hey guys, i had a little accident coming back from school just a couple mins ago, i just wanna let everyone know to drive careful, especially here in the midwest and canada, it snowed and iced pretty bad this morning and still this afternoon. The story, while coming back from school, i took this little curved turn, it kinda swarve a bit, so i stepped on the brake pedal which LOCKED up and i felt it slid out of control, then BOOM! i hit the curve, ran out the door and there was a BIG DENT on my stock rims! *Sigh....* i feel like crrap right now, hopefully I'll get a new stock rim soon, maybe under $50??? guys....guys....if it's icy and slippery where you live, drive carefully please, my friend riding shotgun with me said it could've been worst, could've hit another car and lose my life *sigh* i should've never step on the brake, anybody have winter driving tips?
hopefully i didn't break anything else besides the rims, i hope my axles, joints, bearings and everything is still good, what do you guys think?
Few winter driving tips from rally land, finland.
1) Never step on the brakes when the car starts to fishtail, it will just exaggerate it. With a FWD, countersteer and accelerate/countersteer and press the clutch. RWD, Countersteer and press the clutch or countersteer and release gas
2)FWD cornering, do not remove the throttle when going into the corner, the front will slow down and the rear will swing by.
3)"ppl will think ur being an asshole but the truth of it is you're learning how your car handles when you arent in control" - No you dont, you learn just one thing, you f'd up. Playing around is fun and if done in a safe place educational, losing control on the street is just dumb.
4) Get some good winter tires, meant for snow, those will help alot in keeping your car in control. Biggest boo boo people do is they get some "all season" or other bullshit el cheapo tires, then they lose control and die, because the tires werent meant for extreme conditions, always get the best tires you can afford.
i have some driving tips that i learned from driving a rwd car last winter. Always enter a turn with your foot off the gas, not matter what, leave the turn with very very very light acceleration. When braking use light force then off, theres no stopping a skid if you apply lots of brake. Go to a large open parking lot and practice losing control of your vehicle. ppl will think ur being an asshole but the truth of it is you're learning how your car handles when you arent in control, see how the e-brake moves you, see what happens when you slam on the brakes, see what happens when you slam on the gas. Those are my tips, hope they help
that is very good advice, only be careful where you do it. I was out with my dad last winter and he was teaching me how to handle a vehicle in the snow, and we were sliding around a lot. there wasn't a SINGLE car in the parking lot of the high school near our house and some ppl called the cops and they came over and gave my dad a ticket for reckless driving. we took it to court and got the ticket dropped, but i couldnt believe that, i mean we were practicing to avoid accidents, and there seriously wasnt anyone in the area. i dunno, i guess just be careful where you do it.
also, i heard about this technique called left foot braking, i've never tried it because my left foot is just designated as my clutch foot. apparently if you lightly tap the brakes with your left foot and give the car a little bit of gas when going around a turn, it gives you better traction. I DONT KNOW IF THIS WORKS, i've never tried it. feel free to call me a retard if this is totally incorrect
Last edited by kevin_alvarez; 11-29-2005 at 03:47 PM.
What snow.. its raining here and its gonna be raining for a few days! we had a chitload of snow last week and now it looks like spring again! gotta love Ontario weather.
also, i heard about this technique called left foot braking, i've never tried it because my left foot is just designated as my clutch foot. apparently if you lightly tap the brakes with your left foot and give the car a little bit of gas when going around a turn, it gives you better traction. I DONT KNOW IF THIS WORKS, i've never tried it. feel free to call me a retard if this is totally incorrect
Left foot braking wouldnt be all that helpful with street tires in the snow or ice.
Left foot braking is helpful when on race-tracks as you don't really interrupt the engine makeing power and yes... make better traction... but you really should attend a driving/track school before applying it as in my opinion... its only really useful on the track
With FWD, always keep one hand on the handbrake and your foot near the gas pedal!
Oh yeah... drive with your freakin head this winter! I'm tired of pulling idiots in SUVs outta ditches!
-corey
update: hey guys, i had to go to a local junkyard/salvage yard and bought an old used rim for $50, then had to go to another shop to have the tire taken out of my bent rim and onto the new rim which cost $20, i feel like i was ripped off by the shop who did my tire, yesterday i came to him and he said he would rotate my tires for about $20, i say ok, since you guys are taking my wheels off to rotate them, can they swap tires from my bent rim to the new rim and bolt it back up, he said sure it'll just cost a lil more, maybe $22 in the end.. But, at the end, he only swap the tires and bolt on the new rim, i ask him and he said its gonna cost about $20 more to rotate them, so $40 in the end.
im thinking in my head WTF, $20 just to put on ONE tire?? forget that, so i just left, i guess i'll have to rotate my tires on my own, oh well
On snow weight is your friend. I'd take an SUV over any car during winter driving.
Wrong, think about it. You have a 2000lb car and a certain amount of speed. You have alot less momentum than a car that weighs 3000lb and goes the same speed. Now stopping at a similar surface will cause the heavier vehicle to go further (assuming friction stays the same). Its all about physics, Mass x Speed = momentum.
Wrong, think about it. You have a 2000lb car and a certain amount of speed. You have alot less momentum than a car that weighs 3000lb and goes the same speed. Now stopping at a similar surface will cause the heavier vehicle to go further (assuming friction stays the same). Its all about physics, Mass x Speed = momentum.
I'd rather have a nice 4x4 sportscar than an SUV.
You're absolutely correct - when the pavement is dry.
But look at it this way: why does everyone say to use narrow tires in the snow? Effectively what you're doing is increasing ground pressure which helps it grip. Another way of increasing ground pressure is adding weight. A light car riding on top of the snow will be harder to stop than a heavy car riding on the pavement.
Same thinking behind why people put extra weight in their trunk to gain traction, or why pickup trucks are so terrible in the snow - they have very little weight on the rear tires. Add a couple thousand pounds to that pickup truck and it'll be musch safer to drive in deep snow.
Not sure about Finland, but here when the city's salting and plowing trucks go out they carry a huge block of concrete on the truck. This block is about 2 meters on each side.
But, your formula is correct in the sense that if both cars were on dry pavement, or both cars were on top of the snow, the heavy one will be harder to stop.
No it works on wet aswell. Yes narrow tires, because it increases the pressure on the surface of the road at a particular area. Yes it will do it if you add vehicle mass, however the downside is, it will take alot more to slow it down, hence a light car, narrow tires is alot better combination than wide tires and a heavy as shit car.
Yeah, I put sand bags in the back of RWD cars, but that also has a downside, it increases vehicle weight, plus it puts more weight in the back, now what do you think happens to a car with weight in the back when the tail starts to slide. Go and try an MR-2 in the winter and you know what I mean
They salt roads here, but they dont carry no concrete in the trucks.
The AutoGuide.com network consists of the largest network of enthusiast-owned enthusiast-operated automotive communities.
AutoGuide.com provides the latest car reviews, auto show coverage, new car prices, and automotive news. The AutoGuide network operates more than 100 automotive forums where our users consult peers for shopping information and advice, and share opinions as a community.
ToyotaNation.com is an independent Toyota/Lexus enthusiast website. ToyotaNation.com is not sponsored by or in any way affiliated with Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. The Toyota, Lexus and Scion names and logos are trademarks owned by Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc.
i dunno, i guess just be careful where you do it. 
gotta love Ontario weather. 
and your foot near the gas pedal!
Linear Mode
