Winter Driving Tips!

[stanjk3]

Remember, you're not Petter Solberg!!!

Just because you also drive a Subaru, doesn't mean you can drive like him.

[aldouse]

My tip is to drive like this whenever possible. Winter is too short and there aren't enough opportunities.

 

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b182/OCDetails2/DSC03415.jpg

 

i can't wait!

[47ka]

Here's my tip:

 

Don't drive a E-350 SuperDuty down a street that is an icy sheet when dropping off people. You WILL get stuck, and it will require some cursing and rocking to move off of the ice. Make 'em get off elsewhere.

 

I was driving this behemoth (which usually drives better than you'd think a vehicle that size would, although I think it's convinced me not to ever buy a rear-wheel drive car) one night and the bastard kept sliding all over the place. The best part was that when I got stuck on aforementioned alley, there was a car two inches on my right. Fortunately, no damage to either one. Made me miss my 4WD Legacy (sob), especially when my front two tires were on dry pavement and my back two were spinning faster than a freshman who's had three shots of Everclear. All I could think was "If only this thing had four-wheel drive..." while shifting back and forth between D1 and reverse.

 

I think the highlight of the night was when I braked and 12-foot long sheet of 1 inch ice that was on my roof came crashing down on my windshield and hood. There were three girls in the van at the time who started screaming their heads off, which was of course pleasant. I will say that Ford builds a fairly robust wiper system, as it was able to toss the frozen chunks pretty easily.

 

Which brings me to tip #2: if your car's been outside during a snow/ice storm, it is a good idea to clean off your roof, body panels, and taillights - I've had stuff fly off of other cars and smack my hood while driving at home. This also prevents the wonderful surprise of not being able to see anything because everything that was on your roof is now on your windshield. Trust me, this feeling is one best described as "Oh s***" or "WTF" or some other sentiment that combines surprise, confusion, and mild panic.

 

Everybody be careful out there this season. Remember that AWD is unstoppable in the winter - sometimes not even your brakes will help you. Stay safe.

[Prod]

My tip is to drive like this whenever possible. Winter is too short and there aren't enough opportunities.

 

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b182/OCDetails2/DSC03415.jpg

 

I did some of that this weekend. It really gives you a feel for what the car can do.

 

My best advice is to keep a little throttle on and wait for the AWD to pull you out of whatever situation you got yourself into. When countersteering, be very light with the throttle to make sure you don't snap the rear to the other side.