T
TINY
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Learn the facts.
blackram
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- Dec 17, 2010
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Yeah, I got one, it definitely helps in winter. I've been able to out of snowbanks and other such things. But don't ignore snow tires even if you have 4WD. The 4WD will let you start moving quicker, but it won't help you stop any quicker. Remember, your only advantage is 4 wheel *drive* not 4 wheel *braking*; all cars have 4 wheel braking, so you have no advantage over them whatsoever. The winter tires give an advantage with the braking.
Bill The Pirate
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- 524
Driving with a 4wd is better than a 2wd for sure. What you must realize is nothing works better than common sense and sometimes people who have 4wd don't use it because they think the vehicle can do anything. The trick is to keep the car at a constant pace by neither accelerating or stopping too fast.
I will give you a driving tip that I learned from an off road racing course I took. When driving is heavy snow do not put the car in drive, put it in a lower gear. What that does is use keep power to the wheels at all times, when you decelerate the engine will act like a brake and start to slow the vehicle before you apply the brakes.
However, you must be careful not to over rev the engine. you will need to shift the car manually. It might be a good idea to practice this before the weather gets nuts so when and if you want to try this you know how it feels because
ShoelessJoe
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- Oct 12, 2011
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There is nothing better than the lexus GX. Drives like a truck but feels like you are flying
That article is actually old news but maybe not so for people who are inexperienced with 4wd or awd.
With the new engine controls, abs, and traction controls, they are all designed to help you drive better, in other words, get going. Other than ABS there really hasn't been much improvement to stopping a vehicle in decades. ABS doesn't really help you stop quicker if you know how to brake using standard brakes properly, what it does do is immensely improve your ability to control the vehicle under braking.
One way to stop your vehicle quickly in snow? Drive into a snowbank. Nothing stops you faster than that!!! But using that as an example, imagine a "scoop" mounted under the vehicle's front bumper. In heavy snow (one of the worst to stop in), this scoop deploys downwards to dig into the snow.....you'd stop in probably 1/10th the time.
With the new engine controls, abs, and traction controls, they are all designed to help you drive better, in other words, get going. Other than ABS there really hasn't been much improvement to stopping a vehicle in decades. ABS doesn't really help you stop quicker if you know how to brake using standard brakes properly, what it does do is immensely improve your ability to control the vehicle under braking.
One way to stop your vehicle quickly in snow? Drive into a snowbank. Nothing stops you faster than that!!! But using that as an example, imagine a "scoop" mounted under the vehicle's front bumper. In heavy snow (one of the worst to stop in), this scoop deploys downwards to dig into the snow.....you'd stop in probably 1/10th the time.
would that be a 150? 250? 350? 450? lol.......
a 1 player
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I disagree with this. The middle land has traffic on both sides and is the least safe place to be. Whenever possible I choose the slow lane where at least I have the shoulder as a buffer zone if anything goes terribly wrong.
Sorry a1player but black ice builds on both sides, the least travelled. Sorry to say but you are wrong. Both the fast and slow lanes are the least travelled (repeating myself) during a storm. I know, it is my job to know. As long as you stay in the middle lane during your journey you will be fine. I do understand your theory about the middle lane but it has flaws.
I will agree that the slow lane is least travelled, always. But the fast lane? Holy crap, not on the 400.....every tom dick (operative word there DICK) and harry drives in that lane no matter whether they are passing or not.
I will qualify this by saying, south of barrie, because that is the point where people forget how to drive. North of barrie? Everyone travels in the shoulder lane and ONLY goes out in the passing lane....to pass! (you get the odd knob out there, but that's rare).
Very true blackram. The newbie, homie has it right. A1player's post is also a valid one but as you've said "always go along the most cleared trail of asphalt"
Which is the middle lane.
A
Al Bumin
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- Thread starter
- #16
Why it pays to brake slowly
One other thing, Cam Woolley stated on one of the CWD shows that kids in northern ontario have a much better understanding of car control simply because within hours of getting into a car for the first time, they're off doing donuts on some back road and when the snow flies, one of their favourite pasttimes is finding an empty parking lot and going at it.
This not only teaches them how to get into a spin or drift, but how to get out of one too....This is something everyone should do at least once a month until they can get into, and out of a spin easily.......I remember when I was 16 and doing it in a parking lot down the street from my parent's house a cop came by and gave me shit over it. Had I known better I could have just said "I'm practicing for when it happens unexpectedly on the road...."...
This not only teaches them how to get into a spin or drift, but how to get out of one too....This is something everyone should do at least once a month until they can get into, and out of a spin easily.......I remember when I was 16 and doing it in a parking lot down the street from my parent's house a cop came by and gave me shit over it. Had I known better I could have just said "I'm practicing for when it happens unexpectedly on the road...."...
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