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A stiff suspension car with good snow tires is just fine in the snow.
A car with a stiff suspension will function in the snow but the correct suspension setup for a low-traction surface is a low-rate suspension.
The faster responding vehicle has more of an impact load of lateral force on the tire and the tire doesn't hold as well on a low-traction surface.
Well, for the 1971 Canadian Formula One race, in the rain, MD disconnected the rear swaybar on the PR car and finished third. It was notable motorsports history because it was the first Formula One points finish for PR.
Also, in racing, dirt track cars often have visible body-roll. Stiff suspensions are not competitively used on low-traction surfaces. Well, some dirt tracks are hard packed while others are deeper. To be competitive, the correct suspension set-up must be determined.
The suspension setup for a low-traction surface is just one fundamental. It's not the only fundamental. Now some street cars have magnetic adjustable suspensions with shock dampening adjustable from the dashboard
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A car with a stiff suspension will function in the snow but the correct suspension setup for a low-traction surface is a low-rate suspension.
The faster responding vehicle has more of an impact load of lateral force on the tire and the tire doesn't hold as well on a low-traction surface.
Well, for the 1971 Canadian Formula One race, in the rain, MD disconnected the rear swaybar on the PR car and finished third. It was notable motorsports history because it was the first Formula One race for PR.
Also, in racing, dirt track cars often have visible body-roll. Stiff suspensions are not competitively used on low-traction surfaces. Well, some dirt tracks are hard packed while others are deeper. To be competitive, the correct suspension setup must be determined.
The suspension setup for a low-traction surface is just one fundamental. It's not the only fundamental. Now some street cars have magnetic adjustable suspensions with shock dampening adjustable from the dashboard
.
None of that is relevant when the OP is white-knuckling it down the road at 10MPH, nor is it practical to the average soccer mom in a brand new CUV under warranty to start modifying their suspension. Lets focus on practical tips for folks who may be new at snow-driving, not ice racing tips for folks drifting their Impreza around every corner.
None of that is relevant when the OP is white-knuckling it down the road at 10MPH ...
Ten MPH is not much. But the vehicle also has front-rear weight-transfer and suspension response. (Swaybars don't have effect on front-to-rear weight-transfer and front-to-rear suspension response but spring pre-load does.)
The suspension is not the only fundamental but it is one of the fundamentals.
I've been 30-degrees sideways, mid-curve, at 40 MPH on snow, well, in a softly sprung F-body. I don't spin-out but carry the slide to the end of the curve.
I've driven an MX-5 with 300/200 springs in the snow and it would slide the rear-end 30-degrees at 10 MPH.
If the vehicle slides the rear-end at mid-curve, at significant speed, don't immediately straighten the vehicle but try to carry the slide to the end of the curve.
A rear-end slide at the end of the curve can be straightened immediately.
Oh, electronic-stability-control will most likely straighten a mid-curve slide immediately and that's a spin-out. There's a big difference between a mid-curve slide and a slide at the end of the curve.
Beyond driving significantly slower, avoiding travel during and immediately after the storm, and getting winter tires - I can add to avoid sharp/sudden steering and braking inputs so as to avoid braking traction. Don't jerk the steering wheel, try to give smoooth steering inputs. Don't hit the brakes, *apply* brakes more gently and earlier than normal before an intersection or sharp corner.
Beyond driving significantly slower, avoiding travel during and immediately after the storm, and getting winter tires - I can add to avoid sharp/sudden steering and braking inputs so as to avoid braking traction. Don't jerk the steering wheel, try to give smoooth steering inputs. Don't hit the brakes, *apply* brakes more gently and earlier than normal before an intersection or sharp corner.
Yeah.. I refer to this as the 'egg' method.
Drive like there's a raw egg under the gas, brake and under each arm.
Steady on and off everything, and you should always be looking a good distance in front of you, even in good weather.. In snow or ice.. You need to expand that out even further and further to the sides. See things WELL before you get to them so that you can do the above. going to an intersection, you're paying attention in case there's some dweeb who is going to slide right through.
Try your damndest to never stop as well. You see a red light.. You want to roll through it if possible(When it turns green, natch). When you're moving, you're not stuck. You stop.. You very well could be.
It can actually be rather exhausting driving in snow/ice because you're having to do so much more and pay attention to so much more. I know when I've done it, and.. That's not much seeing as i'm in the upstate of SC.. It can almost feel like you've run a marathon when you get out of the car. Just mentally taxing.
Oh.. And one more thing.
CLEAN OFF YOUR DAMN CAR!
With the number of people who have dashcams now.. You send a sheet of snow/ice off the top of your vehicle 30 feet in the air and it hits someone's vehicle.. You're going to be liable for the damages. Back in the day, there was no proof.. Now.. You're on camera.
Correct. I am not going to spend the money to change tires on “not my car” when I’m not using it for very long. Let alone suspension.
Agree, but you need to think about when you get your car back. Forget messing with your suspension, that's not a reasonable suggestion. But if you are now in northern New York you need real snow tires for winter time. I drive thousands of miles on snow and ice. Much of it pulling a trailer. AWD/4WD and good snow tires are paramount. Anyone who says otherwise is smoking something.
The only way to learn is with practice. Once you become proficient with the car you drive you won't be so nervous about driving it, regardless if driving on snow and ice, or through the mud, sand, and so on. I used to drive RWD vehicles around Northern NY and Burlington back in the years when big snow storms were common. I even drove a Pinto station wagon that didn't have winter tires. Most of the people I knew did the same.
The automobiles of today incorporate traction/stability controls, which use the ABS system, but the best thing to do is to always have the proper tires for road conditions. Years ago we learned to pump the brake pedal, but nowadays the car does that for you, and much faster. Also, when sliding around a turn when driving FWD vehicles that had a handbrake between the front seats, what you could do was to use the handbrake (without locking it) to prevent the rear end from trying to slide left or right. Nowadays the traction/stability control does that for you. Back then we used to work the clutch, brake, and fuel pedal to control skids and things like that. We learned heel-and-toe shifting long ago
If moving from the South to the North where it snows, then you better learn to drive in the snow. There isn't any other way. It matter not what anybody can tell the OP about driving on ICE. He will have to learn it himself by driving.
Seriously, just go slow in snow driving conditions. The old saying for this is "drive like an old lady."
TBH if you aren't moderately good at operating a motor vehicle, don't try driving in strong storm or blizzard conditions. Hard experiences will happen.
Edit to add- the real scary baddy in snow driving conditions is black ice. Even large vehicles can slide on patches, which is why some Highways and Interstates are shut down during storms.
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