OR99.5Speed Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 The Excited Southerner's first time driving in snow will be in a few hours... I have hardly seen snow living in Atlanta, now in Bloomington, IN he will have 1-3 inches. I don't even have an ice scraper, but I'm nervous and scared. My tires are crappy and 50% tread, not really helping the matter. Plus, I don't know how to drive a manual in the snow. The Pathy slides a lot in the wet, what do I do for snow? Wish me luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 The key is GO SLOW.....Make no sudden moves....leave lots of distance between you and the car in front of you, and brake early, and softly. My mom was a school bus driver a few years back, and was told something that makes alot of sense. If you've done everything you can to avoid a collision, and you can't, try to hit something soft......a ditch....a fence.....whatever.......it's softer than a car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 you don't need to be driving around bloomington man. take the bus or just walk.. bike if you aren't afraid of the cold too much... can't wait.. midinght fun coming up.. and what simon said otherwise.. look out for the dumsh!ts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowrider Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 (edited) counter steering is your friend. I have 2wd only right now, a locker and mud tires with 50% tread and a manual tranny. You can imagine how sketchy my pathy is especially considering how much ice we get here. So far so good this year, my best advice is stick it in 2wd, go find a parking lot (without poles) and learn how to drive your truck sideways. I wouldn't hang it out sideways at 80 mph, but it will help you get your confidence for aroudn town driving. You'll soon find it's super fun to drive like that, and the trucks are so balanced and predictable you're once you get used to it, you're not gonna feel outta control, they're very easy to hold at the limit, and get back if it oversteers too much. I think i put the truck in 4wd twice last year over the whole winter. Bottom line is these trucks are very predictable to drive in the winter, just a matter of getting used to it. Good luck. Edited December 8, 2005 by lowrider Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey.T Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 (edited) Rules for driving in the snow: Clean all the snow off of your vehical. yes even the roof... See someone with barley any snow cleaned off... get out of thier way, they can not see you... Dont be in a hurry... you see someone in a hurry let them by so you can laugh at them later. Accelerate slowly.... If your rear end starts getting loose/sideways let off of the gas.... do not jump on the brakes... pump them... To improve your actions and reactions in snow/ice conditions find a empty parking lot late in the evening.... dont be wild, just push it a bit. And if none of this works, increase your insurance coverage... Snow flies I go back to full coverage ins with $100 Deductables Edited December 8, 2005 by Casey.T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M in KC Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 "Neutral" will be your friend. Take the power of the wheels going down hills, make no abrupt changes in speed or direction and yes these short wheel based vehicles can come around quick. I have had to dumb*hits do the headlight -taillight pirouette in front of me in the last 10 days. Both promptly found their way to a ditch of their choice. The one spinning out of control coming at me last night was a real treat since I had the wife's Maxima and it was snowing like a banshee. Yep it's the same snow you will be getting or have already gotten. Super dry powderie stuff with just a hint of ice under it. These vehicles are very capable but they are not bullet-proof. Keep the shiney side up! M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 it's snowing hard now.. Yaaay! yeah do the parking lot thing.. that's what i do every first snow/freeze each year... ok, gotta go and play.. laterzzzzzz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSM_guy Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 The key is GO SLOW.....Make no sudden moves....leave lots of distance between you and the car in front of you, and brake early, and softly. My mom was a school bus driver a few years back, and was told something that makes alot of sense. If you've done everything you can to avoid a collision, and you can't, try to hit something soft......a ditch....a fence.....whatever.......it's softer than a car. everything he said is true...esp the part about trying to find something to break your fall a bit. see my post below. fence kept me from doing ALOT more damage to my pathy than what already is done. do everything you can to be safe, stay off the brakes and use your tranny to engine brake. but ill tell you straight up...all the preparedness in the world and all the "doing the right thing" you can do wont always save you. thats exactly what happend in my case. the safest way to drive on ice is to not drive at all. if you do drive..its a craps shoot...and i lost my butt yesterday. iv driven in much worse conditions up in the texas panhandle (worst area in texas) and never had an issue. i get 5 miles from home on a seemingly normal day of snow...BAM. so just watch yourself and be prepared for the worst. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mws Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 Another fundamental: Your traction is very limited. Use it wisely! I always liked the "pocket change" analogy. I think I first heard it from Keith Code with respect to motorcycles. Anyway, think about traction as pocket change. In dry conditions, you have a buck. In wet conditions, you have 50 cents. In dry snow, you have 25 cents. Slushy snow, less. On ice, you have 5 cents. Accelerating, slowing, or turning the vehicle costs traction. Full throttle costs you 75 cents. Coasting is 0 cents. Hard cornering can cost you well over a dollar. Gentle turns cost 10-20 cents. Hard braking can cost over a buck. Gentle braking costs much less. Now here's the key: If you do two things at the same time, you spend on both. IE, full throttle during a hard corner will cost you $1.75. Even in the dry, you overdraw the account and will skid. So when it's snowing, recognize your account is really sparse and spend your traction budget wisely. If you need to make an evasive turn, DO NOT try to accelerate or slow down at the same time. Stay OFF the brakes and the throttle. You want to use every last pennies worth of traction to turn the vehicle. And if you need to stop, do not try to turn - you will use up more than you have. Most crashes are caused by folks feeling the vehicle nearing the edge of the budget and then panicking and hitting the brakes. The account's already almost empty - touching the brakes overdraws the account and you're sliding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mws Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 Oh, and if you start to slide, you have two choices: 1) Reduce traction demands by braking, accelerating, or turning less. 2) Keep doing what you're doing and pray for good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 this is not really related to driving but have some extra clothes, some food and h2o in your truck.. never know when you might get stranded Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zonianbrat Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 I agree with everything everybody has said. I drive in alot of snow living here in the rocky mountains here is what i have learned. 1. Drive slow 2. Brake real early and brake softly 3. if you start sliding while you are stopping dont jam on the brakes. let off the brake so your wheels will start turning again then hit em softly. 4. if you have 4wd use it wisely. you are not invincible with 4wd. 5. 4wd does not help you stop any faster (that is important to remember) 6. Get good tires like BFG all terrains work well you will be surprised how much tires help in the snow. 7. practice in a parking lot. 8. have good insurance 9. I drop the air in my tires to like 20-24 lbs in heavy snow. 10. MOST IMPORTANT--------Wear your seatbelt. mine saved my life...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pezzy Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 lots of good info here... also, if you're in a skid or slide of sorts, and want to steer a certain way... LOOK in the direction you want to go... dont look at the pole youre trying to avoid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OR99.5Speed Posted December 8, 2005 Author Share Posted December 8, 2005 Just got back from going to the repair shop 20 miles out of town, a trip I was forced to make before finals and going back to Atlanta. I did WAAAY better than I thought I would. The tires also did better than I thought they would. We have gotten maybe 3 or 4 inches here, not too bad. When I left the dorm it was still powder, decent traction for what it is. The roads are now covered in that black slush. In two wheel drive, just to see what it would do, the Pathy was really, really sketchy. Not only could it hardly get out of its way from stop, it would lose traction while in motion and start to swing around. I left it in 4wd the whole way except for that experiment. I did hit a patch of ice going downhill at maybe 15 MPH. I corrected my slide like a pro but the Tundra behind me didn't and he did a 720 but somehow didn't hit anything! There are a bunch of rich Long Island, Chicago, etc. girls around here in there BMWs and Benzes. The real fun was seeing them stuck on the side of the road calling Daddy and telling him they need an X5! Ring, Ring..."Daddy! Like, my car is like stuck on the side of the road and it won't go anywhere! Help me! If you loved me you would have gotten me a Cayenne!" ABS works well too. It didn't take me long to practice threshold braking, where its enough to get me slowed down but not enough to slide the tires and activate ABS. I also learned that ABS acts differently in 4wd, letting a bit more lock than 2wd, to allow a little bit of snow to build in front of the front tires. Overall, a great experience. I haven't gotten the chance to rip some donuts yet! -bounce- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 lol. yeah donutz! are fun.. did that last x-mass in a foot+ of snow from like midnightish to fraking 6am when everybody started to dig out.. it was a blast and not a soul anywhere.. when i finally started to see plows and one lone cop i went home.. since you have ABS don't pump the pedal.. actually just depress it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pezzy Posted December 9, 2005 Share Posted December 9, 2005 (edited) speaking of braking - just b/c you have an SUV - doesnt make you invincible... you may be able to get thru the snow easier, but you wont stop any better then everyone else -- so take it slow! Taking it slow is the key to driving in 2wd, also - I drove my 2wd pick up (read: very light ass end, rear wheel drive) for 7 winters... I got used to having the truck's ass end sway to either side when I'd try to take off... kinda fun, as long as there's lots of space around you! Because it was a 5 speed manual, I would also use the engine to slow the truck (shifting down) instead of braking where I could. Edited December 9, 2005 by Pezzy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k9sar Posted December 9, 2005 Share Posted December 9, 2005 *snicker* Pezzy ... a very light ass end Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pezzy Posted December 9, 2005 Share Posted December 9, 2005 I typed that, thought about it, then decided... *meh* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OR99.5Speed Posted December 9, 2005 Author Share Posted December 9, 2005 Haha, yeah Pezzy, my rear end isn't as light as yours... I love laughing at all of the SUVs in the ditch who were driving like maniacs...I saw a Forester slide through a stop sign and T-bone a car. That was pretty crazy! I love the change analogy...I was thinking about it and it got me to coast much more and not hit the brakes. The engine braking really helps too. I'm just really, really amazed at why there are 2wd SUVs on the road...a 2wd Dodge Dakota was sliding BACKWARDS down the road! I couldn't believe it. My friend from SoCal was just standing on the fraternity house front lawn in the snow...he didn't know what to do. He was just amazed at this phenomenon. Also, it seems like hardpack is my favorite to drive on, obviously ice the worst, but I had no idea that slush was so slippery! Good lord, the Pontiacs, etc. have been spinning their front wheels all day! So much fun! I love the snow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted December 9, 2005 Share Posted December 9, 2005 So much fun! I love the snow! :cool2: now you just have to experience a snowball fight and you got the winter pretty much covered.. oh, it get's even colder in jan and feb... smile.gif polar bear swim anyone? tongue.gif i went and played some last night.. had a good time.. at one point i saw 2 guys in a PT cruiser watching me and looked like they wanted to do some donuts too.. later, driving home i saw their pt crushed up on a power pole.. ooops.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted December 9, 2005 Share Posted December 9, 2005 a 2wd Dodge Dakota was sliding BACKWARDS down the road! AAAAAHAHAHAHAHA !!!! driving home i saw their pt crushed up on a power pole.. DOH !!! Yeah, I'm always amazed at the people going to Tahoe... People are FLYING down the grades at 80+mph. Needless to say I've seen some cars stuffed pretty bad ! A few years back I got caught in the hills in a freak hail storm. Just BB to pea sized, but the road was covered in moments. I was in traffic in my D720 and any time I stepped on the gas I just pivoted... Put it in 4x4 and was ok. I'd say I saw 30-40 cars off the road in the next 5 minutes, 2 miles; all low speed stuff. I was lmao at the bewildered look on the peoples faces. B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OR99.5Speed Posted December 9, 2005 Author Share Posted December 9, 2005 Just came back from ripping some donuts in the Assembly Hall parking lot, man was that fun! All I could think is that I was Mika Hakkenen in a Mitsu Evo in the last stage of a Swedish rally...doing 4 wheel drifts and powering out in 4wd, yanking the handbrake, doing donuts in 2wd *which melted the snow!). Only problem is that I was going maybe 40 mph in some areas, and you know how the snow gets bumpy? I think that and the cold weather just completely killed my front struts! The whole front end is squeaking like hell! Oh well, I had a blast! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted December 9, 2005 Share Posted December 9, 2005 lol.. could be just front end is a bit frozen and packed full of snow/ice.. glad you are having a blast.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuismO Posted December 9, 2005 Share Posted December 9, 2005 AAAAAHAHAHAHAHA !!!! DOH !!! Yeah, I'm always amazed at the people going to Tahoe... People are FLYING down the grades at 80+mph. Needless to say I've seen some cars stuffed pretty bad ! haha p1, i hear ya on that one. i go up to tahoe every snow season to board...just got my pathy this year but rented 4wd vehicles in the past...i'm amazed at the ignorance that many drivers have out there...insane i tell ya! or99...as for busting doughnuts in the snow...make sure there aren't any parking stop blocks!!! my buddy busted the rear axle on his trd tacoma last season as his rear end (full of snowboards and gear i should add) swung around and hit one of those concrete blocks at full force...he assumed the parking lot was all flat...but the 4 inches of snow on the lot made it impossible to see them, especially while doing doughnuts!!! haha, his wifey was pissed!!!! she was like "damn you men and your testosterone!!!". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick1716 Posted December 9, 2005 Share Posted December 9, 2005 "Neutral" will be your friend. not IMO.. ive found its better to just keep it in gear going down a hill so you dont get goin to fast! put it in 2nd or 3rd gear(depending on how comfortable you are) and keep your foot off the gas the engine will keep you at a steady 30-35... i drive up and down the mountains atleast a couple times a week so i like to think i know how to drive in the snow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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