Vla416

LOL! Yeah, I will give it a try one of these days, when it snows again. Couldn't hurt to rotate the tires as well. Cheers

Thanks for the input, HTH. When this happened it was around -7, and it was snow/ slush for the most part, except for that one patch which was pure shiny white ice like someone drove a Zamboni over it. You're right that I over-corrected the steering - at one point I had to swing it to full lock, and that's when I realized the situation was going to get worse before it gets better. What you say about using the engine to naturally slow the rear wheels down makes sense under ideal conditions, but I think that it might work best when there is some grip in the first place. If the rear wheels have no grip whatsoever, making them spin slower (as the engine slows down) could add to the problem by making them lose even more grip as they are unable to keep up with the road. For example, a FWD car will be able to power out of a fishtail (since in a fishtail, we already assume that it has grip at the powering front wheels), at the same time, a RWD car will not be able to slow out of a fishtail (since in a fishtail, it has no grip at the powering real wheels). That's how I see it, in theory. Only one way to find out though... gonna have to find an empty parking lot.

Thanks for the replies guys. It's my second winter with the Pathy, and I'm still learning about it (it's my first vehicle that's not a FWD sedan). It never occurred to me to throw it in neutral--I don't like the feeling of not having the ability to brake with the engine--but I think it would have made sense in this situation. A sobering reminder not to underestimate the conditions I guess. Thanks again.

Hi guys, I just had a close call, and wonder whether anyone had any winter driving tips for me. Namely, I was driving on Highway 35/115, off the 401, east of Toronto, Ontario. The highway was partially covered with snow, and I was doing 90 km/h (in a 100 zone), in RWD. At one point, I noticed the road had completely iced over and I made a dumb move of changing to the left lane, only to see it in worse condition (it was late at night, and not many cars were on the road). I then made an even dumber move and decided to switch back to the right lane, reducing the speed by taking my foot of the gas (I didn't break). Well at this point, my rear wheels started sliding off to the right--I corrected by turning the steering wheel to the right at the same time (which I guess is "into the skid"), only to have the rear end fishtail the other way. At this point I corrected again, this time to the left, but the truck continued to fishtail side to side ever more violently. I believe I had my foot off the gas and the brakes the entire time this was happening. Finally, having slowed down enough, and with the car fishtailing all over the highway, I aimed for the ditch to the right, and applied the breaks just in time to slide off. Surprisingly, the air bags didn't deploy (thankfully), and there was no damage to the truck. I thew it in 4wd, got out of the snow, and continued on my way, this time driving 60. My question: what is the correct course of action, exactly, when you are driving straight down the highway and the car starts to fishtail? Oh, and it's a 99 Pathfinder Chilkoot, with good Bridgestone Dueler 31x10.50x15s and recently changed brakes, bushings are in good condition (no death wobble under normal circumstances).

Thanks for the advice... I looked into it and I was told that for the 99 model year they put in a transponder in the key, and that the truck won't start unless the key is inside I'm kinda skeptical but after checking out some of the prices for the installation decided to hold off anyway... I figure those 300-400 bucks will keep my pocket nice and toasty while I'm waiting for it to warm up

Thanks guys... It's an automatic, but I think I will take adamzan's advice and just take it somewhere. Adamzan, do you know of a good place in the Ottawa area? I live 3 hours away, but I might make the trip if I know the place is good...

Hey everyone, I wasn't sure whether to post this here, but perhaps some of you have experience with this stuff: I just bought a ProStart 2-way remote starter for my '99 R50. After locking my keys in w/ the engine running I figured there must be a better way to warm it up in the morning... My questions is: Does anyone have experience with this type of thing, and if so, is there a way to make use of the factory antenna (for the stock remote key-less entry) and connect it to the remote starter? And will I be able to leave the factory alarm intact while doing this? Any things that I should especially watch out for? I've never done this type of electrical work before, but I figure if I do my research and take it slowly I should be able to do a decent job. Thanks

Thanks for your input, I'm going to give it a shot. Incidentally, it also occurred to me that the wider track might put more strain on the bushings, but I know mine are in good shape and I've been told that Nissan fixed the "death wobble" problem for the 99 model year. In any case, it's very good to know that someone is running that configuration. V.

Hi Guys. First time poster, long time lurker. I've been searching the forum for an answer to my question, and I've seen all sorts of set-ups but nothing really adresses my concerns. Namely, I have a 1999 Pathfinder Chilkoot (Canadian), with stock 15x7 steel rims/ 40mm (1.57") offset (Which I figure gives me ~5.5-5.75" backspace) and stock P265/70R15 tires. Suspension is stock. I want to upgrade to 31x10.50x15 tires (Probably Pro Comp A/Ts), and while some makes seem to fit on the stock wheels without rubbing the strut (according to some members of this forum), I also wanted to get a set of steel rock crawlers. Rim wise, I am thinking of going with 15x7 or 15x8 steel rims with 4" of backspacing. This is my dilemma: I've been told by my local 4x4 shop that reducing the backspace/ adding spacers and thus shifting the wheels/tires outward could adversely affect the handling on my pathfinder and even cause the McPherson struts to collapse if stressed too much. Since the car is a daily driver and I want to preserve/ improve the road handling characteristics of the vehicle this is a big concern. My question: 1) Will 4" BS be enough to clear the struts and eliminate the possibility of rubbing for something like Pro Comp All Terrain 31x10.5x15s? Should I stick closer to the stock specs just to be on the safe side? 2) Will reducing the backspace to 4" adversely affect my handling/ braking/ anything else? 3) I am sure I don't want to go above 31" tires, is there any advantage to going with a wider rim (15x8)? Thanks for your help. V.