odd problem in the snow

[Brian P]

i'm on my way back home, and it snowed here today. there is a thin layer of snow still left over... like... extremely thin... enough to make the road appear white, but no more. its 3am, so most likely the from the day froze over.

anyway, i stop at the top of a hill to attempt to parallel park, but with my cloudy windows, i figure i should go find a bigger spot to avoid any dents. anyway, i'm just leaving the spot, and i'm like, pressing on the gas on this hill that i can only estimate is ~15-25% grade. rather steep (its southbound on 11th, at the corner of marine and 11th, right west of Whole Foods, greekman . I'm hittin the gas, and the G just doesnt want to go... i press a little harder... have lost all my traction. i floor it, the revs peak at 7200rpm... not only am i not going forward, but i'm going backwards, and to the side. i notice total blackness where my tires melted through to the pavement, and i smell burnt rubber.

i hit the brakes to stop. wait a few seconds, then lightly press on the gas... still nothing. then i notice the ABS light come on... i cannot understand why. anyway, i gave up i reversed myself, and made my way to the bottom of the hill... no traction problems on the way down.

anyway, i checked my tires... the treads were completely filled in with snow/slush/ice. i've never noticed having that before in the snow. now, i have the VLSD with the Potenzas. never in 3 years have i not been able to navigate through the snow, uphill or otherwise. on the walk up the hill, i checked the "burnout" marks... they'd frozen over already... not completely smooth... but seemed like a tiny bit of tread had been imprinted in the ice.

now, in the 3 years ive had the car ive replaced two tires because of flats. i'm pretty sure at least one newer tire was on the front. why in the world would both tires completely lose traction like that? any thoughts? anything mechanical? bad tires? bad driving? ... heh... nope that cant be it. or was i just a little unlucky.

later homies.

[G-Forces]

Originally posted by Brian P

now, in the 3 years ive had the car ive replaced two tires because of flats. i'm pretty sure at least one newer tire was on the front. why in the world would both tires completely lose traction like that? any thoughts? anything mechanical? bad tires? bad driving? ... heh... nope that cant be it. or was i just a little unlucky.

It's just the conditions I wouldn't worry about it much.

[DaPCWiz]

A few weeks ago, I was on the way home crossing a similar hill... same problem... mad smoke coming off the tires. I ended up taking a different hill with a steeper grade, but I made it up no problem.... go figure.

[FlossinPrimera]

The ABS light comes on due to the abs sensor over heating, I'm not sure why this happens, but I think the brakes get freaked out when you spin your tires like crazy.

[killick]

Brian. You're in CO, man. You should know how to get around in snow.

... soon as those tires started spinnin, that lil dusting of snow turned to a lil film of ice. At that point, hittin the gas ain't gonna do nothin. That's why you started slippin backward... you'd slip back an inch or so off the icy patch you just made, and onto another bit of show...

...with your wheels spinning, turning it to ice, slipping back, etc., etc.

Could've been a bit of ice under the snow where you first tried to move ahead too. Either way, soon as you started spinning, 'twas game over as far as making forward progress was concerned.

Embarrassing when it happens. I actually got stuck once on a level shopping mall parking lot in similar conditions. I was havin' fun in this (almost) empty lot with just enough snow to make things interesting. Stopped. Dropped the clutch... no movement! Put it in reverse... no movement! Had to stick the damn thing in neutral, get out and push it about a foot. There was an icy spot under each tire about 3 inches long (one contact patch I guess ) Got in the car and gingerly (and somewhat sheepishly) drove off.

Doh!

Never ever forgot that.

[Brian P]

hell, i'm in CO, and i'm from NY!

this being my 4th winter driving around in the G, the first in CO. hell i have fun in the snow... i OWN the snow! :P cept until now.