X-drive? Whatever...What way to start a day.

[R_Ethug]

Re: X-drive? Whatever...What way to start a day.

see my problem with winter driving is not my own skill/driving

i know how to winter drive.. i grew up in rural alberta with zero plowing and a RWD buick with cdn tire tires.. i know how to handle it..

my problem.. ESPECIALLY in calgary is the fockers around me not knowing what the hell they are doing.. i'm scared of the idiots out there.. not myself.

ps.. ask turbo meyers (chris) about how we grew up driving and he will tell you the same

[Deuce]

Re: X-drive? Whatever...What way to start a day.

...you CAN go fast on straights on slippery roads permitting you don't do anything abrupt, no sudden turns or lane changes

Karma is a b*tch my friend...

[bart]

Re: X-drive? Whatever...What way to start a day.

sissiesseseeseses

i'm driving down deerfoot doing 100 on a slick surface i floor it in 5th and easy spin my tires to 200. its greeeeeeeat. during winters where there is decent traction my fronts stay spinning 20-30km/h faster than i'm actually going for maximum acceleration. also, its amazing how high you can kick up fresh snow thats just fallen going really really fast lol. you know those snowfalls 2-3am virigin lanes no other cars. i get that stuff like 50ft into the air behind me lol

anyway no asr/esp for me don't need that stuff. here are my winter driving tips:

1) be careful on on/off ramps, turns in general take it slow
2) on straights test the surface by gassing it see if your speedo jumps, same with brakes, see if your car can slow down fast enough or if the abs kicks
3) you CAN go fast on straights on slippery roads permitting you don't do anything abrupt, no sudden turns or lane changes
4) make sure you have some good winter tires!

[Khyron]

Re: X-drive? Whatever...What way to start a day.

Winter tires are NOT EVER worse on ice than all-season or summer tires! The tread composition is MUCH MUCH softer than any other tires and will grip the ice better, also they have many more sipes that will wick away the film of water from between the ice and the tread.

If your logic was true, then full race tires would be best on ice! Don't even think about it. That is just dangerous thinking.

Winter tires are the BEST at any temperature below about 7C (yes, that's plus 7C).

Also it should be noted that the BEST tread tires go on the BACK. AWD, FWD, RWD, doesn't matter. Best/most tread on the back. Your ratty bald tires you keep putting off replacing on the front.

[JLam]

Re: X-drive? Whatever...What way to start a day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHXsndBWj3Y

[Aleks]

Re: X-drive? Whatever...What way to start a day.

he has winters

reggie how big are the tires? i hate wide tires in the winter 225s are bad enough for me

red90

the way i test traction with quattro.. having 400tq helps but all i do is say i'm on country hills blvd doing 60 in 3rd gear.. simply boost the car and if ESP starts flashing then i know at least 1 tire slipped and thats enough for me to drive safe.

Yah I've been having fun with my 235's

[bonfire]

Re: X-drive? Whatever...What way to start a day.

Meh, I find snow much more grippy than ice. We get absurd amounts of ice here due to the Chinooks.

[T-Dubbs]

Re: X-drive? Whatever...What way to start a day.

my awd and my oem all season tires(255/40/20)
never had a problem, and i live in the snow belt in ontario(wayyyy more snow here than calgary)
i find that traction control harms more than it helps, when im in a sticky situation, it cuts all power and it just puts the vehicle into uncontrolable(sp) slides.
if traction is off, at least i can somewhat power out of harms way, or gain control back.

[bonfire]

Re: X-drive? Whatever...What way to start a day.

Winters are also fun on +30 degree days. Can get some fun sliding, and loud tire screeching.

I drove a Mk1 last winter, that thing was unbelievably stable. One some older Blizzaks, I never once had a problem with it. I also drove it very aggressively. It had absurd amounts of traction. My way home was through Mt. Royal which can be very icy. Modern day cars with TC and whatnot were always having problems, with tire spin. I blame it on people in cars with too much horsepower.

[onepointeightdub]

Re: X-drive? Whatever...What way to start a day.

Coasting in neutral at ~10km/h is far better than either riding the clutch or hovering your car at it's stall point. From what Jan Ryan mentioned about boosting I'm pretty sure he either meant that you hit the point where boost kicks in to simply test the possible traction available on the road. Not actually boosting through and continuing to accelerate recklessly.

It seems to me that you simply misread or misinterpreted some of the statements posted earlier.

Good point also I didn't say that I ride the "clutch" I just said that I ride the car with rpm's lower than 2000 (try to anyway) but the main point was as long as i'm not where the boost kicks in i'm good.. As long as the tires are turning I know I have some traction. Drivers just need to be aware of the balance between too much wheelspin and locking the wheels while accelerating and deceleration..

[p951]

Re: X-drive? Whatever...What way to start a day.

in my experience the break should be the last option. downshifting, changing lanes, steering to the right, using deep snow to slow you down. whats the old racing motto? when in doubt both feet out, when in a spin both feet in. Of course dumping off the gas is not advisable as it can send you into oversteer. however winter tyres are a double edged sword they are actually worse on ice (unless studded) you want more surface area and a flatter tread for handling on ice

Winter tires are NOT EVER worse on ice than all-season or summer tires! The tread composition is MUCH MUCH softer than any other tires and will grip the ice better, also they have many more sipes that will wick away the film of water from between the ice and the tread.

If your logic was true, then full race tires would be best on ice! Don't even think about it. That is just dangerous thinking.

Winter tires are the BEST at any temperature below about 7C (yes, that's plus 7C).

[Tuna]

Re: X-drive? Whatever...What way to start a day.

Shoulda bought Haldex
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Just kidding that's too bad, hopefully you'll get it back in to show condition again.

[JLam]

Re: X-drive? Whatever...What way to start a day.

in my experience the break should be the last option. downshifting, changing lanes, steering to the right, using deep snow to slow you down. whats the old racing motto? when in doubt both feet out, when in a spin both feet in. Of course dumping off the gas is not advisable as it can send you into oversteer. however winter tyres are a double edged sword they are actually worse on ice (unless studded) you want more surface area and a flatter tread for handling on ice

[MusicalGenius]

Re: X-drive? Whatever...What way to start a day.

Ryan, second almost never stalls out, but when my engine is hanging out around 800 - 1,000 RPM and ~ 10km/h second would stall out and first would be slow me down faster than I'd like. To the point where I'd have to keep my foot on the gas. Under 1,500 RPM in first a sustained speed almost … rocks my engine a little. It's not quite smooth at that point. Plus if I'm in gridlocked traffic I'm not worried about having to brake rapidly because the speeds are such that if I'd only really need to do really fast braking if I somehow fell asleep while driving.

I actually used to manually shift gears on my old auto Cavalier in the winter as well, not every single gear all the time but it helped quite a bit in a number of situations.

Serge, never assume anything my friend. If everyone was an expert we wouldn't have so many asinine issues on a continual basis.

[longsock]

Re: X-drive? Whatever...What way to start a day.

The biggest problem with drivers here is they think they either have to be on the gas or brake, coasting and downshifting can make a big difference on slippery surfaces but we all know most Calgary drivers are invincible!

So true. And people still love tail gating when its a skating rink outside...unbelieavable. I've had my rear bumper replaced 4 times since i've owned my car.
But if you drive manual, just down shift...and slowly break...c'mon we have mostly winter here in calgary, you would think people would be experts by now