vRS In snow and ice

[MoggyTech]

I do wish they had an option for ABS over-ride on modern cars! It's a nightmare in snow.

[777John]

Hello Everyone

Drove my Fabia Vrs in the snow and ice from Buckingham to Northampton and then to MK this morning and was very impressed with it. I have had the car about 6 weeks now and one thing I did do early on was to change the Eagle F1s on the front as I had read many poor reviews of them in the cold/snow /ice. This is the first car I have owned that has gadgets on ( ABS,ASR) and these would of helped too and there were no warning lights flashing on the dash with them. I had no problems at junctions,corners etc where as other drivers in a lot more expensive cars I could see were struggling. I fitted Uniroyal Rainsport 2 tyres on the front and still have mint Eagle F1s on the rear.

[Shadowphax]

My VRS has ESP. Is that going to help much in snowy conditions?

I'm not sure if its going to be any better than the standard traction control??

I'm leaning toward leaving mine out in my back garden while its snowy.

I'll trash and kerb the ruddy 'orrible work van instead. (death to kangoos everywhere...)

Interestingly, Mrs Grrs SDI is a lovely car to drive in snowy/icy conditions.

Had to go out and get her at 1am this morning from her xmas works do.

It was belting down with snow/sleet and I felt very planted on the road.

Just goes to show.... Less is more sometimes. :wonder:

I had am SDI for 4 years before getting the VRS this spring.

The SDI had 195 width types I think so not much smaller than the VRS. The SDI was great in the snow. I never had very high spec tyres on though.

The VRS wasn't bad this morning in about 2 inches of snow. It's got Goodyear Eagles on the back and Champiro HPZ's on the front. From what I hear of the Eagles I'm glad they were on the back, but I never had the rear break away at all. It took a bit of gentle throttle control to stop the fronts letting go at the intial start-off but a bit of letting-the-torque-do-the-work got me out of any problems.

I'm a great beliver that the higher performance the tyre the worse they perform in snow (not including winter tyres obviously). Any car I have had with any realtively cheap tyres has been great in the snow. The VRS with it's higher performance rubber just needs a bit more care.

If you all think that the Fabia VRS is a handful you should try the Octavia VRS PD. My wife has one as her company car on some form of Michelin tyres (225/45 18's I think) and that is a real pig in the snow. The TDI 130 Passats she had previously were even worse.

Give me a 2CV in snow anyday. I have even see those things driven when Rangerovers were stuck! I gues that 500kg weight, 45 bhp and tyres the width of rubber bands means the rubber gets through the snow to the black stuff underneath. I once did a journey as a passenger in a 2CV from Yorkshire to Newcatle and back in the winter of 1982 and we were stopped on several occasions by police 4x4's checking we were OK. We were the only thing moving on the A1 for the whole journey there and back.

Good luck to you all in the bad weather over the next few days, drive carefully, get there late but get there safe and a Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year to you all.

[Ad Lav]

Had 6-8 inches of snow overnight, couldn't move my car, didn't try either as I knew it'd be a waste of time! So its sat covered in snow all day, looks like the first white vRS!

[Tight Git]

Mine was absolutely brilliant today in 6 inches of snow up here on the North Yorkshire moors....

Do you reckon the 185/60/15 Continental TS800 Wintercontact tyres on Audi A3 rims had something to do with it? Amazing grip - well recommended!

[David 8]

Snow ..................WTF is that lol

Black ice, you mean Ice lol

[matt_theforce]

swapped the vrs for the rav tonight so much better and I could get on and off the drive with no trouble

[IainsTheName]

Have some sympathy for me, i'm sitting on Toyo R888's lmao

[MoggyTech]

Seems the VRS did better than most after all. So many cars got stuck, plod had to close the road. :p

Either that or my driving skills are exceptional

[normanmatthew]

Couldn't get my mums 1 series off the drive yesterday (bit of an incline, and four inches of snow) but my vrs managed it fine. Rear wheel drive petrol + snow = FAIL!

[vrsadz]

snow and vrs dont go well together lol

[normanmatthew]

They're not as bad as a lot of other cars on the road, especially being a torquey number!

[Dmac1969]

My Comfort is fine in the snow , 5J 185 tyres will have something to do with that I guess , and the Classic with its 4J wheels should do even better?

[benwiddowson]

Just noticed the snow outside. I parked my last vrs in the back of a van in the snow. This is gonna be fun.

Edited 20 December, 2009 by benwiddowson

[paddyjoe]

It might be a stupid question but guys you are not using winter tyres? They make a huge difference! Mine 1.2l htp though running on 195/50 r15 in summer,but it gets 165/70 r14 for the winter. You need narrow tyres in snow & ice. Just look at them rally cars when doing rounds in Sweden what tyres are they using. Just my 2pence though.

[Chris GB]

My Fabia VRS was very poor in the snow on Toyo T1R. Probably as bad as I ever experienced. Part of the issue is the way that "arrowhead" tread patterns apply force to the snow. Currently using Falken ZE912 on the Mini and it is surprisingly good in snow. Been out teaching uninterrupted around Essex for the last few days. Did have a bit of fun on a long steep slope after a lesson today though. As the rain hit the ice, the surface got so slippery that the car was creeping down the hill with the handbrake on. Ok once on the move though.

The MR2 is on R888. It is staying where it is until we get a thaw.

Chris

[mmmhumous]

ASR off, low revs and lots of commonsense/forward planning and my SE seems OK, but lke Decron my old punto was far better (60bhp and very thin tyres).

[Decron]

My Fabia VRS was very poor in the snow on Toyo T1R. Probably as bad as I ever experienced. Part of the issue is the way that "arrowhead" tread patterns apply force to the snow. Currently using Falken ZE912 on the Mini and it is surprisingly good in snow.

Have found these to be great in the snow

[KTP]

i was forced to reverse out my street today as the car just wouldnt grip going forwards, possibly due to my slightly worn yokohama's.

yesterday i gave up even trying lol

[Polo6n1600i]

I've still been doing the 25 miles to and from work in the snow. My VRS seems to be fine. Its on 17" Comps with brand new Toyo T1R's and its as predictable as all my previous front wheel drive VW group cars. Keep the driving smooth, turn smoothly, no braking, back off miles before a corner. use 4th down to 1000 rpm. Pull away in 2nd at tickover. No problem.

Oh and i'm not just talking about an icing sugar amount of snow either. We have had about 5-6 inches in 2 days and there is a snowplough in a ditch on the road I travel!

[DiscoTheSnake]

My VRS is lowered and on standard continentals and wheels and i dont have an issue in the snow. If your sensible then you should be fine although my 104ps caddy probably is slightly better on the slidey stuff......