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 fuck you everytime of course. I was doing donuts in a parking lot in my Sentra once and hit a patch of black ice. This bitch 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 shit :P

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 :p

[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.

[djp5]

make sure you have your wheels straight if you're going to hit the brakes hard, otherwise you will be sideways, even from low speeds (like under 10 mph)

as for engine braking, it is helpful because it is smoother than braking, and you don't risk locking your wheels even for a split second (since you don't have abs)

for instance, say you are going down a long, mid grade hill. you could either roll down it in a low gear or stay in D and brake down it. Option A, your wheels will spin and adjust regardless of surface conditions. Option B, youre braking, and say your left side hits a dry patch of pavement, which gives those tires more braking traction, which will turn you to the left....bad news.

[sam1]

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.


i agree. ive driven 3 winters in the pro so far, and it has never let me down. in fact, the past 2 years i havent even had snow tires, just good old all seasons, and we usually get a TON of snow up here.

[sam1]

make sure you have your wheels straight if you're going to hit the brakes hard, otherwise you will be sideways, even from low speeds (like under 10 mph)

as for engine braking, it is helpful because it is smoother than braking, and you don't risk locking your wheels even for a split second (since you don't have abs)

for instance, say you are going down a long, mid grade hill. you could either roll down it in a low gear or stay in D and brake down it. Option A, your wheels will spin and adjust regardless of surface conditions. Option B, youre braking, and say your left side hits a dry patch of pavement, which gives those tires more braking traction, which will turn you to the left....bad news.

good advice, especially on mountain passes.

[MikeyClutch]

still waiting for snow so i can have some fun....

[kl_03maz]

Seems you guys have had some luck this winter...

... 2 snowbanks, 2 dents on either side of the bumper (punched back out without damage courtesy of la fist) and an smashed up engine splashguard (replaced for $20)... I unfortunately haven't been so lucky.

accident 1. First snow in a long time I'm on my way home from work I go around this corner that was banked towards the outside of the corner. Back end starts to go out on me. So I started to slow down and turn into the slide... good idea, proper reaction would have held the slide and been in complete control.... BUT... the back end caught some dry pavement and as we all know.. when there's traction in the back, that back end is going to put
that car in a straight light... with all the weight sprung up in the right side springs... when that traction hit.. the back end went left.. REAAL quick... I gave it some gas to pull the front end along.. but by then the back end had too much swing to it and then I was facing the opposite way on the street with the noise of the protege in the air a good 2 ft on the snowbank... got it off the street asap and checked for damage... dent in left side bumper (punched out) and engine splashguard (ordered and replaced). - Cost, $20 -experience gained, lots (anticipate the possibility of dry patches of road, even in the snowiest conditions).

accedent 2. - 2 lanes.. 3 cars. 1 stop light.

car A (turning left)
car B (wanting to go straight)
car C (Me, going straight)

we are all in the left lane. right lane is open.
I am late for work. Car A is being a dork and not turning when possible
Car B grows impatient just as I decide to go around them all and darts out without a turnsignal into the right lane..
And so I was left with a choice.... Car or Snowbank... knowledge and experience has always advised me to take snowbanks over other cars. And so I did... damage... dent in right side bumper repaired a la fist.

SO... moral of the story is, even the most controlled can be in a situation where control isn't an factor.

Hope you all enjoyed the storries they happened 3 days appart :P

[MikeyClutch]

hahaha nice stories, i was trying to driving down this block thats a loop, and it has quick turns, so i press the breaks, and all of a sudden i get a lock up. so now i got nothing left to do but hold the breaks and try and spin the car out towards a lil section no1 is parked. the pro decided to slide within 2 inches of a hyundai sante fe. Luckily the guy who owned the car was outside his house to see this almost fender bender and moved his car from the steepest part of the turn.