wheel and dash and also puts my body close to the b pillar.

When parking on hills turn your wheels so if your car starts to slide after you leave the curb stone will trap the wheel, i.e up hill parking turn wheel so the rear of the tyre is pointing at the curb and down hill the front pointing at the curb.

There are loads and loads of snow driving tips but its not something you can learn online, you need to get onto some snow.. there are courses you can take in Sweden. Also skid pan courses here and low friction pans at a couple of places open to the public.

But if you take your time and dont rush and THINK about your driving you should be fine.

GroupN

only if your B pillar has an air bag surely - and how will your feet reach the pedals properly ??

davedipster

Our American friends have real snow; we have a dusting of white stuff about 1” thick.


Dipster

billythekid

I am fairly tall so that helps, air bags are in the seats and or door cards so its ok and the B pillar should offer a lot more protection than the door and airbag together.

Bartop

White ?


...

...

.....I'll get my proverbial...

sgcooby

[QUOTE=billythekid]When talking about public road driving:



There are loads and loads of snow driving tips but its not something you can learn online, you need to get onto some snow.. there are courses you can take in Sweden. Also skid pan courses here and low friction pans at a couple of places open to the public.

Yea, like sainsbury's carpark.

Wurzel

iTrader: (1)

See here

http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/showthread.php?t=472614

mgcvk

Ice and snow I would take it extremely easy unless you have winter wheels and tyres. As above, the fatter your tyres the more problems you will have. All wheel drive is the same as no wheel drive if you hit an icy patch.

paulhsti

Last year we had snow every day for about a month (In East Anglia!!) I found the STI would step out at the back quite readily even in a straight line - the 4K rev power surge is not welcome in snow and ice.
4 wheel drive is an advantage but with wide wheels and no flex sidewall low profiles take no chances.

sgcooby

Why on earth were you revving up to 4k in the snow. No wonder it stepped out.

vindaloo

Another thought is that they have proper winters elsewhere. It freezes, stays absolutely solid for a couple of weeks, then thaws.

IMO it's at it's worst when it's actually starting to freeze or thaw, seems that much more slippy.

Also IMO, the Impreza gives a false sense of security until something goes wrong. You can feel front wheel drive cars struggling for grip when the Impreza won't. You only find out how bad conditions are when things have already started to go wrong. At which point you've already going too fast for the conditions.

J.

davyboy

A Daewoo Matiz with 145/60/14 alloys will be quicker

CyprusScooby

I have a Type-R STi and was just wondering what position I should have the DCCD at for driving in snow?

DonnieDarko

how come wider tyres= less grip in snow?

Neutral Cruiser

It'll be more slippy than in the dry!!
As for driving tips: drive a lot more carefully.
Compared to front wheel drive cars in general: they (4WD) have more traction in any condition! Duh!
I've heard some pointless threads in my time but.. sheesh!
Does my WRX make me invincible in all conditions? Don't need to answer that one aswell do i? FFS.

ethanrob

iTrader: (3)

Try living up north matey,
i live just off of the penines,my aunt came up from london last feb,stopped at the services on the m1,took out her mobile,phoned me to come fetch her,as the last time she saw snow over a foot deep was in austria on a skiing trip,
I had no problems with the sti in the snow,as before said,just take your time and be careful out there,keep the rev's low and never get ahead of yourself,you would be suprised what you pass going up a steep road in the wrx,but i dont envy the guy's out there with the new-age bridgestones on(my05 jobbies)

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

In my opinion Scoobs are not good in snow. FWD is much easier to deal with in the snow if you drive like an idiot

4wd and rear LSD menas traction is superb so you can get moving without much problem....

But on normal road tyres everything else goes pear shaped with the ABS overracting as they do, and the huge over sensitivty to minor throttle movements

Usual scienario....whoops, understeer....oversteer, tankslap, tankslap, pirouette, understeer, tree!...bang! All at 15mph

Be careful and take it easy, the WRC guys have studded snow tyres, cleverer diffs and most importantly: skill

matchmaker

As others have said you get more grip with 4WD, but this is counteracted by the wide wheel/tyre combination.

My first Subaru was a 1.8GL L-series estate. It had switchable FWD/4WD, a low-ratio transfer box and 155/80/13 studded tyres. I used to live in Shetland and one winter when we had a lot of snow, on the way into work one morning had to overtake a vehicle stuck in a snowdrift. That vehicle was the snowplough


I also had a 4x4 Cavalier. Only 130 bhp with normal 195/60/14 road tyres and no ABS. It wasn't as go-anywhere as the Subaru, but for normal winter road conditions was pretty unbeatable

DanTheMan

With mine you could lock the diff but you then can't turn corners (OWCH) obviously so roll it forward about 1/2 way.

The problem with 4wd in the snow is you can get yourself into trouble a lot quicker than you can with 2wd but they all have the same crap braking distance once you are moving.

abc

Because the car's weight is spread over a wider area and so the tyres are less able to dig down into the snow for traction. When it comes to Rally of Sweden, see how narrow the tyres are (and they're studded too!).

hummelsubaru

reasonable answer, good one abc. and one more question, any tips for snow driving without abs, subaru apparently.

many thanks

Nevetas

WHat are WRX's like in the snow?

Worse than a Landrover with snow chains, but better than an E46 M3 on summer tyres!

Seriously though best thing you can do is fit winter tyres.

http://www.tyres-online.co.uk/techinfo/winter.asp

Or, buy a landrover with snow chains and keep the scooby in the garage....

Dave uk blue mica

my old MY99 was a nightmare in the snow, the ABS is terrible and kicks in too soon, in the snow now i just use my pug 205 road rally car with m+s tyres on the front, with the tran x diff the car is unstoppable in any conditions and stops better in the snow than the impreza ever would.