Winter driving today

[denisk]

Damn the weather was bad today. None of the roads were plowed. This is my first rear wheel drive car and wow was it ever bad. I'm coming from an audi a4 which was awesome during winter but too damn slow. Today was really the first winter test for my 1. I have good winter tires on but was still fishtailing every time I accelerated from a stop. Anybody have techniques and tips for me to drive my 1 safely?

[dread1]

put some weight in the rear. i.e. two bags of cat litter on both sides fo the trunk. its kind of the nature of the beast.

[BrokenVert]

Drive softly. Remember, finese in snow is a must.

[R0n1n]

Originally Posted by BrokenVert

Drive softly. Remember, finese in snow is a must.

Thats what he said...

Took me an hour to get to work and I left at 7am in the morning. I came from AWD as well and man these winter tires are saving my butt big time.

[dkdurham]

Originally Posted by denisk

Damn the weather was bad today. None of the roads were plowed. This is my first rear wheel drive car and wow was it ever bad. I'm coming from an audi a4 which was awesome during winter but too damn slow. Today was really the first winter test for my 1. I have good winter tires on but was still fishtailing every time I accelerated from a stop. Anybody have techniques and tips for me to drive my 1 safely?

Just adjust your driving style to suit the conditions of the road =)
Feather the throttle when you're getting going from a standstill.

Try to stay in lower gears but accelerate slower so that you're matching the rate at which the tires grip the road.
If you're in too high of a gear and you put your foot into,you're guaranteed to slip.

Rear wheel drive is the way to go =D

-DK

[blackz30]

Just be light and steady on the gas and accelerate slower, or just use the clutch to get the car move from a stop. The 1er was actually pretty good compared to my 03 Z4.

[dkdurham]

Originally Posted by blackz30

Just be light and steady on the gas and accelerate slower, or just use the clutch to get the car move from a stop. The 1er was actually pretty good compared to my 03 Z4.

Agreed, the 1 Series is a great winter car.

We just need better winter drivers.

-DK

[BrokenVert]

Originally Posted by dkdurham

Agreed, the 1 Series is a great winter car.

We just need better winter drivers.

-DK

All it needs to be a little beast in the snow is a set of good shoes and an LSD. I drive in cuse and I need to be able to climb hills with some slush on em.

[magha]

first rear wheel drive too, she's great to drive loads of fun!!! running the hancook ipikes, so far so good

[supraking]

You have a problem with your 1er fishtailing? Isn't that the best part about winter?

Honestly, just be gentle. You don't have to treat it like a baby. But with DSC on (default) your tail shouldn't be spinning out, even if you give it moderate power. The system handles my car just fine when I don't feel like having fun, and when I do, DSC/DTC come off.

What kind of winter setup (wheels/tires) are you running?

[denisk]

The problem yesterday was when I was gentle with the throttle my car wouldnt go anywhere hahaha. When I gave it a little more gas, my car felt as if the back end was going sideways. I have gilsaved 17 inch set-up. Stupid question but how do you know if the dtc is on or off. Maybe it was off and I didnt know hahaha.

[aerobod]

Originally Posted by denisk

The problem yesterday was when I was gentle with the throttle my car wouldnt go anywhere hahaha. When I gave it a little more gas, my car felt as if the back end was going sideways. I have gilsaved 17 inch set-up. Stupid question but how do you know if the dtc is on or off. Maybe it was off and I didnt know hahaha.

Generally for snow you want DSC de-activated and DTC activated, when you press the DTC button, it will show 'DTC' in the multifunction display, you will then be in that state. DTC allows more wheelspin than DSC. If you are stuck, then de-activating DSC and DTC may be needed by holding down the DTC button for about 5 seconds. This is all in the owners manual.

[Lucky1]

For the OP, are you driving a stick? In the 135i trying to start from a stop in 2nd gear instead of 1st might help you maintain traction and reduce the fishtailing. Be very, very light on the throttle and be consistent; do not suddenly accelerate or decelerate. I've heard a few people on this forum say a bunch of times that being slow and smooth is the key to good winter driving. When it was icy on the roads before Christmas I would start from 2nd to keep the wheels from spinning as much.

I have 17" Michelin Xi2 winter tires on my 128i

Somewhat related story, I parked at the bottom of a reasonably steep (and very tall) hill Friday night which hadn't been plowed. The only way I could climb back up it was to disable DTC + DSC completely, keep the wheel straight, and hold my foot lightly on the accelerator in 1st gear. I could not accelerate or decelerate otherwise I would lose traction/momentum. It was very slow going. Personally I only think it would have been moderately easier with a FWD car.

Other than that I haven't had many problems this winter in Toronto.

[supraking]

Honestly, I've had no major problems with winter. As with ANY car, you need to drive cautiously and understand the dynamics of your vehicle in different conditions. I actually prefer RWD to FWD, I have more control over when/how much slip is occurring. In a FWD car when you lose traction, you also lose steering (since your directional wheels are spinning).

Be gentle and explore your car's abilities. Find a parking lot that you know doesn't have any potholes or barriers and have some fun. See what it takes to throw it off in different modes, DSC (on by default, no indicators), DTC (DTC light on), and all systems off (hold DTC button 5 seconds, a warning triangle lights up).

[denisk]

Thanks for the tips guys. Winter is almost done hoefully I don't have contend with snow again this year but if I do I'll be ready.