Winter Driving Tips

[schmenke]

I just received this via e-mail from a friend in Ottawa.
Has anyone tried any of these tips? I'm not sure I want to waste an entire bottle of shaving cream on my windshield :p : ...

Keep your headlights clear with car wax! Just wipe ordinary car wax on your headlights. It contains special water repellents that will prevent that messy mixture from accumulating on your lights - lasts 6 weeks.

Squeak-proof your wipers with rubbing alcohol! Wipe the wipers with a cloth saturated with rubbing alcohol or ammonia. This one trick can make badly streaking & squeaking wipers change to near perfect silence & clarity.

Ice-proof your windows with vinegar! Frost on it's way? Just fill a spray bottle with three parts vinegar to one part water & spritz it on all your windows at night. In the morning, they'll be clear of icy mess. Vinegar contains acetic acid, which raises the melting point of water, preventing water from freezing!

Prevent car doors from freezing shut with cooking spray! Spritz cooking oil on the rubber seals around car doors & rub it in with a paper towel. The cooking spray prevents water from melting into the rubber.

Fog-proof your windshield with shaving cream! Spray some shaving cream on the inside of your windshield & wipe if off with paper towels. Shaving cream has many of the same ingredients found in commercial defoggers.

De-ice your lock in seconds with hand sanitizer! Just put some hand sanitizer gel on the key & the lock & the problems solved!

[Daniel]

The headlights thing is certainly true. Helps stop insects sticking to it in summer too.

[ioan]

I think that it is enough not too use a heavy foot on the gas and brake pedals.

[janneppi]

I just received this via e-mail from a friend in Ottawa.
Has anyone tried any of these tips? I'm not sure I want to waste an entire bottle of shaving cream on my windshield ...
Squeak-proof your wipers with rubbing alcohol! Wipe the wipers with a cloth saturated with rubbing alcohol or ammonia. This one trick can make badly streaking & squeaking wipers change to near perfect silence & clarity.
Dunno about that but you can wash your wipers with strong anti-freeze window washing fluids. (I might check if it contains ethanol or methanol first :) )


Ice-proof your windows with vinegar! Frost on it's way? Just fill a spray bottle with three parts vinegar to one part water & spritz it on all your windows at night. In the morning, they'll be clear of icy mess. Vinegar contains acetic acid, which raises the melting point of water, preventing water from freezing!
I'm not sure how much this helps if the freezing point of vinegar in -2C when water itself is 0C. :)


Prevent car doors from freezing shut with cooking spray! Spritz cooking oil on the rubber seals around car doors & rub it in with a paper towel. The cooking spray prevents water from melting into the rubber.Any siliconebased lubricant propably works too.


Fog-proof your windshield with shaving cream! Spray some shaving cream on the inside of your windshield & wipe if off with paper towels. Shaving cream has many of the same ingredients found in commercial defoggers.
Or use the window heaters in your car. ;)



De-ice your lock in seconds with hand sanitizer! Just put some hand sanitizer gel on the key & the lock & the problems solved!
Or spray gun oil, or even a dedicated lock anti-freeze. :)

One old folks remedy that's missing is the one where you slaughter squirrels and use their blood and other fluids as defoggers in windows, two squirrels for wind shield and one per window for others. Just remember that you need to use squirrels with winter fur, so killing them in summer and storing for winter wont help. ;)

[fandango]

...or just move somewhere warmer.

[A.F.F.]

...or just move somewhere warmer.

:up:

[SGWilko]

I'm not sure how much this helps if the freezing point of vinegar in -2C when water itself is 0C. :)


Salt freezes at a lower temp than water, which is why it is used in winter in the UK. The water cannot freeze if it is in solution with either salt or vinegar until the lower freezing point of the solute is reached.

[555-04Q2]

...or just move somewhere warmer.

:laugh: correct :up:

[Gregor-y]

Where's the fun in that?
http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/6667/snowik.jpg
I just get new wipers every few months rather than buy expensive ones. I do need to try the wax on the headlights bit, though.

[Eki]

It's almost December and not yet first snow here. At least last night was below freezing, and they warned about icy roads.

[schmenke]

We have not had much snow here either, although lots of crazy wind...

Reader video: Aircraft 'crabs' while landing in high wind at YYC (http://www.calgaryherald.com/Reader+video+Aircraft+crabs+while+landing+high+win d/5775176/story.html)

[ioan]

No snow here either, though it did freeze already on a couple occasions.

[donKey jote]

It's almost December and not yet first snow here. At least last night was below freezing, and they warned about icy roads.

Our test team in Ivalo is twiddling their thumbs since they arrived last Friday, and my next event in Sweden has also been cancelled. We were supposed to fly out to our tracks in Arvidsjaur on Friday for a couple of weeks :s

The marketing people are inviting us to the finnisches Weihnachtsdorf (http://www.weihnachtsmarkt360.de/de-gr/finnisches-weihnachtsdorf-ballhofplatz-p007.htm) in Hannover instead, as a thanks for our efforts. :)

[MrJan]

Some of those things can be overcome with proper stuff anyway. Like the lock deicing trick, why not use 'lock deicer'? ;) Seals can be done using silicone spray (rather than cooking oil) and why spray vinegar on your windscreen when you can just cover it with a blanket?

[schmenke]

We have not had much snow here...

Spoke too soon. Snowing quite a bit now here. Expect over 10cm before day's end.

[BleAivano]

this is how you drive in the winter:

Mattias Ekström lär oss sladda på isen i Audi A4 quattro - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0U--9Px8Og)

[driveace]

My cousin lives in Powell River 150 miles north of Vancouver,and he has areally good remedy for when the snow comes .He loads his 40ft O Kanagan trailer ,puts it on the back of his Volvo 6 wheeler unit,loads his Smart car across the back of the sleeper cab,AND heads south to Yuma !!!!!

[Sonic]

Winter driving tips:

1st gear

6000rpm

Dump clutch

Fruitlessly spin wheels

Attempt to reverse

Now stuck in rut created from wheelspin

Abandon car.

Or at least that's what it was like round these parts last winter. :-/

[race aficionado]

Okay . . . a bit out of topic but reading Sonics post and he writes: "first gear"

Are you winter drivers mostly automatic or manual?

I come from a manual generation and I want my son to learn manual gears also once driving lessons are in order.

But back to winter driving - which works better? I would guess manual??????

[ioan]

Lucky you.

[ioan]

this is how you drive in the winter:

Mattias Ekström lär oss sladda på isen i Audi A4 quattro - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0U--9Px8Og)

Hopefully not. He would have made a killing on a public road as he lost it a couple of times.

[MrJan]

But back to winter driving - which works better? I would guess manual??????

Not tried an auto in the snow but I'd be surprised if it's better. A manual lets you control the clutch very gradually, in fact you should be pulling away without using any throttle at all, just letting the tick over do the work. But then we're not proper winter drivers in the UK, the moment it's icy we all panic and stay at home :D

[ioan]

Okay . . . a bit out of topic but reading Sonics post and he writes: "first gear"

Are you winter drivers mostly automatic or manual?

I come from a manual generation and I want my son to learn manual gears also once driving lessons are in order.

But back to winter driving - which works better? I would guess manual??????

Manual is better for winter driving, it allows you to use proper engine braking. Plus you can modulate how the power is transmitted from tire to tarmac and that only works with a clutch.
The last years I drove automatic (multitronic and similar) and last winter I found myself wishing for a manual transmission on one occasion. But for one occasion in winter I will not put up with the thousands of gearshifts/day required during daily commuting for the rest of the year.

[BleAivano]

Hopefully not. He would have made a killing on a public road as he lost it a couple of times.

Who said anything about a public road? c'mon now lighten up. ;)

[555-04Q2]

Where's the fun in that?
http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/6667/snowik.jpg
I just get new wipers every few months rather than buy expensive ones. I do need to try the wax on the headlights bit, though.

Looks like a Subaru you got there Greg?

[driveace]

I think it does not matter a large amount wether its Automatic OR Manual.I would say the thing that matters is FRONT or REAR wheel drive.Front wheel drive is superior in snow as most of the weight is over the driving wheels,whereas my rear wheel drive Merc is hopeless in snow,but my old Feista diesel is brilliant,and it will pull away in 3rd if i need it to.Also look at the tyres that the Finns use in winter,as narrow as they can get,to CUT thriough the snow,not ride on top of it,like big fat tyres do.

[SGWilko]

My tip for winter driving;

If you get stuck in the snow and get thirsty, avoid the yellow snow.

[555-04Q2]

:laugh: SG :up:

[Sonic]

My tip for winter driving;

If you get stuck in the snow and get thirsty, avoid the yellow snow.

Why...is it not orange juice?

[MrJan]

I think it does not matter a large amount wether its Automatic OR Manual.I would say the thing that matters is FRONT or REAR wheel drive.Front wheel drive is superior in snow as most of the weight is over the driving wheels,whereas my rear wheel drive Merc is hopeless in snow,but my old Feista diesel is brilliant,and it will pull away in 3rd if i need it to.Also look at the tyres that the Finns use in winter,as narrow as they can get,to CUT thriough the snow,not ride on top of it,like big fat tyres do.

RWD is crap if the engine is in the wrong place ;) my MR2 coped admirably in the poor weather last year because it has rear wheels pushing and all the weight over the drive wheels

[cali]

Works fine with my RWD automatic Merc, though it's quite an old car already and does not come with too many electronic driving aids which are really crap in winter. I'm using studless tires. Just be gentle with throttle and brakes, like Ioan said already. Little sideways action is always nice though :p

[00steven]

Keep it to the floor!

[Mark in Oshawa]

Front wheel drive, decent tires...it doesn't matter on the transmission type really. Just realize if the Front Wheel Drive gets squirrly, put it in neutral and catch the car up or use the power to pull the car straight. All depends on where and how you got sideways. At least in the rear wheel drive, the instinct to get off the gas will straight you out with a steer into the skid.

All good Tips Schemke. No snow here yet, 5 sleeps to Christmas!!!

[Zico]

4wd is obviously best for stability and traction but can create a false sense of security when it comes to braking and cornering so overall I think fwd and manual is best. The mrs usually drives the (4wd) Impreza.. so far I've been able to go everywhere she can in an ancient 306 TD, it's obviously fwd and very light so performs very well in the snow.

My tips when driving in the snow are..

Be gentle/smooth with brake and throttle inputs.

IF you are good at heel and toe downshifting, change down through the gears more than you normally would. The flywheel effect reduces the chances of you lockiing your front wheels under braking.

For traction on hills, steady throttle, low revs and a higher gear than normal... and use momentum as much as possible.

Fwd cars have a steering grip/brake grip coupling. ie, the forces are shared, too much of either force will overload the other. If you have good car control and have a solid understanding of the physics involved, using the handbrake to steer with the rear can give you much more control overall but you must be ready to apply power and corrective steering to pull the car out of/correct the slide.


Grip levels can change over a stretch of road. If there are no cars behind you, testing the grip levels with the brakes from time to time can be a good thing.

The above is not for beginners and certainly isn't in the Highway code.. but it's served me well, no accidents and no ditches found... yet. ;)

[Viking]

Winter driving :up:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyb0Fs08JY4

[Gregor-y]

Still no meaningful snow here, but there's a big storm out west where I'll be heading in two days. I hope the roads are cleared by then.

[Mark in Oshawa]

Good advice Zico! I don't think I can disagree with anything you said if I wanted to. Front Wheel Drive is safer in my mind than four or all wheel drive for most people because stopping and cornering limits are often not found until you find out the hard way!!


4wd is obviously best for stability and traction but can create a false sense of security when it comes to braking and cornering so overall I think fwd and manual is best. The mrs usually drives the (4wd) Impreza.. so far I've been able to go everywhere she can in an ancient 306 TD, it's obviously fwd and very light so performs very well in the snow.

My tips when driving in the snow are..

Be gentle/smooth with brake and throttle inputs.

IF you are good at heel and toe downshifting, change down through the gears more than you normally would. The flywheel effect reduces the chances of you lockiing your front wheels under braking.

For traction on hills, steady throttle, low revs and a higher gear than normal... and use momentum as much as possible.

Fwd cars have a steering grip/brake grip coupling. ie, the forces are shared, too much of either force will overload the other. If you have good car control and have a solid understanding of the physics involved, using the handbrake to steer with the rear can give you much more control overall but you must be ready to apply power and corrective steering to pull the car out of/correct the slide.


Grip levels can change over a stretch of road. If there are no cars behind you, testing the grip levels with the brakes from time to time can be a good thing.

The above is not for beginners and certainly isn't in the Highway code.. but it's served me well, no accidents and no ditches found... yet. ;)