So it snowed a bit today, 5 or so inches on the floor...kinda slushy snow weather... Went out to get something...and the TSX didn't stop on my first stop...I had skid at least 50-100 feet at the last few secs yanking my handbrake to fully stop the car.... No control of where i was going either, except a small tiny bit, and there was a car ahead of me....i tried going back, but it took 10 mins to climb up this block cause it was slighly hilled... VSA went off like crazy, these tires f'in suck..that was the scariest experience of my driving history so far...

 

hahahaha.. i'm glad you came out okay!! I don't get that kind of experience here!! stupid Seattle.

 

#1 You must have been driving WAY too fast to slide 100 feet.

#2 When you are trying to climb a slippery hill, or get off a patch of ice, the traction control will work against you. You need to turn it OFF.

Anyways, glad you are ok. But next time slow down, and turn the VSA off if you are stuck in snow

 

Two words: slow down.

Absolutely true. The VSA will sap so much power you will almost come to a complete stop with your foot to the floor in some situations.

 

Two more words: winter tires.

 

Snow? It was 75 in GA today.

And yes, VSA's TCS function will work against you if you are trying to climb something in icy conditions. It can cut power completely, causing you to slide backwards. Always turn it off. And yes, slow down.

 

i got snow tires - i am more worried about idiots hitting me in the rain/snow/slush!

 

That's why Tire Rack advertises winter tire packages in the winter....

 

yeah, i'll admit i was going a bit fast...well..not really fast...i was going like 5-10 mph the first time...but the problem wasn't that i couldn't stop cause i was going to fast...it was a downward sloped road... I was at times gaining speed trying to stop.

Oh, so next time vsa off? okay...i was thinking that...but i was trying to go up the hill, and with a line of like 10 cars behind me, i thought if i turned it off and it didn't work, i'd end up in his front bumper... THanks guys!

 

What? Seattle Rocks! Love the Mild Spring and Summers, and clean air! Plus We got Jtso + CJams near by too!

 

really got 5 inches in Bayside, we got 2 maybe here in Stony Brook, LI. I've had that same experience in my tl, luckily never anyone on the roads, glad to hear everythings fine

 

lol. I love the summer weather but man winter sucks!!

 

no not bayside, thats where i live. Im up in ithaca for college right now. the hills are killer...

 

Even with my nokian wr I now learned you still have to becareful, espcially if its slush and a hill. I pulled into this parking spot a bit too fast and the whole lot is in a dip and i start sliding towards the car next to me which scared the crap out of me...

Snow tires or not your not that invincible.

 

The thing is, you CAN'T turn off VSA while it's doing its work, I found this out yesterday while I was stuck on an uphill right around the corner to my place. It pretty embarassing as there were a few cars behind me, and while I was finally able to pull over, this 95-96 camry just drove right by me.... the stock tires suck

and yeah, VSA defintely works against you in snow/ice, and so does ABS. I read quite a few articles saying ABS actually increases stopping distance in snow/ice conditions, I think this is true also when you hydroplane. I tried downshifting crazy yesterday when I was coming from a stop from 20mph at an intersection, I really don't like the sensitivity of the ABS during snow...

 

I NEVER had trouble driving in the snow, regardless of the severity. Of course I never drove when they had 28" of snow, but small blizzards like yesterday...or the one we had three-five weeks ago..

The problem is always with the driver. Exercise some caution and be more careful. There is no way of skidding 50-100 ft when you're driving less than 25mph.

 

it was around 5 -6 car lengths i don't think i had time to think about it.

Yeah the abs was kicking back hard, i think my handbrake procedure really stopped the car.

I was cautious, i admit i was going like 5 mph faster than what i should've, and i definately wasn't going past 15 miles per hour. How do i know...it was impossible for my tires to gain traction.

The reason why i skid 50+ feet was due to the nature of the road. It was sloped downhill. Not the dinky little 5-20 degree hills that are in jersey and down in the city, but the hill had at least a 35 degree inclination to it. Add that to the already frozen floors from the snow in the morning, the salt that slushed up the snow that just feel an hour ago, and the fresh snow that was falling at teh current moment, waht you get was a ridiculous iceskating rink.

To emphasize how bad it was...my lot was in the middle of another sloped road in which i had to turn right. I kept on my brake the whole way to the entrance, and still my car needed a few feet to stop. I was literally praying that i didn't "ski" down the hill with my tsx...

 

Glad you're ok. But yea... most all season tires aren't really rated for heavy snow or ice.

 

By the way... if your abs kicked in, you sohuld have still had a little bit of control when you are steering.

 

Yanking the ebrake is one of the worst things you can do
You'll lock up the rear wheels and start to fishtail or spin out.

Is this your first car?

 

i agree... i use the handbrake when i intentionally want the car to slide while playing in the snow, it will do no good when youre trying to stop.

it sounds like youre not all that used to driving in the snow. go out in a parking lot and mess around for a bit. it taught me how my car reacts when loosing control in acceleration, breaking, and turning. plus its fun!

 

get some snow tires, stock tires suck.

 

Cannot agree with the last part, Pittsburgh is nothing but mountains/hills, like a few other places. You can slide down much more than that if the conditions are icy, and you do not have to be travelling fast. A decent incline will have your ABS hammering the whole way down. Now say if you are in a flat area like NJ, then your excuses start to dwindle.

 

LOL @ Toronto guys telling everyone to turn off traction control in snowy conditions...

 

The 747 doesn't land itself. No matter how much technology - its the pilot.
Good to see everyone is okay, but come on, the tires are not that bad. VSA is designed for this weather, shutting if off won't make too much of a difference if you can't even keep the front and rear wheels in line - I'm not sure how you are having trouble climbing a moderately steep hill with a FWD car that weighs close to 3300 lbs. Black ice maybe?
Well, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

 

Actually, the 747, like all modern airliners, has an autoland capability that controls everything except the landing gear, flaps, and thrust reversers (the latter two of which which aren't needed anyway if the runway is long enough). Pilots are generally required to use it at least once a month to test it, and it's always used when visibility is too low to land manually due to fog (or snow I suppose).

 

Well... most airliners do have an autoland system. HOWEVER, it's usually only used during poor visibility like you said. But the pilot still has to do quite a few things. Nobody is going to run down the checklist for the pilots, nobody is going to calculate landing distance for them, nobody is going to keep the airplane rolling down the centerline automatically, etc...

I'm in the middle of getting my commercial license. During heavy windsheer advisories, there is no way i'm letting the autoland land the airplane. That's just too risky.

 

I had similar scary experience a few weeks back -- no snow nor ice, but on a incline slope. I was getting to the surface from an underground parking lot. I mis-judged the timing of the car in front me and had to stop half way on the slope. It was a steep slope, but I thought I could it was a good practice in my MT. I applied hand break and revved the engine to more than 3,000 RPM. Yet, my TSX was still going backwards as I released the hand break. I must had stayed there for more than 30 seconds -- seem like eternity, and revved my engine. I probably was at 4,500 RPM when my TSX shakily approaching to the surface. The whole day there was a strong smell of rubber around the car -- I assumed it was the break pads.

It was a humiliating experience. And I did not know what went wrong at the time. After reading this post, I have to assume it was the VSA, and if I had turn VSA off, I should be fine if I was at the same situation. Right? Any input will be appreciated . And sorry for the