Driving on ice

[MikeyClutch]

hey guys, here in ny there is just ice everywhere, and my protege dosnt have ABS or Traction Control, plus my tires suck the big one. Since you guys are protege owners what do feel the best way to drive thru ice, and worst when your actually spinning? I did a un-intentional 270 while making a turn at like 20mph. and in general my back keeps fishtailing. Maybe ill find some large rocks and put them in the trunk

 

[ChopstickHero]

get some winter tires.

 

[jbiird317]

cement in the trunk wont help much since the car is front wheel drive...

just get some winter tires and dont brake on the ice, 90% of the time when people spin out on the ice its because they feel like they're sliding and start to brake, just keep at a constant, slow speed and u should be ok

 

[36Crazyfists]

get snow tires if you want...but definitely slow down and give yourself time for anything that may happen while driving on ice...tap your breaks so that you don't lock up the wheels.

 

[zerocover]

Take another car, in the protege youll die.

Seriously though
Down shift instead of using the brakes. Then use the brakes gently, you need to feel when the tires are about to lock up. And not push any harder. ITs tough to explain but it will feel slippery like the car just wont stop.

Goings not a big deal just take it easy. Turning takes a bit of skill though.Go in slow and if you feel the tires brake loose gently get on the gas.

 

[anarchistchiken]

If you're gonna be driving on ice frequently, then buy winter tires. That's really all there is to it.

 

[99 Pro]

We had 5mm rain, then 2" snow, then 40km/h winds in the last 2 days. Basically our roads are skating rinks. I could have put on my skates and skated to work today. You just have to give yourself some extra time, and take it slow.....the good old Pro will get you there everytime. (evil)

 

[MikeyClutch]

Thanks, i guess im going to try whatever i can. if the cops werent such big :insert bad word: around here, i would go into an empty parking lot and try some stuff ya know. oh well, ill just take it really easy.

 

[REMillers]

Ice? If the road is a sheet of ice no tire, ABS, traction control, 4x4 is going to help you. Ice is the equalizer amongst cars and trucks. If you have 4x4 on ice, that is two extra wheels you have spinning.
If you put kitty litter in the trunk on ice, that is something for you to take a chit in as you spin off the cliff.

Now snow is different, snow the tires can help, the 4x4 can help, the ABS isn't so much of a helper on snow and ice. In fact sometimes ABS can hurt you. On Snow you want to be gently with the power and braking. ABS can disurpt this gentle application of the brakes cause you to spin even worse. The goal in snow is never to slam your brakes on, if you have to you already screwed up badly.

And why does everyone seem to think the Proteges are so horrible in snow? Drove through a blizzard when I had mine, no problem. It isn't the car, its the knowledge and experiance that will get you through it.

Go take you car to a parking lot and practice, even if it is in a little snow you can learn a lot.

Edit: About the cops, this doesn't mean go to a parking lot and do donuts. Just go and try to make different degrees of turns, stopping etc. Heck ask a cop if it is alright, least here they don't care so long as you aren't speeding or just doing spin outs.

 

[36Crazyfists]

after you get the hang of driving on ice you can go e-brake around parking lots and empty roads during the winter...fun stuff

 

[SilverBulletES]

I drove through a blizzard in my SE-R which had much better power than my beloved Slotege. You just gotta go eeeeeeee-Z. But winter tires would be the ideal.

Ice will **** you everytime of course. I was doing donuts in a parking lot in my Sentra once and hit a patch of black ice. This b**** at my college with a (real) Hummer and a winch had to pull me out of the ditch. My friend's Tahoe couldn't do it. No damage surprisingly.

 

[MikeyClutch]

i pulled the e-brake a few times already on desolate roads at 1:30am, very fun till my car faced the opposite way and then turned around to face foward again. around me right now we had sheets of ice everywhere, i really hate it. I feel bad for rwd cars right now

 

[kl_03maz]

Learn to ebrake drift around corners
Practice stopping on ice and controlling a slide if there is one.
Recognize how long it will take you to stop and start stopping at that appropriate moment.
Like other guys said. Downshift (this is called engine braking)
If you drive an auto.. around 60km/h-70km/h shift to 2nd. around 40km/h shift to 1st.
Just let off the throttle and slowwwwwlly apply brake.
but yes... most of all.... get winter tires!

 

[peepsalot]

Well, I've only driven on ice once(living in Texas) so maybe I don't know what I'm talking about, but downshifting/engine braking on ice never made any sense to me. Brakes or engine, either way you are applying a force to your spinning wheels to get them to stop.
The differences are:
1) Your brakes control all four wheels while your engine controls only two.
2) You have a much finer control over the force applied to your wheels when using the brakes.

So why in the world would you want to use your engine to brake when you have limited traction?

 

[kl_03maz]

good question... it seems after some research I was talking s***

My appologiez... either.. learn to drift and control a slide... or get winter tires.

 

[MikeyClutch]

hahaha, nice replies, well its just hard to find a quiet street around me, living in nyc isnt the easiest cause everyplace you can pull something like this off a cop is hiding. they may understand a parking lot drift session but no toleration on the street no mater what the time. this weekend i think im gunna take my car into a parking lot and set up 2 cones for a circle and see what i can do. if the cops say something ill just tell them im an young inexpirenced driver trying to learn howto control my car in snow in a controlled area. (im only 17) Now that all the snow and ice is gone i gotta wait. Im not going to get snow tires because i dont see the purpose of gettin them when there is only a month or so left of winter. My next tire purchase will probably be all weather tires not just dry traction

 

[-pixy-]

just park the pro and use public transportation... safe for you and me

 

[zerocover]

Ive seen thouse busses fish tale wildly, pretty scary.
What you need to do is borrow your parents jeep cherokie, Ive never seen anything better in snow. Untill they sold it for a BMW x5, its really bad in snow almost as bad as the pro (tires are too wide, suspention is too stiff, abs lets you completly lock all 4 tires for a few seconds before doing anything, and its mainly rwd so alot of tire spin.) still a dam nice vehicle love what thouse germans can do, never buying a non german car again.

 

[MikeyClutch]

my parents just bought a 2006 BMW 330XI, phenominal in snow and street. But i drive a protege so that has no affect on me. Yeah but im still going to try out a parking lot thing if cops bother me ill just break down and cry and make up a story of how my life sucks.

 

[Bartron8000]

man i live in minnesota, and in early dec we got 6" of snow over night, my protege just plowed threw the snow. it was great. I also have some very nice Yokohama IceGuard tires, they are great for semi icy conditions. I haven't been able to see how well they are when theres been frezing rain.