Ania

So i live in Fairfax, Virginia and we maybe got like 3 good inches of snow now. Nothing to bad went out this morning in a Honda Accord and it was great couldnt even feel the snow. Get into my car (6 m/t) and all i do is SPIN SPIN SPIN....i cant even get out of the driveway. What am i doing wrong? THe VSA keeping blinking at me. Anh help would be great....

ludachrisvt

iTrader: (2)

if you have the High performance tires then that is probably your issue!

ludachrisvt

iTrader: (2)

I am in Ohio and we have had continuous snow since December and mine does TLovely in the snow

DarkWraith33

What tires you got on there? That might be first place to start. As I am sure you've read, the TL is notorious for bad factory tires...

Mine went OK this morning in similar snow, but too much gas and I was a'movin here and there... You tried keeping it as slow as possible I assume... When I had my 91 MR2... I found in the snow that 2nd gear was easier for me pulling out here and there... Dunno if that was just me or not.

Also, are you sure by the time you got out in your TL that the snow hadn't become ice???

edavies

I live in Ottawa Canada, where it snows from mid November to early April. I have installed TOYO Garit HT high-performance winter tires, dropped down to 225/50R16 tires. This year we have had quite a bit of freezing rain and the TL with the Garits drives superbly in all winter road conditions.

1995hoo

As DarkWraith notes, with the 6MT, or really with any manual for that matter, starting in second gear can sometimes help. Just have to give it a little more gas.

NBPTLBOI

so i'm guessing that you bought new 16" rims too?

Ania

well i did get the brembo package and that did come with the summer tires but the dealership said that it shouldnt make that much of a difference.

triggle

So do you have a 5AT ? As I recall you can't put 16 inchers on a 6MT.

pgould

Well...technically the Brembo brakes came equipped b/c you got the 6MT, while the HPT (summer) tires were an option. Regardless, if you're trying to drive in the snow with the summer tires that's your problem. We had a light dusting of snow while I was out driving last week and my traction with them on was pathetic. I'll be looking for winter or A/S tires for next winter.

- Peter

Ania

so i guess this should be moved to the tires section now but any advice on what kind of tires i should get? All season ones of course

Pro Stock John

I am 6MT, and I start out easy and short shift thru the gears, I have driven in 3-5 inches of unplowed snow.

caball88

your dealer lied to you summer tires are absolutely the worse things you can have in the snow. the groves in the tire on them are minimized(meaning more rubber contact with the road) and are uni-directional. so your car basically has nothing to grip onto cause it's just "hovering" above the snow. go online and look for a set of blizzaks for your car. you will either have to get a set of snow tires or you can get a set of rims with snow tires. its up to you, i find it a pain to remount and balance tires on the same set of rims for summer and winter tires. also since no one has mentioned turn vsa off when trying to get moving helps, especially on hills. when the tires are spinning and vsa kicks in it will cut the power and apply brakes to the wheel that is spinning which often doesn't help when you aren't moving yet.

direk_04TL

the Pirelli PZero Nero tires have been getting great reviews from TireRack. check them out!

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....num=345WR70NMS

avs007

Actually, VSA is supposed to help you in this regard. If you don't have LSD, the brakes are applied to the wheel that is spinning, such that power will get rerouted to the other tire, which hopefully won't slip as much. There is a really cool demonstration of this with a BMW 5 series at the Deutche Museum in munich. It shows how with ESP (Electronic Stability Program), the car can ascend a snowy/icy hill, but without, it would just slide backwards. They even did a demonstration of the car going up a hill with the right tires going over a sheet of ice. It was impossible for the car to climb the hill without ESP in that scenario.

missmyprelude

The tires you have are not meant to be driven in snow or in very cold climates. Not only is the tread not safe for driving in snowy conditions, the rubber compound is not meant for cold weather.

My suggestion to you would be to get a good set of winter tires that has good dry/wet performance ratings. In Virginia, I wouldn't expect that you would need winter tires that lean toward the max ice/snow performance. These tires tend to give up dry handling capabilities. Instead, get some that give you just enough performance in the snow to get you by.

Having a good set of winters and keeping your current summers should last you a good number of years, and provide you with high performance capabilities all year.

caball88

well for the 6MT it is recommended even in the owners manual to turn it off if trying to get moving on icy surface. i can understand for a AT since you can'y modulate the clutch like a 6MT and get the car rocking foward and backward.

gregory28_RENAMED

I've converted to Nokian WR's for the Winter months and am quite pleased.

doogles

Avs007 posted the BMW information to another thread that I started on a very similar topic. However, my experience does not back it up. As former Accord driver, I had an easier time in the snow. Now, when I come home and pull up the hill in my driveway, the VSA turns on and kills the engine so that the wheels aren't spinning (you will see the VSA light blinking on and off). When I turn it off, I will spin and it is harder to control the car, but at least I get some power to the wheels. I tried this experiment this week after a few inches fell. The VSA controlled the spin alright, but also prevented me from getting up the hill. With the VSA turned off, I could get up the hill. Give it a try both ways, you will see the difference. I leave VSA on unless I have a problem like getting up an insurmountable hill. BTW, the Blizzaks can't be beat (from my prior use of them) but most winter tires are worlds better thanan all season tire. My LSZs are highly rated all seasons but only so-so in the snow and ice, only the VSA kept me from spinning out on the roads during the snow storm this week. Also, they flat spot like crazy, much worse than my Els did.

avs007

Perhaps Honda's VSA just sucks in these types of applications. (I own a TL, so don't think I'm just slamming Honda/Acura).

Both my other cars, when I'm in a similar situation (I also have an inclined driveway), the ECU never completely cuts power. The logic is very simple really. ALL open differentials will send power to the wheel that spins faster. That's just a fact of life, because otherwise you wouldn't be able to turn your car around a corner. A traction control system is supposed to help you climb a hill, because it basically brakes the spinning wheel, so that it spins slower than the other wheel, such that the differential routes power to the other tire. If that tire slips, the power will basically oscilate from wheel to wheel. If you jack up one side of your car, such that one of the drive wheels is off the ground, then unless you have a LSD, your car will be IMPOSSIBLE move without traction control, because the wheel off the ground will always get the power, because it will always spin faster.

Now if the VSA actually brakes and cuts power to the point where you can't move, than that's acura's fault. In the BMW example, while ascending the hill, when they cut the traction/stability control, the car just slid backwards, as the tire on the sheet of ice spinned wildly, and the tire with actual traction just rolled backwards since it wasn't getting any power.