2WD in the snow - any good?

[Expatman]

2 hours ago, Austin 7 said:

The best 2WD vehicles for traction have a predominance of weight at the driven end and soft suspension to avoid side-to-side weight transfer of the driven wheels.  Examples would be a RWD classic VW Beetle or a FWD Citroen 2CV.  I once had a FWD VW Polo hatchback which was remarkably good.

 

Unfortunately the Yeti has a light engine (especially the 1.2 and 1.4 petrol) relative to the weight of its body and even unladen I suspect the Front/Rear weight distribution is no better than 45/55%.  Once laden it could approach 50/50.  It also has stiff anti-roll bars, so for example any road slope across the rear wheels can take weight off one of the front wheels which is then more likely to spin.

 

in my experience, even on Winter tyres, the Yeti is poorer than an unsporting small 2WD hatchback.  Fortunately I rarely have to drive on slopes with ice and snow.

Not sure how you are driving but my 1.2 DSG Yeti on Nokian winter tyres gets around perfectly in snowy conditions. Taking normal care but never been stuck - unlike many others by the side of the road on summer tyres - including 4 wheel drive vehicles!

[PeterKn]

Hello Expatman, sounds like winter tyres are the way forward. When my present tyres need replacing, that's the way I'll go. Only usually get two or three snowy mornings here every year, so hope to get by until replacement. 

[enor]

Compared to my previous cars (mostly Saabs) the Yeti understeers pretty bad under power when it's slippery, and when you let off the pedal it wants to throw its tail out. The ESP starts working very early and very resolutely though, to compensate.  Clearly not the best winter vehicle, but not the worst either.

 

I use studded winter tyres.

[Brijo]

I subscribe to the 'Depends on the tyres' theory.  It would have been silly for me to go out in the recent local 6" of snow just for the sake of it, but my 2WD Yeti competently dealt with the black ice and frozen ruts a couple of days later.  Three-peak-and-snowflake all-seasons, all round .

[JED]

I've had no trouble driving my 2WD in the snow i am quite surprised how well it coped  i'm not sure but do they have LSDiff  fitted ??

[enor]

No LSD in the Yeti, but a very aggressive anti spin/ESP. In fact I have only owned one car which was even worse (in the sense of "computers taking over, taking control away from the driver") and it was a Fiat Bravo.

[Ootohere]

No real LSD on any of the Skoda Models, even with XDS+ or what ever the EDL gets called.

 

So most switch off the TC / ASR  , eg  brakes nipping to stop a spinning wheel and FWD works fine with the right tyres for most of the UK's winter conditions.

[181ce]

Some of us have 30 year old Landrovers for that kinda stuff .....................

[kenfowler3966]

I suspect the problem is the wide and low profile tyres spining on top of the snow instead of digging in for grip.

2wd diesel is also rubbish on summer tyres.

[181ce]

If you really want useless in the snow ,try a BMW on summer tires I've had several of those half the reason for the Landrover

Edited 1 January, 2018 by 181ce

[philbes]

My Octavia vRS on winter tyres copes far better than my neighbour's 4x4 on summer tyres - my only problem being ground clearance.  His traction is close to being as good as mine but my braking and cornering are vastly better.  Now a 4x4 with winter tyres would be the ultimate.

[Robjon]

2 hours ago, kenfowler3966 said:

I suspect the problem is the wide and low profile tyres spining on top of the snow instead of digging in for grip.

 

Hammer, nail, head.

 

My Roomster SE (narrower tyres) worked noticeably better in snow than either my Roomster Scout or my Yeti (wider tyres).

 

But my old Allegro, with its skinny rubbish tyres and absence of electronic wizardry, would have run rings around all three of them.

[181ce]

Snow ? What snow?

[lawnmowerman]

All useless of course if you cannot progress because of abandoned vehicles in your way. 

 

Just saying......

 

Bill 

[kenfowler3966]

4 minutes ago, lawnmowerman said:

All useless of course if you cannot progress because of abandoned vehicles in your way. 

 

Just saying......

 

Bill 

Its a sign of the times. More cars with unsuitable tyres for the conditions. Drivers have little experience in the snow as well.

30+ years ago the traffic seemed to keep moving better. I had a Polo for a couple of years and that never got stuck in snow.

Mind you I also had a Capri at one point and that was hopeless. As soon as the rear wheels lost traction the car slid down the camber towards the kerb and would swap ends very quickly if not careful.

[grayson]

Old school stuff had narrow tyres , not better drivers. 

 

For years I lived up a steep single track and bendy road on NY Moors. MY Tiguan and Yeti coped with anything - on winter tyres. But the cars like Golfs , 306s , Ax GT , 205 etc we also owned all were pretty good as well - we never got stuck, even in 6 inches plus  . Simple reason - right tyres , and confidence - it makes an absolutely enormous difference  . Give me 2wd on right tyres than 4wd on wrong ones any day.........

[Ootohere]

& yet Capri's were in Motor Sports and rallying and winter rallying, as were and are RWD Escorts and many others, what a difference the right tyres make, 

and then driving to the conditions, and no electronics deciding when to nip at brakes, cut power to the engine / drivetrain.

 

Saying that there would be more Capri's, Mini's and Escorts around if so many were not lost backwards into ditches, trees etc.

[kenfowler3966]

My two minis were actually quite good in snow until it was deep enough to build up in front of gearbox. Car then ends up beached with front wheels up in air spinning 

[longedge]

7 hours ago, kenfowler3966 said:

beached with front wheels up in air spinning 

I found myself in that position once or twice in my Mini but I found that I could back off, turn around and then carry on through the drift in reverse. I used to carry a box full of short lengths of stranded rope. 4x short strands tied off on each of the front wheels and it was like a little snow plough, until I got back onto the black stuff. My first experiment was with a long strand but when it broke it ripped the wiring out of my sidelight, that was when Mk II (short strands) were adopted.

Edited 2 January, 2018 by longedge

[JED]

Cross ply or Radial tyres those were the days  Cross ply on the front Radial on the back but not the other way round .

[PeterKn]

On 31/12/2017 at 12:01, PeterKn said:

Took my Yeti 2wd 1.2 dsg out of my drive onto an untreated road yesterday, its first snow trial. The tyres are standard, 225x50x17“ Nexen summer tyres. The snow was hard packed by other vehicles and frozen. There is a slight uphill.  I was extremely lucky to get to the junction with a treated road. I had visions of the car being stranded at an odd angle until the spring thaw, which thankfully arrived a few hours later. My previous car was an AWD Subaru Forester, I could take that out in any weather with confidence. I knew of course that the Yeti would struggle in snow for various reasons. To answer the original question, No, a 2wd Yeti is not any good in the snow. I have never tried the likes of Michelin Cross Climate, perhaps they would transform the car. Happy New Year to all. 

Took the Yeti out on freshly fallen snow today, it was better than I expected. Better than some cars that got stuck where I didn't. Mercedes CLS, anyone? 

[eribaMotters]

I drove across country westbound from Cromer to Formby last night. The weather started off OK but got worse. East of Manchester on the M62 things took a turn for the worse. The temperature dropped quickly and the sleet was heavy. I dropped to 50mph and could feel something under the winter Nokians on my 2WD.

The driver of the Mercedes C class that had ploughed into the barriers of the outside lane had not, or had failed to take note. Eastbound the motorway was closed, another Mercedes, this time a front wheel drive B class was totalled, and the Lexus on the hard shoulder looked damaged.

 

So either yes, they are OK in the snow/sleet, or the driver tends to be a bit more cautious, your choice.

 

Colin

[Expatman]

34 minutes ago, eribaMotters said:

I drove across country westbound from Cromer to Formby last night. The weather started off OK but got worse. East of Manchester on the M62 things took a turn for the worse. The temperature dropped quickly and the sleet was heavy. I dropped to 50mph and could feel something under the winter Nokians on my 2WD.

The driver of the Mercedes C class that had ploughed into the barriers of the outside lane had not, or had failed to take note. Eastbound the motorway was closed, another Mercedes, this time a front wheel drive B class was totalled, and the Lexus on the hard shoulder looked damaged.

 

So either yes, they are OK in the snow/sleet, or the driver tends to be a bit more cautious, your choice.

 

Colin

Just look at the on-line videos of summer v winter tyres and you have your answer, 2 wheel drive on winters is far better than 4 wheel drive on summers. When braking it doesn't matter how many driven wheels you have, all that matters is grip of tyres on snow/ice and winters have massively more grip than summers. Hence Mercedes and Lexus stopped and damaged while you cautiously motor on!

[137699]

A very enlightening watch...

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfuE00qdhLA&app=desktop

 

[BrianMay]

On 28/12/2014 at 00:15, Ryeman said:

He'll of a lot better than RWD that's for sure!

 

Having just migrated from BMW for the last 20 years, I drove through all the winters but especially the 2010 winter using back roads in the Scottish Borders without any trouble at all.  FWD vs RWD is all about HOW rather than what you drive.