Driving Stick

[Cruzinaround]

In a manual you can hold the lower gears through a slicked up icy road and engine brake in combination with standard braking to slow down or steer the car as you are braking. Combined with Advancetrak and ABS... this is even more effective to give you control on roads where most cars would fail the driver.

You can also start off in 2nd gear and limit the amount of low end torque that will cause the rear wheels to break loose.

You control the shift points and how long you stay in any gear to limit the amount of kick out from the rear end.

And automatics with massive torque will be more likely to break loose as it hits its shift points. Which if this happens over snow covered icy conditions, unless you know how to do a controlled drift by accelerating into the turn then be preparing to steer out....Kiss your ride good-bye. These power drifts in the snow....easier to do in a manual when you allow the engine to brake and slow the car and then downshift to counter any understeer into any twists and/or turns.

In combination with a really good set of low temp compound engineered winter rubber a manual tranny RWD Muscle Car can pretty much keep up with an AWD SUV on all season rubber. In fact you might find yourself passing many of them as they look at you and wonder how the "f" is that Mustang handling this weather???

just saying
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[Norm Peterson]

How does it make a difference in snow? Serious question, I'm an auto guy and really don't know why stick would help in that situation :-(

Because with a stick you can control whether any torque gets transmitted to the drive tires at all independently of how much, and it's lots easier to step on the clutch to separate the engine from the tires than it is to reliably shift an AT selector into the 'N' position without going past it.

The point about upshifts is well taken . . . particularly for those guys with ATs who have also tweaked the AT's [good weather] performance in their tunes. You can nearly always make a "soft" upshift with a clutch.


Downshifting to slow a RWD car down in the snow is a terrible idea no matter which transmission your car has. When all of your car's braking is happening at the rear wheels and the amount of tire grip is poor, the tail can slide out on you without a whole lot of warning (typically to the right because of road crown for drainage). Keep in mind that the steering wheel does not directly control what happens out back.


Norm

 

[Cruzinaround]

Consider the tires which if the proper tire is at all 4 corners including the front it does assist when engine braking(letting off the gas) before downshifting. But I get it... I'm just too used to doing it and have extreme confidence in doing it. Prefer the oversteer. Not the understeer.

in an auto I've let off the brakes and without applying gas... the car is already rolling. NOT GOOD.

 

[Backorder]

Makes sense. If I would have just used some common sense I could have figured that out lol thanks for the reply guys!

 

[Hack]

Downshifting to slow a RWD car down in the snow is a terrible idea no matter which transmission your car has.

Norm

Agreed, but it's great when the front tires are slipping in a turn and you can downshift to transfer weight to the front and help the car rotate. To be clear, for my (low) level of driving skill this is an exercise performed at under 30 mph in poor conditions.

The first time I tried it and it worked I couldn't stop smiling.

 

[sjd]

I'm 39 and between my wife and I, 6 out of the last 8 cars we've owned have been manuals over the last 18 years. The two exceptions were the first car we purchased together before we could drive manual and our current truck. Otherwise its our first choice in everything we drive. Sure, DSG/DCT gearboxes are slightly faster but they arent as fun.

 

[Cruzinaround]

Agreed, but it's great when the front tires are slipping in a turn and you can downshift to transfer weight to the front and help the car rotate. To be clear, for my (low) level of driving skill this is an exercise performed at under 30 mph in poor conditions.

The first time I tried it and it worked I couldn't stop smiling.

In poor conditions going 30MPH is going fast.

Engine braking also doesn't lock the wheels front or rear and slows the car without torque applying to the rear wheels while diving the nose thus transferring the weight over the front wheels before a downshift.

Understeer in slippery conditions absolutely sucks. So the above helps to put the oversteer back in your hands. Feather the throttle or even letting off the gas will either reel in or throw out the rear depending on where you need to go, want to go or need to avoid going.

I've been driving RWD in the snow forever... done it in both Automatics and Manuals.... Whenever possible... I avoid driving the RWD autos in winter. Its either a RWD Manual with the best top rated snow tires for my money or the wife's SUV AWD auto and winter tires.

 

[BlackDragon]

Been driving stick for the past two decades. Drive my cars year round. Standard versus automatic when it comes to rwd is a no brainer.

I do however have to disagree about downshifting. I rev match and downshift religiously, out of habit more than anything, and I do it regardless of weather conditions. Its just how I normally drive. And I have never gone beyond anything controllable because of downshifting. I don't even remember last time abs activated on me. This is even driving through heavy storms and all.

 

[Cruzinaround]

Been driving stick for the past two decades. Drive my cars year round. Standard versus automatic when it comes to rwd is a no brainer.

I do however have to disagree about downshifting. I rev match and downshift religiously, out of habit more than anything, and I do it regardless of weather conditions. I have never gone beyond anything controllable because of downshifting. I don't even remember last time abs activated on me.

I feel ya. I'm the same way. You are more than likely already driving at safe speeds in bad weather. And if it's second nature to you....Experience will cause self adjusting depending on road conditions and you naturally drive at the safe limits of the car since you've learned what those are. And your personal confidence in these conditions applies strongly here.

On snow covered twisty mountain roads....I'm not driving as spirited as I would in the summer. But, when driving at all times in the snow .... I simply don't feel safe without a manual and most of all.... it must have proper tires.

I could see myself doing a seasonal tire/wheel swap on my GT350 or an "R" and driving it all year round.

 

[BlackDragon]

I feel ya. I'm the same way. You are more than likely already driving at safe speeds in bad weather. And if it's second nature to you....Experience will cause self adjusting depending on road conditions and you naturally drive at the safe limits of the car since you've learned what those are. And your personal confidence in these conditions applies strongly here.

On snow covered twisty mountain roads....I'm not driving as spirited as I would in the summer. But, when driving at all times in the snow .... I simply don't feel safe without a manual and most of all.... it must have proper tires.

I could see myself doing a seasonal tire/wheel swap on my GT350 or an "R" and driving it all year round.

Planning to do 19x10's all around with 295/35r19 continental ts830 snow tires. Gonna watch prices like a hawk this summer and probably scoop them up off season. Just have to wait to find a decent rim that fits and can be rotated, then winter shoes will be complete.

I'm sad bridgestone doesn't offer anything in size. I'm on my 4th winter with my current blizzaks and they've done me some serious justice.

 

[Hack]

Been driving stick for the past two decades. Drive my cars year round. Standard versus automatic when it comes to rwd is a no brainer.

I do however have to disagree about downshifting. I rev match and downshift religiously, out of habit more than anything, and I do it regardless of weather conditions. Its just how I normally drive. And I have never gone beyond anything controllable because of downshifting. I don't even remember last time abs activated on me. This is even driving through heavy storms and all.

I think you'll agree that on icy days the Coyote is best kept out of the power band. Even with rev matching you don't want to down shift into a gear that puts you above 3,000 rpm. Rev matching is always a best guess, so there will still be a sudden change in torque on the rear tires when you let the clutch out.

I know several days on my way home from work in bumper to bumper traffic going less than 10 mph letting out the clutch disturbed the car significantly.

You must really drive slowly. The abs activates all the time for me during winter driving.

 

[BlackDragon]

I think you'll agree that on icy days the Coyote is best kept out of the power band. Even with rev matching you don't want to down shift into a gear that puts you above 3,000 rpm. Rev matching is always a best guess, so there will still be a sudden change in torque on the rear tires when you let the clutch out.

I know several days on my way home from work in bumper to bumper traffic going less than 10 mph letting out the clutch disturbed the car significantly.

You must really drive slowly. The abs activates all the time for me during winter driving.

I just drive very defensively and start downshifting a lot earlier than on dry road. I very rarely upset the rear, and when it happens, its only for a split second. But I never get anywhere close to a car in front of me and accelerate or brake gingerly.

Normally, I drive anything but slow, but when its icy, I stick with the flow of traffic and leave plenty of braking room. Middle lane, no passing.

 

[Cruzinaround]

Knowing the roads you travel daily helps with timing when and where you will be shifting. Sort of like knowing the configuration of the Tracks you race on.

Daily driving an automatic tends to numb the driver to the above on normal roads. This becomes an extreme negative when the weather is poor.

 

[Hack]

I just drive very defensively and start downshifting a lot earlier than on dry road. I very rarely upset the rear, and when it happens, its only for a split second. But I never get anywhere close to a car in front of me and accelerate or brake gingerly.

Normally, I drive anything but slow, but when its icy, I stick with the flow of traffic and leave plenty of braking room. Middle lane, no passing.

You are a better man than I. I pretty much hit it almost every time I get in the car. Most people drive much slower than me when it's icy. I will pass almost everyone on icy days.

Of course I try to be careful and avoid smashing into anything, but my careful is very different than most.

 

[oilfieldtrash]

I just couldn't drive a stick anymore. Back in the day you at least got better mpg. Now it's a penalty. And all of that on top of doing all the work myself. I drive an eighteen wheeler for a living. When I'm in my personal vehicle I'll let technology work for me while I relax and enjoy the music and scenery.

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