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I'm surprised I'm still alive

^^That is a good point, go practice in an empty lot. Take your wife and teen out there and practice sliding, braking and traffic scenarios in the vehicle they will drive the most. I practice drifting around the light poles at the mall..wait what? :D
 
3500GMC said:
^^That is a good point, go practice in an empty lot. Take your wife and teen out there and practice sliding, braking and traffic scenarios in the vehicle they will drive the most. I practice drifting around the light poles at the mall..wait what? :D
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Since we are talking about empty parking lots and you mentioned light poles, I got to tell you this true story about what my cousin did back in the 1980's.

It was the early 1980's, my cousin owned a green 1964 or so Ford Galaxie 500. It was a real nice car indeed. He was bad to show out and decided that one night he would cut some donuts in the parking lot at the local grocery store. Crazy fool got to smoking the tires off and somehow ended up dead centering a tall metal light pole with the front end. Busted the radiator and V'd the front end in big time. Hence lesson in point: If your going to play around in parking lots stay far away from the light poles.

I have got to say that when I was young I melted down many a tire in that same parking lot, having a big time. I guess I was lucky enough to avoid the light poles.

One more true story about the same parking lot. I had a buddy that owned a 60's GTO and he had just put a new crate engine in it. One night he probably had drank way too much alcohol and was showing his butt off, doing donuts and burnouts. The place was filled with so much smoke, you couldn't hardly see. Out the main road comes a set of headlights and lowen behold it is the local town police. The other guys and I thought oh boy this is going to be interesting. The police car pulled in and blue lighted him. After 2 or 3 minutes of discussion the police car pulled away, and took no action. Of course we all knew that young guy that was the cop and he was pretty happy go lucky. My oh my how things have changed for sure. Do that stuff these days and you would be under the jail.
 
VW bugs were generally pretty good in the snow because the weight was on the rear drive wheels.

Agree, most just don't know how to drive in the snow. We carry chains, but 4wd is more than adequate.

Recent pics from Big Bear and notice the distance I give the cars in front of me...this is the most snow up there in years and the crowds are crazy huge.
 

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Wow man, that is some snow. I like it better how I saw it when I met you there.
Sure looks pretty -while I am looking at it on my phone at 61 degrees on my front porch, kids playing softball across the street...

The parking lot I mentioned was a cleared hill side with room for maybe 40 cars, not a grocery store. I think I have to drive 300 miles to find a paved parking lot to practice sliding in the snow in a big parking lot. Hence the no experience. Mt. Charleston is the local snow area here, but it is always a busy area. Like going to a mall before Christmas. No extra space to practice, and each time I take my hummer the rangers make it a point to explain to me no offroading anywhere- I think every single ranger stops me to let me know...
 
Will L. said:
Wow man, that is some snow. I like it better how I saw it when I met you there.
Sure looks pretty -while I am looking at it on my phone at 61 degrees on my front porch, kids playing softball across the street...

The parking lot I mentioned was a cleared hill side with room for maybe 40 cars, not a grocery store. I think I have to drive 300 miles to find a paved parking lot to practice sliding in the snow in a big parking lot. Hence the no experience. Mt. Charleston is the local snow area here, but it is always a busy area. Like going to a mall before Christmas. No extra space to practice, and each time I take my hummer the rangers make it a point to explain to me no offroading anywhere- I think every single ranger stops me to let me know...
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Parking lots at the University of Utah late at night with a VW Bug. That was drifting before drifting was thing.
 
btfarm said:
Plus it's much more fun to play in 2wd. If you ain't sideways you ain't playing hard enough.
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You mean like watching the rooster tail behind you from the fresh powder as you are flying along?

Worst storm we have been in was Eisenhower tunnel between Denver and Grand Junction. The reflectors on the side of the road was the only way we knew where the road was. Blizzard conditions so bad it was nearly and sometimes zero visibility. Lots of other people got standed in that storm. We did have the 1988 6.2 burb in 4X4 for that trip. The only time we cussed the manual hubs we put on after the auto hubs wore out.

Standard equipment for a 2WD 1/2 ton in Colorado is a shovel. Have lots of time on the shovel for snow and mud getting myself out.

Nevada Sand requires 4X4. It took a front end loader, aka yellow iron, to get us unstuck as the 4x4 tow truck also got stuck just trying to get to us. Unhooking the trailer got us another 10'.
 
Big T said:
VW bugs were generally pretty good in the snow because the weight was on the rear drive wheels.

Agree, most just don't know how to drive in the snow. We carry chains, but 4wd is more than adequate.

Recent pics from Big Bear and notice the distance I give the cars in front of me...this is the most snow up there in years and the crowds are crazy huge.
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Braver than I am. After reading about the chain reaction wrecks on the Grapevine when it snows in CA - No Thank You! :eek:

As we are trading winter driving tips: Brush the snow off the hood best you can as well as the windows. It can melt from engine heat and then come off all at once onto the windshield stalling the wipers. (I can't tell if that's powder or refrozen snow/ice that won't brush off.) Snow on the roof is something to beware of when it comes flying off other vehicles.
 
Hummer is a great beast but sure likes to just keep 7000 lbs plowing straight ahead if you hit the brakes too hard on ice or come into a turn too fast. I do enjoy going 60 kph in messy blizzard conditions in the slow lane while minivans and suv's fly past me at 100. I have nothing to prove.
 

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I will take RWD with limited slip and a near balanced chasis over FWD any day.

Seems that the only stated issue with RWD by the quoted experts is when there is a weight bias on the vehicle's front axle. Never did like RWD platforms that were light in the rear even on dry pavement, so I can agree with that narrow definition. I can easily state from experience that a RWD with a balanced chasis and LS is a winning combination as it separates duties of what the tires must perform and maximizes the traction under all conditions; FWD places too much work on the front tires. Sure, AWD and 4WD are nice for the rare circumstance, but really not necessary for commuting / daily driving.

Best quote of the article: "“Any car can be safe to drive in the snow . . ."

Also, as implied (and discussed in this thread), the biggest issue on snow covered roads is a driver outside of their ability. AWD, 4WD, RWD, FWD, ABS, and stability control will never fix this.

So, kudos to the author for trying to cover the bases, and at the same time I feel like I just ate plain popcorn for diner.
 
Tires help a bunch. Was thinking back when I drove around a 440 Dodge Dart every day and in the snow. Talk about a death trap.. Unbalanced ain't even close.. I remember buying a pair of recap rough treads and it went from just leave it set, to a beast in the snow. It didn't really have enough brake to lock up the front end so that was my ABS. LOL
 
We used to drive a Plymouth valiant to HS. Summer Street radials on the front, snow tires on the back had an auto and we'd gear down the tranny to slow down. the brake bias way favored the front end. If it was really slick you'd put it in neutral or the rear tires would push you when you braked.
 
ak diesel driver said:
We used to drive a Plymouth valiant to HS. Summer Street radials on the front, snow tires on the back had an auto and we'd gear down the tranny to slow down. the brake bias way favored the front end. If it was really slick you'd put it in neutral or the rear tires would push you when you braked.
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I am right there with you on putting a auto in neutral in the snow in certain conditions or situations. I do it with my 2500HD, in my driveways of course, because an automatic will be engaged in gear and will push the front end all over the place on ice and snow. Any of you guys that drive in snow and ice know that I am sure. There are times to gear down with an auto or straight drive, its all based on the conditions as you guys already know.

I will also add that there are certain instances where driving a straight drive in too low of a gear will get you in trouble. Case in point, years ago I had worked the night shift and was headed home, tired as heck. It had snowed and there was snow and ice on the bridges mainly ice. I was on the interstate taking my sweet time and was in my little S-10 4X4, probably running about 30 to 40 MPH in maybe 3rd or 4th gear, I think fourth. It was a 5 speed vehicle. I was running in 2 wheel drive. I got onto a bridge and before I knew it the back end had kicked out sideways. I corrected it and I'll be a son of a gun if it didn't get sideways again before I could get the clutch pushed in. Case in point, as most of you know, what was happening the truck was holding back so much that the rear wheels broke traction on the ice. After that episode I seriously thought about getting a hotel room and sleeping there. I decided not to and made it home in a higher gear of course.
 
I think having a manual 2wd half ton pickup was the best education a guy can have about how to drive in snow and ice.

There was one time on slick roads in Wyoming on I80 I was very thankful I had a manual. It was a late spring storm, and I didnt have chains and had low tread highway tires, through precise throttle modulation I was able to make it over some of the hills.

Only time I have been stuck has been in a 4wd, buried it in a snow drift on the road pretty good. :)

As far as the article, all it does is confirm that society is made up with a very high percentage of idiots. :)
 
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