Winter Driving Hints
Discussion
It's that time of the year when we need to think about driving in winter conditions.
It is important that we polish up our skills and car handling should be practised as much as possible, with particular attention given to:
Oversteer
Understeer
Handbrake Turns
Left Foot Braking
Doughnuts
Drifts
Oh, and Skid Recovery
It is important that we polish up our skills and car handling should be practised as much as possible, with particular attention given to:
Oversteer
Understeer
Handbrake Turns
Left Foot Braking
Doughnuts
Drifts
Oh, and Skid Recovery
When I was teaching my two sons to drive, I made good use of any decent snowfall by "playing" on any decent supermarket carpark or industrial estate. Being able to get some oppsite lock on at very modest speeds teaches great car control with near-zero scope for loss of paintwork or NCB
Since then, they've mentioned on several occasions that they have not been phased by an occasional moment of lift off oversteer on a wet roundabout, or a too-fast entry into a bend.
Personally, I think that new drivers should be taught a degree of over-the-limit car control, so that they are better equipped to cope when it happens for real.
I know that advanced driving is supposed to prevent the situation in the first place, but lets face it, most of us have mis-judged at some point, leading to a "moment"
Besides, handbrake turns are fun (unless you're in a Citroen BX, as I found out the hard way), and if you're fortunate enough to run a non TC-enabled RWD car, a bit of slo-mo drifting can teach an awful lot.
Additionally, how many "ordinary" drivers have you seen spinning away madly in an inch of snow, when some tuition would have got them moving? Last year, I made it the 40 miles home in my 400+ bhp FWD Coupe, running wide Toyo summer tyres, when all around me, were people (inc 4x4s) going nowhere.
So - bring it on - lets have some (safe) fun in the snow...
Since then, they've mentioned on several occasions that they have not been phased by an occasional moment of lift off oversteer on a wet roundabout, or a too-fast entry into a bend.
Personally, I think that new drivers should be taught a degree of over-the-limit car control, so that they are better equipped to cope when it happens for real.
I know that advanced driving is supposed to prevent the situation in the first place, but lets face it, most of us have mis-judged at some point, leading to a "moment"
Besides, handbrake turns are fun (unless you're in a Citroen BX, as I found out the hard way), and if you're fortunate enough to run a non TC-enabled RWD car, a bit of slo-mo drifting can teach an awful lot.
Additionally, how many "ordinary" drivers have you seen spinning away madly in an inch of snow, when some tuition would have got them moving? Last year, I made it the 40 miles home in my 400+ bhp FWD Coupe, running wide Toyo summer tyres, when all around me, were people (inc 4x4s) going nowhere.
So - bring it on - lets have some (safe) fun in the snow...
^^^ He's not wrong!
Being NigelO's youngest son, I've beenhaunted well educated by many a handbrake turn when It's wet or icy, and to date I've not had any accidents!
Although, when testing my winter hack's handbrake, I got intimate with a kerb. another story
unfortunately, work has just started gritting their prime car park.. boo hiss etc.
As above said, I'm all in favour of learnists having a bit of 'emergency situation' training to highten their awareness of themselves as a driver, but also their car's behaviour under abnormal circumstances. That and I've been on a driver training program, and drifting a Mondeo for 10 minutes is bloody good fun
ETA:
Being NigelO's youngest son, I've been
Although, when testing my winter hack's handbrake, I got intimate with a kerb. another story
unfortunately, work has just started gritting their prime car park.. boo hiss etc.
As above said, I'm all in favour of learnists having a bit of 'emergency situation' training to highten their awareness of themselves as a driver, but also their car's behaviour under abnormal circumstances. That and I've been on a driver training program, and drifting a Mondeo for 10 minutes is bloody good fun
ETA:
Nigel_O said:
in the snow
What snow?Edited by MatthewO on Wednesday 21st December 16:10
It is important to be able to cope with all likely scenarios, so understanding what happens when the car slides and how to get out of it is important. Many drivers don't have a clue.
Besides all that, it is good fun.
I'd be surprised if anybody who enjoyed driving wasn't curious to get a car out-of-shape and see how it responded.
Besides all that, it is good fun.
I'd be surprised if anybody who enjoyed driving wasn't curious to get a car out-of-shape and see how it responded.
Edited by MC Bodge on Wednesday 21st December 19:43
Should tyre pressures be 'adjusted' for cold weather running?
I'm guessing when the ambient and road temperatures fall, tyre pressure will do so too. The recommended pressure for my car is 2.4 bar all round - so long as they're checked and kept to that I'm assuming all will be dandy - much the same as I have done for the last eleventy zillion years without so much as a second thought.
I'm guessing when the ambient and road temperatures fall, tyre pressure will do so too. The recommended pressure for my car is 2.4 bar all round - so long as they're checked and kept to that I'm assuming all will be dandy - much the same as I have done for the last eleventy zillion years without so much as a second thought.
LordGrover said:
Should tyre pressures be 'adjusted' for cold weather running?
I'm guessing when the ambient and road temperatures fall, tyre pressure will do so too. The recommended pressure for my car is 2.4 bar all round - so long as they're checked and kept to that I'm assuming all will be dandy - much the same as I have done for the last eleventy zillion years without so much as a second thought.
Just keep the tyres at the recommended pressures. The tyre pressure is the pressure above ambient pressure.I'm guessing when the ambient and road temperatures fall, tyre pressure will do so too. The recommended pressure for my car is 2.4 bar all round - so long as they're checked and kept to that I'm assuming all will be dandy - much the same as I have done for the last eleventy zillion years without so much as a second thought.
tristancliffe said:
greed. This should be mandatory for all drivers, and licences revoked or not issued if they can't.
Back in the real world!!!!!!!At the age of seventeen, just before you set off for your driving test the examiner makes sure you can read a number plate 20 metres up the road. When you reach 70 (age, not mph which you probably won't reach on the driving test) you self declare that you are still fit and healthy and can still read a number plate from 20 metres. In terms of minimum driving standards I think we may be a little way off compulsory playing in the snow just yet.
Sadly the opportunity to have fun in the snow gets less and less as many car parks have isles marked out etc.
I am lucky that my son's after school club has a round car park with a roundabout in the centre, imagine my smile of joy at arriving there last year in my 944 to find it devoid of cars and nicely packed with snow
Sadly it seemed incredibly hard work to keep a gentle drift going all the way round, but still thoroughly enjoyed myself and learnt a lot. The car really straightened up at the slightest lift off and needed a real boot to get it back out again. It did have brand new tyres on though.
I also arranged a group trip to a skid pan, a round track caked in waste engine oil and a couple of beat up old beamers, fantastic fun and well worth it.
I am lucky that my son's after school club has a round car park with a roundabout in the centre, imagine my smile of joy at arriving there last year in my 944 to find it devoid of cars and nicely packed with snow
Sadly it seemed incredibly hard work to keep a gentle drift going all the way round, but still thoroughly enjoyed myself and learnt a lot. The car really straightened up at the slightest lift off and needed a real boot to get it back out again. It did have brand new tyres on though.
I also arranged a group trip to a skid pan, a round track caked in waste engine oil and a couple of beat up old beamers, fantastic fun and well worth it.
kaf said:
tristancliffe said:
greed. This should be mandatory for all drivers, and licences revoked or not issued if they can't.
All we need then is a couple of thousand off road areas to do this in, all happy to pay the tax rise?
Could not agree more..
Where it's safe to do so,exploring yours or the cars limits is good fun and a learning curve too..
My daughter has been taught in not too dissimilar ways..
She is better for it I feel..
Last winters extreme weather tested many drivers..
Bring on some snow...!!
Where it's safe to do so,exploring yours or the cars limits is good fun and a learning curve too..
My daughter has been taught in not too dissimilar ways..
She is better for it I feel..
Last winters extreme weather tested many drivers..
Bring on some snow...!!
Nigel_O said:
When I was teaching my two sons to drive, I made good use of any decent snowfall by "playing" on any decent supermarket carpark or industrial estate. Being able to get some oppsite lock on at very modest speeds teaches great car control with near-zero scope for loss of paintwork or NCB
Since then, they've mentioned on several occasions that they have not been phased by an occasional moment of lift off oversteer on a wet roundabout, or a too-fast entry into a bend.
Personally, I think that new drivers should be taught a degree of over-the-limit car control, so that they are better equipped to cope when it happens for real.
I know that advanced driving is supposed to prevent the situation in the first place, but lets face it, most of us have mis-judged at some point, leading to a "moment"
Besides, handbrake turns are fun (unless you're in a Citroen BX, as I found out the hard way), and if you're fortunate enough to run a non TC-enabled RWD car, a bit of slo-mo drifting can teach an awful lot.
Additionally, how many "ordinary" drivers have you seen spinning away madly in an inch of snow, when some tuition would have got them moving? Last year, I made it the 40 miles home in my 400+ bhp FWD Coupe, running wide Toyo summer tyres, when all around me, were people (inc 4x4s) going nowhere.
So - bring it on - lets have some (safe) fun in the snow...
Since then, they've mentioned on several occasions that they have not been phased by an occasional moment of lift off oversteer on a wet roundabout, or a too-fast entry into a bend.
Personally, I think that new drivers should be taught a degree of over-the-limit car control, so that they are better equipped to cope when it happens for real.
I know that advanced driving is supposed to prevent the situation in the first place, but lets face it, most of us have mis-judged at some point, leading to a "moment"
Besides, handbrake turns are fun (unless you're in a Citroen BX, as I found out the hard way), and if you're fortunate enough to run a non TC-enabled RWD car, a bit of slo-mo drifting can teach an awful lot.
Additionally, how many "ordinary" drivers have you seen spinning away madly in an inch of snow, when some tuition would have got them moving? Last year, I made it the 40 miles home in my 400+ bhp FWD Coupe, running wide Toyo summer tyres, when all around me, were people (inc 4x4s) going nowhere.
So - bring it on - lets have some (safe) fun in the snow...
I was doing an IAM observed drive when it started snowing one day in last year's fun, so we went on a car park to see if it'd got to 'slippy' by that point - it hadn't, actually. But then the weather closed in fast so I dropped my observer off back at his home, he waved me off with a "drive carefully now!", and on the way home there was about 10cm of snowfall!
I was going onto a roundabout from a minor road, turning to 3rd exit (another minor road). 1st exit/entrance and 2nd exit were the most major route, so the snow was fairly well swept on those parts of the roundabout. I got around to the traffic island splitting the 2nd exit and entrance from each other, and hit the unswept bit of snow... understeer. Full lock and full throttle got me out of that quite tidily (luckily a few months before starting IAM I did a skid pan course at millbrook in a cradle car so I had half a clue what to do!), but there wasn't much else I could to with the controls if that hadn't worked!
So be wary, in those kind of conditions, of snow not being swept off of the road due to a lack of traffic, even if the rest of the roundabout is clear.
And drive with the window open, and use the heater to occlude the outside air from freezing your pants off, but it lets you listen to the tyres on the snow (at this rate this will be useless info for at least a year!). Crunching means you're on snow and have some kind of grip. Silence means you're on ice and you need to be ultra smooth.
Oh, when it's been a cold night, and there's been frost and ice early on, when the sun is up and most of the road has thawed, watch out for shadows caused by trees, and especially hedgerows, as the sun hasn't had a chance to melt the ice along there.
Oh, and of course, wet leaves were a big hazard when autumn hit. I saw one car parked in a hedge one night because they'd hit some off-camber bumps while there were wet leaves about, and they just unsettled the car enough to send it straight off. That was at night, on the road I take to (and from) work, so the next day on the way to work I mosey'd along and the car was being recovered with a big dent in it. Only a Zafira.
I was going onto a roundabout from a minor road, turning to 3rd exit (another minor road). 1st exit/entrance and 2nd exit were the most major route, so the snow was fairly well swept on those parts of the roundabout. I got around to the traffic island splitting the 2nd exit and entrance from each other, and hit the unswept bit of snow... understeer. Full lock and full throttle got me out of that quite tidily (luckily a few months before starting IAM I did a skid pan course at millbrook in a cradle car so I had half a clue what to do!), but there wasn't much else I could to with the controls if that hadn't worked!
So be wary, in those kind of conditions, of snow not being swept off of the road due to a lack of traffic, even if the rest of the roundabout is clear.
And drive with the window open, and use the heater to occlude the outside air from freezing your pants off, but it lets you listen to the tyres on the snow (at this rate this will be useless info for at least a year!). Crunching means you're on snow and have some kind of grip. Silence means you're on ice and you need to be ultra smooth.
Oh, when it's been a cold night, and there's been frost and ice early on, when the sun is up and most of the road has thawed, watch out for shadows caused by trees, and especially hedgerows, as the sun hasn't had a chance to melt the ice along there.
Oh, and of course, wet leaves were a big hazard when autumn hit. I saw one car parked in a hedge one night because they'd hit some off-camber bumps while there were wet leaves about, and they just unsettled the car enough to send it straight off. That was at night, on the road I take to (and from) work, so the next day on the way to work I mosey'd along and the car was being recovered with a big dent in it. Only a Zafira.
mat777 said:
People wonder why so many racing and rally drivers are Finns. The answer is, because something like 10 hours of their driving lessons are spent on skidpans, so they all have sublime car control. I wish we got some similar training!!!
They don't get it for free. There's nothing stopping you or anyone else paying for whatever training you want.7mike said:
mat777 said:
People wonder why so many racing and rally drivers are Finns. The answer is, because something like 10 hours of their driving lessons are spent on skidpans, so they all have sublime car control. I wish we got some similar training!!!
They don't get it for free. There's nothing stopping you or anyone else paying for whatever training you want.Gassing Station | Advanced Driving | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff