Cars in Snow

Bennett Prescott

Bennett Prescott

Just This Guy, You Know?
Staff member
Jan 10, 2011
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Wallingford, CT
www.bennettprescott.com
2008 Audi S4, Michelin Pilot Alpin PA3 tires. Not me driving, unfortunately, or maybe I wouldn't have been able to smell the clutch when we got home. Tried explaining the snow is the clutch in that kind of weather, but oh well. She still drives fine so no harm done.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/v/YOd2c4F6xLQ[/video]

This is just 4-6'' of snow here in wimpy CT. I had that car going up a 7% grade in 12'' a few days after christmas in NH, just to see what it could do. I wasn't sure those ''performance winter'' tires would keep up, but hot damn.
 
Re: Cars in Snow

My poor car in the snow after getting plowed in...



Bought an extra set of steelies to put snow tires on instead of mounting/unmounting tires. But i haven't had the funds yet to do that... its a pipe dream, but when you can buy 4 steel rims made for your care for 10 bucks each you do it.



 
Re: Cars in Snow

I drive a Ford F250 4x4 that is basically the snow plow model. Not long after I got it I was visiting my aunt in Conneticutt. We had a snow/ice storm that left 10 inches of snow on her driveway with two layers of ice in it. I was able to drive up the 30 degree driveway, from a dead stop, in reverse.



Of course, I listen to the constant rumble of the tires on dry pavement, and it has a turning radius of about 1/4 mile.
 
Re: Cars in Snow

Old Nissan Pathfinder 4x4, winter tires, few hundred pounds of sand. It's hard to get stuck, and if it wrecks, I'm not out much.



I would love a big diesel, quad cab, long bed, with snow plow attachment someday.
 
Re: Cars in Snow

I've got a 1997 Toyota 4runner that is a lot of fun in the snow. Good tires and good four when drive, nothing else. That's the one I learned to snow drift in. Same night I tore the exhaust system out from under it by sliding sideways over a curb at 30mph. Did it on purpose, just didn't know the curb was under the snow.



My 2008 Tundra also does a great job, but with all the traction control and skid detection and stuff, you can't play with it very much.
 
Re: Cars in Snow

Jay Barracato wrote on Thu said:
I drive a Ford F250 4x4 that is basically the snow plow model. Not long after I got it I was visiting my aunt in Conneticutt. We had a snow/ice storm that left 10 inches of snow on her driveway with two layers of ice in it. I was able to drive up the 30 degree driveway, from a dead stop, in reverse.



Of course, I listen to the constant rumble of the tires on dry pavement, and it has a turning radius of about 1/4 mile.
Click to expand...



My record is with this most recent storm. I show up at the shop, 18'' of snow unplowed. It's a big parking lot, probably 400 feet deep, so I'm flying through with snow flying over the hood and windshield. Tons of fun.



PS- I'm driving a 2001 F350 4x4 with beefy tires, a modded turbo diesel, and a 6 speed manual
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When it snows, it's time for fun.



<font size="1">Except for the time I was doing donuts at walmart, and I was sliding sideways at about 30mph when I hit one of their curbs hidden by the snow. Adrian and I thought the truck was going to roll, it felt like it popped up on two wheels! I ripped the tire right off the rim, but the rim and tire were fine, and my alignment was unaffected!</font>
 
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Just before Christmas last year we got blasted by that storm. After about 18 inches of untouched snow, i was actually unable to get up a friends long driveway, so I ended up driving through a frozen cornfield next to his drive.



Actually I have gotten my truck stuck twice, and both times were in my yard.
 
Re: Cars in Snow

2006 Silverado 1500, Z71, OEM tires, I drive it routinely to my house in Vermont which is on an unpaved private road and has a 500' driveway that is usually (but not always) plowed. Never a problem to date. Hope I didn't just jinx myself.
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Re: Cars in Snow

While we don't get much snow here, the last week excepted, but the difference in the snow and ice between my '09 Legacy Spec B or my wife's '09 WRX and my slightly modified '95 RX7 is considerable. It takes nothing to get the back end out on the RX-7 when the road is slippery and once it starts to go it wanted to keep going. Fun in a parking lot (I grew up outside Chicago and learned to drive in the snow there) but it was a pain on the road which is why it now no longer sees bad weather.



One of my neighbors, a native Southerner, tried to drive his RWD, compact Ford pickup Monday after the snow here. He got maybe 50' from his driveway and ended up with the truck sitting in the middle of our cul-de-sac for two days.
 
Re: Cars in Snow

Brad, having had an RX-7, I know what you mean. And my Benzo (SLK350) can hardly even make it down the driveway, let alone the road, in any kind of snow or ice.



Is your neighbor familiar with the expression ''Here's your sign''?
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Re: Cars in Snow

You East Coast folks have gotten hit harder than we have here, but it's been plenty snowy here too. My current vehicle stable includes a 4X4 Ford Explorer, AWD Chevy Astro, a 2WD Sunfire rollerskate (planning to sell), and a new Chrysler T&C van.



The Explorer and Astro are both great in the snow with all season tires. The sunfire is actually surprisingly good for a light 2WD. We just bought the Chrysler - I really wanted AWD, but the only choice is the Toyota Sienna, which was about $10K more.



Hopefully someday vehicle swap #2 will be the Explorer for some kind of cool car - top of my list at the moment is a BMW 328i xDrive. I'm interested to read reports like yours of good winter driving in relatively small cars. It gives me hope of something like that working around here the other 4 months of the year.



Fun fact of the day: I've now used more diesel in my tractor snowblowing this winter than I did mowing all last season.
 
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Surprisingly my 1993 940 Turbo (RWD) isn't scared of the snow, even with all season tires.



I did watch some genius with racing slicks on 22'' rims spin around 3 or 4 times though.
 
Re: Cars in Snow

with the recent snow storm we had down here in the land of ...... well people who have no clue how to drive in a limited traction environment..., its funny and scary to see people start to lose grip and then hit the brakes and then skid into the ditch. Its scary when they get close to you.



Even with the allseason tires on my Passat, it handles quite well in the snow. I guess it also helps that my driver's ed included a section on a skidpad. Nothing like going sideways through a turn when your passenger isn't expecting it.
 
Re: Cars in Snow

ahh... reminds me of my first 270º in Chatham NJ on Christmas Day, 1982, running from our house to my Grandparents house. Spun out bigtime on a nice open page of road, no damage to dad's car (I was 2 years away from getting my license)



Fast forward to 1985, driving home from a friend's house in my 71 CJ5 with a Meyer plow on the front - even angled, it sticks out a bunch, so to avoid hitting oncoming traffic on a narrow lane, I was hugging the right side. Plow tip caught on side of the embankment, and in slow mo we rode up and then tipped over. My sister and I got out of the car, now on its side. Police came to ensure we were OK, and then we got 10 people to lift up the Jeep back on to its wheels and we drove off.



Went to a metalworking shop the next day as my plow A-arm was bent; they cut it off with a torch, reset it straight and rewelded it for $25. Not a bad cost for tipping over your car.
 
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93 Q45 - With traction control, nothing happens - goes nowhere. W/O traction control, off I go - in a circle
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. Last winter I barely got out of the drive into the cul de sac, and barely made it back into the drive. I got in the 92 328i 5 speed and effortlessly backed out of the drive and motored off to work. I think it's got positraction :D
 
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