Well, living in a village on top of a hill we have had about 6 inches of snow earlier this week... My drive is steep, steeper at the bottom, maybe 40 degrees or so before levelling out a little.

 

This morning I have been out in the Superb, which I know is a 4 x 4 but it is not a Range Rove/Land Rover 4 x 4 and I honestly did not expect it to get back up the steep section of the drive which I need to approach slow off a narrow lane, and between cars... 

 

When I reversed down the drive I stopped at the bottom and attempted to drive back up, I had all 4 wheels spinning :( ... Oh well, I thought it may be a bit much with about 4 inches of snow under the wheels and you could see where it "dug in".... 

 

I have been shopping, and expected to have to clear the snow to get back in... I approached the slope, and drove all the way up without any issues, no spin at all... 

 

I think it spun the first time as I had stopped at the very start of the slope, when I came back I was doing 5MPH or so ...

 

So far I am impressed..... My old front wheel drive Exeo would never go up unless the drive was clear...

 

Stuart

 

 

 

Traction control off, you know that right?

Whoops... forgot that... It was on... Mind you if it was on not sure why it still spun :( mind you my Exeo did the same, I think ESP works different to Traction control.. 

 

At least it went up the slope without spinning, so it must have stopped it some how. 

TSC won't fully prevent wheels from spinning if you apply enough gas. But when trying to get out from deeper snow it is recommended to switch it of in order not to lose engine power

I Know ...Lol just forgot to do it... 

 

This is what it drove up, it has thawed a little since I got back as I put a load of salt on it... ... as I say about 40 degrees or so... I think it did good

 

 

Ah, summer tires, that explains spin

This time of year I do miss mine. With winter snow and mud tyres on I didn't worry too much about travelling over the woodhead or A57. In fact the A57 is wicked in winter  One of those days on the woodhead, I do recall driving around a long line of stationary traffic then up a passable(summer) farm lane that cuts 3 miles of traffic jam out ... on past a freelander on summer tyres and on up. Although just as I thought I was a hero smartarse, a rather rapid old pug 205 came up behind me...

 

If you're ever stuck queing into Hollingworth here it is  https://goo.gl/maps/sFpnj Woolley Mill Ln. It's a stream and rough as though!

 

Ultimately though we cannot beat the laws of physics. With snow or ice, unless you run ice stud tyres, friction will be lost. I think haldex and the wizz toys of esp do a fantastic job for day to day. 

 

I got to take a XC90 on a softroader course, using some dirt/road tyres. The angles it would actually grip were slightly impressive. Enough for you to feel you were being held by the seatbelt going down... and going up, well just trust it's on course as you could not see it. But ice is way more slippery than mud/soil/gravel. Needless the 4x4's come into there own this time of year.

 

ESP will detect rotational slip between wheels and lateral. Most odd when you begin to slide, you counter, but the computer beat you to it. Now your countering what's already been countered...then you go the other way. I found pointing it and letting the computer do it's brake grabbing/power mgmt worked best, unless it's off for a reason

Well, I can confirm that 4x4 with XDS and TSC on with proper winter tires sets off on ice with no wheel spin even when applying moderate gas. Of course with full throttle you will get wheel spin.

 

Btw, just for sake of terminology:

 

ESP - stability system, prevents car from loosing its trajectory. Cannot be switched off in FL Superb, at least officially

TSC - traction control, prevents wheels from spinning. Can be switched off.

XDC - electronic diff lock (in case of wheel spin brakes the wheel which spins faster). 

Edited 6 February, 201511 yr by LS108

I use winter tyres on the Seat Ibiza I use every day to work, I do almost 100 miles a day, and can honestly say the £400 I spent on wheels and tyres was money well spent! the do make hell of a difference in snow and ice.. 

A little Ibiza for the long commute and the luxury barge for weekends only? I think you've got it the wrong way round

Well, I can confirm that 4x4 with XDS and TSC on with proper winter tires sets off on ice with no wheel spin even when applying moderate gas. Of course with full throttle you will get wheel spin.

 

Btw, just for sake of terminology:

 

ESP - stability system, prevents car from loosing its trajectory. Cannot be switched off in FL Superb, at least officially

TSC - traction control, prevents wheels from spinning. Can be switched off.

XDC - electronic diff lock (in case of wheel spin brakes the wheel which spins faster). 

 

This was me stuck in our Haldex Gen2 Octavia Scout with summer tyres on.

 

I then hit the 'ESP' button and drove straight out. Lesson learnt!

 

Just been out and cleaned the drive off... make it MUCH easier to walk up and down let alone drive... Lol 

Yes, my 4x4 with winters was great last week when we had a bad morning. 

This is what it drove up, it has thawed a little since I got back as I put a load of salt on it... ... as I say about 40 degrees or so... I think it did good

2015-02-06 12.27.59.jpg

Looking at the tracks, this picture clearly shows the problem: You're driving on summer tires in the snow. Since winter tires have in snow about 4 times the traction of summer tires, 4x4 wouldn't be needed. You'd be better of investing in winter tires. This investment is much cheaper than 4x4 (both in investment cost and fuel consumption), and as an added bonus, winter tires also significantly reduce your breaking distance in wintery conditions. This is something 4x4 does not.

I've always managed with front wheel drive cars in winter conditions but due to work commitments I've had to offer 4x4 cover , so I bought the tour de france model , hasn't snowed since of course :-/ , compared with my SE the car revs a bit higher and isn't as lively , I can get 50 mpg if driving carefully but realistically its about 5 mpg worse I'd say  

Looking at the tracks, this picture clearly shows the problem: You're driving on summer tires in the snow. Since winter tires have in snow about 4 times the traction of summer tires, 4x4 wouldn't be needed. You'd be better of investing in winter tires. This investment is much cheaper than 4x4 (both in investment cost and fuel consumption), and as an added bonus, winter tires also significantly reduce your breaking distance in wintery conditions. This is something 4x4 does not.

 

I know all about winter tyres I use them on my Seat Ibiza, best thing I purchased as I do 100 miles a day in it.... I can't really justify the expense with the Superb, only gets used weekends.. Which is why it's done 4000 miles in 6 months.. that includes a 1000 miles holiday trip last July

 

But even using the "standard tyres" I was impressed that it did grip and not spin at all, just drove straight up the second time... 

4x4 is worth it for other reasons. For example, when towing, a FWD can struggle with traction.