My first snow drive

Lol I remember that story

 

My 2014 WRX was so easy with real snows it could turn a clown into an overconfident secks machine operator. It was that good. Yeah I high sided it. In my own drive.

 

ABS, is in fact, not the answer. Anyone who’s learned how to drive in the snow, and is experienced in such conditions, will tell you that ABS is a decent safety net, but that a well-used foot on the brake-pedal, rapidly-tapped, will slow or stop your vehicle faster and more effectively.

 

Please take a video of you putting your transmission into neutral and back to drive 3-4 times a second for 10 seconds. How long will it last and will it even be effective?
Something you can control (your brakes) will always beat out something you can't (engine braking). I'll also gladly take a system designed to work with 100% of the population at 98% effectiveness over 2% improvement for 1/3rd the population and a fiery death for 2/3rd the population.
Which also works in rain, which also works on dirt, which also works on dry pavement. Which also works when 1 tire is on dry pavement, another is on wet pavement, another tire is on ice, and the 4th tire is flat.

I very much do not miss the days of non abs driving. I also don't miss my motorcycle that was totalled by someone turning left. I have abs on my new bike...

Remember; 80% of the population is an above average driver!

 

Had our first serious snow and ice here yesterday and took my wife's Rav out in it. New Blizzaks, traction control, AWD and that thing is glued to the road. Best vehicle I've ever driven in the winter by far.

 

Does not matter WHAT you were driving or how many wheel drive, too fast for the conditions. End of story.

 

I am from Phoenix, AZ. Will soon start to give lessons for snow/ice driving. There is a $15 fee registration. Don't miss this opportunity.

 

Bring our own bald tires?

 

The first season Audi ran their Quattro rally cars they had a lockable center differential. They never ran with it unlocked so they deleted the center differential the following year to save weight.
The Subaru WRX STI AWD has a lockable center differential for slick conditions.
Having no center differential does not cause any problems on slick roads, indeed it works better.

 

all seasons, front wheel drive honda accord, manual trans, no ABS... I live in Maine.. winters here are unpredictable. lots of ICE, and snow, and slush here on the coast, and I drove in all of it.. was a delivery driver for Dominos... we didnt stop delivery unless it was an actual blizzard/whiteout conditions (only happened to me 5 or 6 times we had to call back orders to tell them we could not deliver due to road, and weather conditions.)


I've driven in ice storms with over 1/2" thick ice building up on the front of the car, and windshield (defrost on high) wipers, and de-icer washer fluid werent cutting it.. I had to stop every 20 miles to break it off the windshield. drove from midcoast Maine to Bangor Maine in just over 2.5hours (typically a 2hour drive).. no plows were out as the roads were just glare ice.. made it without any incidents..

another time I drove home during valentines day from my GF house in lincolnville to my house south on Rt1.. it had started raining hours before.. and turned to freezing rain, and froze onto the road... glare ice with just a bit of stubble from the earlier snow.. I drove home in my honda accord with all seasons on.. only challenge was a water crossing before camden caused by snow, and ice clogging the road drain in a low section.. I drove through it, and suprisingly didnt flood the car.. hills were a bitch as I had to keep momentum to make it up the hills, but also maintain control.. that was a scary ride home..

driven in whitout squalls were I could only see the tire tracks directly in front of me, and every once in a while a part of the snowbank..

driven up hills in an ice storm where I lost all traction, and momentum, and slid backwards down the hill, and due to quick thinking was able to shift the car into 2nd gear, steer the car around while sliding, and hit the gas, to go down the hill controlled like... this hill had no guard rails.. just steep ditches.. I made it out, and had to drive 4 miles around to get to my destination..

that was the last front wheel drive car I owned.. now own a Mazda CX-5 AWD, and my Tacoma 4x4.. the mazda handles much like a subaru does in the snow, but has low clearance, and the all seasons do OK.. the tacoma seems to do fine, but its weight, and tire width seem to be a hinderance.. and I HATE ABS.... really wish it could be effectively disabled.. I know how to modulate my braking better than the computer.. ABS is actually scarier to me..

 

I bought a 94 F250 Powerstroke last winter in SLC and drove it back to Wisconsin. Leaving Lincoln, NE in the morning I hit an ice storm and I-80 was just a mess. I found some sand bags for the bed, but still went a bit sideways at 55mph when I hit some black ice in the slow lane which shot me into the left lane. I decided to camp there for a bit and slowed to 45. It was actually a bit better because of all the choppy snow. After a minute or so a couple cars pass me on the right and the first car goes into a slow-motion tailspin as soon as it gets ahead of me. It goes right in front of me, missing by just a few feet, across the entire median, and across the other side of the interstate to the far ditch all in less than five seconds, nearly causing a head on with a pickup going the other way. I think it only did one 360 to boot!

Took me nine hours to get to Minneapolis that day.

Also, I always find it's better to just slow down get some distance from vehicles that are throwing debris, or just crazy drivers. It's easier to avoid them if they are in front of you.

 

ditto, some states its a requirement in inclement weather to slow to 45mph... it reduces risk, and if it takes an hour or a little longer thats ok.. better than a repair/tow bill.....

 

I visited Maine last week with my GF and her roommate. I miss it out there, it's such a great place! Don't miss the winter weather so much, but then again, I live on Lake Superior now. Storms aren't quite as bad, but it's a heck of a lot colder.

 

I may be wrong, but abs doesn't kick in until you actually already fail to brake effectively for the available traction. It shouldn't kick in until the wheel speed sensors show a difference. Unless there's some black magic wizardry that let's the system know your on ice and to activate early somehow.

So the difference between abs and no abs for all the "skilled drivers" out there is effectively zero. (until they fuck up, and then it's there buzzing, reminding them they fucked up, which is why I really think some people don't like it)

 

ABS kicks in when the brakes are applied so consistently that the wheels would have locked (hence the name, “anti-lock braking system.”) In newer vehicles, ABS is really, really good in the right conditions, but will fail (in therms of stopping distance, alone,) compared to skilled threshold braking on dirt or gravel roads, and a few other scenarios. What it excels at, is taking one stress off the driver, allowing them to focus nearly exclusively on steering out of their slip/skid, instead of tapping their brake and steering at the same time (and if you’re in a manual transmission vehicle, also depressing the clutch.)

For drivers skilled at threshold braking, if ABS braking kicks in, something has gone wrong.

 

Comparative test:

https://youtu.be/7_99dN4dVkc

 

Good post.
And indeed, there are a few drivers that can do better without abs. But they are very few and far between and almost never include the braggarts that think they have all the answers.
Even some of the best drivers want it as an option. And yes, even the best drivers like having the ability to focus on the steering and not have to modulate brakes they couldn’t possibly do as well as a computer. We went through this with standards vs autos at one time. The modern computer is just too much of an advantage .

 

One for the books.

 

There’s a blues song in there somewhere...

I’ve driven forty-seven miles in an ice storm
I got a cobra snake for a necktie
A brand new house on the road side
And it's a-made out of rattlesnake hide
Got a brand new chimney put on top
And it's a-made out of human skull
Come on take a little drive in my Taco
And tell me who do you love?
Who do you love?
Who do you love?

 

That’s not quite the way I know abs to work.
If one wheel is on snow, one on ice, one is on wet pavement and the last on dry pavement, you’ll have three or four separate wheels with with independent braking force. I can’t think of a “skilled driver” who can do that with only one brake pedal. If any wheel locks up, you loose steerage in that wheel. Skill has little to do with it. It’s physically impossible to control the braking on four separate wheels without abs.
Working Concept
If you are driving a car with conventional brakes and press the brake pedal, the stopping force is applied to all four wheels. On the other hand, in ABS cars, the brake force is distributed to all wheels individually.