I just went out for a quick shop today ,after some heavy snowing paris in a BMW 320i . At one point i was slowing down for the red light but i saw an ice patch and it was too late , the car was uncontrolable . And frankly i didnt know what to do.. I pressed the brake pedal more and more firmly , and manage to keep the car straight but it was pretty scary because it kept going . Luckily i was alone and didnt hit anything . But it got me thinking , had there been a car in front of me , i would have bumped it. So what is the correct thing to do when you hit an ice patch on the road ? in a straight line i mean and with no snow tires and a RWD ?
As i understand it, with ABS (and perhaps traction control) you just keep the brake pedal down and steer. Let the computers do the rest.
You did the right thing. Your BMW with the anti-lock brakes all they want you to do is hold the pedal down. In the old days before ABS you were required (that is if you wanted to stop) to pump the brake pedal. I know what you are saying by it is a scary feeling knowing if there was someone in front of you that you would have hit them. If your BMW is a manual you can downshift instead of braking that works really well in the snow. It doesn't help much on glare ice but it is better than slaming the brakes on.
Clutch in, or go into neutral if you have an auto, then press hard on the brake pedal and let ABS do the work.
Downshifting as a braking technique in slippery conditions is NOT a good idea. If the snow is deep enough that you can use downshifting to brake, you don't need too. Just use the brake pedal. If it is really slippery you will lock up the rears and spin. Also the front tires do most of the braking, not the rears, and it is of course best to have all four tires braking. If you have ABS just push the pedal, if you don't you must pump the brakes to keep from going into an uncontrollable skid and also to maintain steering. Sometimes you must let off the brakes entirely to maintain steering control. This could be useful if you are not going to be able to stop before hitting something, but you could possibly steer around it. Back in the 70's my mother was driving down an icy shelf road from a ski area in a Porsche 356 convertible. She was going slowly because of glare-ice conditions, but she made the mistake of downshifting. The rears locked and the car did a 180 and went over the edge. There was one solitary tree 20 feet down and she hit it square on the passenger door, saving herself from a several hundred yard tumble.
When I drove in snow and it looked bad I would always put my car in neutral at a stop. That makes it a lot easier to stop because the car is not fighting the car being in gear.
If you're going downhill, shift into first and apply the brakes to keep you going slow. With the gears engaged, your tires will "bite" and you'll have controll but going slowly is key. If you hit a large patch of ice and all 4 wheels are affected, there's nothing you can do other than brake and try to steer to where you want to go. With ABS keep your foot on the brakes and steer. Without ABS brake enough to slow you down but don't lock the wheels, if you do, you'll have to let the pedal up so you can gain controll and steer again. The same goes for an automatic, keep it in low gear and apply the brakes.
When I see that I won't be able to brake in time, I forget the brakes, and look around to make sure I can steer my way safely. And go "around" the ice patch (at least one wheel) rather than through it ... But it's easier around here. At stop lights, people always make sure you're gonna stop before they take off. Bottom line, if you figure out you won't brake in time ... it's too late already. And if you don't have to turn/brake/accelerate, just keep a steady speed (light throttle, to avoid engine braking) and go straight.
A 320i is a RWD without antilock brakes. If you hit ice, you are screwed if you start to skid. The trick is not to start skidding. Go slow and keep the car in a lower gear than you normally would. Stay off of the brakes. Better yet. Don't drive in icy conditions. My '91 318is (with ABS but no traction control) warns me with a "bong" when the outside temperature is at freezing. It's BMW's way of telling the driver to get off the road and into a hoffbrau.
Long time ago I watched a show about abs actually being worse on ice. Snow and rain, the abs was better, but for glazed ice, you own foot was better.
I've got to agree with this. Maybe some of the newer ABS systems are better, but with older ABS, if the car slides, the brakes will keep anit-locking, and will not effectively slow the car down at all. In driving school, they tought us to "threshold brake", which is holding down the brake pedal enough to slow the car, but not so much that the ABS kicks in. I've found the technique to be very effective.
Everybody has all-wheel brakes. ABS can be a pain for trying to stop in a straight line on black ice -- it's programmed to let you steer. The newer systems are far smarter, but with an '80s ABS you'd have to steer for a snow bank to slow you down -- the ABS wouldn't let you put max brake power to the tires. (Of course it didn't help that my driving habits predated ABS and I had a habit of modulating the brakes myself.) But this is yet another area where weight distribution helps. A Jeep or SUV with all the weight in one "lump" is going to have more trouble braking with two effective tires than a well balanced machine will have with the weight on all four. The best RWD car I had for winter was an Alfa GTV-6, with the same layout as a Daytona or 550: Front engine, rear transaxle. The weight distribution was nearly perfect 50/50, and it wasn't all in the center, so it had less tendency to spin. But with GY VRs on it, stopping wasn't as much of a problem as getting going again. (4w brakes, 2w drive).
100% right. My Brother totalled his '85 Merkur XR4Ti downshifting on a patch of ice in upstate NY when he was in college. Spun around a couple of times, right into the path of an oncoming towtruck (not a regular towtruck, but a tow truck that tows 18 wheelers!). The truck hit the front right side of the car, and spun it around some more. My brother and his passenger both walked away uninjured.
With ABS, you should be able to steer. I would steer into a curb or onto grass unless the road ahead is clear and no one is approaching the intersection. The damage from hitting the curb or going off road should be minimal compared to a collision. By the way, good snow tires help a lot in winter driving - I really like the pirelli 210's on my BMW. Regards, Art S. PS. My neighbor put snow tires on the borranis of his 365 California and used it all winter for over 10 years - never got stuck (as far as I know). That's my 330, it doesn't mind snow, but it doesn't like salt. Image Unavailable, Please Login
If you dont need to slow down, just press the clutch (or put in neutral) dont do any fast movement, preferable anything at all and just roll over the ice patch. Basicly all fast movements, braking, steering, accelerating, (be carefull with lifting up the gas pedal with RWD cars on slippery surface, the engine braking might causes a similar effect as pulling the e-brake), anything that might cause ANY G-forces are movements that might cause to spin you car out of control. If no sudden G forces are applied the car wont react anyhow, just rolls nice and steady as if it was on asphalt. Also remember that on slippery surface you are indeed driving you car with your ass (feeling whats happenig, where its going) and not with your other senses. The bonus with slippery surface is that usually everything is happening in slow motion, so you have time to decide what the softest place FOR YOU to hit, and how to eventually turn the car for the impact. Remeber also thinking different options, running a red light where no cars are seen might be safer than trying to stop and killing yourself when crashing sideways with that trafficlight. But as one of my professors said once, it's too late to practice at the exam, by then you should allready know your stuff. So go to a driving school, or even a empty BIG parkinglot and have some fun and train your skills, besides that it is fun, theres a bonus that it might save yours or someone elses life.
Ouch. I must say, the XR4Ti is one of (if not THE) worst cars I have ever had to drive on snow and ice.
