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Maintenance & Repair Winter Driving - are you prepared?
149 messages, Last post on Aug 19, 2009 at 8:38 AM
You are in the Maintenance & Repair Forum. Your Host is mr_shiftright
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Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Jan 02, 2009 9:23 pm) Panic, yes, but knowing what to do beforehand often abates or at least lowers the panic level and thereby allows one to act rationally or at least moreso. When the stall warning goes off just as you depart the runway you can either panic, "freeze", and die or push the nose down just far enough to prevent a SUDDEN UNCONTROLLED return to the runway. Education, knowing what to do, TRUMPS panic responses each and every time. |
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Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Jan 02, 2009 9:23 pm) People are a lot less likely to panic if they recognize the situation as one for which that have some preparedness, plan.
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Replying to: wwest (Jan 02, 2009 11:45 pm) I'm saying that the procedure is both unrealistic for the average driver and no more effective than not putting it in neutral. Having lived in New York and the mountains of Colorado and worked in the wilds of Alaska for a year, I've tried every damn procedure in the books for snow driving. I do not claim to be the expert snow driver, but I have driven 40 years in the nastiest weather and never had a mishap, and most of it with RWD machinery or, in Alaska, 4WD trucks. Anyway, that's my two cents. I don't think most American drivers should be told to put a car into neutral except to START IT and to TOW IT  They simply do not have the skill level for this sort of thing. |
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Replying to: wwest (Jan 02, 2009 8:48 pm) For my ski hill, I just stick the tranny in the appropriate gear before starting out. Usually 3rd. If conditions warrant, I'll notice in the first quarter mile and be able to gently slow down so I can downshift the automatic to 2nd without kissing the snowbank. |
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Replying to: steve_ (Jan 03, 2009 11:32 am) Well good luck and god bless but I don't have the presence of mind to do that.
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Well, I admit I have never downshifted a TOYOTA drive by wire on ice, but I have with a Cadillac, and the engined 'blipped' up a few rpm on throttle tap, then settled right back down. Engine braking FWD slows the front without locking the rear. GM had to recall some FWD's because the rear brakes were too aggressive, and rear wheel lock cause the car to swap ends on slippery roads. A body shop guy told me, however, that he has a customer that rearended other cars twice with a new Nissan DBW because the driver in front started away from a stop light, then slowed, and the Nissan kept accelerating after he lifted his right foot. Perhaps Mr. West is recommending not to buy a Japanese label FWD? Harry
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Replying to: oldharry (Jan 03, 2009 8:09 pm) |
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Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Jan 03, 2009 11:47 am) About two weeks ago both sets were installed and not removed until a few days ago. But. Most of my early wintertime driving experience was in NH, Goose Bay, Alaska, and MT, not one FWD in all that time and experience and I don't remember driving anything but RWD. So, yes, many's the time I had to "hang on and pray". The rear end coming around to my "right", stear right, into the skid (against EVERY survival instinct, and often toward the road drop-off, if not an immoveable object) wait, wait, wait, until traction "catches", now gently, even so gently begin stearing back into the direction you wish to go.... Sweat pouring off your brow. Maybe I was just one of the lucky ones, before the AF would allow me to drive on the flight line I had to practice, again and again, losing control of our SAC equipment "bread trucks" on glare ice, and then recovering to do it yet again. Until my instructor decided I wasn't a danger to our B47's or KC-97's. |
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Replying to: steve_ (Jan 03, 2009 11:32 am) It's very difficult with the old-fashioned column-mounted PRNDL type shifters but it's a snap with modern "manumatic" setups that have either paddle shifters or console mounted levers. I do it every day with the Steptronic in my 5-Series.
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Replying to: andys120 (Jan 04, 2009 8:36 am) And a 5-series implies a RWD or R/AWD vehicle which is not really a part of the subject matter here. And remember that these days the "shifter", regardless of type of implementation, floor console, column, or "paddle", is simply a set of electrical switches which are switched on or off, INSTANTLY insofar as the controlling ECU is concerned. |
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