RWD owners - do you still drive in the snow?

turbot1984 · 24 Feb 2021 at 12:18

theone8181 said:
I did in my e92 m3. I had a run of 4 days where it slid and none of those were me trying to do it. The irony is that I didn't bother with winter tyres this year as I'd put them on for the last 2 and thought they were unnecessary. This is humberside and we had a few inches of snow.

Mine was generally fine, particularly considering you could spin the wheels in 3rd gear on nice dry tarmac

DXP55 · 24 Feb 2021 at 13:35

alex24 said:
AWD is another way manufacturers are up-selling and trying to get more profit out of us. If you're driving on the roads in the UK I really don't see the need for it. You also get more drivetrain losses in efficiency so not only does it cost more upfront, it costs a little more to run. How much more depends on the car though.

I can understand AWD for performance cars, e.g. GTR or rally-inspired vehicles, but unless you live down a mud track or on a farm I don't get it. Especially since we have weather where it would *maybe* help perhaps once every two years for a day or two. If you're worried about winter traction, a spare set (4) of wheels with winter tyres fitted will be way more effective as others have said. If you don't trust that, here's a practical test:

My experience of driving RWD in the snow (Lotus Elise) was actually that it is quite controllable and predictable if you check your speed. Perhaps that's partly the car as well, I've seen Mercedes E-class etc. really struggle but I think some of that was auto box plus inexperience.. I found FWD cars actually more challenging to corner and were very prone to understeer which isn't fun when you're braking and steering.

In the only snow I have driven in since having a set of winter wheels I also found it understeered but only off throttle -put slight bit of power on and it went round very easy.-- Trick is slow down first then power on in corners - was impressed with braking though.

alex24 · 24 Feb 2021 at 14:18

DXP55 said:
In the only snow I have driven in since having a set of winter wheels I also found it understeered but only off throttle -put slight bit of power on and it went round very easy.-- Trick is slow down first then power on in corners - was impressed with braking though.

My experiences with FWD in snow were all not on winter tyres. I did do some driver training and one of the tricks they said when you're losing grip in FWD cornering is to clutch-in and you'll find traction again if you're on the edge. It did work.

413x · 24 Feb 2021 at 15:02

I drove my s2000 to work in the Beast from east. Well, it was like driving a snake. The back end was snaking even at 10mph

Everything was overtaking me.

No Traction control and very light rear. Was amazing, I'm a fairly decent driver,but it was scary . So dangerous. I think I have a pic.

DXP55 · 24 Feb 2021 at 18:55

Why didn't you clear the snow from your windscreen - if it slid off roof why didn't you clean roof off as well ?
A soft broom is all that is required.
If I was a Cop I would sit at exit of a housing estate and book every one not clearing all windows and roof. It's my pet hate.

theone8181 · 24 Feb 2021 at 19:40

DXP55 said:
Why didn't you clear the snow from your windscreen - if it slid off roof why didn't you clean roof off as well ?
A soft broom is all that is required.
If I was a Cop I would sit at exit of a housing estate and book every one not clearing all windows and roof. It's my pet hate.

Que pictures of "the tank drivers"

.

Rroff · 24 Feb 2021 at 19:40

DXP55 said:
A soft broom is all that is required.

One of those things that you never seem to actually have when it is needed :s

naefeart · 24 Feb 2021 at 19:46

You do see some muppets though, driving igloos on wheels and peering through letterbox-shaped peep holes. What crosses their mind, I don’t know. Ludicrous and so dangerous.

It’s mostly women drivers that I see doing it

Antony101 · 24 Feb 2021 at 23:09

Rroff said:
One of those things that you never seem to actually have when it is needed :s

I didn't have one to hand when we had snow a few weeks back so I just grabbed a microfiber cloth out of the boot and pushed it all off with my hand. Wouldn't have been as bad if the 5 series estate didn't have such a big roof! I'd rather a cold hand than no control and no sight!

Tee Hee Johnson · 25 Feb 2021 at 00:27

M140i was ok in the snow, far from perfect tho! The MX-5 I had prior was much better! Might have been the LSD.

theone8181 · 25 Feb 2021 at 06:16

The first time I drove with snow on the room was also the last, I braked and then couldn't see

. Always clear the full roof now.

Nasher · 25 Feb 2021 at 07:50

My MX-5 ND was like that in the snow, it would crab the whole way.

alex24 · 25 Feb 2021 at 09:49

413x said:
I drove my s2000 to work in the Beast from east. Well, it was like driving a snake. The back end was snaking even at 10mph

Everything was overtaking me.

No Traction control and very light rear. Was amazing. So dangerous. I think I have a pic.

Extra kudos if you got VTEC to kick in.

I keep a soft broom to clear the car. I also drive Fords as well and the heated windscreen that is basically standard on all their cars is a godsend in that kind of weather or even frost.

One other observation that I think helps is tyre thickness, maybe it was mentioned. The difference between the M140i and MX-5 above may be something to do with that - I found the skinny front tyres on the Elise cut through the snow pretty well, especially when it's deep. Maybe more true for summer/all seasons than winter tyres though.