My wife on snow . . .
 

My wife drove our 98 2wd 4Runner the other morning with about 1/4" of snow on the roads.
She tells me a story of how she ended up spinning it out going up a hill with a slight curve - yet only doing 25mph.

I know - Female Non-driver right?

But shes from Upper michigan and used to driving through snow year round. She's also a really good driver.

Its the first time we've driven it in snow (just got it), and it has Michelin M/S tires on it, so Im wondering.

Do these just spin really easily, or is my wife just a non-driver?

Do you have a limited slip or locker in the rear? The locker would have needed to be engaged obviously. But, if you had either going on, it will definitely slide a lot worse than an open differential would. It takes a driver used to the way a limited slip or locker drives to do well on the snow, because of the necessary steering corrections.

Chris

I'd venture to say, prolly not on a 2wd. :D

Re: My wife on snow . . .
 

I resent that.. heh

i have a 4wd but when i dont engage into HI, i can feel the truck slip..and i'm not a female driver at all...not really sure, but i hope the other guys can help out here..

Any rear wheel drive vehicle is going to slip in the snow if too much throttle is used. A limited slip, usually only found on high performance cars and trucks for the street or 4x4's will increase the tendancy to slip in snow or ice, because both wheels will be rotating, instead of just the potential for one to be spinning with an open differential. Lay off the gas and/or use 4 hi.

Chris

Any 2WD vehicle w/o posi will tend to have it's tail chase it's nose uphill in slop. One wheel pushes harder (or one wheel slips more, your choice) and the ill exagerates the torque on the one side...

Don't know if I'm dead-on, but it sure sounds good!:ignore:

Has she only driven front wheel drive cars in the snow before? There must be lots of people now who have never driven a rear wheel drive car. AFAIK, they react quite a bit different on snow. I have only had rear wheel drive, all wheel drive or 4x4, so a front wheel drive in the snow would be new for me.
Alan

Well, well ,well.... A fellow yooper. My guess is black ice. Most treacherous part of driving in a light snow like that.... all the traffic makes the roads VERY slick. I'd rather drive in 6 inches of snow than 1/2 or 1 in.

Re: My wife on snow . . .
 

I resent that too, I think i'm a better drive than my boyfriend, Proof, the only dings and dents that haven't come from people who park next to me or unknown reasons, are from him

Re: Re: My wife on snow . . .
 

Yup see we know!!
You boys need to try driving a mustang in the ice and snow...thats not an easy task. I no longer have any trend on the inside of my tires and now the outside is getting close to bald as well... water is great fun though :) rally style it.

Re: My wife on snow . . .
 

Is she maybe used to driving a front wheel drive vehicle? I had a chevette in college (the "˟˟˟˟vette" is what I called it) and it was rear wheel drive. The first snow I tried to accelerate fast while going about 15 mph. well, the one rear tire started to spin and cause me to do a 180 and end up in a snow drift on the side of the road. I had previously had a front wheel drive car until some drunk frat boy t-boned me while he was drunk one afternoon on the way home from a class (about 15 years ago).

Folks, I beg to differ that a limited slip will not run as well as an open rig in snow. This is where a limited slip shines over both the open and locked diffs. Limited slips front and rear are absolutely the best option if you're a typical mall runner or like to get up to the mountains to go skiing etc. Not as good as lockers on the trail but still pretty good.

I agree
My 1978 F-250 is 2wd, and is terrible in the snow. With it having an open diff, the fact that one tire is spinning and the other is not, makes it fishtail worse!!

Actually, the main reason is because it's a large heavy pickup truck with no weight in the rear, which is causing you most of the problems. When driven well a limited slip equipped vehicle is far better than any open differential, and definitely more fun to play with.

Chris

Ok, so Ill clear up some things.

First: sorry ladies. I wasnt trying to offend. I just envision the girl who backed into the side of my car (in her vert Eclipse - top down - middle of the day) last summer.
Or the girl I was talking to this weekend, who is 18 and has totaled out 3 cars, and been in a total of 8 wrecks - all her fault.
Or the soccer moms driving their minivans, swerving all over the place, not watching where they're going, while chatting on the cell phone, and eating at the same time. :confused: I know its wrong to say, but I see it a lot.


Second: She previously drove a Focus, but has driven her parents Crown Vic, and F150 4x4 (but usually in 2wd) to the extent she should know how they handle snow. Though, she is a bit more accustomed to deep snow rather than 1/8 inch too.
I drove on it too - in the Focus - and did get some slippage there too, but then I was doing 35 - 40.

Maybe the one wheel spin is what did her in.
I dont know.

I guess we'll see. We're supposed to have a big snow storm today, and guess what she's driving? . . .

another thing, those Michelins suck in snow

If it were me, I'd get a cheap set of wheels (junk yard, used, etc) and buy a good set of winter tires and just swap them out seasonally. Also, put about 200-300 pounds in the back and that will make a world of difference.

I lived in da U.P. for almost 4 years (3 winters) and while there I drove an older Pathfinder. With good tires and weight in the back, I could go all over the place in two-wheel drive, but was soooo glad I had 4WD, cause I did use it.

On the topic of putting winter tires on, I put snows on both my wife's and son's cars in the fall and take 'em off in the spring. They both are front wheel drives and that's where I put 'em. My wife says she feels like she can go in just about anything and she has a lot less anxiety over driving in snow (it was worth it not having to hear her whine over the cell phone whenever she slides off the road).

Since I bought them at the same place I bought their other tires, I only get charged about $20 each time I swap the tires, including the balancing. Well worth the piece of mind...

Your snows should never ONLY go on the front wheels. Put them on all 4 or don't put them on at all. Putting snow tires (especially if they're studded) on the front tires of any vehicle is about the most dangerous thing you could do.