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I hate: People driving in winter on summer tires.

B

blue

boob hater
Jan 24, 2004
10,160
2
california
I now officially have a strong dislike for those of you who tool around on summer rubber during winter months after this evenings events. Coming home from PCMR through Parley's in the storm is bad enough as it is, to have asshats sliding all over the place (and backwards) into me because they're too cheap/in debt to buy winter rubber (or at least some decent all-seasons) for their almost-new Mini or (insert other high-dollar automobile here) is ridiculous. Dumb woman was flooring it all the way to the summit trying to get her (insert expensive super-tacky treadless summer tires here) to grip on a snowpacked road. Eventually she blew something up (she seemed to think it was her clutch), and slid back into me. No harm to the car, but there were 40,000 other variants of her on the road tonight, making for a 2.5 hour commute home (normally aboot ~35).

JHFC people, I'm driving in a FWD VW with all-season radials and I have no problem getting over Parley's Summit on snowpack. High gearing+picking lines+halfway decent tires=win. Please end yourselves.

That's all. :disgust1:
 
LordOpie

LordOpie

MOTHER HEN
Oct 17, 2002
21,022
3
Denver
My wife's 4wd has good tires. I refuse to spend that money on my jeep, which is why I commute on my studded tire bicycle.

But yeah, irresponsible is irresponsible.
 
firemandivi

firemandivi

They drank my Tooters
Sep 7, 2006
784
-1
a state called denial
I have to agree with Blue.
Its not the snow or ice that's dangerous its the other idiots on the road that you really have to worry about. If you live where temperatures get below freezing you should learn how to drive in the snow.
 
syadasti

syadasti

i heart mac
Apr 15, 2002
12,690
290
VT
firemandivi said:
I have to agree with Blue.
Its not the snow or ice that's dangerous its the other idiots on the road that you really have to worry about. If you live where temperatures get below freezing you should learn how to drive in the snow.
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I thought it was funny when I visited San Diego a few years ago they got a ton of rain and people were having problems driving because they didn't know how to drive in the rain. The rain was all over the news like it was major event:busted:
 
firemandivi

firemandivi

They drank my Tooters
Sep 7, 2006
784
-1
a state called denial
syadasti said:
I thought it was funny when I visited San Diego a few years ago they got a ton of rain and people were having problems driving because they didn't know how to drive in the rain. The rain was all over the news like it was major event:busted:
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Unless the roads are flooded or you have bald tires how could you have trouble driving in the rain?
I remember a few years ago Atlanta got about an inch of snow and the whole city shut down.
 
syadasti

syadasti

i heart mac
Apr 15, 2002
12,690
290
VT
firemandivi said:
Unless the roads are flooded or you have bald tires how could you have trouble driving in the rain?
I remember a few years ago Atlanta got about an inch of snow and the whole city shut down.
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Maybe everyone has RWD cars and has never driven in the wet. The rain didn't seem that bad to me. My rental was a ****ty mustang too as they "upgraded" me for free.
 
Westy

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
54,440
20,241
Sleazattle
I used to storm around Northern Northern NY in an '85 T-Bird, rear wheel drive and no limited slip diff. With all season tires it would get stuck on flat ground with 2" of snow. With snow tires I could plow through powder higher than the bumper, it was an unstopable machine.
 
J

jsh191

Monkey
Nov 16, 2006
110
0
birdsboro, pa
i commute (an hour) toward the great city of philfidelphia five days a week, grew up in the northeast, and have no problems driving in the snow. however, the masses of suburbanites that shell out the cash for the their $45,000 SUV's freak out when there is anything but dry pavement in front of them. can't stand all the white-knuckled paranoia that plagues the roadways every time the roads are anything but "ideal"... sissies.
 
S

skinny mike

Turbo Monkey
Jan 24, 2005
6,415
0
i had a near death experience yesterday driving in the snow. it was about 1145 and i was driving past the high school just as all of the kids were getting dismissed. so many distracted, inexperienced drivers. *shudder*
 
syadasti

syadasti

i heart mac
Apr 15, 2002
12,690
290
VT
skinny mike said:
i had a near death experience yesterday driving in the snow. it was about 1145 and i was driving past the high school just as all of the kids were getting dismissed. so many distracted, inexperienced drivers. *shudder*
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Aren't you only a few years older than them:busted:
 
Da Peach

Da Peach

Outwitted by a rodent
Jul 2, 2002
13,683
4,912
North Van
Good tires make driving fun.

I was all excited about putting my fancy summer tires on last spring. I put them on 1 snowfall too early. Just the transverse slope for water drainage had me pinned against the sidewalk a couple times.

I had my winters on early this year.
 
jimmydean

jimmydean

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey
Sep 10, 2001
41,192
13,339
Portland, OR
It snows like once a year in Portland. If it snows, my wifes car stays in the driveway.

My truck has M+S tires, so they are kind of a waste on a dry road. It rains 75% of the time in Portland and people still don't know how to drive in it.
 
douglas

douglas

Chocolate Milk Doug
May 15, 2002
9,887
6
Shut up and Ride
johnbryanpeters said:
Agreed. Equip your car or get off the road, please.

Oh yeah, equipped or not, please learn to drive. I do not wish to follow you for thirty miles on two lane winding roads while you white-knuckle it at 20 mph all the way.
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yes. agree.

And if you must do 20mph on the 3 lane highway, MOVE to F over into the right (or middle lane) and get to hell out of the fast lane!!! :rant:
 
Westy

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
54,440
20,241
Sleazattle
woodsguy said:
I had a Mustang in hs and had similiar experiences. With the all season tires if there was any snow at all I could barely move. But with my winter tires I could go anywhere. The only times I got stuck was when I got high centered. My favorite story was the time I was going to my friends house to sleep out in their barn. There was a fresh foot of snow on his steep and long driveway. It was a sharp turn in but I got as much speed as I could and charged up the hill. I fish-tailed the whole way up but made it on the first try. His sister's friends were all at the top of the driveway in disbelief. They were like "I can't believe you made it up when earlier (when there was less snow) their friend in his 4x4 Jeep tried 5 times before parking in the neigbors driveway.

I am a big fan of winter tires. As mountain bikers we all understand the importance of having the proper rubber but most people just don't get it. Typically winter tires are $400-$800 which is much cheaper than sliding over a cliff or into a semi and the few months they are on you are saving wear on your regular tires.

Along those same lines, people that don't use sunglasses drive me nuts. Living west of Boston you would think they would get a clue when both their commutes are facing the sun.

Oh and btw, rear drive is far superior in the snow than fwd. It is much easier to control a skid of the rear wheels than the front. The only reason fwd cars got the rep of being better in the snow is because back then most cars were exteremely front heavy meaning for fwd most of the weight was over the drive wheels and rwd cars were were light in the rear. Nowadays, most cars are pretty balanced giving the advantage to rwd because the drive wheels don't have to steer as well.
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I've driven both FWD and RWD in wintery conditions and I might prefer RWD in snow the average idiot is much better off with FWD. Again that is when driving in snow not the slush and ice you see most of the time.

I liked my beater T-Bird because I could control the angle of attack and would have to pinball off of snowbanks. A fwd would push the front end and get stuck, with the T-bird I have the rear quarter panel hit first and bounce off.
 
SkaredShtles

SkaredShtles

Michael Bolton
Sep 21, 2003
65,705
12,739
In a van.... down by the river
woodsguy said:
What I loved about rwd is when taking a turn you could give it a little gas and swing the rear around. With fwd, any gas mid turn would break the front loose and you would plow straight ahead. I love having awd but I do miss that about rwd. Now my thing is to puposely go too fast for a turn just to feel the stability control yank me around the turn. :)
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I had an old Audi that was a *perfect* snow car. It was rear-biased enough to get the rear swinging at will around corners, but you could stay on the gas all the time and come out of the turn nice and fast.

The only thing it suffered from was throttle-off oversteer - so it was imperative not to chicken out half way through the hairpin. When in doubt, more gas was always the answer. :D
 
Toshi

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,312
7,738
Westy said:
I've driven both FWD and RWD in wintery conditions and I might prefer RWD in snow the average idiot is much better off with FWD. Again that is when driving in snow not the slush and ice you see most of the time.

I liked my beater T-Bird because I could control the angle of attack and would have to pinball off of snowbanks. A fwd would push the front end and get stuck, with the T-bird I have the rear quarter panel hit first and bounce off.
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sounds like my rally racing technique in Gran Turismo 4

:busted:

(and to pre-empt the smartasses, my real life technique is to oversteer, overcorrect, and then slam the front end into the barrier.)
 
Sandwich

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,076
5,989
borcester rhymes
agreed...spend 400 on a used set of snow tires, and then swap in late november. The difference is amazing.

The one thing I'd like to add is idiot drivers with AWD that think their bald all-seasons and haldex psuedo-fwd will get them through the winter. Sorry folks, but AWD is ONLY good for acceleration. Turning, braking, and control are all handled by tires.

I loved my two audis in the snow, but my favorite car was my busted ass MR2. The midengine made it perfectly balanced, and the RWD offered just enough slip to make things interesting, but not too much to lose control. The biggest problem was no limited slip, which is really essential in slippery/stuck conditions.
 
deadatbirth

deadatbirth

Monkey
Aug 29, 2007
657
0
In a van down by the river
ive made the mistake of driving in the winter w/ my summer tires. i checked online and they give it a 0 out of 10 for snow. i get stuck in my driveway w/ a 1/4" of snow and of course it snows when i have my truck out....
 
Jozz

Jozz

Joe Dalton
Apr 18, 2002
5,879
7,416
SADL
Last week they passed a new law in Quebec to make winter tires mandatory from November 15th to April 15th.

Cant' wait to see how they are going to enforce this... road blocks?
 
jimmydean

jimmydean

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey
Sep 10, 2001
41,192
13,339
Portland, OR
I remember having to tow a guy out of a ditch because his 4wd Silverado got stuck. He was saying that the truck was a piece of crap until I pointed out that it was the 22" wheels and "performance" tires that were at fault.

Street tires on a 4x truck is ghey.
 
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