So I hit a patch of ice and....

[HotRodWagon]

I've been living here in MN since 1996. All this time, I have never lost control of any car due to ice. Well I can't say that anymore. I was driving along a slightly curving side street that was lightly snow covered. Out of now where, the rear end jumped out and the front end slipped 45 degrees right. I corrected with a tug on the steering wheel to the left and the result was the front end heading in the opposite direction about 45 degrees off center. At this point, I thought I was done and was waiting for a spin and a crash into something. Well, just as I lost control out of nowhere, the car centered and stopped sliding around.

Now, I'm not exactly sure why I all of a sudden stopped sliding around. Maybe I passed over the ice patch and that was that.
However I noticed my the traction control light blinking during the fun. My car had advance-trac. This happened so fast I really couldn't tell what it did, but it must have played a role. So no wreck...but now I know what ice can do...I can't imagine hitting a patch on the highway ( I probably was only going 20-25mph this time). Damn that happened so fast!

[Steve@Tasca]

Welcome to Minnesota

Seriously though, glad to hear you didn't hit anything. Ice can really catch you out sometimes.

I bumped a curb this year for the first time in as long as I can remember, I was turning in to Caribou going about 5 mph and there must have been some ice under the snow and I slid and bumped the curb with my right front wheel. Barely even a nudge but still.

We all need one of these,

[ElectricAl]

Glad you had a no-contact slide...

This is why I think most everybody who can, SHOULD run winter tires. I've taken "all season" radials through the winter but it's only a matter of time before they give you that scare.

I'm glad you got lucky. I just helped somebody out of the ditch last night that also got lucky. We were able to dig the car out with shovels and didn't need to get this guy (a stranger to me-- I just stopped to help) a tow truck.

Needless to say, I'm a firm believer in winter tires. Just follow a traffic report when we get a light dusting of snow, numerous vehicles in accidents and involved in spinouts. You know that those incidents are happening on regular tires. Winter tires will track true, even on slick roads...

Anyways, I grew up here. When I turned 16, my dad taught me how to drive the F100 pickup on a lake in January. I learned early on how to handle a skid, but it didn't prevent me from fish-tailing that same truck around a bend in Hwy 61 later that year... it just kept me from going into the ditch (or worse)...

If you can't afford an accident, maybe you can afford a winter wheel set...

[ElectricAl]

However I noticed my the traction control light blinking during the fun. My car had advance-trac. This happened so fast I really couldn't tell what it did, but it must have played a role. So no wreck...but now I know what ice can do...I can't imagine hitting a patch on the highway ( I probably was only going 20-25mph this time). Damn that happened so fast!

Our traction control systems aren't that advanced (My '05 has it too). It was your first guess, better road surface to grip (that, and maybe a guardian angel). All the TCS does is cut engine power when one drive wheel is starting to lose grip relative to the other drive wheel.

BTW, they call your maneuver a "fish-tail." Your rear wheels start to skid, you countersteer to try to snap 'em back in, then your rear wheels skid to the other direction. When you let off the throttle, the motion will usually come back to center, provided you're giving the proper steering inputs.

Like Steve said, welcome to MN! (and drifting 101)

[HotRodWagon]

I slid into a snow bank with my other car a week ago. I was pulling into a parking lot that turned out to be an ice rink. That was the first ice event..just slid forward a few feet and did a slight run up on/bounce off of the snow/ice bank. Then, I got stuck with the same car at the entry to our back alley when I tried turning in and just slid left into some thick mush. A nice guy like you Al stopped and had a shovel. A passing plow stopped and backed up and dropped some sand mix for us and with a some clearing out and back filling, the car came right out. Lucky again for me the guy and the plow stopped. Then this ice thrill with the focus...that's 3..I'm done

Up to this point, after being here for 13 years and not having any problems, I was swearing a set of good a/s tires were good enough. I can say, in all three cases, I probably should have been tip toeing around instead of driving without concern like I was. Plus, I haven't been driving much in general, so my exposure is much lower than usual.

That being said, I've always wanted snow tires and I am sure I'd swear by them if I had them. Financially though, I can't even spit right now, so I'm going to be happy when this crap fully thaws and burns off.

[HotRodWagon]

Our traction control systems aren't that advanced (My '05 has it too). It was your first guess, better road surface to grip (that, and maybe a guardian angel). All the TCS does is cut engine power when one drive wheel is starting to lose grip relative to the other drive wheel.

BTW, they call your maneuver a "fish-tail." Your rear wheels start to skid, you countersteer to try to snap 'em back in, then your rear wheels skid to the other direction. When you let off the throttle, the motion will usually come back to center, provided you're giving the proper steering inputs.

Yeah, fish-tailing. I haven't used that term in years. That's exactly what happened. The advance-trac is a combination ABS/traction control and yaw control which affects steering in combination with individual 4 wheel braking. I have only knowingly experienced it once when I was hitting a merge lane curve too hot one summer. Worked like a charm and took all the fun out of the line and set up I had to sweep through .

[HotRodWagon]

I'll take 2!

[iminhell]

I'll take 2!

Yes, a 2 door would be optimal


Good news is you know your heart is good, so you don't have to worry about the side effects of that blue pill

[ElectricAl]

The advance-trac is a combination ABS/traction control and yaw control which affects steering in combination with individual 4 wheel braking. I have only knowingly experienced it once when I was hitting a merge lane curve too hot one summer. Worked like a charm and took all the fun out of the line and set up I had to sweep through .

Sorry for my assumption, clearly the traction control on your vehicle is light years ahead of what they opted to call traction control on the '05. The system on my car is pretty weak. When you slip a tire a little, it blinks and causes the engine to "miss". And since that just annoys me, I turn it off every time I drive the car, since it auto-defaults itself on at start-up.

Just drive like a ninny in the slop, it'll be gone soon enough. I know that a set of winterskins isn't cheap. For that reason, we got them for one vehicle (mine) and we drive the fiance's Honda Civic like a granny when the conditions call for it. Even though we bought new A/S BFGs for that Honda about 6 months ago, we found them only fair tires for snow and ice (I was expecting too much from an A/S tire).

BUT if I had to do A/S tires year round, I'd NOW go with the Continental ExtremeContact DWS.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp ... ModClar=ST
Everything I read about this tire is positive.

[HotRodWagon]

Yup. Gonna granny around from now on. The advance trac was pretty advanced and wasn't offered in any other cars in it's class in 02. It came with 4 wheel discs too...bonus.

You know I read about those Continentals. Chances are I will hit those up when it's time for a new set of tires. Unfortunately that will be in a few years as both cars have low mileage rubber. I once had Continental ExtremeContacts in 215 40 17 and they worked great in wet/snow. An unseen unidentified object in the road during a snow event took out both drivers side rims/tires. That was the only set of 17's I ever ran on the car. I only had them on a few months :/ .

Here's a pic of that set up way back when:

[oldoutboardjim]

This is why I think most everybody who can, SHOULD run winter tires. I've taken "all season" radials through the winter but it's only a matter of time before they give you that scare.

As someone who has used winter tires for the past four years, I will say this:
1) They are cheap "insurance".
2) There is nothing like them. A/S tires aren't even close.
3) They will bail you out of situations that you'd think were impossible.
When my oldest son first learned to drive, I forgot to tell him about going slower in the snow. I was with him on his first winter drive, and he took a slippery corner at "regular" speed. The winters tires held on and we went through like nothing! If we had any other tires, we would have ended up in the next county!

[pantera1]

Tires with mountain and snowflake are the schnitz.

My 05 ST with TC sucks. I drive up a pretty steep snow covered hill. With TC on, it's like hitting the rev limiter. I turn it off and you can play with the car. I can go up that big bastard hill better without TC than with.

I still have Steve's Dunlop Graspics. Not a whole lot of life left, but for sure better tha AS. Wanna try them?

Gotta go..... Bud Shoot Out

[Miller]

my winterforces are awesome! and cheap.

[Stilz]

This is why I think most everybody who can, SHOULD run winter tires. I've taken "all season" radials through the winter but it's only a matter of time before they give you that scare.

As someone who has used winter tires for the past four years, I will say this:
1) They are cheap "insurance".
2) There is nothing like them. A/S tires aren't even close.
3) They will bail you out of situations that you'd think were impossible.
When my oldest son first learned to drive, I forgot to tell him about going slower in the snow. I was with him on his first winter drive, and he took a slippery corner at "regular" speed. The winters tires held on and we went through like nothing! If we had any other tires, we would have ended up in the next county!

I used to run Dayton summer tires through the winter on my old escort, also 17s with kumho summer tires on the other escort through the winter and they worked many times better then any all season I put on it. I had my all season bfgoodrich's on my svt the one year I wintered it, and only had problems in 6th gear... weird. Otherwise I have never run "winter tires: and have yet to have had any problems. (knock on wood)
eh, whatever