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| Metro winter driving; what to expect | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jan 11 2012, 11:54 AM (1,719 Views) | |
| shaft | Jan 11 2012, 11:54 AM Post #1 |
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The chicagoland area is expecting a winter storm watch starting midday Thursday to continue into Friday morning -- it may exceed 6 inches of snow. So this would be my first time driving my Metro with snow on the ground. In the last 12 years or so I've always driven a truck or SUV with 4 wheel drive. How do these Metros behave on slippery, icy or snowy roads? I know I have to use common sense when driving in bad weather, but I was just curious on how the Metro performs in these kind of road conditions. My biggest worry is not having ABS on this car. I know I should leave plenty of room between myself and the car in front of me, but on unexpected abrupt braking situations it might scary without ABS. Edited by shaft, Jan 11 2012, 11:57 AM.
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| bogs | Jan 11 2012, 12:26 PM Post #2 |
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Duct tape heals all wounds
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It will depend on a lot of things, the car is light, do you have good snow tires on the front, etc. My sedan was good enough to get me all the way home on a highway drive, but I didn't dare stop for even one second, I maintained a steady (slow) rate of speed, and at times I had snow on the hood of the car. Of course, I didn't have snow tires on it either, that was a lot more than 6" of snow, and although I got all the way home, I didn't get all the way in the driveway
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| Horn | Jan 11 2012, 12:29 PM Post #3 |
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Use your gears to slow you down |
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| bansheetaz | Jan 11 2012, 12:43 PM Post #4 |
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metros are awesome in the snow. as far as not having ABS... sometimes having that will make you slide farther. all ABS allows for is being able to turn while braking. so if you dont have anywhere to turn and you still need to stop you might find yourself screwed worse. when i lived in minnesota i used to disable the abs system on my vehicle and my parents cars so that we could stop quicker under certain circumstances. always drive half as fast as you think is safe when its icing outside. snow has more traction than ice. Edited by bansheetaz, Jan 11 2012, 12:46 PM.
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| Horn | Jan 11 2012, 12:48 PM Post #5 |
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Wait....what?......sure about that? |
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| bansheetaz | Jan 11 2012, 01:03 PM Post #6 |
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im not saying all circumstances but yea. try it sometime. youll see what i mean. i used to drive tow truck in minnesota and i would go pick up folks who where in accidents. they would tell me how they where pulling up to a light or stop sign and hit a slick spot which made the ABS engage and they slide right into the intersection. maybe the systems have gotten better in the past few years. |
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| Horn | Jan 11 2012, 01:32 PM Post #7 |
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Not saying abs is perfect but most people,dont know how to drive. Sliding through the intersection was due to the slick spot and the speed of the car. Abs works whether steering is turned or not. Its meant so your wheels dont lock up completely |
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| bansheetaz | Jan 11 2012, 01:36 PM Post #8 |
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exactly... so you can have a half ass chance of steering in a safe direction. the next icy parking lot you find do an experiment. go 10 mph with the abs and measure your distance. now disable it and do it again letting the wheels lock up. a locked up wheel is creating more friction with the ice than a wheel that is still turning. abs is for people who panic in slick situations and just slam on the brake pedal. Edited by bansheetaz, Jan 11 2012, 01:39 PM.
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| bansheetaz | Jan 11 2012, 01:51 PM Post #9 |
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http://www.wheels.ca/article/801190 just one article i found |
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| Horn | Jan 11 2012, 01:56 PM Post #10 |
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Yea banshee we are arguin the same thing. Lol |
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| bansheetaz | Jan 11 2012, 02:45 PM Post #11 |
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i was afraid of that |
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| snowfish | Jan 11 2012, 04:07 PM Post #12 |
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Basic GearHead
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Back to Metro ice/snow city driving.......................... The intersections will be the worse. Exhaust gases dripping water, people spin polishing, and ruts. I've been stuck on flat ground before! Not fun. Even with the latest, greatest snow tires. These are really light cars. Now ice racing, with studs, these little guys do pretty good. But on slippery streets (no studs) it's like driving on marbles. We're fairly rural here. Meaning not many glazed intersections. Just mounds of rutted, partially plowed snow banks to bonsai over! We usually opt to drive the Jeep until the roads are clear. Usually only takes a day. I'd drive the Excursion until things get cleaned up. Would hate to bang up the little guy. |
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| rcdraco | Jan 11 2012, 06:19 PM Post #13 |
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New Member
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I'll speak from the standpoint of a very young driver. I personally have put my geo through some pretty rough weather, everything from freezing rain to snowstorms to tornadoes. It's all about watching what speed you're going, and making sure your car is in good shape. I've run bottom of the ladder all-season tires on my geo, and it's done very well in all sorts of weather, even to the extent of moving FASTER then traffic around me. Main thing in snow is make sure someone went ahead of you, and just point into the grooves. Those skinny tires work really well at carving through the snow. |
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| shaft | Jan 11 2012, 07:25 PM Post #14 |
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Thanks for the inputs guys. I'll be careful and use common sense, but I am definitely driving the Excursion when the roads get really bad. I might just take the Metro "around the block" to get a feel for it with snow on the ground. |
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