Driving in snow

Recently it has been snowing in Seattle and I took my Subaru out for a spin. This is my first experience driving a Subaru in snow and I have a couple of questions.

 

1) Under hard acceleration my car slipped, is it normal? My car is equipped with Potenza 960AS.

 

2) I am a college student and I do not have a spare set of rims lying around but should I get snow tires?

 

3) When I tried to brake my car, there seems to be some cracking sounds coming from the brakes. Is it normal?

 

Any input is appreciated.

The cracking sounds is your ABS. Any car is going to slip in the snow under hard acceleration, doesn't matter if you have awd, laws of physics. You don't really need snow tires, just slow down some.

How does ABS produce the cracking sound? Will it hurt anything?

Potenza 960 are not a decent A/S tire and should not really be driven in the snow.

I assume the cracking sound was accompanied by vibrations in the brake pedal? That is the ABS modulating brake pressure to assist braking. Perfectly normal operation. Even with brand new winter tires I get wheel spin on hard acceleration. I have all season tires on my truck, but because I take the subaru to the mountains it gets snow tires. It's all about your comfort level. Snow tires are dramatically better than the best all season tires on ice and snow.

Potenza 960 are not a decent A/S tire and should not really be driven in the snow.

 

I hope you are not trolling. I have yet to hear a bad review about Potenza 960 in snow. Obviously they aren't great in the snow compared to snow tires but they aren't that bad as well.

I assume the cracking sound was accompanied by vibrations in the brake pedal? That is the ABS modulating brake pressure to assist braking. Perfectly normal operation. Even with brand new winter tires I get wheel spin on hard acceleration. I have all season tires on my truck, but because I take the subaru to the mountains it gets snow tires. It's all about your comfort level. Snow tires are dramatically better than the best all season tires on ice and snow.

 

Yeah, I heard snow tires are way better than all season tire. However, I am a college student and I don't think I have to keep a set of extra rims lying around. I guess I will take it slow and try not to do hard acceleration.

I'm from Seattle too, a good place to go if you wanna cruise up to Bham, is MT Baker HWY. That's where I learned to drive my 06Gt. Best snow road ever.

I hope you are not trolling. I have yet to hear a bad review about Potenza 960 in snow. Obviously they aren't great in the snow compared to snow tires but they aren't that bad as well.

If you're yet to hear something - only means just that. They are almost summer tires, with a bare minimum of snow traction. They are still better than re92, but that's not saying much. And yes, I had a set of these. Wanna hear crappy reviews - go to tirerack's product page and start with reviews that have lowest ratings and search for 'snow'. There are much better A/S tires out there.

I'm from Seattle too, a good place to go if you wanna cruise up to Bham, is MT Baker HWY. That's where I learned to drive my 06Gt. Best snow road ever.

 

I just did a google map on the road, it looks like a straight road. Is it usually empty? I don't want to put other people in harm's way.

I use the re960 A/S in snow and ice its done pretty good for me but I'm not heavy accelerating just normal driving with some occasion fun on the snow on these tires. If you want to do that you should be getting snow tires instead of all seasons.

If you accelerate hard in snow, you will slip when the tires exceed the traction limits. The AWD system is more forgiving but you'll still see some wheel slip.

 

The cracking is probably the ABS. One thing that I noticed driving mine in snow (on the bunny killing RE92s), is that accelerating was far better than stopping or turning. My friend had a 2010 Legacy on Blizzaks and that had WAY better traction.

 

RE: Snow tires

 

If you don't plan on seeing much snow, your A/S tires should be fine. Keep it slow, plan your actions, use light pressure and you'll be fine.

If you're planning on driving through snow weekly, I would seriously consider winter tires, its the biggest winter safety upgrade you can possibly make.

How does ABS produce the cracking sound? Will it hurt anything?

I'm about to join rao's club, whatever that may be.

Its straight for a while, but look at the map past Glacier. There's tons of roads off MT Baker HWY that no one is on. Ive done a fair share of stuff with guys in the Bham area up there. rally, snow, etc. If you want specific roads, let me know.

Yeah, I heard snow tires are way better than all season tire. However, I am a college student and I don't think I have to keep a set of extra rims lying around. I guess I will take it slow and try not to do hard acceleration.

 

 

I've driven on AS tires all 6 years of owning this LGT wagon. the dreaded stock RE-92's:eek::eek: for a number of years, and then on Kumho ASX.

 

Slow down, don't drive like and ass, and you won't crash / kill yourself.

 

 

Post up again in March to let us know if you survived the winter.

Hard acceleration in snow? Hmm.... Why would you do that?

Hard acceleration in snow? Hmm.... Why would you do that?

 

I was just testing out the car to see how much acceleration I could give it before the car slips. No worries, I only did it once and I don't think I will do it again.

I've driven on AS tires all 6 years of owning this LGT wagon. the dreaded stock RE-92's:eek::eek: for a number of years, and then on Kumho ASX.

 

Slow down, don't drive like and ass, and you won't crash / kill yourself.

 

 

Post up again in March to let us know if you survived the winter.

 

Haha, hopefully I will survive this winter. I drove a 2005 Ford Focus last winter though. I guess my chances are slightly higher now.

Auburn? I am in Auburn. Up on Lea Hill! Great time to have a LGT! I just love to point and laugh at those who try to go up Lea Hill as I pass them... yes I am evil! Fruits of the Devil!

Auburn? I am in Auburn. Up on Lea Hill! Great time to have a LGT! I just love to point and laugh at those who try to go up Lea Hill as I pass them... yes I am evil! Fruits of the Devil!

 

Haha, I lived in Auburn for 2 years while attending the community college there, I have moved to Seattle since then. Yeah, I know that road is pretty steep and slippery. My friend was telling me how some of the cars were slipping pretty badly on the roads.

so you accelerated as hard as you can before you slipped but ask us why you slipped? lol.. i hate people who think just because you have awd, you are god in the snow.. i see suvs and awd crashed in the side of the road while i used to drive by with my 240sx.. one rule of driving in snow is throttle and steering control, as well as knowing your car.

so you accelerated as hard as you can before you slipped but ask us why you slipped? lol.. i hate people who think just because you have awd, you are god in the snow.. i see suvs and awd crashed in the side of the road while i used to drive by with my 240sx.. one rule of driving in snow is throttle and steering control, as well as knowing your car.

 

Lets not be judgmental here. I already said I was testing water and this is my first time driving an AWD in snow. I am just asking if it is normal, maybe it was my driving technique that was wrong or my tire purely sucks to begin with. On top of that the road was empty and I have yet to do any hard acceleration after the first time.

 

Thank you for the tip, I appreciate it.

Just find an empty lot that is clear of obstacles and try some of the common situations you'll run into in snow (sudden swerve, acceleration, sudden braking, loss of traction, slipping back end). Then learn how your car reacts and how you should react to those situations.

 

The best way you can prepare for emergency situations in snow is to practice in non-emergency situations.

I hope you are not trolling. I have yet to hear a bad review about Potenza 960 in snow. Obviously they aren't great in the snow compared to snow tires but they aren't that bad as well.

 

My RE960AS with 15K or so on them were down right scary at times in last year's winter. Hoping these Conti DWSs I have now do much better this year.

 

Good read: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=124

My RE960AS with 15K or so on them were down right scary at times in last year's winter. Hoping these Conti DWSs I have now do much better this year.

 

Good read: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=124

 

I just went out for a drive a couple of hours ago. The tires held fine, as long as I do not do any hard acceleration. There seems to be a mixed review about Potenza 960AS in the snow. I just recently changed my tires, so I guess I cannot really afford changing to another set of tires right now.