SCOSaltire

Hallo
whos been out enjoying the snow?
I have been waiting all year to try out the scooby in the snow... and i wasnt disappointed...

I havent found a nice big carpark yet... but some backroads with nice curves ... 2nd gear...

i havent held a slide for long tho - not sure how the car will react... had it very very sideways couple times... but chickened out and let it come back in..

had understeer a few times when ive ballsed up... oops..
not good ... but abs does work

anyone got ne advice on what to explore?

SecretAgentMan

There are several techniques to get it sideways...easiest of them all is to lift off mid bend to transfer weight from the rear to the front wheels, the rear end tends to come out and give it some....or do the Scandinavian flick - steer the wrong way, get a pendulum effect and catch the slide on the rebound (feels soo great when U get it right), or left-foot brake, or a combo of all even.

Control the slide with the loud pedal, not 2 much of the round thingy yer holding on to.

Keep inputs smooth, and go slow.

The scoob is very tailhappy on loose surfaces, so it usually comes naturally....if you're looning about on real snow - do it on proper tires, summer ones are lethal.



/J

P.S.
PRACTICE on big open spaces - it's VERY easy to go too wide, or get it very wrong. Get a feel for it under controlled conditions.

[Edited by SecretAgentMan - 12/28/2001 5:31:30 PM]

SCOSaltire

found an ice covered carpark...

my first doughnuts

not enought room / guts to try holding on a slide for longer than 2 or 3 secs.... yet

miggs

Had a couple of slides wasnt ready for them though

www.scoobycity.co.uk

ssubaru

HI
glad to see some body useing the car the way it was meant to be driven ,about a month ago i was getting a slagging on scoobynet for driving the car sideways but i suppose these people all read max power so would not know how to do it as all they do is sit in car parks and talk sh1111t
ssubaru

BarryK

Its great on the flat or uphill.

But, in my experience, downhill, extremely expensive unstoppable sledge. It's staying locked up.

Or else I'll drive downhill backwards.

But that sounds a bit deviant!!

Dream Weaver

Just did my first real doughnut in the MR2 this morning outside the mother in laws

Loved it - RWD rules

DW

babber

Had a play in the snow today, near Coventry.

Bloody good fun, but remember it's very easy to pick up speed, but very difficult to stop, even with ABS. Feel sorry for the guys with import and without ABS.

I did notice that the car didn't spin all the wheel on acceleration until the turbo kicked in.

Unfortunately I was unable to practise a doughnut

Cheers Phill C

Little Miss WRX

Don't feel sorry for us with imports!! And btw some imports DO have ABS.

Mine doesn't but I have learnt to cadence brake very well, to the point now where I don't feel as comfortable driving a car with ABS.

Cheers

Michelle

whip

Had some fun in the snow today myself. Found a nice open carpark in Rochdale and proceeded to perfect the art of 360 degree powerslides (well not quite but you get what I mean). Eventually managed to do several in succession, flicking from left to right and countersteering out of the slide. Loadsa laughs.

Then had a go in my mate's Frontera, that was pretty entertaining too!

Whip

Puff The Magic Wagon!

iTrader: (2)

Heh heh

Just back from Ireland, some 500 miles in total & I'd say 150 of them were through snow/ice/slush

PTMW! did not let me down at all & maintained excellent manners throughout No chance for looning as had wife/sprog & a shed-load of luggage ( ) but did have a lovely perpendicular moment overtaking a couple of cars on the A75 near Stranraer Was looking (for an instant) at the front door of the car I was passing before a gentle correction brought me back in line

So controllable - so fun

astraboy

I'm too scared to take the cossie out in the snow!
astrachicken.

babber

Little Miss WRX,

I don't understand how you can possibly say that, you feel more confortable driving a car without ABS. In nearly a year with my car the ABS has only came on once or twice before that I can recall. Obviously in the snow it's on constantly. I thought the Impreza had better breaking from the rear, so without ABS the car would lock the back, and the back would overtake the front (i.e spin)

I don't understand how anyone would be more confortable driving a car in poor weather conditions without ABS.

Cheers Phill C

scooby555

[flame suit on]
It is a proven fact that when on snow at moderate speed a car with abs takes longer to stop than one without......
As wheels lock a wedge of snow builds in front of the wheels but as abs sosent lock........
[flame suit still on(double layered)]

555 BOY

Hah! How **** are these things in the SnowFirst proper snow fell over night and I was going Rally Speccying at Park Hall this morning Got out of the estate and trundled along the road looking ever so sensible then turned into another road and What the **** happened there ? Yes I spun it,luckily I know the road well and its large width & low curbs so I just let it go then stopped it dead at 180,then after recovering flicked it 180 again and powered off still sideways only to look up and this gezza in a Nova's watching me whilst clapping and shouting "go on lad" out of the window whilst wearing a big grin..................If only he'd known it was a **** up and not intensional

Seriously though they are pretty Poo with normal tyres on are'nt they,I had a mess about on a car park after the "Incident" happened and although happier now,it still does'nt handle as well as my old RS2000 did ..................Ah well you can't have everything.
Has anybody popped the fuse ???? for the ABS or is'nt it as simple as that,cos you could stop quicker without it.

555

RichS

babber,

just to re-iterate what scooby555 and 555 BOY have said...

ABS: while it's a lifeline in most road conditions for crap drivers like me, it is generally regarded as undesirable on loose surfaces such as gravel and snow.

A better explaination than I can give can be found on Simons "Driving Techniques" website.

http://www.drivingtechniques.co.uk

Look under Driving Science->ABS

Cheers


Rich

babber

Well I stand corrected!!! That does't mean to say I'll be removing the fuse from my ABS I'd rather have that working thankyou.

It also assumes that the driver is a good driver doesn't it (i.e able to sense when the wheel is slipping and make adjustments?)

At Bedford in the wet, I noticed the ABS kicking in twice, when I had left the braking far to late, how could I possibly had braked later?

I noticed the ABS working on the back more so than the front, so if I would have braked harder wouldn't the rear end of overtaken the front Maybe I'll read the information!!

Cheers Phill C

Richard Askew

.. had a good play on sheet ice last night - just HAD to drive 25mile round trip to buy some beers (as you do) then came up to work this morning in 3 inches of snow....turned onto the 25 acre tarmac'd site...threw the scoob into second gear ....and....nothing....the b4stards had gritted the whole place....must have taken them ages and cost a fortune....still I suppose an out of control 40 ft artic ain't much fun is it...

DavidRB

My two-penneth worth. If you can find a big enough snow-covered car park (as in as big as a large roundabout, not just four car lengths!) and you've never done much powersliding before, then I would try this (all usual don't try this at home caveats apply. ) -

Begin by driving slowly (< 10mph) in a circle keeping as far away from the edges as possible and brake hard a couple of times. Note how your ABS goes mad, you travel a long way before stopping and your heart rate goes up. Make mental note to avoid braking where possible.

Then, carry on in a circle, building up speed gradually until the steering wheel begins to go light. At this point, you know you're nearing the limit of adhesion. This gives you an idea of how fast (slow!) you can corner in the conditions before you run out of grip. Concentrate on the feedback you're getting through the steering wheel and the noise that the tyres are making. It helps if you open the sunroof or the windows a touch. Also compare the difference a couple of mph makes to your ability to turn towards the centre of the circle.

Next, bring the speed down and try increasing the throttle sharply in 1st or 2nd. Chances are, the slower you are going, the more likely you will be to get the back out and not just get understeer. You may have to be a bit rough to make the tail come round, or you can try pressing in the clutch, increasing the revs and then dropping the clutch again to brake traction.

Assuming the tail comes round, it's learning to overcome your fear of stuffing the car and resisting the temptation to immediately shut the throttle and steering towards the outside of the bend. Don't brake either. Just back off to between 1/4 & 1/2 throttle, briefly steer towards the outside of the bend (to settle the car into the slide) and then point the front wheels straight ahead. If you get it right, the car will continue to drive in a circle, but drifting at an angle of 20 degrees or so.

If you slide off to oblivion, you're going too fast, or using too much throttle. If the car grips again, you're not using enough throttle. If you spin, you're human like me. Once you brake traction, it's all about keeping a delicate touch on the throttle and the steering wheel. Once you learn to trust the car and to balance a slide, then the rest is easy!

Huxley

Had lots of fun on the Goose fair car park in Nottingham at the weekend ooohh lots of doughnuts and powerslides lots of fun !!

And had some more fun up near IKEA and we spotted the Scoob police
parked up on the side of the road looking after a dead Ford Fiesta good old ford reliablity?


Huxley

DavidLewis

What snow?

BOB.T

Took this Fiesta round a carpark, awesome fun, almost convinced myself it was rear drive! Big slides with the aid of the H brake and even a 360 with lift off oversteer alone

Bob

astraboy

Anyone had any hassle off the old bill for looning about in a carpark?
astraboy.

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

I just love the snow
its amazing how many people cant drive in it lol!!
some of the right to55ers i saw yesterday would have killed kids or other pedestrians cos they think that flooring it gives the car grip [img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img] stupid tw@ts
so, if you think the scoob is great in the snow, think again!
here are my tips to driving in snow!! (and ive done it a few times so.........)
First things first, im like everyone else, ive put too much faith in my car in the snow and slid sideways....
snow isnt like any other weather condition your likely to experience on a regular basis and as such it needs some respect.

ABS and TC....
Both totally useless in the stuff.
If you cant get traction on packed snow then you aint going to get traction at all....
The ABS factor as mentioned.... it DOES take longer to stop as ABS kicks in when the wheels start to spin (hmmmmmm that traction thing again) so cars without ABS do stop quicker!!
The easiest way to drive in snow is SLOW!! no sharp manouvers, no harsh braking and no foot to the floor!!
Low revs and high gears is the key, keep them low until you have traction then change gear again! (i had it yesterday at a junction, started to wheelspin, straight into second and off, no problems!) We all like a little fun thou but think before you do! you aint seen that kid behind the car who comes running across the snow packed road have you? instinct says brake hard, all you will do is slide at 30mph straight into the kid, turning the wheel wont work either..... driving in snow is easy, as long as you use your brain!
Just remember, when in snow, do everything slow!

Tony (lecture over )

boomer

Whilst on the subject of snow - has anyone else been snowballed when driving along?

Twice yesterday a bunch of kids who were milling around at the side of the road chucked snowballs at the car as i went past - *****!!!!

mb

scud8

iTrader: (1)

ABS stinks when you're going downhill in snow. Last year on a very snowy 1-in-8 slope I couldn't get any braking even though I was going at walking pace. With a right-angle bend at the bottom with parked car straight on, the only way I could slow down was to get the car completely side on so wedges of snow built up on the outside of the wheels.

eyeMAJIC

OK, here's my thoughts about 2 types of traction control that behaved very differently in the snow while ascending my steep driveway... from the 2 cars I owned before I got the Scoob.

1... engine power-reducing type (Golf GT TDI)
TOTALLY USELESS!!!! Car just ends up coming to a standstill.

2... ABS-linked type (Ford Puma)
EXCELLENT!!!! One wheel slips, the other takes over, then vice versa as required.... Only works up to 20 mph, but that's fine for a slippy driveway.

Not lost traction yet in the Scoob (too scared to practice sideways stuff, as there is a 5 ft culvert on the wrong side.. )

maintman2

Had the same fun in staffs. However we were doing a lot of spins and at one point the car stalled and wouldn't start again. Unsure why unless with the car spining it starves the engine of fuel. Did start to worry but then we were off again.

whip

Maintman - did you only have a small amount of fuel in the tank? Made sure I'd filled up before I started pratting about on the carparks.

I found that just a slight dab of throttle was enough to send the car sideways, followed by steering straight ahead and keeping to a constant radius circle by using the throttle. Never came on-boost once, this was all at very low revs in 1st/2nd.

Afterwards I thought about how similar this was to the technique Sideways De Banke described about his world record attempt, then I thought about how tricky it would be at 2nd/3rd gear speeds and on wet tarmac (much less slippy than snow!). Must've been slightly difficult...

On a seperate note, on Monday I was following a Ford Ka through some backstreets which have a raised-profile section at each crossroads, all on pure snow. He was going a little faster than me, too fast I thought, and despite frequent wheelspinning and sideways moments he didn't slow down. Next thing you know the roads becomes a downward slope covered with packed ice, and another one of the crossroad speed bumps looms ahead. He locks up all four wheels and hits the bump at 45 degrees, before being sent spiralling into the sidestreet to the left and coming to a halt facing back into the crossroads. Fortunately he didn't collide with anything. At this point all my snowmobile experience came into play and I was able to gently slow the car before the bump, and drive past the slightly-shocked Ka with a bit of a told-you-so grin So if a copper should try to b****k you when you're doing the skid-pan thang on your local carpark, politely inform him you're learning valuable handling skills that may prevent an accident further down the road.

Whip

ian_sadler

I just want some bl00dy snow.

Nothing here in Bucks.

Ian