Driving in Snow!!

[Porker]

Oh good! I think I'm being propositioned - or something; but it's another couple of weeks to my birthday.

Best wishes all,
Dave.

Just remember to keep in mind the difference between a proposition and a proposal, Dave

regards
P.

[martine]

All good advice above but just to add some more to confuse you...

If a car doesn't have ABS and you want to brake to slow down, it can be best to leave the brake on rather than pump it as the snow will build up in front of the tyre and aid deceleration. Ideally though of course you are trying to avoid the need...slowness is the key.

[Porker]

Martin

That method certainly does work in fairly deep snow which is a bit damp (and therefore "sticky") but it needs precious time to see whether it is working or not. The cadence braking option works either way and also gives you some steering control.

regards
P.

Edit - sounded a bit curt!

[TripleS]

Oh good! I think I'm being propositioned - or something; but it's another couple of weeks to my birthday.

Best wishes all,
Dave.

Just remember to keep in mind the difference between a proposition and a proposal, Dave

regards
P.

Aye, a proposal 47 years ago landed me in enough trouble.

Best wishes all,
Dave.

[x-Sonia-x]

Well my journey to work was not as bad as expected. Infact I think I handled it quite well . One me way home I did ave someone right up my backside, I was doing about 26 in a 40 limit, on a road covered in snow, well ice really! I wasnt bullied by them though I continued at the same speed, he turned off at next roundabout, if he hadnt I would of pulled over and let him pass. At least now some of the fear of driving in snow has gone

[Mr Cholmondeley-Warner]

Keep that healthy fear, Sonia. Don't let it dominate you, but do continue to respect snow and ice. Keep practising. If you have time and the opportunity, go and find a big deserted snowy car park, and explore the limits a little (I should take my own advice sometime ). Snow happens so infrequently now, we should do what we can to learn its qualities.

[MiniClubmanEstate]

try a bottle of vodka; alcohol lowers the freezing point extremely well. As TripleS says, on no account use engine antifreeze or you'll have damaged paintwork.

Something you should consider with vodka is that it will not damage the paintwork, it will however damage most polishes which will leave paintwork unprotected against the elements which will effect the life of paintwork in that area and promote early corrosion, similar to what happens when you use Fairy liquid in screen washers.
Driving in the snow is great fun if you have a nice old car with no power steering and ESP/ABS systems. I have been using my Mini for the last few days and am always fully aware of what grip is available simply because there are no so called safety features interfering with my control.

[x-Sonia-x]

Keep that healthy fear, Sonia. Don't let it dominate you, but do continue to respect snow and ice. Keep practising. If you have time and the opportunity, go and find a big deserted snowy car park, and explore the limits a little (I should take my own advice sometime ). Snow happens so infrequently now, we should do what we can to learn its qualities.

Thats really good advice Nick, my fear was simply because id never driven in snow before, WHAT would I do if faced with a situation i did not know how to handle. I do have an empty car park - on sundays - opposite where I live, we have had a bit more snow so should be good to have a lil practice over there , thats if my delightful lil C3 will start ..it wouldnt first thing

Driving in the snow is great fun if you have a nice old car with no power steering and ESP/ABS systems.

My car doesnt have ABS, this does concern me lil, it seems most cars do have these days and I wonder why mine hasnt

[Porker]

Pretty sure. There's no ABS warning light pre-start, and the wheels certainly lock under very firm braking.

Now, it's possible that the ABS has packed up and the warning light's been removed or otherwise disabled, but there are certainly other cars from the same year that didn't have ABS, so my guess would be that it's not so equipped.

P.

[Porker]

A quick Google shows that ABS became standard from 2005 only.

P.

[x-Sonia-x]

There's no ABS warning light pre-start, and the wheels certainly lock under very firm braking.

mmmmm....that was fun ...though I havent plucked up enough courage to do an emergency stop when im out on me own

A quick Google shows that ABS became standard from 2005 only.

My sister also has a C3 hers is 05 and she does have ABS. I checked to see whether she had it, when I found out I didnt!! Though her C3 is top of the range and mine is only bog standard. Still something else for me to consider when I change me car

[Porker]

OK, just a thought.

Perfectly reasonable one too, Chris. I was quite surprised to find that it wasn't ABS-equipped, since I'd assumed most modern cars are fitted with it.

P.

[x-Sonia-x]

Now, it's possible that the ABS has packed up and the warning light's been removed or otherwise disabled

Ive been thinking about this all night . If this was the case would the ABS be disabled for a reason, say because there was a fault, or because the owner didnt want it??? Would I be able to get it fixed?? But most importantly are the brakes safe without ABS if it should of had it in the first place?? - this car is soooooo annoying

[Renny]

Another thing to consider about screen wash is to remember about the 2-3L of water already in the resevoir when you top up initially with screen wash.

It may also be an idea to have either a small water spray bottle or an old washing up liquid bottle filled with screen wash solution, inside the car. This is less likely to freeze and if the nozzles do block, you can simply stop for a moment and squirt it onto the outside of the screen. It can also be used for cleaning lights on long journeys.

[MiniClubmanEstate]

Another thing to consider, normally when you clean your windows both inside and out avoid household window cleaners, most have silicons and waxes designed to impart a shining appearance, those will cause terrible smearing of your vision in a lot of conditions. Always use a glass cleaner which is designed specifically for automotive windscreen application. It i important to note that not all automotive polishes are suitable for windscreen application for example AutoGlym sell a lot of products designed to quickly shine your car at a concourse event including Instant ShowShine and Express Wax (Also available in a retail package AutoGlym Aqua Wax), the instructions on the packaging of these products state that they may be applied to glass but that they must not be used on windscreens.
The glass cleaner I recommend is AutoGlym 06B Glass Cleaner which is also available in retail bottles branded as AutoGlym Car Glass Polish. This is a cream cleaner which also prevents rain water from sticking to your windscreen and eases windscreen wiper load. Since this is something you will use a lot off in your motoring career it makes sense to buy in bulk http://www.polishedcarcare.co.uk/epages/es112290.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/es112290_shop/Products/%22Autoglym%20Glass%20Cleaner%22 This is the best price I can find so far.