Quote:
Originally posted by AznRide
This is what exactly happened. My so call lil Jess up there said that because of the snow and slippery road, he goes 25 mph in 4th gear because he might think his lil over powered civic gonna fly off the road or something. I told him if he goes like 25 mph in like 2nd gear or so, he would get better traction in the snow. Also, that's why people downshift a lot in the snow for better traction because honda civic has fwd, so when you downshift for braking purpose, most weight will be transfer in the front which give the front tires better tractions. SO by going 25 mph in 2nd gear on an icy road...if you feel the road is slippery, all you do is simply let go of the gas and the weight will be transfer in the front for better traction. Right? Correct me if I'm wrong. What's the point of going 4th or 5th gear in the snow at 25 mph? Of course people do that in the SUMMER when cruising but in the snow?????
|
you're wrong.
it's better to maintain a high gear in slippery situations cuz gearing multiplies torque. the higher gear, the less torque is multiplied. therefore, the less torque at the wheels. by using a higher gear and thus putting less torque to the ground, you reduce the chance of breaking traction due to hitting the accelerator too hard.
think about why you cant chirp your tyres in 5th gear... not enough torque to the wheels after gearing converts it.
thus using a higher gear in slippery conditions is safer due to less chance of wheel slippage from throttling. the traction would be the same in any gear, but a lower gear would give him more effective torque at the wheels, increasing the chance of breaking traction when throttling the car.
as for downshifting in snow... unless you know how to rev match the motor, you'll run the risk of breaking traction. ever downshifted just by easing off the clutch? it forces the car to slow down fast since the motor is forced to move the same speed as the transmission... if traction is low, then the motor would force the tranny and wheels to spin faster, and not vice versa, thus causing tyre slippage and loss of control. if you rev match, then you can safely downshift without losing traction in snow.
the downshift theory doesnt work for you in this case... cuz once you hit the brakes, the weight transfers forward, regardless if you downshift or not. downshifting will not transfer any more weight than braking... you can always step on the pedal even harder.
as for just letting off the gas in second on an icy road, the tranny and thus wheels having to suddenly stop accelerating will possibly cause a loss in traction due to jerkiness... ever done that in second gear before on dry pavement? the car jerks kinda hard...
in a higher gear, the car wont jerk as hard when you let off the gas, thus maintaining traction.
in this case, hybrid boy is completely right in doing what he does in a low traction situation.