Any experience on SNOW?

[derstar]

We finally have our first real snow fall... right around traffic jam time between 4-7... lots of black ice, accidents and closures thru out Toronto. It was snowing, a few thin layer of snows, then it became even colder. My 5.5 ton 2009 Isuzu can't stop...

So i immediately puts on the snows on our pretty new 5. A set of new winter BF Goodrich winter slalom...

But i can't go nor stop (done some break in on tires first of course).

I tried a few stopping atempts around 40-50 km/h (25-30 MPH), it just keeps going... pass stop sign... maybe another 50 feets away.

Blame the tire? or the ABS software? or the very sensitivity 5 brakes?

However, the 5 is very good in doing snow slaloms, recover skids very quickly.

 

[skyhawk]

I tried a few stopping atempts around 40-50 km/h (25-30 MPH), it just keeps going... pass stop sign... maybe another 50 feets away.

.

Try it again. but this time start your stopping attempt some 50 feet earlier.

Seriously, once you have the winter tire, the more you have to slow down way before the stop signs. Vehicles tailgating behind may not have winter tires on.

 

[fam]

ive had 2 3's and 3 5's, yeah,,,im a mazda dork, but anyway, they all do snow very much the same, initial take off is the worst point in the snow but generally stays straight or just a hair right if you dont let off. Breaking heavily kicks in the abs which I think sucks, personally I let off the break and try again if I have the time. Once the car is moving it does very well in the snow, except of course on tight circular highway ramps where the ass end will come right around if youre not careful.

 

[rscottg]

I will get easier. And I do know that the Nokian Q tires on my protege got a lot better after some wear.

In some cases, the only solution is slowing down really early and possibly down-shifting to let the engine do some of the work.

Intersections get polished from the wind, people skidding, and people spinning their wheels.

It is a helpless feeling when the ice is worse than a skating rink. It just comes down to lower speeds, bigger gap between you and the other car. Sometimes when I've arrived at one of those treacherous intersection where I almost can't stop, I'll leave a bit more gap in front of me and watch what the guy behind me is doing. I sometimes can move up or bail completely if I notice them sliding.

I took our 5 out last night for the first time with brand new contiviking tires and it was pretty good. Still have to be carefull when it's glare ice though, but I noticed the vehicle turned well without much push in the front-end.

 

[deepfry]

50 feet past the stop sign with snow tires on!? em ... did the ABS kick in when you braked? You weren't going that fast ... was that patch of road covered with ice?

What drives me nuts here in Toronto is that some drivers are just too incompetent to do winter driving. Even with virutally no other cars in front of them, they just can't go faster than 30km/h when the road is covered with tiny bits of snowflake, with a long line of traffic trailing behind (pissed)

 

[wmzda5]

Derstar, you need to break-in the tires more than that. I also find my tires slightly slippery when I first bought them. But after about 500Km they're OK I never have problem even with the big winter storm last year. Last year after the storm and after plowing my driveway I got to buy some more gas so I just made a snow ramp to the street. (The street is about 7in high from my driveway) I never had any problem, just worrying about snow hitting the spoiler when I drive through intersections since we have a lot of snow trailing when they plowed the main street. The 5 just hump on along top the snow and sticks to the road as if its summer. Night and day compared to the TOYOs. BTW my tires are Yoko IG20s

 

[derstar]

Hi all,

I know why now haha. You just can't rely on those tire guys.

only 15-20 lb air is in each tire only... no wonder it don't have any grip or stopping tread!

Now is much better and more "normal". But i found the 5 still nose light.

But yeah, the street was covered with snow... small residential street here in Scarborough. And you guys should know our very sensitivity brakes... which means early abs intrusion.

I hear you deepfry... Im' a truck driver... does Toronto - Montreal run 2-3 times a week. (I so far have Zero speeding ticket and zero accident, touchwood). Seen these incompetent drivers everyday makes me sick...especially those who still thinks they are the righteous one.

 

[blacktalon13]

we live in scarborough, dudes.. a LOT of ppl can't drive...

i just put snow tires on yesterday... works great.. i got the bridgestone blizzards.. thank god for employee discount.. LOL

 

[Copper5]

Keep in mind, BF Goodrich Winter Slaloms are a snow tire, not an ice tire. They will work better than an all season in the winter, but they won't grip like a Yoko IG20, Toyo Garit, Blizzak or Michelin X-Ice. They don't use sipes in the same way in the tread, so they aren't as good in ice, slush and dusted snow.

I've owned them before on other cars, and I swapped them for a set of Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice. Immediate difference in ice/slush/low snow traction! Deep snow was about the same.

 

[AIMWO4]

My family is from Canada... but out in the sticks. We always say, if you can't stop in snow without using breaks, you're going too fast and following too close.

Don't drive on ice, unless you have the correct tire, and absolutely have to!

 

[mrbwa1]

Our 5 does quite well on snow. there are a couple things you have to watch out for. Take off is the main one. Not sure if you are AT or MT, but either way, I highly recommend a Manual 2nd gear start when it's really icy! We have adaptded the sport shift mode for the real nasty winter stuf for both engine braking to slow and as a kind of manual speed limiter (keep it in 2nd) when it's bad.

Also, if you browse the manual, it recommends 2-3 PSI more air in snow tires on the 5.

Lastly, braking does require some modulation. We get a weird effect at the end of our street. the rear brakes lock up under very light braking, but ABS kicks in if you pres firmly on the brakes. I'm not sure if it is because the ABS hasn't fully adjusted within the 1st block or my years of babying the brakes on cars with no ABS.

We are running Dunlop Wintersport 3ds on the 5 and have been very happy so far. They are better than expected on snow. I think the 5s weak spot may be ice, but we don't get a lot of ice here.

In fact, last year was a record setting snow season and the worst storm in 10 or 20 years hit the day my wife was discharged from the hospital with out son. Unfortunately, I had to go downhill and back up to get her... In 12+ inches of snow! Long story shot, I had to go uphill, in the wrong lane and weave through about 8 disabled cars on a hill. In all honesty, there is no way I should have made it up that road. We tried to head back down after picking the wife back up, but the road had been closed because it was impassable!

 

[skyhawk]

Lastly, braking does require some modulation. We get a weird effect at the end of our street. the rear brakes lock up under very light braking, but ABS kicks in if you pres firmly on the brakes. I'm not sure if it is because the ABS hasn't fully adjusted within the 1st block or my years of babying the brakes on cars with no ABS.

impassable!

Would this be the 'Electronics BrakeForce Distribution'? in action?

============
As per SAE technical paper #920646 - Buschmann et al. "The job of the EBD as a subsystem of the ABS system is to control the effective adhesion utilization by the rear wheels. The pressure of the rear wheels is approximated to the ideal brake force distribution in a partial braking operation. To do so, the conventional brake design is modified in the direction of rear axle overbraking, and the components of the ABS are used. EBD reduces the strain on the hydraulic brake force proportioning valve in the vehicle. EBD optimizes the brake design with regard to: adhesion utilization; driving stability; wear; temperature stress; and pedal force."

EBFD works in conjunction with ABS to minimize yaw accelerations during turns. It compares steering wheel angle to a yaw sensor. "Yaw" is the vehicle's rotation about its center of gravity (imagine a car spinning out of control). If the yaw sensor detects more/less yaw than the steering wheel angle should create - the car is understeering or oversteering - EBFD activates one of the rear brakes to rotate the car back into its intended course. The sensors are so sensitive, and the actuation is so quick that the driver doesn't notice it working - or how close he/she was to spinning out and hitting something!

For example, if a car is making a left turn, and begins to understeer (the car veers to the outside of the turn) EBFD activates the left rear brake, which will turn the car and make the car point left.
============

My question now is where is this 'yaw' sensor. lolz.

 

[maple_leaf]

Haven't had any real problem in snow yet....

 

[derstar]

I do not believe our car have Brake Distribution... (Even it has, its a very poor designed one - our nose dive every time we touch the brake, no matter lite or hard).

Even ABS Systems, there are higher end ones and lower end ones...

 

[skyhawk]

was reading more on the topic and found this mazda 'safety initiative'.

http://www.mazda.com/csr/safety/active.html

 

[mrbwa1]

I do not believe our car have Brake Distribution... (Even it has, its a very poor designed one - our nose dive every time we touch the brake, no matter lite or hard).

Even ABS Systems, there are higher end ones and lower end ones...

EBD isn't designed to counteract nose dive when braking. That's a battle against physics that could only really be controlled with active suspension. EBD basically just uses extra sensors to dynamically adjust the balance between front and rear brakes to optimize stopping power.

http://www.obd-codes.com/faq/ebd-explained.php

Basically cars have a fixed distribution between front and rear pressure that is a trade-off to ensure rear brakes don't lock up. As you load down a car more, you can use a little more brake pressure. EBD uses sensors to adjust.

 

[Zoom5Zoom]

OK too lazy to read replys but is it not TO who called in the army when you had your last snowfall....(owned)

 

[izackary]

OK, I'm a little out of my place; never owned a 5.

Tough.

I've spent every winter of my life in New England, so yeah, here's my $.02 anyways. And not the eastern county of New York called Connecticut, either, mind you! Anyways, decent winter tires make all the difference in areas with 5-month winters, like most of my winters in Vermont. But that being said, the rules of the road regarding slippery surfaces ALWAYS applies. It's not a bad thing to be on the brakes early and softly. At the very least, you're warning the idiot tailgating behind you with all-seasons to grab ahold of something and have that insurance card handy! But seriously, last winter in NH wasn't far from record snowfall in parts, and even having the AWD MS6, snow tires were still a must. Lots of SUVs slid off the roads that season, but the Blizzaks would hardly ever let my car even wiggle!

The last 2wd car I had was a Lincoln Mark VIII...a high-powered rear-drive coupe with an open diff. Talk about helpless in the snow, it couldn't hardly climb the slightest packed-snow incline without help when it had the all-seasons on. 4 snow tires later with a lighter right foot and it was climbing the unsanded back roads in rural VT. NEVER UNDERESTIMATE SNOWS!!

 

[perfecto]

Yeah, I have driven this car in some snow and frankly the ABS grinds like a b**tard whenever the tires slip. It's almost to the point where I wish I could turn it off.

 

[AIMWO4]

I was driving on snow and ice earlier in the week... no problems with my snow tires... left a few SUVs spinning at intersections.