Dirtleg
BoostCreep
- Joined
- May 24, 2014
- Threads
- 34
- Messages
- 481
- Reaction score
- 77
- Location
- Cloverdale Va
- First Name
- Greg
- Vehicle(s)
- 15' EB Prem PP, 07' GT (track Car), 01' RC51, 16" S1000XR
- Thread starter
- #1
So I've been out of town all week and get back to the airport at 11:00 pm to find about 10 inches of snow on my car. That's funny there wasn't any snow when I got there. Imagine that. The airport parking lot had been plowed and thankfully they didn't get within 3 feet of my car. I know this because that's how far the snow was still intact behind my bumper. So I'm thinking I got this. Just back out of the space once I got the windows cleared off enough to drive.
I should mention it was 4 degrees F (that's minus 16 C for you metric guys) at the time I got to the car. Apparently it had thawed a little after it snowed and then refroze as the area where my wipers are at is a solid block of ice from the end of the hood to the windshield. They're encased in there somewhere. No telling when they'll be available for use. :shrug:
Back to the original topic. I eased the car into reverse and gingerly let out the clutch. Movement. Awesome this'll be easy. I made it part of the way and then there was this large chunk of ice, that had obviously fallen off my car sometime during the week, under the snow that halted rearward progress. So I pulled forward and gave it a little oomph going back again. Hit the ice. Dead stop. Bummer.
So I get out of the car and start trying to kick the chunk of ice loose from the ground. Yeah that didn't go as planned. I didn't break a toe but it sure felt like it for a minute. :frusty: So at this point I realized using my heel would be a better (smarter) idea. It sort of worked.
Back in the car I am confident I'll be on my way home momentarily. No this time I got a little further but then it just started spinning. Bear in mind this is on completely flat ground. So I put it in snow mode and try again. No difference. In fact once it starts spinning and the traction control kicks in all progress stops. Hmm. So I put it in track mode and turn off the traction control. Now were getting somewhere. Until we aren't and were just spinning again.:headbonk: I decided to just leave it in gear and let the clutch out, no throttle, in reverse. It just idled and spun. No drama, no movement. Amusing as this was I eventually got bored with it. I decided to take stock in my progress and exited the car again to check. I'd made it roughly 29 inches (about 73 cm in the metric system) from my starting point.
At this point I pull as far forward as I can and try to use momentum to carry me across it. No not happening. Spinning again. Only this time I got far enough that now I can't go forward at all. I should mention I used my foot to clear as much of the snow out of the way as I could prior to attempting this foolish game. No, my car was stranded by a patch of snow and ice an inch thick and 7 feet long. I tend to find these things hilarious because I'm probably not right in the head, and so I was laughing at myself when the parking lot toll guy came over to see what all the commotion was about. Or more likely, to laugh with (at) me.
I suggested that he could push on the front of the car because, honestly, I think the car could have been pushed with the e-brake on there was so little traction. So he did that, I poured the coal to it and about 20 seconds later I was on dry pavement for the first time today. :cheers:
The whole event took about 40 minutes but that included the time spent warming the car, and me, up to clear the windows.
I have heard the horror stories about these tires and cold weather. But I grew up in the snow, learned to drive in it, and have always driven my summer tired cars in it. Slowly for sure, but safely nonetheless. These opened my eyes to a whole new level of snow incompetence. I honestly, despite all the complaints I've heard, never would have dreamed they could be this bad.
So there you have another testament to the Pzero. (zero is for the actual level of traction in winter conditions)
BTW, I still love my car.
I should mention it was 4 degrees F (that's minus 16 C for you metric guys) at the time I got to the car. Apparently it had thawed a little after it snowed and then refroze as the area where my wipers are at is a solid block of ice from the end of the hood to the windshield. They're encased in there somewhere. No telling when they'll be available for use. :shrug:
Back to the original topic. I eased the car into reverse and gingerly let out the clutch. Movement. Awesome this'll be easy. I made it part of the way and then there was this large chunk of ice, that had obviously fallen off my car sometime during the week, under the snow that halted rearward progress. So I pulled forward and gave it a little oomph going back again. Hit the ice. Dead stop. Bummer.
So I get out of the car and start trying to kick the chunk of ice loose from the ground. Yeah that didn't go as planned. I didn't break a toe but it sure felt like it for a minute. :frusty: So at this point I realized using my heel would be a better (smarter) idea. It sort of worked.
Back in the car I am confident I'll be on my way home momentarily. No this time I got a little further but then it just started spinning. Bear in mind this is on completely flat ground. So I put it in snow mode and try again. No difference. In fact once it starts spinning and the traction control kicks in all progress stops. Hmm. So I put it in track mode and turn off the traction control. Now were getting somewhere. Until we aren't and were just spinning again.:headbonk: I decided to just leave it in gear and let the clutch out, no throttle, in reverse. It just idled and spun. No drama, no movement. Amusing as this was I eventually got bored with it. I decided to take stock in my progress and exited the car again to check. I'd made it roughly 29 inches (about 73 cm in the metric system) from my starting point.
At this point I pull as far forward as I can and try to use momentum to carry me across it. No not happening. Spinning again. Only this time I got far enough that now I can't go forward at all. I should mention I used my foot to clear as much of the snow out of the way as I could prior to attempting this foolish game. No, my car was stranded by a patch of snow and ice an inch thick and 7 feet long. I tend to find these things hilarious because I'm probably not right in the head, and so I was laughing at myself when the parking lot toll guy came over to see what all the commotion was about. Or more likely, to laugh with (at) me.
I suggested that he could push on the front of the car because, honestly, I think the car could have been pushed with the e-brake on there was so little traction. So he did that, I poured the coal to it and about 20 seconds later I was on dry pavement for the first time today. :cheers:
The whole event took about 40 minutes but that included the time spent warming the car, and me, up to clear the windows.
I have heard the horror stories about these tires and cold weather. But I grew up in the snow, learned to drive in it, and have always driven my summer tired cars in it. Slowly for sure, but safely nonetheless. These opened my eyes to a whole new level of snow incompetence. I honestly, despite all the complaints I've heard, never would have dreamed they could be this bad.
So there you have another testament to the Pzero. (zero is for the actual level of traction in winter conditions)
BTW, I still love my car.
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