oxheylady Posted December 2, 2010 Share Posted December 2, 2010 I was just wondering if anybody has ever used or been on one,as im looking to go on one to build up my confidence in driving in the snow. Any advice would help ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeeWee Posted December 3, 2010 Share Posted December 3, 2010 Why not save money & find an empty car park full of snow. I dont mean act daft but get the feel of how your brakes work & how using careful acceleration & gears have varied effect under these conditions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawdreamer Posted December 3, 2010 Share Posted December 3, 2010 Why not save money & find an empty car park full of snow. I dont mean act daft but get the feel of how your brakes work & how using careful acceleration & gears have varied effect under these conditions? asda carpark on a sunday night, my local rozzers are looking at doing a snow driving safety demo and class next year at our Asda carpark or Tesco's in Helsby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wwwd Posted December 3, 2010 Share Posted December 3, 2010 Urgh, Helsby... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiamGTR Posted December 3, 2010 Share Posted December 3, 2010 Why not save money & find an empty car park full of snow. I dont mean act daft but get the feel of how your brakes work & how using careful acceleration & gears have varied effect under these conditions?Maybe because i'm sure what you said would be illegal? and the fact you'd learn 10x more actually being taught by a qualified and very experienced instructor rather than just 'dicking about in a carpark' no matter how productive you try make it sound about "feeling how your brakes work" etc. Sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottg17 Posted December 3, 2010 Share Posted December 3, 2010 (edited) Why not save money & find an empty car park full of snow. I dont mean act daft but get the feel of how your brakes work & how using careful acceleration & gears have varied effect under these conditions?Maybe because i'm sure what you said would be illegal? and the fact you'd learn 10x more actually being taught by a qualified and very experienced instructor rather than just 'dicking about in a carpark' no matter how productive you try make it sound about "feeling how your brakes work" etc. Sorry. not really... you need to play about... know the limits of your car... someone telling you how to do it is not going to teach you anything apart from the general idea and skidpans are not simulating snow driving, they simulate the likes of a slip on diesel. Edited December 3, 2010 by scottg17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiamGTR Posted December 3, 2010 Share Posted December 3, 2010 not really... you need to play about... know the limits of your car... someone telling you how to do it is not going to teach you anything apart from the general idea and skidpans are not simulating snow driving, they simulate the likes of a slip on diesel.I'm sure they'll give you a chance to play about, and I can tel lyou the limits of an Escort... not many, lol. Anyway besides the point, do what you want but I know what i'd rather do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottg17 Posted December 3, 2010 Share Posted December 3, 2010 not really... you need to play about... know the limits of your car... someone telling you how to do it is not going to teach you anything apart from the general idea and skidpans are not simulating snow driving, they simulate the likes of a slip on diesel.I'm sure they'll give you a chance to play about, and I can tel lyou the limits of an Escort... not many, lol. the ditch is the limit lol ive had to order up winter tyres for the 1st time this winter. Ive normally managed with summer treads but they wide tyres are making things tricky lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiamGTR Posted December 3, 2010 Share Posted December 3, 2010 Would you say 205's are wide? My friend has a Celica who's on 205's and he is adament they are "too phat for winter so not using the car" but i'm coping just fine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluliz Posted December 3, 2010 Share Posted December 3, 2010 I've done 2 proper skid pan sessions. 1 at Goodwood on an Oil pan. and the 2ns on concrete in a car with the hydrolic lifters attached. Both really good, but I'd say the hydrolic one was better as the system can be changed from bad to worse etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caled Posted December 3, 2010 Share Posted December 3, 2010 If you really want to learn car control, get yourself onto one of the rally session on a tarmac track, they wet and oil the thing before hand and then stick you in a high powered rear wheel drive car. You'll soon learn how to catch a spin in these conditions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottg17 Posted December 3, 2010 Share Posted December 3, 2010 Would you say 205's are wide? My friend has a Celica who's on 205's and he is adament they are "too phat for winter so not using the car" but i'm coping just fine 205s are pretty wide... escorts are pretty good in the snow though as they are fairly light Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithyandco Posted December 3, 2010 Share Posted December 3, 2010 I was just wondering if anybody has ever used or been on one,as im looking to go on one to build up my confidence in driving in the snow. Any advice would help ? Driving simulators and a steering wheel.... builds your reaction time... Eventually... But an empty, very large car park would be ideal... Stay in the middle, try setting off in different gears to see 1. if your car can handle setting off in 2 or 3rd gear and 2. what gear gives you the best traction/acceleration ratio.Then try low speed cornering (10-20mph) to see if your car understeers. Then go for mid speeds (30mph) again see if it understeers. (beware of oversteer also in Escorts - They can be tail happy)Also try setting off on a straight line and brake once you reach 10, 20 and 30mph to see what effect your braking has. Try braking slower and harder. Try brake pumping (whilst moving rapidly pump your brakes on and off).And if possible, try these suggestions on different car park surfaces to learn the different amounts of grip/control you have on different amounts of snow, ice, wet and dry. And the best advice... Always be alert and never get cocky! my local rozzers are looking at doing a snow driving safety demo and class next year at our Asda carpark or Tesco's in Helsby They should also teach drivers how the bloody hell your meant to navigate the stupid roads leading to and from Asda/Tesco/Retail park in Helsby! It's like the town planners were on the piss when they designed it... They probably planned it with Lego then used a toy car without wheels to demonstrate it whilst showing it those in labour at the local maternity ward for approval. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch_GTi Posted December 3, 2010 Share Posted December 3, 2010 i'm in a new shape Ka with 175/65/14 all round and it loves the snow. . . i learnt how to control slides in a car park in the GTi tho. you don't need to pay out for a guy to tell you what to do just learn in an open space. handbrakes and counter steering is great fun. just be careful of hidden pot holes and kerbs etc cos they make a horrible suprise. with regards to 205's my puma has 205/40/17's and i haven't driven it yet. company car (Ka) handles much better in snow and ice. . . have fun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeeWee Posted December 3, 2010 Share Posted December 3, 2010 Why not save money & find an empty car park full of snow. I dont mean act daft but get the feel of how your brakes work & how using careful acceleration & gears have varied effect under these conditions?Maybe because i'm sure what you said would be illegal? and the fact you'd learn 10x more actually being taught by a qualified and very experienced instructor rather than just 'dicking about in a carpark' no matter how productive you try make it sound about "feeling how your brakes work" etc. Sorry. Liam you seem to have no idea what I said. I did state clearly not acting daft but getting a feel of how the car reacts in the snow. Knowing this helps massively towards what to do in varied conditions. Im sure many here will know & will have done just what im saying. I dont see how this would be illegal if your not doing stupid handbrake turns or churning up the snow like an idiot. In fact I happily explain to any officer sensibly what my intention were. It would back this up greatly if you dont take mates with you & the car park is truly empty. Even now when I leave upon snow I will test the car reaction just a little in first gear & press the brakes to see how slippy it is as long as theres nothing to hit. Rather this than find out with cars around me. So you KNOW you would learn "10x more" on a skidpad? I am talking with years of experience mind you so take my advice how you wish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now