Snow Driving Question

[23 Stang]

Stanged78, yeah it's been clear so far, lets hope it can stay that way. I hate snow. Thanks again for the advice, you live pretty close, I'm also in the burbs, I'm from Northbrook. I'm def gonna drive EXTRA careful, my insurance rates for a 17 year old on a v8 engine are already killing me.

 

[PG98GT]

Something else I forgot to mention...the wide tires we have act like plows, unfortunately forcing us to give more gas than we should have to. I have run into "interesting" situations when I'd go from packed snow to loose snow. Suddenly there's no forward motion. If you ever watch rally racing on snow, check out the tires they use, versus the tires they use on dry dirt. The snow tires are very skinny (not to mention studded) whereas the dry tires are wide like ours. Skinny tires decrease rolling resistance, especially in the snow. And think of drag racing cars.

 

[Slithering_Joe]

I live in Canada, so unfortunatly I have been driving in the snow/ice forever. Listen to Mu$tang, he's got it right.One thought though, use about 4 bags of softener salt {50lbs each} or bags of salt for doing icy sidewalks,in the trunk If you use bags of sand when it gets really cold the moisture in the sand will turn it really hard.If you hit something or someone runs into you, what you have in the trunk will keep going right through the back seat and try to hurt ya.Also the salt/sand mix they use on the streets is really nasty to the body of your car,[rust] so we sports car guys here all have winter beaters.
Good Luck!!

200#'s of salt!!!!?? You will rot that car out and that is too much weight. Screw that idea. Just buy two 60# bags of sand and place them behind the taillights.
Oh, I'm a sports car guy and I drive 12months/year in a sports car.

 

[1fast03pony]

200#'s of salt!!!!?? You will rot that car out and that is too much weight. Screw that idea. Just buy two 60# bags of sand and place them behind the taillights.
Oh, I'm a sports car guy and I drive 12months/year in a sports car.

how will he rot the car out?

 

[merc123]

If you start sliding DO NOT use the brakes. You'll lock the tires and skid.

 

[CanadaStang]

200#'s of salt!!!!?? You will rot that car out and that is too much weight. Screw that idea. Just buy two 60# bags of sand and place them behind the taillights.
Oh, I'm a sports car guy and I drive 12months/year in a sports car.

Umm, I don't mean to open the trunk and pour in the salt [Dah!!] I said "bags of salt" Also the Stang can accomadate 3 200lbs passangers plus driver which puts more wieght on the rear tires than say just 200lbs in the trunk.[gvw=4490lbs]If you use bags of sand the sand will absorb moisture on humid days and it will become stone-like. And lastly,check if you have ABS brakes,if so, then you can steer the vehicle while braking.Hence the idea of having ABS.

 

[Slithering_Joe]

Umm, I don't mean to open the trunk and pour in the salt [Dah!!] I said "bags of salt" Also the Stang can accomadate 3 200lbs passangers plus driver which puts more wieght on the rear tires than say just 200lbs in the trunk.[gvw=4490lbs]If you use bags of sand the sand will absorb moisture on humid days and it will become stone-like. And lastly,check if you have ABS brakes,if so, then you can steer the vehicle while braking.Hence the idea of having ABS.

I did give you some credit. I wasn't thinking you were going to pour the contents into the trunk. Having a bag of salt in the trunk is just asking for a mess in the event that the bag gets cut or the contents leak out.
Salt + metal + moisture = rust and Salt loves moisture.

 

[CanadaStang]

That's a good point Slithering Joe,the bags are made of pretty thick plastic but something pointy or sharp can certainly cut them open easily, where as the cloth bags that sand usually come in are pretty sturdy.I never use my trunk except for weight, so that's not a problem for me but if you use the trunk on a reguler basis it might be an idea to use sand, just check them from time to time to make sure they don't get hard.I had a freind that was killed last winter when he hit a car that slid out in front of him, the bags of sand he had in the trunk came through the backseat and squashed him.Just something a person doesn't think of till it's too late.I never used to worry about it till that happened.

 

[JonJon]

That's a good point Slithering Joe,the bags are made of pretty thick plastic but something pointy or sharp can certainly cut them open easily, where as the cloth bags that sand usually come in are pretty sturdy.I never use my trunk except for weight, so that's not a problem for me but if you use the trunk on a reguler basis it might be an idea to use sand, just check them from time to time to make sure they don't get hard.I had a freind that was killed last winter when he hit a car that slid out in front of him, the bags of sand he had in the trunk came through the backseat and squashed him.Just something a person doesn't think of till it's too late.I never used to worry about it till that happened.

KILLED?!?!?
I haven't put stuff in my trunk, but I plan on putting a few cinder blocks in on a tarp.

 

[Blk01gt_]

i put four 25lb weights in my trunk(the plastic orbitals filled with sand that you slide onto a bar). I even constructed a little "holder" for them out of wood, to keep them in place. Works great.

And as for technique, all you fools make winter driving out to be some kind of crapshoot where if you get from A to B in one piece is a miracle. theres snow on the ground here for 4-5 months of the year, and winter driving is no problem whatsoever. Now, my advice?

OF COURSE you can't drive on ice like you can on pavement. Drive slower, baby the gas, and you will be fine. Just dont drive like an idiot.