Stopping autos in snow
Discussion
Something I noticed this morning on untreated roads was that my Jag (XJ40 3.2S) Struggled to stop below walking speed. What appeared to be happening was that being too slow to trigger the ABS the front wheels would lock & the drive to the rears just kept the car going. Initially I braked heavier than normal at these speeds to stop the rears against the engine power, but whilst this worked it didn't feel nice & I didn't like the suddenness of the stop in regard to the traffic behind.
As an experiment I tried putting the gearbox into N rather than D & found it cured the issue allowing me to stop normally. Is this an issue at such low speeds? I see it as increasing safety by allowing me to stop better.
Just to clarify how slippery it was as Rotherham council hadn't gritted the main roads, if I put the gearbox into D without my foot on the brake the first thing that happened was 6-12" of sideways movement at the rear until the car dug through the snow. That was without any application of throttle btw.
As an experiment I tried putting the gearbox into N rather than D & found it cured the issue allowing me to stop normally. Is this an issue at such low speeds? I see it as increasing safety by allowing me to stop better.
Just to clarify how slippery it was as Rotherham council hadn't gritted the main roads, if I put the gearbox into D without my foot on the brake the first thing that happened was 6-12" of sideways movement at the rear until the car dug through the snow. That was without any application of throttle btw.
Hooli,
Don't know if this is relevant...I went to Syracuse New York in the worst winter for 100 years - 162" of snow...I had driven in snow in Scotland - a lot, with few problems.
The company gave me a Chevy Impala - first week every day at 4-45 a bell rang and people went out and came in wearing rubber snow shoe things...at 5 the office closed.
First day my Chevy went sideways...tried everything to get it stable - zilch.
Same next night - so I decided to sit at my desk until the car park was empty so I did not hit something...on the Friday, a guy at the next desk asked if I was going for promotion by being the last out of the office every day...I explained my problem and he laughed his nuts off.
When I left the UK I had a Ford something with a choke pull - in Syracuse I had a Chevy with a 6 cylinder engine + automatic choke + minus 35 degrees on snow and ice...the 4-45 bell was to let them warm the engines - I was trying to drive on ice with the wheels doing around 45mph.
Would it help to warm the engine to reduce the effect of automatic choke? Mine is a 4wd X Type now so do not have your specific problem - hope my experience helps?
Don't know if this is relevant...I went to Syracuse New York in the worst winter for 100 years - 162" of snow...I had driven in snow in Scotland - a lot, with few problems.
The company gave me a Chevy Impala - first week every day at 4-45 a bell rang and people went out and came in wearing rubber snow shoe things...at 5 the office closed.
First day my Chevy went sideways...tried everything to get it stable - zilch.
Same next night - so I decided to sit at my desk until the car park was empty so I did not hit something...on the Friday, a guy at the next desk asked if I was going for promotion by being the last out of the office every day...I explained my problem and he laughed his nuts off.
When I left the UK I had a Ford something with a choke pull - in Syracuse I had a Chevy with a 6 cylinder engine + automatic choke + minus 35 degrees on snow and ice...the 4-45 bell was to let them warm the engines - I was trying to drive on ice with the wheels doing around 45mph.
Would it help to warm the engine to reduce the effect of automatic choke? Mine is a 4wd X Type now so do not have your specific problem - hope my experience helps?
I used to have a prob when trying to brake very gently in snow and ice, the little bit of power still getting through the auto box to the back wheels would make the car creep sideways (a merc c class with normal auto box). It even made pulling away a little tricky as you'd start easing off the brake, the rear wheels would start to slip while the fronts were still being lightly braked.... I don't like autos in the snow and ice at all.
Vipercar93 said:
sc0tt said:
Lift handbrake slightly.
I wouldn't recommend that to many people. If you get the brake latched b/c your finger slipped you could be in a for a ride! Guess it's not so bad if you are going really slow... BliarOut said:
Just pop it into M and engage 1st, the problem is most auto boxes creep in 2nd gear which is too high for the conditions.
Prepare to be amazed!
This happens when you use drive as well. Every auto I have driven has done it. They all had a lot of miles on the clock and I guess you could say were 'well used' Prepare to be amazed!
Vipercar93 said:
BliarOut said:
Just pop it into M and engage 1st, the problem is most auto boxes creep in 2nd gear which is too high for the conditions.
Prepare to be amazed!
This happens when you use drive as well. Every auto I have driven has done it. They all had a lot of miles on the clock and I guess you could say were 'well used' Prepare to be amazed!
You also get the bonus of gentle engine braking...Gassing Station | Advanced Driving | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff