Snow / ice driving - auto
- Thread starter RobJJZ4
- Start date
I used to drive an auto (not a Zed), and in my country winters can be quite snowy.
The tricky thing was to avoid accidental kickdown or, for that matter, any abrupt gear changes that could unsettle the car (an equivalent of downshifting and quickly releasing the clutch in a manual car). In general, any sudden input, like braking or swerving, is not advisable.
I would go for the first option, namely: go into the manual mode and choose a lower, long gear (3 or 2) before the descent. Gently drive down the hill, braking with the engine only (i.e. gently lifting your foot off the accelerator).
For me, winter driving is lazy driving - minimum driver input, slow, lazy moves, gentleness. You'll like it!
Do not roll in the neutral, as it is destructive for the automatic hydrokinetic transmission.
The tricky thing was to avoid accidental kickdown or, for that matter, any abrupt gear changes that could unsettle the car (an equivalent of downshifting and quickly releasing the clutch in a manual car). In general, any sudden input, like braking or swerving, is not advisable.
I would go for the first option, namely: go into the manual mode and choose a lower, long gear (3 or 2) before the descent. Gently drive down the hill, braking with the engine only (i.e. gently lifting your foot off the accelerator).
For me, winter driving is lazy driving - minimum driver input, slow, lazy moves, gentleness. You'll like it!
Do not roll in the neutral, as it is destructive for the automatic hydrokinetic transmission.
Maniac said:
the law won,t help you recover the repair costs 8)
i would only advocate this at walking speed on a steep hill . .
from our house in normandy there is the steepest of lanes & after many descents in winter using a variety of autos including 4x4's neutral is the only safe way .
i wasn,t suggesting crowning a hill at 50mph then slipping into neutral for a freewheel down
and coming from a TT Quattro thought I would ask :!:
corsaire77 has it exactly right. Be smooth - not necessarily a very low gear - probably higher than usual.
Think way ahead it's like when you learn to ski on ice - sometimes you have to say I'm likely to skid here so I'm going to position the car so that it skids in the safest direction and let it go a bit.
In my experience in the UK more people have a problem with getting going than stopping. If you've got a hill coming up hold well back from the car in front - the people behind can become a problem here. Allow yourself plenty of room and try to accelerate in to the hill so that you have inertia carrying you up and don't need too much torque through the tyres - chances are that loads of other wallys have not done this and skidded all over the place polishing the ice so you need a bit of speed.
Cast your mind back to science lessons at school. Everything Newton said is relevant!
Think way ahead it's like when you learn to ski on ice - sometimes you have to say I'm likely to skid here so I'm going to position the car so that it skids in the safest direction and let it go a bit.
In my experience in the UK more people have a problem with getting going than stopping. If you've got a hill coming up hold well back from the car in front - the people behind can become a problem here. Allow yourself plenty of room and try to accelerate in to the hill so that you have inertia carrying you up and don't need too much torque through the tyres - chances are that loads of other wallys have not done this and skidded all over the place polishing the ice so you need a bit of speed.
Cast your mind back to science lessons at school. Everything Newton said is relevant!
Gremlin500
Member
Got to be Option 1, surely?
If it's a steep hill, the car will certainly want to pick up speed in neutral, neccessitating use of the brakes, and 3rd or even 2nd gear may still not provide sufficient engine braking to avoid use of the brakes. I always say in very icy conditions, try not to use the brakes at all, and only minimal, gentle inputs with the steering. If you feel you have to brake, then you're going too fast/not slowing down early enough.
My 2p!
If it's a steep hill, the car will certainly want to pick up speed in neutral, neccessitating use of the brakes, and 3rd or even 2nd gear may still not provide sufficient engine braking to avoid use of the brakes. I always say in very icy conditions, try not to use the brakes at all, and only minimal, gentle inputs with the steering. If you feel you have to brake, then you're going too fast/not slowing down early enough.
My 2p!