too much snow
Basingstoke looked like that today. I managed to get our transit stuck in a level car park today.
looks like someones gone mad with a snow foam lance lol....
I got the Trophy stuck in my girlfriends works car park yesterday morning, took 5 mins to get ity out. Then got to my work and got it stuck again, this time i had to go get a shovel and dig it out, took 15 mins. Then at night time went to pick my daughter up and got it stuck again for another 5 mins. The snow wasnt even that deep, approx 6 inch, but just couldnt get any traction.
Cant wait for it all to melt....
Cant wait for it all to melt....
The Clio like many cars has an open diff which when one wheel spins the other stops moving, not good.
Plus you then have fly-by-wire throttle which is tied into traction control which limits throttle input killing the power which is often the wrong thing to happen on snow/ice. The reason why cars like BMW and Mercedes which are RWD, with open diff and no winter tyres are downright dangerous in these conditions.
On older cable operated throttle cars you could apply the brake with your left foot to prevent the spinning wheel and make the other wheel work, this is all that these new electric diffs like the Fiat 500 Abarth does, rather then kill throttle it applies the brake, and it works well.
But not as well as a proper LSD which rather than kill the power, or apply the brake shifts power between the driven wheels meaning you get proper traction, which even on a 2WD car makes a huge difference.
In these conditions Emma's FTO GPvR is the choice for us even on normal tyres, not winter tyres, makes little drama moving off and driving without difficulty. My neighbours Mercedes couldn't get up the tiny little incline on the drive, it was a pathetic sight.
But and this applies to any car FWD, RWD, 4WD, you still only have 4 bits of rubber on the snow/ice to stop you and no matter what you drive it still means stopping is a problem especially if you don't have winter tyres as once temps drop below 7 degrees your normal road tyres are pretty much worthless.
Plus you then have fly-by-wire throttle which is tied into traction control which limits throttle input killing the power which is often the wrong thing to happen on snow/ice. The reason why cars like BMW and Mercedes which are RWD, with open diff and no winter tyres are downright dangerous in these conditions.
On older cable operated throttle cars you could apply the brake with your left foot to prevent the spinning wheel and make the other wheel work, this is all that these new electric diffs like the Fiat 500 Abarth does, rather then kill throttle it applies the brake, and it works well.
But not as well as a proper LSD which rather than kill the power, or apply the brake shifts power between the driven wheels meaning you get proper traction, which even on a 2WD car makes a huge difference.
In these conditions Emma's FTO GPvR is the choice for us even on normal tyres, not winter tyres, makes little drama moving off and driving without difficulty. My neighbours Mercedes couldn't get up the tiny little incline on the drive, it was a pathetic sight.
But and this applies to any car FWD, RWD, 4WD, you still only have 4 bits of rubber on the snow/ice to stop you and no matter what you drive it still means stopping is a problem especially if you don't have winter tyres as once temps drop below 7 degrees your normal road tyres are pretty much worthless.
I have got a vitara with snow/mud tyres, put that in low range 4WD and it goes anywhere! brilliant for this weather, i even went across a farmers field when it snowed about 2 weeks ago because cars were blocking a road on a hill!!
But like you said stopping is another matter :shock:
But like you said stopping is another matter :shock:
I decided to drive home the normal way, down a long straight 1 in 5 hill. Just to see how it went.
After about 50 yards in 1st gear, my van lost all traction and just slithered down the next 150 yards, occasionally bouncing off the verge a bit, before I finally started to detect a bit of grip in time for the bend at the bottom. I think I'll go the long way round tonight!
After about 50 yards in 1st gear, my van lost all traction and just slithered down the next 150 yards, occasionally bouncing off the verge a bit, before I finally started to detect a bit of grip in time for the bend at the bottom. I think I'll go the long way round tonight!
Betsy the Berlingo hasn't really missed a beat and has provided a lot of "fairly" risk free fun even though the night before last Benson was minus 17.7 and I had to prise the door open with one foot braced against the side. 
J333evo, also the rwd mercs and bmws hae no real weight over the rear tyres so even less traction than fwd..
I think you mean me, but agreed: front engine, rear drive is the worst combo!
j333evo said:
I can't wait to see my neighbor try to get up his drive in his 318i :lol: the snows like a foot deep lol RWD is useless in the snow lol The best car is a Defender or a toyota hilux!
You should be careful when you demist your windscreen not to develop any cracks there a f**king nightmare :evil: Good article http://www.autotrader.co.uk/EDITORIAL/C ... 37077.html
Its shocking how many people drive with there windows covered in snow! "The law states all car windows and mirrors must be clear. Driving while peering through a small de-misted hole in the windscreen can net you a fine of £1,000 for driving with restricted vision." :shock:
You should be careful when you demist your windscreen not to develop any cracks there a f**king nightmare :evil: Good article http://www.autotrader.co.uk/EDITORIAL/C ... 37077.html
Its shocking how many people drive with there windows covered in snow! "The law states all car windows and mirrors must be clear. Driving while peering through a small de-misted hole in the windscreen can net you a fine of £1,000 for driving with restricted vision." :shock:
nickboazracing said:
I take your point onboard, but not totally true, BMW pride themselves on a 50/50 weight distribution, therefore a 1500kg 330 say has 750kgs over the driven rear wheel. A 1100kgs Clio with a 65/35weight distribution only has 715kgs over driven wheels.
But in general a RWD BMW or Mercedes will have near enough same weight over driven wheel as most small FWD cars, but with an open diff, and traction control that then kills the power, they go nowhere, and pulling is probably better than pushing when it comes to snow.
And of course you take into account that so many cars especially RWD German cars have very wide low profile tyres which then spread the weight that is available over a wider area meaning less bite through the snow, again all contributing to poor traction. And no doubt they will be summer tyres not winter.
I know someone who is famous in rallying circles, and his car of choice in these conditions a 1.2L Panda with Michelin winter tyres narrower than standard on steel wheels, he has been able to get everywhere with no problems, it really opens your eyes to proper winter tyres and how much better they work in low temperature conditions. Though unless you run chains or studded tyres no tyres works well on ice.
A good point well made!j333evo said: