Driving Xantia in snow

[falling-out-with-my-car]

Ive only got mid range tyres on my xantia estate and Ive had no skidding or wheelspinning problems at all, I think a lot of people just dont know how to drive in snow.

This mornning I drove accross country lanes for 30 miles in heavy snow in Martins-pleiades) spare xantia estate 3 inches of snow on the roads and I didnt skid or slide once. I even drove back home in a fiesta and still didnt slide or skid.

come on people learn to drive properly.

[Deanxm]

I prefer the back roads, clean snow is reasonably grippy, and if you keep up to 30 ish most cradients shouldnt be a problem.
The funny thing was a passed a Toyota Rav 4, EVO and Q7 on the way to work all stuck, and im sailing past in an old RWD unlaiden transit with 3mm of rubber on the back tyres, i think it just comes down to people not being able to drive in the snow and icy conditions, if the weather was like this all winter long we would not have a problem at all.

D

[Xaccers]

Driving home from the station tonight, the roads were better than at 6am this morning (apparently mid afternoon when it was snowing heavily they were bad), but that didn't stop one 4x4 ploughing into the back of another.
No idea how it happened because the roads are not that icy and we were only doing about 5-10 mph.

[falling-out-with-my-car]

People driving to close for the conditions once again.

this must be the main course of road accidents these days, not enough braking distance.

whats the rule from a fixed point beside the road? " only a fool breaks the two second rule" in snow it must be at least 15 seconds gap, if you posses a brain when driving.

regards Nigel.

[Xaccers]

Tell me about it!
On the way to Tescos last night we followed (at a safe distance as it was just starting to snow and the roads were clearly wet) an Astra which was driving at 40-50mph, 2 car lengths from the car in front!
I flashed them which improved things a bit as they slowed down a bit and the distance increased, but only to about 4 car lengths.
Why's there never a police car around when you need it?

[Citroenmad]

The first problem i had with my C5 i went and got some quality tyres fitted, as my last michies were about worn out. Now its great, much more grip.

Last night i had to travel into Newcaslte, on one steep hill a Sprinter was stuck half way up it, one car was having problems stopping traveling down the slope and a woman in a fiesta was having big problems trying to turn around. She got the fiesta going eventually so i followed it up the slope, leaving a good distance. I could hear the wheels of the fiesta spinning all the way, she seemed just to be flooring the throttle rather than trying to slow and gain grip. By the top of the hill there was an awful buring smell from the fistas tyres, some people dont have a clue how to drive in snow.

I was in the C5 SX which has michelins on the front which are very nearly on the markers (going to get them changed this week) though i didnt have any problems at all, i follwed this fiesta up the slope without even a hint of wheel spin.

On the way back the motorway was starting to be covered by snow at 9 last night, very few cars were on the roads but they seemed all huddled together in the inside lane, traveling way to close and too scared to go onto the fresh snow on the outside lane. I just slowed down behind them and passed them on the snow covered lane, then sped back up on the inside lane. It was only a few mm thick and not icing over, but most people just thought tagging onto another car doing 35 would be a better idea. People either go far too fast for the conditions or painfully and needlessly slowly. Though most still follow very close. I guess we are not used to driving in this weather in the UK, but a bit of common sense goes a long way. One guy in an Audi TT was about a cars length from the back of a truck!

I had to drive my dads VW Caravelle tonight, i cant believe how well it copes with snow, its just like driving on dry ground. Though that too has new tyres but it must be its weight which helps its traction.

Some cars do seem better than others, though i find quality tyres help. My parents c5 is awful in the snow, we got it with budget tyres on and they are hopeless, going to have to replace them, its so skittish and will hardly move in this weather. Never buy Admiral tyres is all i can say

[Xaccers]

I think the driving distance issue is down to more people using motorways.
How often in all your years driving have any of you had to actually stop suddenly on a motorway?
I'd expect very few.
Most of the time when brake lights appear in front, traffic is just slowing down.
The "safe" distance between a car slowing down from 70 to 50 is a lot closer than the stopping distance at 70.
So people get used to being able to drive "safely" a few car lengths apart.
It's fine as long as no one needs to stop or slow down faster than they're used to, but when they do, crunch, up the back goes the car behind.

[Citroenmad]

Very true, but better to be safe than sorry.

Ive had to brake hard quite a few times actually, accidents happening infront, bad weather, congestion. Going from 70 to almost or totally stopped. On the motorway i use weekdays there is a junction which always causes the traffic to stop in rush hour, it often causes a few bumps.

So i try to keep a decent distance at all times, if the weather is bad then i leave a greater distance. I have to admit i do travel closer at times, usually when someone is dawdling in the outside lane Though not tailgating, always with a good gap.

I cant stand tailgaters, traveling along at good motorway speeds while overtaking and getting someone right up the back of the car and right over to one side trying to force the car infront to move over never works on me, i wont put up with that. Yes if i was doing under the legal limit, but at or above there is no need for it. Really riles me up that does, mind i find the bigger the car your in the less often it happens.

[myglaren]

I went to the chip shop this lunch time, drove out of our car park undramatically while others were spinning their wheels and sliding about.

Drove into the shopping car park that was completely uncleared, lots of old and new snow.It is down a slope and a 90? bend. Daft bint stuck crossways on in an Ashtray revving the guts out of it and going nowhere. Approaching traffic on the offside all stationary so went round the back of her through the unoccupied disabled parking places, a good 8¨ of snow there, parked, got my chips and set off back again.

She was still in exactly the same place and the oncoming Transit thought it was fine to come over onto my side of the road, missed him by a few millimeters, me being able to steer and him not!

I continue to be very pleased with the C5 in snow. It is rarely that good on merely wet surfaces though and can snake along the carriageway quite alarmingly sometimes.

[falling-out-with-my-car]

I'm afraid I can't agree on the tyres issue last years snow was no more of a problem in the xantia estate and I was using budget tyres again not wheelspinning or skidding, pulling away in second gear in snow helps a lot to gain traction.

I was driving at about 20 mph this mornning with an inch of snow on the side roads I slowed to about 10 mph to turn a left hand corner as i straightened up I looked in my rear view mirror and saw another car behinhd me doing exactly the same turn only far to fast and he lost his back end completely, if there had been another car on the other side of the road his back end would have swung out and hit it.

I used to have a BX diesel and I dont think it handled quite as well as the xantia in snowy/icey weather in fact I remember my BX being the first car I ever had with power steering and I tended to over steer quite a bit because i couldnt feel the road through the steering, with my xantia I can feel the road through the steering much more it doesnt seem to be so light on the steering, well it is obviously a heavier car maybe that gives us the advantage over other drivers besides some patience and good judgment of distance & speed for the conditions.

Xac, when i find myself in a que of traffic I distance myself from the car in front and create a big gap this keeps everyone behind me moving if only people realised that the bigger the gap between vechicles in a que the more easily traffic will flow, I once experienced the police Marshalling traffic at rush hour along the A34 past Oxford on the way up to the M40 they drove in the middle of the road holding the traffic back at around 20mph leaving a huge gap between them and the traffic entering the motorway giving it time to clear before realeasing all the traffic behind them to continue on their way, my first thought as the police car slowed in front of me was I was being pulled for speeding. so i was relieved when he didnt stop.

regards Nigel.

[Xaccers]

Tyre tread and quality is more important than cost indeed.
I've had budget tyres with plenty of grip and continentals with very little, so little that taking a roundabout at anything more than 20mph produced the most horrendous squeaing!

Ah those traffic jams with no apparrent cause, where something hours before caused bunched up cars to grind to a halt and the jam moves back along the traffic flow like a red wave.
So many people don't drive looking further ahead than the end of their bonnets let alone several cars ahead.

[Citroenmad]

Yes, the quality of the rubber used in the compund of a tyre does make a difference. Not always how much a tyre costs defines how good it is.

[RoyChristie]

http://uk.video.yahoo.com/watch/6739391/17517757

how not to drive - courtesy of Yahoo

that guy should be banned from driving IMHO

[falling-out-with-my-car]

Christ I can't believe they decamped and let it slide away.

definately should be banned, for that.

[RoyChristie]

http://uk.video.yahoo.com/watch/6741223/17522772

withdrawn and republished, new url