Snow Driving

[Hannon]

Hi guys,

I'm new to these forums, it's cool to see we have a place to talk about our cars.

Last year I bought my 120d and I've enjoyed every single mile on it. However, I haven't had the opportunity to drive it on a snowy road yet.

I used to drive a Subaru WRX with winter tires, which I used for going to ski centres without trouble... AWD was cool in that way.

I'd like to know about experiences you guys have had with your RWD bimmers when driving on snow... I'll be using Bridgestone Blizzaks this winter, but I still have some doubts about how the car will behave... I was used to the safety of an AWD car in snow.

Will my bimmer with snow tires be able to cope with moderate slopes? Should I leave ESP in normal mode or in DTC mode? Don't take me for a newbie driver however... I have some experience driving on snow, just not with a RWD car. Well, any information or experience you can share is welcome...

thanks in advance guys,

Cheers!!!

[BlueC]

There's no safety per say with AWD. It's the ability to handle deep snow in regards to traction. Winter tires on a RWD vs. AWD vehicle will provide the same safety.

RWD w/ snow tires will do just fine. I managed to get through the winters with all-season tires in my E92, however I do have xDrive (AWD). Regardless, BMW's traction/stability control does very well in the winter.

[Tom K.]

Also be aware that there are "performance" H and V rated winter tires like the Blizzak LM 22 or LM 25 RFT and "studless" Q or unrated winter tires like the Blizzak WS 60 or LM-50 RFT.

The performance tires aren't quite as good as the studless in snow and ice, but handle much better on dry roads.

Tom

[Duckw]

There are lots of threads on this subject. You might try searching.

[Hannon]

Thanks for your replies.

Yes I do have "performance" winter tires, not the "studless" snow/ice ones. I tried searching but I didn't find the information I wanted. What I mostly wanted to hear was your experience driving on snowy roads, to get an idea of what a RWD car can handle and what not...

thanks again, cheers!!

[otterdoc]

First thought: When the first snow is on the ground, go out to a parking lot and play. Do your best to spin, slide, donut, whatever. Then do it with the traction control off. You'll learn more in 10 minutes than 100 miles of driving on winter roads.

Second: I ran my 2001 330ci with Blizzak LM22s for 3 winters and Hankook Icebears for 1 winter. The car was absolutely fine in the snow. You have to be lighter on the throttle and expect a bit more understeer and/or oversteer, but the traction control is a fantastic nanny. Sometimes too much so -- any wheelspin is dealt with, sometimes when you want it (taking off from a stoplight, for example). The only trouble I ever had was when we had 8" of fresh, dense snow and the plows hadn't caught up. The low clearance of the car made it dicey to drive anywhere that other cars hadn't gone yet because the car tended to 'float' on the snow and not let the tires get any traction. Being run off the road by the UPS truck didn't help me avoid getting stuck, either.

Bottom Line: Learn the car's limits, then don't test them when you're driving the roads for real. Careful and prudent, don't overestimate the tires' ability to suspend the laws of physics. Just like it says in the manual. As an experienced driver, I doubt you'll have any trouble with that.

By way of disclosure, I live in Michigan and I've been driving snowy roads for 16 years.

[RPM90]

Originally Posted by Hannon

Hi guys,

I'm new to these forums, it's cool to see we have a place to talk about our cars.

Last year I bought my 120d and I've enjoyed every single mile on it. However, I haven't had the opportunity to drive it on a snowy road yet.

I used to drive a Subaru WRX with winter tires, which I used for going to ski centres without trouble... AWD was cool in that way.

I'd like to know about experiences you guys have had with your RWD bimmers when driving on snow... I'll be using Bridgestone Blizzaks this winter, but I still have some doubts about how the car will behave... I was used to the safety of an AWD car in snow.

Will my bimmer with snow tires be able to cope with moderate slopes? Should I leave ESP in normal mode or in DTC mode? Don't take me for a newbie driver however... I have some experience driving on snow, just not with a RWD car. Well, any information or experience you can share is welcome...

thanks in advance guys,

Cheers!!!

I have to disagree in that AWD to me is safer than RWD. The added traction with full time AWD gives better traction and therefore is safer as you can recover in certain situations with AWD whereas RWD you can not.
My A4 will apply traction to front an rear tires, and when going around a turn, if the cars slides towards a curb or edge of the road, I can apply throttle and bring the front in easily. In my 325i I had to drive much more cautiously, because if the front slides in the same manner, it's harder to bring it back in, if it can be done at all.

That said, my 325i was just fine in the snow. Of course, that was in everyday driving where there would be snow on the road, but it gets cleared pretty quickly. Driving on snow covered roads that are not plowed actually gives MORE traction, as those roads have a snow pack.
Still, AWD will be better on those roads.
With RWD you have to be more cautious and judicious with your throttle.
Slow down sooner. ABS can SUCK on slick snowy roads because it won't allow any snow to build in front of your tires, which actually helps to slow you down. ABS function actaully causes your tires to lose traction on snow roads, just like it can on dirt, sand, and gravel roads. Non ABS brakes allow the tires to dig in and build the material in front of you to help slow you down. I wish they made and and off switch for ABS, but then most people wouldn't know how or when to use it.

The other thing that helps is to turn OFF traction control when you are trying to climb a slick hill, or trying to get out of a snow drift. Traction control will cut engine power and apply braking to the very tires that NEED to spin to get you out of it. I had an experience once with a 7 series driver who couldn't make it up a slight up hill on a road. He would apply throttle, the tires would start to spin and the engine power would get cut and some brake might get applied to help stop the spin. I was about 5 cars behind him. We were going nowhere as he couldn't get up the hill even with his buddy trying to push from behind.
I parked and went over to him and told him to turn OFF his traction control. He was surprised at that worrying that traction control was supposed to HELP him up the hill. I told him that was not the case.
He needed the wheelspin to get him up. He turned it off traction control and gave it gas, we gave a slight push, but his car started moving up anyway as his tires were spinning, but they were also now getting some bite as they could actually spin.
I think it's actually in the manual too.

[Hannon]

thanks for your help guys, it's really appreciated.