What Gear..For Getting Out of Snow..?

You know when you got your wheels spinning in the snow, trying to get out..? Well, what should i leave my AT in..? :screwy:

I'm guessing D1-to keep it in first so it doesn't climb through the gears..? :eek7:

Another thing, does spinning your wheels in the snow have the same BAD effects on your diff and diff fluid (and everything else/tranny/engine etc) as doing a burnout on dry pavement..? My friend told me never to spin my wheels in the snow, even if i'm stuck, cause it's really bad for the car. :uhoh:

PS, one thing i know now...is leave the traction control off when they are spinning-sheesh :eek:

Well, its never good to spin your tires, particularly for the tires. Its interesting how much black stuff gets left behind on the snow. That used to be on your tire :)

I assume we're talking about the Tbird? If so, you might have a tranny hold down feature. Normally, trannys will shift automatically up to the highest gear you've selected, but some auto trannys (particularly from Ford) will do that except in second. Its designed for a low traction situation. If you put it in second, it stays in second. Period. You can put it in second and it will hold there so you're minimzing torque to the wheels which makes it easier to move without spinning.

If you're trying to get unstuck, you should never need to spin the tires fast enough that it goes through gears. The faster you spin, the less traction you have. If you're moving and spinning, the secret is to spin the least amount possible. There is more friction available to the snow if the tire is spinning slower.

If you're not moving and the tire is just spinning, call your friend over with his 4x4 and drag it out.

You know when you got your wheels spinning in the snow, trying to get out..? Well, what should i leave my AT in..? :screwy:

I'm guessing D1-to keep it in first so it doesn't climb through the gears..? :eek7:

Another thing, does spinning your wheels in the snow have the same BAD effects on your diff and diff fluid (and everything else/tranny/engine etc) as doing a burnout on dry pavement..? My friend told me never to spin my wheels in the snow, even if i'm stuck, cause it's really bad for the car. :uhoh:

PS, one thing i know now...is leave the traction control off when they are spinning-sheesh :eek:

It doesn't really matter what gear you leave it in, its more of throttle control, apply very little gas only, the more you spin, the worst its going to be because you are creating a layer of ice under the wheels.. If its shifting into other gears, you're going way too fast..

And yes spinning your tires is really bad for your tranny as it heats it up very fast, since there is no load..

Traction control would depend on what type i guess.. if it helps distribute power to the non-spinning wheels, then its good..

well with my car, its got a system where if my wheels start spinning, it wont let the RPMS go higher than a certain amount, its like 2,500 RPMS. BUt this isnt always good, cause in michigan we can get some pretty deep snow and that low of RPMS wont do anything for me. So if i drop it into second it cuts off the traction control and that program. So both wheels spin and i can spin them as high in the rpms as i need. Sometimes i do need about 4,000 RPMS in second to get out of snow. But it all depends on the car really. FInd out what works best for you.

It was really icy here the other week in this part of VA and I slid my fiero into a ditch. (go me...) I couldn't get out in first (absolutely NO traction) so I put it in second (bouncing off the rev limiter the whole time) and got it out.... but then again, I'm not the brightest... so listen to curtis...

Lol random..damn, is your car ok..? Any damage..?

Anyway, yeah it is about throttle control beefcake, very true. When i was spinning, i tried not to get past 2500rpms in first.

And yeah curtis, i found out that D2-which basically locks in 2nd, is the best-thanks.