Was at Dads this afternoon when a rather unforecasted snow flurry came down which then subsequently froze..... Now he only lives about 400 yards from a gritted main road which led to the duallie A30 and home back from the Dartmoor mountains, so felt I could ease the MX5 down the road....

Hmmmm, well after managing to turn round (pointing wrong way parked) I found myself crabbing down the road with the front wheels in the middle of the road and the rear wheels unable to find any grip, just using gravity to wander precariously close to the right hand bank. Nearly gave up and decided to crash at Dad's for the night but eventually got on the level and straight lined a quiet rural crossroad to stay on the flat, and gingerly headed down a gentle slope to the main road. Was great to get back some traction.

I know the mongrel wouldn't have had as much bother, probably thanks to the heavy diesel engine giving the front (wider) tyres more grip, and front wheel drive always seems to be more predictable when the going gets tough.

I know for sure I won't be using the MX5 for the short drive to work if any snow falls overnight. Somehow doubt it will thanks to living by the sea and not on the moors.

Was at Dads this afternoon when a rather unforecasted snow flurry came down which then subsequently froze..... Now he only lives about 400 yards from a gritted main road which led to the duallie A30 and home back from the Dartmoor mountains, so felt I could ease the MX5 down the road....

Hmmmm, well after managing to turn round (pointing wrong way parked) I found myself crabbing down the road with the front wheels in the middle of the road and the rear wheels unable to find any grip, just using gravity to wander precariously close to the right hand bank. Nearly gave up and decided to crash at Dad's for the night but eventually got on the level and straight lined a quiet rural crossroad to stay on the flat, and gingerly headed down a gentle slope to the main road. Was great to get back some traction.

I know the mongrel wouldn't have had as much bother, probably thanks to the heavy diesel engine giving the front (wider) tyres more grip, and front wheel drive always seems to be more predictable when the going gets tough.

I know for sure I won't be using the MX5 for the short drive to work if any snow falls overnight. Somehow doubt it will thanks to living by the sea and not on the moors.

Big percentage of abandoned cars round my way are RWD - Beemers, small sports cars etc!

Jason,

Now you know why I have three steel billets in the garage... they go in the boot of the MX5 when snow is forecast one at a time (can only lift one at a time! ). Adds a bit of weight over the back and at least makes it semi-driveable... but does make the back end look somewhat squashed...

Ah, the joy of rear wheel drive

I remember it well

Wide tyres are bad for snow, thinner tyres are much better.

I can't imagine an MX5 being particularly easy to drive either way!

Had the same problem on a muddy field earlier on this year , low ground pressure just not good lol.

We found this out the afternoon after my sister picked up her newly purchased second hand mx5! My Octavia did a little better with the wintry conditions , but in the end she had to be pulled by a 4x4 to where it is stored!

I think you will find 4 concrete blocks in the boot will work wonders

I've not had any real problems with the Sierra in the snow, rear wheel traction was improved with a bit of weight in the boot. As it doesn't have power steering I know immediately when the front wheels are on ice and can adjust accordingly. I find that the key to driving in wintry conditions is to be gentle with the controls, try to conserve the cars momentum and keep a reasonable distance from anything that you're likely to hit.

I bet your glad you werent in a Range Rover

Have really enjoyed driving SWMBO's Rav4 today, got to the horse in the Peak District with no trouble or drama at all, it might not be very quick or all that sporty but we passed loads of other cars today

Seen a lot of 4x4s flying about in the snow thinking they are invincible, yes for getting traction but no for stopping and cornering where you just turn into a big sledge like the rest of us!

Found my Mazda 6 to be absolutely atrocious in the snow, mostly down to the tyres which don't appear to have any substantial cuts in the tread going across the tyre! Been driving the wifes Fiesta today.

Speed + ice = disaster, no matter what you drive........ Unless you have studded tyres

A 4x4 will slide off an icy road as least as easily as any 2x4.

Reminds me of an icy spell last year, A31 outside Ringwood, Dorest, the only cars I saw in trouble both on or just after a roundabout. The first was a MX-5 heading up a bank, backwards. Second was a Lexus spinning on the roundabout exit. Both RWD...

Think any RWD car is interesting in the snow, but guess that a fairly light MX-5 is going to be bad.

Have also noticed that 4x4 drivers seem to think snow and ice dont apply to them despite the potential to have four wheels spin instead of two. Yesterday on roads where it was unsafe to do more than 20 there were loads who thought it was a great idea to do 40 or 60 until they needed to brake. One guy also decided that as it was snowing red traffic lights on a roundabout no longer applied needless to say he provoked a bit of a response.

I bet your MX-5 and the Range Rover has Summer On-road tyres. It reminds me of a story that my dad told me when he found a Police Officer in a ditch with his cheap Japanese 4x4 (although it could have been a Frontera). The officer shocked as his car has 4wd (but was on the wrong tyres) He was shocked at the speed my father accelerated away from him in his 4wd Scooby Impreza Turbo with proper Pirelli snow tyres on. :yes:

Driving a 1992 transit pickup round Stocksbridge Works on the edge of the pennines is a lot of fun in the snow

On my way home through Abergavenny on Wednesday afternoon in the snow, a Mazda MX5 was stuck on a speed bump! His wheels were each side of it and it didn't have the grip to go backwards or forwards.

But what other car could be better for finding an empty car park, putting the top down and doing doughnuts ?

emmas swift with 205/40/17 kumho's on is terrible in the snow,i nearly put the skinny winter wheels on last weekend but couldn't be bothered very light car+ wide summer wheels = a car with just shy of 100 bhp being able to wheelspin in 5th at 1500rpm and yes its a petrol!!!!!(after living in germany,serving in the baltics and all the artic training i have done i really should know better,but like everyone else i thought hey this is uk its not going to get that bad is it!!!)

You want to try an MR2 Roadster with LSD and Toyo R888

Your MX5 needs appropriate tyres. It needs winter tyres. Best way forward is to purchase an extra set of rims preferably the smaller diameter and put higher profile winter tyres on. I do not know what the weight distribution is on the MX5, i suspect that it is front heavy and not the 50% / 50% ideal distribution. If this is so then I would recommend putting some extra weight in the boot and try to keep the petrol tank on the full side.

It is absolutely ridiculous to suggest that rear wheel drive cars are going to loose traction before front wheel drive cars. In fact if weight distribution is equal between two cars one a FWD and the other a RWD, the RWD will have marginally greater traction when moving off. The reason why so many BMW are getting stuck, may be due to drivers but mainly because of the overly wide low profile tyres. Cars with similarly shod FWD will also have difficulties. The only advantage that many FWD cars have is that they do not often have ideal weight distribution for normal spirited driving they tend to be more weighted in the front. This gives them a distinct advantage as weight is a component of the laws governing friction. An old VW beetle has the most traction of all 2 wheel drive cars if electronic aids are ignored. Its engine is directly over or slightly behind the rear driven wheels, giving ideal grip for the driven wheels. Also it has narrow tyres.

May oder cars will do much better in winter conditions purely because they have less fashionable narrow tyres. One only need to look at rally cars fighting it out in the snow and ice. They are shod with extremely narrow tyres that have very pronounced tread.

You want to try an MR2 Roadster with LSD and Toyo R888

i don't like r888's in the damp let alone the snow

i don't like r888's in the damp let alone the snow

I like them in damp / wet conditions provided there is no standing water. Well, when they are new anyway.

Chris

I like them in damp / wet conditions provided there is no standing water. Well, when they are new anyway.

Chris

i just couldn't get confident with them in the damp,tho temp seems to play a big part in the performance of them too,they are awesome in the dry tho