Winter Driving

[pavulon]

I had 4 pretty close calls this AM. One county plow blasting down the center of a two lane highway while it’s snowing with every strobe and spot light going. No way to gauge where he is on the road when coming at you in the dark and the road’s a giant rutted mess. Two drivers who decide to go freestyle at 50 mph and one clown in the middle of the road with a walk behind snow blower…all in the dark. I cringe when it snows and it snows a lot.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by vash

i bet you're better than most in Winter driving. here where i live, rain crushes the abilities of my fellow drivers. RAIN! we cant even get the guy in the dark gray vehicle to turn on his headlights in a dark-sky deluge. good times!!

Dude, I thought you were in Cali, not Houston! You've totally described the drivers here. I've traveled a fair amount. I never drove in NYC, but I did drive in/through Boston. I've driven lots of places, even all over Cali. The worst drivers I've even experienced are in Houston.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by masraum

Dude, I thought you were in Cali, not Houston! You've totally described the drivers here. I've traveled a fair amount. I never drove in NYC, but I did drive in/through Boston. I've driven lots of places, even all over Cali. The worst drivers I've even experienced are in Houston.

For me it's Dallas.

[devodave]

Based on driving in Western NY snow country on a regular basis, I'd keep it in 4WDAuto if the roads are anywhere near plowed (i.e. less than 3" of snow on the road). I have a 2016 Sierra and will try to stay in 2WD as much as possible as I don't like how the 4WD High affects the steering when I'm on and off clear pavement (windblown snow across the road provides a pucker factor!). 4WD Auto seems to be a good compromise. You can always shift (turn the little dash mounted knob) to 4WD High if the conditions warrant. And as others have stated, don't drive past your tires. Thats a lot of mass to try to stop when it gets icy (Blizzaks are currently mounted on mine and they do help immensely). I don't have the Lane Assist on my All Terrain model, so I cant offer any suggestion there.

[gregpark]

The highways over the Sierra are closed right now due to heavy snow. 50 and 80 closed. No gettin to Tahoe for a couple days!

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by MRM

Blizzaks will actually help you stop on ice. I am serious. They are that good. I wouldn't be wasting your time bugging you about it if I didn't think you would fall in love with them once you tried them. https://tractionlife.com/bridgestone-blizzak-dm-v2-winter-tire-review/

It is a rental car. I'll bet it has all season tires

[red-beard]

I lived in West Stockbridge Mass and commuted to Schenectady NY (54 miles each way) every weekday for 7 years. I had a front wheel drive Accord for most of that time. I carried 2 snow tires in the trunk and would swap them if it looked like snow. I got to the point I could do them both in about 10 minutes. I also kept a good regular shovel in the trunk.

I helped dig out many drivers of 4WD on the Interstate. They were going too fast on all-season tires and didn't know how to steer in a skid.

I'm heading to Idaho for 10 days and I'll be driving in the snow the entire time. Not the first time in 20+ years, but long time since I've had to do a lot of snow driving. I will have a 4WD pickup.

[speeder]

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

#1 I have to get home

#2 Rental, I have no control over that

#3 I know that, it's all the other idiots out there that seem to forget

I figured that it was a rental and it's not possible to alter the tire selection at this time. That lane assist sounds like a nightmare on a snowy road. As others have said, slow and smooth is good. I've driven I-70 between Denver and Aspen countless times, in all 4 seasons, it's a beautiful road but it can kill you.

Locals tend to really bend the envelope wrt speed on that highway in snowy conditions. Don't pace them or match their speed...take it easy. You are in a great vehicle if you utilize it properly. 4WD can help in a straight line due to engine braking and traction, *if you're not going too fast.*

I'm glad to hear about the snowfall, the entire west is off to a great start in terms of precipitation. No place in North America gets as much snow as California, check it out:

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-12-27/photos-record-snowfall-blankets-sierra-nevada-mountains?traffic_source=Connatix

[juanbenae]

im just trying to get out my driveway..... at only 3800'.....

[juanbenae]

oh ya, the power has been out since saturdee at around 8PM and PG&E says maybe thursdee.....

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by juanbenae

oh ya, the power has been out since saturdee at around 8PM and PG&E says maybe thursdee.....

Twain Harte?

Very familiar with it.

[LEAKYSEALS951]

juan-
1. Your house is awesome!
2. You do not need a yeti.

[stomachmonkey]

Heading back to Denver in a couple of hours.

Weather outlook looks better.

Been checking road cams and while not great the roads seem to be in better shape.

Vail and Loveland passes still look sketchy so we shall see, weather changes fast at those elevations.

[Jims5543]

Went to Vail in 2000.

Rented a Pontiac Gran Am.

The day we were to drive back to Denver, it was chucking down snow, got out of the resort, crawled to the interstate, got on in the right lane and stayed there, there were 2 tire tracks in the road and I knew that no matter what, I needed to stay there.

Drove like an old lady all the way back out of the mountains and into Denver. I got off a exit ramp at one point to top off the tank for the airport rental. I remember as I was coasting down the exit ramp alone, I hit the brakes a little harder than I should just to see what kind of traction I had. Little to none.

I am not sure how I made it off the mountains and to the airport, but I did.

Island Park Idaho 2017 -

I went snowmobiling with some friends. We flew into Jackson Hole, drove over the Island Park and spent a few days racing around Idaho / Montana / Wyoming.

The drive back we hit a storm coming over the pass on 22. I was not driving we were in a 4wd Suburban, it was really dicey, and I was exhausted by the time we got down into Jackson. I wasn't even driving.

Slow and steady, we did not have chains and were worried about getting over the pass. We did fine.


I am still amazed I got back to Denver in a Grand Am.

[cassisrot]

Originally Posted by Dantilla

The techniques for driving on snow & ice are the same as driving on the race track.
In both, you are dancing on the edge of adhesion.
In snow, 20 mph. The track, 120 mph.

Just shift your brain to track mode, and make every input smoothly and deliberately.

This

[stomachmonkey]

Well we made it back to Denver.

Trip started with 30 miles of pure ice. Don’t think i got over 25 mph.

70 was generally clear but wet with 19 degree temps so there were definitely more than enough unintended lane shifts and sphincter cramps to last me awhile.

Never doing that drive in the winter ever again.

It’s exhausting, both mentally and physically.

[Por_sha911]

[Soterik]

Tires are the single biggest difference maker (well driving too fast for the conditions is also huge.)... I'm over two passes in the winter each way on the weekends for over 20 years. We've got two Subaru's, both with Nokian Hakkepeliitta (spelling?) LT 9 on one and LT10 on the other, studded with Nokian stainless studs (it's got a special shaped head), and I've got the Nokian LT3 E load range (studded) on my Ram 3500.

The difference between 4wd or AWD with and without this type of tire in snow/ice is just unbelievably dramatic.

[OK-944]

Put a set of Blizzak's on my 944 for winter driving here in northern Vermont - and while I cannot really put this setup in the same league as our Forester (also with snows), I am, nonetheless, pleasantly surprised! Also a bonus (and a blast!)...controllable drifts when I get throttle-happy on (packed) snow covered dirt!

[stevej37]

A front wheel drive car with good all-season tires will go thru a lot of snow.
Ground clearance is usually the limiting factor.

If the car drags on the snow...you shouldn't be out in it.