v8ian
Posted a lot
Posts: 3,824
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Dec 20, 2010 13:39:09 GMT
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Lots of good advise already, Spade, Broom, warm clothing, GOOD suitable boots, and some old disposable bits of Carpet to put under your wheels if you do get stuck, I have been to work every night since the snow fell, 35 miles each way, [I'm 15 mins from the bottom of the M40] and not had a real problem except for the muppets who think they can drive in snow, but don't have a clue, Plan your route, avoiding steep hills, and try to stay on bus routes, they tend to be gritted first The best bit is I drive a RWD 5 series Tourer, with 285s on the back, so grip is never going to be at a premium!!!
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Atmo V8 Power . No slicks , No gas + No bits missing . Doing it in style. Austin A35van, very different------- but still doing it in style, going to be a funmoble
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speedy88
Club Retro Rides Member
"Nice Cortina mate"
Posts: 2,296
Club RR Member Number: 118
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Snow driving stylesspeedy88
@speedy88
Club Retro Rides Member 118
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Dec 20, 2010 13:45:29 GMT
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Normally don't touch the throttle until I'm over 10mph, also the "rocking" technique as seen on the top gear arctic special seems to work when I get stuck.
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bxer
Part of things
Posts: 457
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Dec 20, 2010 13:47:03 GMT
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Smooth & slow as others say, plus I've found you seem to get the most grip just as the engine is on the point of stalling (yes I know that may be a bit tricky with a variomatic ) With the variomatic in mind, I'd be trying put it in gear with no throttle, and then veeeery gentle on the throttle. Can't remember, but are DAFs front engine, rear drive, gearbox at back? Should be a good combo if it is ;D
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Lawsy
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,615
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Dec 20, 2010 13:50:36 GMT
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simplest advice is to just take it steady and don't let the wheels spin up, use the cars engine rather than spin up the tyres
there's a you tube video going round of a 1 series beemer that hits a wall, girl revs it and spins up the wheels, goes nowhere, then leaves it in gear and pushes, car then sets off and gathers momentum under its own steam as its the best thing to do.. in fact here it is..
just goes to show that touching the accelerator with a feather is the best option..
once out on main roads, shouldnt be much different to driving on a wet day, just be sensible.
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Last Edit: Dec 20, 2010 13:51:24 GMT by Lawsy
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Lawsy
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,615
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Dec 20, 2010 13:52:13 GMT
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oh and don't forget, if you can afford them and have soemwhere to kep them, go get some snow/winter tyres
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Dom
Part of things
Limey
Posts: 617
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Dec 20, 2010 13:54:16 GMT
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Carmats, upside down are great for putting under the wheels.
If you can't stop, aim for the car in front. Should stop you, and do less damage than a tree.
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Last Edit: Dec 20, 2010 13:55:10 GMT by Dom
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hamps
Posted a lot
www.medwayrscentre.co.uk
Posts: 2,077
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Dec 20, 2010 14:06:38 GMT
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front or rear wheel drive? makes a massive difference on style imo
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Dec 20, 2010 14:41:33 GMT
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there's a you tube video going round of a 1 series beemer that hits a wall, girl revs it and spins up the wheels, goes nowhere, then leaves it in gear and pushes, car then sets off and gathers momentum under its own steam as its the best thing to do.. in fact here it is.. I thought I'd seen some stupid things, but that takes the biscuit. Though I suppose she did get the car moving.
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" East bound and down, loaded up and truckin' "
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crazymonkey
Posted a lot
ummm....what was I doing again???
Posts: 1,981
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Dec 20, 2010 14:42:15 GMT
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Everyone's pretty much summed it up really. Had to go down a very steep hill with lots of ice today (dad driving not me ) very gently on the brakes and pumping them is a lot better than full on. thats the mistake a lot of people make when the wheels lock they slam the brakes on harder which is the worst thing you can do. Yeah avoid throttle as much as possible, if you can drive it on the clutch do that as less chance of spinning. As for the hedge comment, good advice used that today, use the hedge for that bit extra grip, at the end of the day I would rather have a few scratches on the side of the car than hitting a brick wall with the front end.
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whoever said dogs were man's best friend....obviously never heard of cable ties
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Dec 20, 2010 14:46:54 GMT
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8 billion rpm's, drive as usual and stomp on the brakes 10ft away from junctions/obsticles*
*Seems to be the way around here try to drive at least.......
Let the engine do most the work, drive on the clutch to get going and engine rather than braking. If you have a RWD stick as much weight over the rear wheels as you can.
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Dec 20, 2010 15:26:24 GMT
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Smooth & slow as others say, plus I've found you seem to get the most grip just as the engine is on the point of stalling (yes I know that may be a bit tricky with a variomatic ) With the variomatic in mind, I'd be trying put it in gear with no throttle, and then veeeery gentle on the throttle. Can't remember, but are DAFs front engine, rear drive, gearbox at back? Should be a good combo if it is ;D You got the layout spot on. Also transmission is pretty similar in weight to engine. As for putting it in gear with no throttle if you tried to put it in gear with any at all you would absolutly knacker the propshaft. The car is designed to be started in gear. The centrifugal clutch starts to engage at about a 900rpm. The vario also acts as a primitive LSD. Last year it coped really well. I might try the carpet and sacks of coal in the boot trick
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Dec 20, 2010 15:53:19 GMT
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No sudden braking/acceleration,leave plenty of room between you and the car in front and basically watch out for other people who cant drive in it
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1984 Subaru GLF Hatch 1983 Skoda 120LE Super estelle 1977 Subaru DL Wagon 1978 Datsun 120Y Coupe 1995 Skoda favorit estate
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Dec 20, 2010 16:18:32 GMT
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How much grip there is is quite tricky to judge just by looking at the road so it's good (at a safe moment) to try out braking or turning just to see what stopping distances are like.
Also, don't take the conditions for granted. I was out (on mountain bike not car) on saturday and several times was traveling along a well gritted A/B road which was just wet only to find a point where melt water had flowed across the road and frozen - leaving 10 feet of solid black ice.
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Dom
Part of things
Limey
Posts: 617
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Dec 20, 2010 16:19:36 GMT
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Good example of steady diving. Then what happens as soon as he slams on the brakes.
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Dec 20, 2010 16:27:40 GMT
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All very good advice so far (aside from the carrying whiskey idea... did you know those mountain rescue dogs with the booze round their necks killed most people much quicker as alcohol is a vasodilator and reverses the body's natural reaction to cold temperatures) - what hasn't been mentioned is what to do if you find yourself in a mild panic...
if you end up skidding on a corner, lift off the accelerator immediately (unless you are in some kind of an epic track or high performance car but in reality very very very few people ever are - in which case ease off the throttle)
DO NOT touch the clutch or the brakes - it makes it a lot worse
ALWAYS look at where you want to go never at anything you think you may hit, keep the steering on as you would for the corner but rock the wheel gently side to side to maximise the contact patch of the tyre and help find extra grip. (obviously if you start epically oversteering then all of the above applies with the simple addition of catching the slide with the steering too)
If you drive using the other tips in the thread then you should never need the info in this post, however it's very useful to know should the worst happen, panic and bad technique are what make a simple mistake into a crash.
Just my two pence
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Last Edit: Dec 20, 2010 16:29:41 GMT by jasonb360
- '80 Mk1 Vauxhall Cavalier Saloon, 3.0l 12v... in progress with some special plans ahead - '94 106 Rallye, Endurance Rally Car
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LowStandards
Club Retro Rides Member
Bigging Up The Sum Sum Man Since '99
Posts: 2,665
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Dec 20, 2010 16:28:10 GMT
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I managed to slide into a hedge even with knobbly tyres and 4x4, I was trying to get past a load of stuck cars though. A 4x4 will only get you moving, it wont help in the ol' stopping or cornering aspect! Also, knobblies can sometimes have a detrimental effect depending on the type of snow, i forget which now, i think hard packed is bad news for em???
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Dec 20, 2010 16:56:24 GMT
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I clipped something under the snow with a back tyres and it pushed the back of the truck out sideways enough to get it on a hill, as it slide round a drove the nose of the truck into a hedge before I could stop, broke the intercooler backing out. Stupid plkace to mount an intercooler on a 4x4, hanging under the plastic front bumper.
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Volvo back as my main squeeze, more boost and some interior goodies on the way.
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Dec 20, 2010 17:15:43 GMT
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this is why I prefer driving the rally car in this weather (though I avoid driving in it as much as possible), light fwd with all the weight over the steering and driven wheels - underside completely guarded, with plenty of ground clearance and uprated suspension so I can drive on the verge all the time
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- '80 Mk1 Vauxhall Cavalier Saloon, 3.0l 12v... in progress with some special plans ahead - '94 106 Rallye, Endurance Rally Car
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Dec 20, 2010 18:24:46 GMT
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Drive like there is a full glass of water on the dashboard and u're trying to not spill any!
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Snow driving stylestourettesteddy
@GUEST
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Dec 20, 2010 18:28:37 GMT
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I managed to slide into a hedge even with knobbly tyres and 4x4, I was trying to get past a load of stuck cars though. A 4x4 will only get you moving, it wont help in the ol' stopping or cornering aspect! Also, knobblies can sometimes have a detrimental effect depending on the type of snow, I forget which now, I think hard packed is bad news for em??? I have a set of knobblies on my Discovery they are the Insa turbo things they are fantastic on mud and soft snow but once its compacted and icey they slide just like everyone else. Its just the 4x4 sysyem that keeps it going but I have to slow down for icey bends and junctions
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