Any tales to tell?

Is ESP a help or a hindrance?

I suppose 205 section tyres are not ideal footwear in the snow.

Just take it steady, as you would in any car - but be careful on the throttle: even with ESP, all that torque can put you all over the place...

It's just like any other car although as previously mentioned in an other thread Goodyear F1's are plain crap in the white stuff (not that they are intended to be ). I would like to big up the traction control though, it really worked well when getting out of my road.

Keep it in a high a gear as you can and keep the speed down. Think as far ahead as possible and be extra vigilant for Muppets (Other road users) and you bee fine

I found the Fabia pretty good despite the tyre width. Obviously don't drive like a **** and you'll be fine - all that weight over the driven wheels really helps. It's possible to drive briskly in snow without even lighting the traction light if you're not a complete idiot*

*Unfortunatley it's likely that at least a couple of you are - this time of year brings them out :thumbdwn:

ESP is very handy - I had some experiments with this in an empty carpark in Holland a few years ago

Well, i don't have ESP but the ASR certainly helped a little bit.

After i crested on particularly long hill (gawd bless ASR) my dash lit up like a xmas tree as the ABS had cut out and therefore ASR turned off...(must have overheated)

30miles of hell.

Don't wanna go home now, i should have turned round when it started to get nasty..

MPM

*Unfortunatley it's likely that at least a couple of you are - this time of year brings them out :thumbdwn:

You called?

Chris

having snow on the roads lets you know how it would feel to have 300bhp in the same car in the dry

I found if very slippery, it may be useful to turn the traction control off to get moving. Also, be aware that abs can and will remove all braking power!!

Just take it steady, and drive as smoothly as possible. Using little or no revs to pull away, possibly using 2nd or 3rd gear to reduce risk of wheelspin. All steering movements need to be well thought out - smoothness really is key!

Sorry to be patronising.

Just to add, the Focus is atleast 3 fold better in the snow than the vRS was. My vRS was a pig in the ice/snow in hilly Wiltshire last year. :thumbdwn:

Im snowed in today, but i gave it a try, esp is a pain in the ***, trying to get momentum up, wheels spin, cuts power, and you slow down.

Esp off means you spin the wheels lots but you do actually move, However im still snowed in

No snow up here to play with :(

well i live on a mountain in wales (need i say more) and the fabia got me to work ok, found esp to be a great help

You sure you have ESP ? I found I could quite easily drive off with ESP enabled, unlike ASR which was friggin' useless IMHO

No probs this morning getting out of my road. ESP certaintly helps. Was impressed with the Bridgestones aswell.

Left so early and had a good drive, I was one of the first into the carpark so I had a little play

oops my bad, ASR is rubbish didn't choose ESP :$

My conclusion after some driving on the ungritted roads round me - the vrs is rubbish in the snow :thumbdwn:

ASR isn't much help - nearly stopped going up a hill. Made better progress without ASR but there isn't much traction.

The drive home will be interesting.

God knows how all you people would have managed 10 years ago when we had proper snow, no electronic aids, no abs and mostly RWD cars!

God knows how all you people would have managed 10 years ago when we had proper snow, no electronic aids, no abs and mostly RWD cars!

ABS and ASR/ESP are not not designed to work in the snow and are not always idea. In some snow driving it good to jab on the brakes to get some bit on the road below and also sometimes there is a need to spin the wheels a bit to make process etc.

Think it was more a bit 10 years ago when most cars were RWD, either that or I was ahead of my time!!

Haven

Older cars being lighter and with skinny tyres were probably better in the snow though

God knows how all you people would have managed 10 years ago when we had proper snow, no electronic aids, no abs and mostly RWD cars!

what the snow we had today wasnt proper snow? it was white and cold what was the snow like 10 yeats ago

Any car with wide summer tyres will be rubbish in the snow. That's why many European countries mandate the use of winter tyres. I'm running a Fabia vRS with winter tyres (instead of the Goodyear F1's) and the difference is startling.

Another great addition is the Quaife ATB

Best (2wd) car I ever had in the snow was a 2cv. Got me about no problems with its big skinny wheels. Worst was a Renault 5 gt turbo which would either stall or suddenly start spinning the wheels. The vrs is not the best in the snow because Mine would not go up the hill by my parents house it just kept bringing the ASR light on and If I switched it off it would just spin. The tyres were not the best though with about 3mm of trad on them at the time. I just wish my 2cv had not rotted away

Only had a light snowfall last night and its all melted away now

if you read your manual it will tel you to turn the ASR and ESP off in the snow

my car handled perfectly int eh snow unless i purposely jabbed the brakes on or stamped the power on for a while and i currently have no ABS, ASR, ESP or anything other than my feet and hands to control where i am going and i spent all day driving a RWD transit round in deep snow and ice with some very interesting moments indeed.

:eek: What Snow!!!!