Do you like driving in winter?

[Gunter]

I do. What tips can you give?

After winter driving for years in Quebec and Northern BC, I have some basics like: Four real winter tires (with snowflakes), a full tank, weight over the driving wheels and a bag full of extra warm clothes in case the vehicle breaks down. Never had a 4-wheel drive but it would be great in snow and ice. Good wipers, lots of washer fluid, driving lights...........what else?

On long trips from the Kootenays to Vancouver, I take an extra 12V battery with me in case the charging system brakes down. One can drive a long way just on batteries as long as nothing else uses power.

Picture is Manning Park. A quick course in winter driving from heavy rains in Vancouver climbing to higher levels with lots of snow. Blueberry Paulson Pass was so bad that many big rigs were stuck on the long steep hill. By that time it was dark and my special low-set driving lights made a big difference. Hi-beams in a blizzard or flying snow make things worse.

Any more tips or ideas?

[billybek]

I enjoy driving in the winter.
I don't like sharing the road with people who can't or shouldn't drive in the winter.
My advice is avoid those people... This is difficult in Calgary!

[haycait911]

my credo for winter driving is this..............


YOU NEVER, 'GOTTA' BE ANYWHERE


don't convince yourself you need to get to a certain place by a certain time, or day. if it's bad, stop, go back, get a motel, whatever. better to show up for work late, or the next day, than never again.

[recycled sixtie]

Originally Posted by haycait911

my credo for winter driving is this..............


YOU NEVER, 'GOTTA' BE ANYWHERE


don't convince yourself you need to get to a certain place by a certain time, or day. if it's bad, stop, go back, get a motel, whatever. better to show up for work late, or the next day, than never again.

Haycait you are spot on in this respect. Some drivers are driving to their funeral or a bad accident because of habit. Fortunately I am retired so I don't have to be anywhere. If the snow is really deep then I have choices- not go at all or take the wife's Camry.

However I do enjoy driving the Box in winter. A couple of inches of fresh snow it is a blast. Prefer summer driving because of the other drivers are an unknown.

[lonewolf]

Driving in the snow is like driving on a wet track with slicks . Can teach you good car control.
Limits of adhesion,braking thresholds etc.

[Traveller]

If it weren't for the other drivers who have no clue what they are doing, no problem.

Hell, they don't know what they are doing in the summer either. LOL

I drove daily all winter to and from work on a motorcycle in a part of Canada that gets real snow, so 4 wheels is a walk in the park.

[timothymoffat]

I run a small fleet of heavy-duty trucks (5-tons, tandem axle straight trucks, and 18 wheelers) and spend many hours driving through a wintery British Columbia. It scares the crap out of me watching people drive TOO FAST in ill-prepared vehicles (all season tires DO NOT work properly in snow).

More suggestions: Increase the space between your vehicle and those around you relative to what you would in the summer. DO NOT pass a heavy truck, get in front and slow down just because you don't like being behind a truck (do you really want 80000+ lbs of articulating vehicle directly BEHIND on an icy road?). Give advanced notice when changing lanes or exiting the road......I love people turning on their signal AFTER they have begun braking.

[wideRSR]

Put good winter tires on (not wide ones go narrower), use your head, avoid others who don't, not to many places you can't get to if you "need" to. We live in Canada so we just have to deal with it. Like anything get the right tools for what you need to do otherwise you will have problems and put yourself and others at risk. So drive a awd vehicle, bring chains.. or buy a winterbeater! heck Audi A4's are a dime a dozen now, my buddy picked one up for 2K!

I'd rather be out alone in front of that larger gravel spewing truck, seriously I think bad drivers are evenly split.. we have equal rights to use the road..

Some where in the Okanagan - YouTube

work day.. snow day... snow over the front bumper day

[snah]

I love driving in the snow in my Touareg with it's Arctic winter tires. Always carry a snow shovel! (to help others if stuck)

[canuck964]

My in the city winter car .... Audi S6 with "snow flake" winter tires.

My Whistler to Vancouver winter car .... Touareg with "snow flake" winter tires. I have a V8 in the Touareg so it still has plenty of zip for a very heavy SUV.

+1 on the shovel, I carry a separate battery booster (for jumping other cars without having to connect to mine), and tow strap.

I know I am going over board with winter tires for both vehicles in Vancouver but other than the cost of tire storage and second set of rims, the incremental cost for the actual tires is not much as the summer tires will last longer.

[snah]

^ canuck964 - just checked your Gen Info - what a sweet ride you got! Perfect stance

[strudelwagon]

Canuck,
good snow tires will put you in the minority in the lower mainland but you probably will never get stuck on a 2% incline from a stop. I've always run 4 snow tire on every car/truck I've owned for the 4 months of winter on the coast. I've never gotten stuck with them and when I moved to the interior I added studs. on the downside, it makes for some boring driving if you want to drift.

SW

[billybek]

How about that?
A Gunter thread that has stayed on topic for 12 replies! WTH?

I could drift a fully loaded service truck with a limited slip dif for miles on snowy roads!
Service trucks are amazing things that can do things no other vehicles can. They can jump curbs in a single bound, go faster than a speeding Hyundai Pony, more powerful than a static display locomotive....

[briefescape]

No snow tires for me . I find it better to just rent a vehicle for the few times I need to go in the mountains in winter . Only $29/day unlimited kms , all the sand , salt and wear n tear the rental can handle . At the end of the day I come back home to my clean cars . If it snows in city I stay home or take the 52 window coupe .

Cheers

[Canada Kev]

I hear you Guy. I don't think I'd want to drive on those three days it snows in the lower mainland. It's bad enough here where people get snow all winter and should know how to drive in it, but don't really.

[recycled sixtie]

Originally Posted by Canada Kev

I hear you Guy. I don't think I'd want to drive on those three days it snows in the lower mainland. It's bad enough here where people get snow all winter and should know how to drive in it, but don't really.

The lower Mainland has the worst snow for driving in-slushy, mushy, wet. Edmonton gets the colder temperatures and driving on snow/ice covered roads is a lot easier. I will take my chances with my Boxster with snow tires as life is not as much fun putting it away for 6 months a year. Plus the volume of traffic in the Edm. area is not as great as the Lower Mainland. But I do look forward to spring!

[haycait911]

Originally Posted by recycled sixtie

The lower Mainland has the worst snow for driving in-slushy, mushy, wet.

amen! I got caught once down there after an overnight snow. half an inch of heavy wet snow on top of a thin layer of water. slickest shyte I've ever seen. worse than sheet ice.

[lonewolf]

Don ,Steve, How much snow in summerland right now?

got about a ft here now but gonna warm up and rain they say so what a mess.

[haycait911]

Originally Posted by lonewolf

Don ,Steve, How much snow in summerland right now?

got about a ft here now but gonna warm up and rain they say so what a mess.

3 inches at my house, but we're at sea level. Steve probably has twice as much up in the mountains.

[lonewolf]

You mean lake level, unless you moved to the coast without telling us lol.