this car sucks on snow and ice

[waldick]

...goes back to something they teach you at high performance driving schools: when in doubt(i.e. loss of traction) all out(meaning throttle, brake, clutch) in a spin all in(again throttle, brake,clutch)...edit: not throttle of course...it was late ...oops

works on wet, dry and icy surfaces....

 

[my_black99svt]

well i got my rent a car today. and i don't care what anyone says the SVT's are crap on snow and ice. the PT looser that i am driving now is like a dream come true on ice. just do the math you have a 2500 lb car with a 225 wide tire (thats what i have anyways). that comes out to a fraction of the weight per square inch of contact area with the road. compaired to a taurus that is 3500lb+ car with a 205 on it. it all adds up to a ty car on ice

still sounds like tires to me. I drove on ice today. I had great traction.

 

[Tony2005]

...goes back to something they teach you at high performance driving schools: when in doubt(i.e. loss of traction) all out(meaning throttle, brake, clutch) in a spin all in(again throttle, brake,clutch)...

works on wet, dry and icy surfaces....

Please clarify for the rest of us "non performance driving school" alumni. I am not very clear about that post. Thanks.

 

[waldick]

well, they teach you that when the car is driven beyond the limits of adhesion and starts to go away from you, most of the time you can bring it back by keeping your feet off the brake, gas and clutch because you are taking away one of the input components(acceleration/braking) that is causing the tires to loose traction...

when its too late for that and the car is already out of control they teach you "all in" meaning that you depress the clutch fully and the brake fully and enjoy the ride because adding gas or brake usually will make things worse...

i am by no means an expert, but that is what they teach and if you watch the NASCAR guys they pretty much do that as well...

it has worked for me on the track as well as on the road in emergency situations..

your results may vary

 

[Tony2005]

Thanks.

 

[three57mag]

when its too late for that and the car is already out of control they teach you "all in" meaning that you depress the clutch fully and the brake fully and enjoy the ride because adding gas or brake usually will make things worse...

not always true with a front wheel drive car... if your tail end starts comming around on you, like it did to me. it can help to mash the gas to the floor to try to get the front to catch back up. but on ice there isn't enough traction to do that. so all you end up with is a real nice drift right up to the point when you hit that curb and fold a wheel under

 

[alien_yet_familiar]

if you start to slide or slip at high speed, rule of thumb is to just let off the gas, and if you dont get control back after letting off of the gas, downshift.

I always thought this was the case too, and except for once it's worked for me. Goes to show that every situation is different. I was in my first SVT 4 or 5 years ago during a slushy snowstorm. I was going about 30 MPH. The car started to wobble on me - I could just feel it fishtailing and slipping all over on the slush - so I let off the accelerator slowly. The second I lifted my foot, the car did a 180 and I ended up backwards in the ditch on the other side of the road. I didn't have time to even THINK about a downshift. Luckily it was 4 in the morning (on my way to work) and there was no traffic. I also didn't hit any road signs, and I was able to drive out very easily.

Sometimes there's just nothing you can do - except drive slower as conditions merit. If I'd been going 15 I wouldn't have ended up in the ditch.

 

[mattsBLK99cSVT]

when i had my merc stique i slammed on the brakes in the snow once and it did a perfect 180, scared the crap out of me because i didn't expect that but i guess that happens with poopy drum brakes, but future incidents were pre meditated :crazy: :crazy: :crazy:

 

[waldick]

not always true with a front wheel drive car... if your tail end starts comming around on you, like it did to me. it can help to mash the gas to the floor to try to get the front to catch back up. but on ice there isn't enough traction to do that. so all you end up with is a real nice drift right up to the point when you hit that curb and fold a wheel under

yep, you're right front wheel drive behaves differently...in a rear wheel drive car when you let off the gas the engine causes the rear wheels to slow down and straighten the car out, whereas if you let off the gas in a front wheel drive car its like putting on the brakes, which of course is the last thing you want when the back end wants to pass you...

best solution unless you can get studded tires is to slow down as someone has previously said...

as my dad used to tell me "Son, don't let your actions exceed you abilities or the conditions exceed your capabilities" :blackeye:

 

[Redstar]

Down shifting can be dangerous, too. Last winter, I was going about 20 down a steep hill with a turn at the bottom. I decided to down shift (atx with manual mode) instead of brake, and all four wheels lost traction. Even though I had about 12 seconds of skidding to react, there wasn't a damn thing I could do. Went nose first into a steeply banked ditch at the bottom of the hill, and I had to be pulled out backwards by a tow truck. Given, this was a RWD car, but you need to be aware the car can loose its balance from a down shift.

 

[fornetti14]

This is why I parked my SVT this winter. I didn't have snow tires and I was worried that someone would run into me!

I picked up a '97 Mercury Tracer on my local CL that needed an alternator. I only have $600 into it and should be able to sell it for at least that much in the spring when the gas price go higher.

 

[1BadCSVT]

well i got my rent a car today. and i don't care what anyone says the SVT's are crap on snow and ice. the PT looser that i am driving now is like a dream come true on ice. just do the math you have a 2500 lb car with a 225 wide tire (thats what i have anyways). that comes out to a fraction of the weight per square inch of contact area with the road. compaired to a taurus that is 3500lb+ car with a 205 on it. it all adds up to a ty car on ice

I never once had a problem with my SVT in the snow when I owned it. It's all in the driver and tires. Also try running a 205 snow tire, it's actually better to run a slightly less wide tire in the snow.


And BTW no car is good on ice. It's ice everything slides.

 

[CSVT1214]

And BTW no car is good on ice. It's ice everything slides.

Not true with certain snow tires. My Blizzak WS-50's would bite down on ice very good. I pulled away from a stop sign that had tons of ice all over the ground. I figured it would take forever to get some motion going, but the tires gripped like there was nothing there.

Certain snow tires are designed for ice traction.

 

[96RedSE5Sp]

well i got my rent a car today. and i don't care what anyone says the SVT's are crap on snow and ice. the PT looser that i am driving now is like a dream come true on ice. just do the math you have a 2500 lb car with a 225 wide tire (thats what i have anyways). that comes out to a fraction of the weight per square inch of contact area with the road. compaired to a taurus that is 3500lb+ car with a 205 on it. it all adds up to a ty car on ice

That's odd, because with 15" Blizzaks, my old SE handled brilliantly in the snow and ice:shrug:.

How many miles did you have on your snow tires when you got in your wreck? If they were more than a couple of years old, it s probably time to replace them.

Part of your solution might be to use dedicated 15" winter rims that are narrower than your E1's.

 

[Lord Stanley]

well i got my rent a car today. and i don't care what anyone says the SVT's are crap on snow and ice. the PT looser that i am driving now is like a dream come true on ice. just do the math you have a 2500 lb car with a 225 wide tire (thats what i have anyways). that comes out to a fraction of the weight per square inch of contact area with the road. compaired to a taurus that is 3500lb+ car with a 205 on it. it all adds up to a ty car on ice

You could get a Zetec GL like me...

185's FTW!

 

[96ContourNV]

We just got another snow last night, so we're up to about 10 inches in my area in the last week. I researched my last tire purchase and went with a set of all-seasons that had a lot of positive marks for snow handling. They're wearing a little fast, but my 'tour handles great. I was able to get out of two snowed-in parking spaces until I was finally thwarted by a two-foot high snow bank covered in ice.

My only issue is that I wish I had ABS; I tend to be a late-brake'er and I'll lock up the wheels a little often.

10 Inches? Haha
Ever been to Lake Tahoe, California/Nevada?
I live there.


Check these out, How's this for snow tires?

the ones of the car were taken today (12-8)

These are the winter Wheels/Tires

I know it's not a Contour, but ya gotta love Audi!
98 Audi A4 Quattro 2.8

 

[MapOfTaziFoSho]

That's odd, because with 15" Blizzaks, my old SE handled brilliantly in the snow and ice:shrug:.

How many miles did you have on your snow tires when you got in your wreck? If they were more than a couple of years old, it s probably time to replace them.

Part of your solution might be to use dedicated 15" winter rims that are narrower than your E1's.

I have to agree. I had one issue with my tour when I first got it. Back end came out under braking, but the real issue was that the previous owner hadn't rotated the tires. Well I rotated them and moved the bald front tires to the rear...

When I had decent all seasons or snow tires I was better than most in my tour.

 

[ghent96]

Michellin Harmony, 205/65 r15, on your contour/mystique. I've had them almost all of my 85k miles now. Take a look at them - nice wide grooves. My tires plus good driving and knowing how to control my Mystique (and no ABS) has given me no trouble at all in snow, slush, rain, or ice. No setup can beat ice, tho. Snow, really, is the best thing to drive on. Just be careful.

My wife's VW Jetta with ABS and crappy dealer tires... eh... I fenderbendered it in a light drizzle.

 

[dbateman]

My Contour has made it through 9 years of winter without wrecking. I think it drives very well on all-season tires. You just have to take it slow and yes, don't take curves too fast or it will understeer or spin out. Never spun out, but I've understeered a few times. We don't get a whole lot of snow here though.

It's all relative too, my last daily driver was a 90 Mustang GT, that thing was hell to get started on even a slight slippery incline.