I'm no mechanic but I believe rolling down a hill in gear without giving gas also drops torque to 0 except it gives the car more resistance to prevent from going too fast? Could someone clarify because in the dry normal weather I always downshift rather than shift into neutral and riding the brake. I guess brake pads are cheaper than transmission work though haha

QFT.

I'm really curious about this.

I remember 2 years ago,I heard plenty of cops were hiding around in open mall parking lots, like Lansdowne, and were pulling over cars that were skidding and sliding around there. There were all ticketed dangerous driving.

Now in that case, how could we argue that some of us were just testing our car's ability in a closed area before we face the wide open roads?

If it's a sunday or a holiday, or really late at night, hit up Mitchell Island. Wide ass roads + little to no traffic and no cops late at night, you may run into a rent-a-cop or two though. What I did during the last big snowstorm.

because of the snow, I think it is right to bump this thread

Just want to share my OWN experience in winter driving with you guys. I'm posting this beacuse I'm seeing ALOT of reckless driving and just from observation, a lot of people dont know how to drive in winter... (I am not saying I'm an expert at this, but I have experience..)

This is my third winter here in Vancouver. Been driving for 6 years in Calgary winters before this and no offense to the residence of Vancouver n area, but so far the winters here are moderate compared to the crap we get.

First of the reckless driving.. much like previous posters on this thread, having a 4x4/truck/ pickup/ whatever big automotive machine you are driving.. it does NOT mean you are invincible.. You will still slip, u will still get stuck and u will still crash. Having AWD just means you have "power" on all four wheels meaning if you get suck the other 3 or w/e tires with a bit of luck and chance can still pull you out. It does not mean you will not slip slide or w/e... So drive safe please.
Adding to this, when I was in Calgary I owned a 01 Pathfinder SE, and a 01 Corrolla. Both cars had snow tires and, yes Pathfinder got me out of those stuck situations and i felt a lot safer in it.. however the Corolla slipped WAY less then the Pathfinder, and funny thing is, it hardly got stuck... My guess is the weight of the car..

Anyhow to driving techniques.. I think people should seriously slow down.. and actually get snow tires.. half the time what I see are people going way to fast for winter time and just slipping away. Hence unwanted accidents.

Brake early.. and when I say early I mean EARLY. Back in Calgary I would brake at a time where I think it's ridiculously far, and lo and behold it is the correct braking distance :P so always brake far and NEVER brake hard, gentle brake in, let your tires grip the snow and ice. Also another tip is to drive on the snow that is beside or in between the "tread" marks of the previous car, only when you don't feel safe. Yes it might sound odd and dangerous but what i've found is that the snow there is "fresh" and fresh snow gives alot of grip. Heck I sometimes use fresh snow as a last resort in getting my car our when its' suck.. this actually brings me to the third thing.
When you are stuck, please don't gun your car. You will only melt the snow that is under your tires and freezing them hence creating more ice... best way is to get wood, or carpet and put that under your stuck wheel and use it as grip.
Rule of thumb, drive slow, be extra cautious, leave lots of room between you and everyone around, give plenty of time for commuting and BE SMART.

But one thing i learned and i still believe in this.. even if you have the best car in the world with the best safety features with the best snow tires ... it still all comes down to driving skill... and if you are one of those that aren't that experienced with winter, drive safe, slow and careful and you'll be well on your way. :)

I see a lot of people writing SLOW DOWN when you drive in the snow.

Yes, generally I agree with you on that. BUT when you're going up a hill for fuck sakes don't go up like a turtle, you're car is going to get stuck and start sliding.

A good example of this was that snowstorm in '08. Comming off Kight Street onto 41st, everyone was trying to go up the hill at like 5km... no big surprise they got stuck on the left lane. Then some other douche tries to go around the stuck car from stopping speed hits the gas and gets stuck in the right lane.

Simple physics: speed up slightly at the bottom of the hill you will then have more momentum to carry you up the hill.

play gt5

What they are talking about is trying to regain traction in your tires when it is slushy on the roads. Any car fwd rwd or awd. When there is a decreased level of traction over the drive wheels, the engine brake is enough to cause the tires to lock up. On a rwd car, this locked up tire will cause the tail to swere and will cause you to spin out.

I do this coming down SFU. And yeah sure you will speed up without the help of engine brake, but you also have your regular brakes to help slow the car down. And you are only using N long enough to regain traction. If you are having that much trouble where you need to be in N for the entire way down the hill, then you need better tires.

if your wheels are sliding, the engine isn't helping you stop.... as you have no traction. trying to slow down a hill and what to do part way a slide is 2 different things...


shifting to N while in a slide was shown in a video during my driving course years ago. never tryed it though.


2 years ago comming down from cypress in crappy weather in 4 wheel drive. I couldn't even use 2nd. in 2nd gear all 4 tires would lock and slide down the hill without touching the breaks. (engine stoping power was greater then my traction) comming down in 3rd I could barly touch the break or it would still just lock up. almost went off the road as I had no way to stop. should have tryed N. definatly not in my mind at the time. it was more like "oh sh*t"

Not really a driving tip but... when you're parked, don't use the parking brake unless you really have to. If there's water in the brake cables, it could freeze and you'll have to drive for a while with the rear brakes engaged before they get warm enough to release. Happened to me on Monday when I left work, luckily the mid engine heat was able to thaw out the cables in 10 mins.

bumping this as a remidner since there is quite some snowfall lately

drive safe everyone!

Wow, I totally forgot about this thread.

Even though I have awesome winter tires on a 4x4 truck, I am not going to take any of it for granted. It's the other drivers with no winter tires I have to look out for. Drive defensively out there, guys. Being late by a few minutes or even hours is not worth losing your life over. Slow down and keep your distance and be aware of everything around you. Driving in these conditions require you to be ultra alert. If you are the slightest bit tired, rest before heading out.

I took a snooze at the 232nd exit park and ride yesterday, because I was so tired at the end of a long day. I phoned the wife and she completely understood.

Based on my experience from winter driving in Richmond, here are a few tips that I always follow in winter:

-Maintain a safe distance away from any Richmond jack driving his SUV with all season tires. Maybe it's the alpha male perception that "Hey, I have four wheel drive, snow is no problem" despite not driving with winter tires. I remember the countless number of times seeing a dude in his X5 or Mercedes ML driving ridiculously fast in snowy weather. Dude, SLOWWW DOWN!!!

-Avoid the C-Lai's (Chinese housewife) driving their camry or other family car. Although they may be driving really slow on the snow covered roads to drive safely, following these drivers is a big drag on your time. Driving behind a C-Lai on a snow covered road would be like following a turtle derby.

Tip? Go to a empty parking lot and spin your car out and practice controlling sliding.

:badpokerface:

Yeah, I wouldn't suggest doing this.

well its gonna happen one day so why not just make it happen all the time :troll:

It usually doesn't snow till after christmas, but it may happen this year - always hoping for a white christmas. Besides, we have had way too many sunny days for this to be called a normal year, in terms of weather.

Hurrah for a white christmas...!

I've got winter tires on a 4X4 don't need dem tips! I'm invincible
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That's what I did way back when I first started driving. I just spun my car out on black ice in the middle of an intersection because I didn't know how to control my car.

I took my to the local arena in the middle of the night and practiced turning and braking on ice every cold, icy night all winter. It made a huge difference.

that happens alot at the home depot at night when it snows on the dawson and gilmore location. i live on the 15th floor nearby and see it all the time.

Holy fricken hell. Another reason to have good ice radials on your car at this time of year. I was on Halifax going at normal speeds...... OK, maybe a little faster than posted limit. Anyway. I get to a stop sign and just before I brake, I hit this large patch of ice. Not normal patch of ice. Some dipshit had washed his car in his driveway and all the water flowed onto the road. He must have washed a fricken battleship, because there was a huge amount of ice on the road. Anyway, I was able to stop because of my superior driving skills - I guess my Nokians kind of helped.

Can't assume everything is OK, because there will be ice on the roads caused by idiots washing their car in driveways on a hillside. One of the on ramps to the freeway had ice this morning - caused by our friends at Dimwit, I mean, Kiewit Flatiron.


Careful out there, guys.......... and get those winters on ASAP.

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Finland :)

Once part of the same company that made Nokia phones http://atoutprint.be/images/page4-img4.jpg


Maker of the Indestructible Phone also makes the best winter tires (etc)