Rich Posted November 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2011 Sounds good Pete, I'm looking forward to trying mine out now. Like you say though still need to watch other drivers who might be sliding into you!! Daz, I asked about that when we got the missus Civic, I think in the non geometry forum and that gearbox has a 2nd gear that doesn't change up or down so it's useful for pulling away in snow/ice. Otherwise I think you just drive normally, slow acceleration, steering and braking. This is why I wanted the Civic to have winter tyres as well cos you don't have as much control like in a manual and the missus was worried about it as she drives around Chorleywood alot, which doesn't really get gritted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HighlandPete Posted November 29, 2011 Report Share Posted November 29, 2011 I'm in an auto, true, it is a pretty advanced box by comparison to many older ones, but honestly, an auto it is not an issue. As said, 2nd gear starts are the typical auto snow/poor surface programme. Drive gently, use the throttle lightly. No need to copy the folks we see (manual or auto), spinning at 1,000's of revs and getting no where. I will typically use the full auto 'drive' mode in good quality snow, but when there is poor snow/ice conditions, will go over to manual mode and particularly so for engine braking, to benefit from the car retarding from the rear and keeping maximum stability. HighlandPete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted November 29, 2011 Report Share Posted November 29, 2011 What advise would you give for anyone driving in the snow in a car with a automatic gearbox.??? Its my first time and dont want to ruin the clutch or the gearbox....It does have a small button which is for the snow but next to useless i guess.. P.s its not the corsa in my avatar...its a Vauxhall Vectra Yreg 2001 My Vectra is an auto and when it dumped all the snow on the Saturday afternoon i turned on the snow button, let the front tyres down to 15psi and drove out of Chesham, up those poxy hills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted November 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2011 What advise would you give for anyone driving in the snow in a car with a automatic gearbox.??? Its my first time and dont want to ruin the clutch or the gearbox....It does have a small button which is for the snow but next to useless i guess.. P.s its not the corsa in my avatar...its a Vauxhall Vectra Yreg 2001 My Vectra is an auto and when it dumped all the snow on the Saturday afternoon i turned on the snow button, let the front tyres down to 15psi and drove out of Chesham, up those poxy hills. Didn't you get stuck halfway home and had to abandon the car? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phipck Posted November 30, 2011 Report Share Posted November 30, 2011 im always wary about dropping the tyre pressure too low, having been a keen cyclist for many years with pressures around the 45-50 mark and dropping down to about 20psi for snow/ice, i was never quite sure how low was mechanically safe with car tyres that normally run at about 34psi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted January 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 How you finding the Dunlops mate? When it was very frosty the other week the missus said one road she went down was quite slippery and the car slid slightly a few times. I know on ice winter tyres won't make that much of a difference to grip though. I drove the car home last night from Essex and I found the steering to be very light on them, even though they should be well scrubbed in now. The pressures are on 30psi and the grip did improve when on the motorway. I'm wondering if it's the tyres or something to do with the electric steering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phipck Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 my Dunlops have about 2500 miles on them now and i have to say that the grip on frost is much much improved over the standard all season tyres. I have only driven them once on snow, which was up a steep hill past lots of slipping traffic. I was very very surprised by just how well they performed. On frosty almost icy roads i have been able to drive with confidence within my normal considerate pace. I have found that they are noticably better on cold roads than previous all season tyres, i cant imagine them not being improved on ice. But obviously ive had to adapt my driving for the conditions, i supose the best way for me to describe it is that is on all seasons i would have to drive at 50% of norm to know i would be within the safe confines of complete stability and on the winters i can drive at 80% norm. Still doesnt mean i can drive at 100% but thats obvious considering the worsened conditions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted January 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 I'm not sure what mileage ours have done, maybe around 1,500. What pressure do you put your tyres on? The grip on the Dunlops has been very good on the cold damp roads it's just the steering feels light. I think it's partly down to the EPS, the slower you go the lighter it makes it I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phipck Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 tyre pressures are different for each car and tyre size, but im running 36psi on front and 34psi on rear of the xsara, less than that and the tyres appear to be slightly flat and the car feels a little loose or wibbly. I put this down to the compound being softer, something i also had with the MR2 on Toyo Proxies. On all season tyres i ran the xsara at about 34-35 front and 32-33 rear. something i also noticed was that on a 10deg day with my pressures measured at the above mentioned psi, the following day at about 1deg i had lost a couple of psi, which in turn made the side walls appear slightly flatter and a return of the slightly wibbly feel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted January 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 Think I'll up them to 32psi and see if that makes a difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted February 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2012 Well I have to say so far I'm very impressed with the Goodyears. Drove over to Hemel yesterday afternoon and had no issues at all. They coped very well down a single track lane with a very steep humpback bridge. Driving in the slush the car does move slightly side to side but at no point does it feel like it will lose traction. Braking is outstanding, I was testing them in the empty pub carpark and the car stopped almost straightaway rather than carry on skidding. Also did a few doughnuts like you do! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phipck Posted February 6, 2012 Report Share Posted February 6, 2012 has the upped pressures made any difference or is this running on what you ran before? have to say that im also very please to have them, already ive had a couple of moments where other people arent driving for the conditions and ive been able to avoid an incident, which i feel i would otherwise not be able to if not for such good tyres. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted February 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2012 No that's on the goodyears which are on my car. The Dunlops are on the missus Civic and I haven't changed the pressures yet. Not sure I'll get time to do that until Friday now, she always goes out in it before I get the chance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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