Subaru AWD defeated by 3" of snow

[mrsilv04]

Sis has always put Michelins on her Subarus... last set were Harmonys.

The Subie she just bought came with a set of like new Firestone Affinity tires on it, which would be foolish to replace at this point.

I'll have to ask her how the Affinitys are doing in the snow.

 

[CourierDriver]

In another lifetime, we once owned a new 67 Beetle. Yes our old snow car was listed at 1620 dollars sticker. It did well in snow here, no complaints and for only 1600 bucks...Many complain of the heater problem , mine never had a heat problem, worked well, and that radiator was always a problem,lol. Tires were outrageous, 4 for a 100 bucks at Goodyear and my friends said I was ripped off, go figure in today's tire prices, I know, its old fogy stuff, gas was 24 cents a gallon on base... I digress.

 

[keith]

When I bought a Volvo 740 and the first inch of snow fell, I left my driveway and got to the first junction, and nearly put the car in a ditch. It was a slow speed left hand turn and the car wanted to go straight. I turned around and drove back home, parked it, went into the house and ordered new rims and Nokia snow tires. The car was pretty good after the snow tires went on. AWD isn't going to be a benefit when all 4 tires are slipping.

 

[eljefino]

Not saying this about your MIL but I see a subsegment of subaru owners here who will pay a premium to not think about driving, or, for that matter, maintenance. They assume that by buying "the best" they've delegated that.

"I can't be stuck, I was pushing the go-pedal".

There's a 5 year old outback wagon that I follow into work at night. All four amber hazard/turn lights are on at full brightness with the running lights. Also one brake light is out. It's been like this for weeks. I got to follow closely and sure enough there's a u-haul hidden hitch. I figure the trailer wiring doohickey is shorting inside itself. Driver is clueless to wonder why the cars behind him or even just the road in his rearview mirror is illuminated orange when in the rest of his lifetime it's been red.

OTOH there are the subie enthusiasts; you can spot them by the latest greatest snow tires, huge homemade rally mudflaps, etc. and lesbians too

 

[97tbird]

Originally Posted By: eljefino

OTOH there are the subie enthusiasts; you can spot them by the latest greatest snow tires, huge homemade rally mudflaps, etc.
and lesbians too


classy. I guess my sister in law and mother in law just turned [censored]. (not that I would have any problem with it if they did, none at all.)

Retarded comment, really, eljefino.

 

[OVERKILL]

It's actually a pretty funny stereotype, as it is (as with many stereotypes) based on fact. I've seen a LOT of Subaru's rockin' the rainbow stickers.

And before you ask me the same question, my MIL is of that persuasion and rainbow-sticker's all her cars. Because of that, I just naturally notice them now.

 

[Kuato]

I'm with Rand...driver skill has a lot to do with getting stuck and unstuck.

NateDN10, did anyone else try to drive it out or was she the only one to try?



Originally Posted By: SubLGT
Here is a thread about a $75,000 Mercedes GL350 AWD SUV stuck on wet grass:

http://mbworld.org/forums/gl-class-x164/417884-my-gl-stuck-wet-grass.html


That's very funny. Looks like he had street tires on.

 

[Corvette Owner]

My AWD Nissan Murano has 4 wheel lock, where all 4 wheels turn at the same rpm. That will get you out of a lot of bad situations. There is a speed limit, like 25 or 35 mph.

Never had to use it, but it's there if you need it.

 

[cptbarkey]

the factory conti tires on the subaru are just fine for what they are designed for. mine were VERY quiet on the highway and good in wet weather.

the other TRAGIC issue involved here i suspect is the CVT transmission in reverse gear is VERY weak. this has been documented multiple times on subaru forums and i think has yet to be resolved. just trying to back into my slight incline driveway i have to rev the engine to 3000 RPMs to move.

 

[CourierDriver]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
Not saying this about your MIL but I see a subsegment of subaru owners here who will pay a premium to not think about driving, or, for that matter, maintenance. They assume that by buying "the best" they've delegated that.

"I can't be stuck, I was pushing the go-pedal".

There's a 5 year old outback wagon that I follow into work at night. All four amber hazard/turn lights are on at full brightness with the running lights. Also one brake light is out. It's been like this for weeks. I got to follow closely and sure enough there's a u-haul hidden hitch. I figure the trailer wiring doohickey is shorting inside itself. Driver is clueless to wonder why the cars behind him or even just the road in his rearview mirror is illuminated orange when in the rest of his lifetime it's been red.

OTOH there are the subie enthusiasts; you can spot them by the latest greatest snow tires, huge homemade rally mudflaps, etc. and lesbians too
I think those huge mud flaps are a hold over from the 60 and 70s when Volvo had those things, made me feel safer,lol.

 

[Nick R]

So far the stock conti's on my focus aren't bad. Of course I haven't really had a opportunity to drive them in any real snow yet.

 

[jeepman3071]

Originally Posted By: Bill in Utah
Originally Posted By: jeepman3071
Then again, if the snow is above the bumper you probably shouldn't be driving in it anyway.


Now you tell me!

(after driving in 22 inch deep snow for a few miles and 10-16 inches for about 40 miles)




Nice!

When we had the Nemo blizzard here the owner of our road decided not to plow for a few days. We had 34" of snow for the entire road. My buddy was staying over our house since his power got knocked out early on in the storm. He tried driving his stock height Cherokee through the snow. It actually did fairly well going forward considering the snow was up to the grill. When he stopped to turn around he got stuck though.

 

[Nick R]

Originally Posted By: Bill in Utah
Originally Posted By: jeepman3071
Then again, if the snow is above the bumper you probably shouldn't be driving in it anyway.


Now you tell me!

(after driving in 22 inch deep snow for a few miles and 10-16 inches for about 40 miles)




That's ridiculous. I'm amazed you were able to plow the road O_O

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted By: Stewart Fan
Originally Posted By: Miller88


My parent's '13 escape came with Continental contipro contact tires from the factory. Horrible in the snow. The snow tires we got on it now make it unstoppable.


My recently totaled '11 Outback had factory Conti ProContacts. They were junk tires all the way around. Terrible in the snow,tramlined like crazy,and were considerably louder than the Blizzak DMV-1s I ran in the winter.


Ha! My dad was complaining how the escape tramlined like crazy when they got it. Apparently that was from the Contis! By the time I got to drive it, they had the nokian snow tires on it and I didn't notice the issue.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted By: cptbarkey
the factory conti tires on the subaru are just fine for what they are designed for. mine were VERY quiet on the highway and good in wet weather.


Yes: like most OE tires, they are designed for low rolling resistance and to wear like iron at the expense of all else! been there & done that!

 

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted By: jeepman3071
Originally Posted By: Bill in Utah
Originally Posted By: jeepman3071
Then again, if the snow is above the bumper you probably shouldn't be driving in it anyway.


Now you tell me!

(after driving in 22 inch deep snow for a few miles and 10-16 inches for about 40 miles)




Nice!

When we had the Nemo blizzard here the owner of our road decided not to plow for a few days. We had 34" of snow for the entire road. My buddy was staying over our house since his power got knocked out early on in the storm. He tried driving his stock height Cherokee through the snow. It actually did fairly well going forward considering the snow was up to the grill. When he stopped to turn around he got stuck though.


From experience: a stock Cherokee on good tires will push through a 4' snowbank with no drama.

 

[NateDN10]

Originally Posted By: Kuato
I'm with Rand...driver skill has a lot to do with getting stuck and unstuck.

NateDN10, did anyone else try to drive it out or was she the only one to try?

I tried too. Now, I'm no off-roader so I may not have been doing it right either. I didn't deactivate the ESC, but I gave it 25% throttle or so for a couple seconds in both forward and reverse, and the front right and rear left wheels just spun.

As I mentioned, part of the problem was the dense wet snow and the fact that she wasn't parked on pavement, so even when the tires dug through the snow they just kept digging.

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: 97tbird
Originally Posted By: eljefino

OTOH there are the subie enthusiasts; you can spot them by the latest greatest snow tires, huge homemade rally mudflaps, etc.
and lesbians too


classy. I guess my sister in law and mother in law just turned [censored]. (not that I would have any problem with it if they did, none at all.)

Retarded comment, really, eljefino.


Hardly! Subaru themselves woo them. I have no problem with it, hope they get the business from an under-marketed-to demo.

 

[Nick R]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
Originally Posted By: 97tbird
Originally Posted By: eljefino

OTOH there are the subie enthusiasts; you can spot them by the latest greatest snow tires, huge homemade rally mudflaps, etc.
and lesbians too


classy. I guess my sister in law and mother in law just turned [censored]. (not that I would have any problem with it if they did, none at all.)

Retarded comment, really, eljefino.


Hardly! Subaru themselves woo them. I have no problem with it, hope they get the business from an under-marketed-to demo.


Lol I've known that for a while, but it's still interesting to see.

 

[gathermewool]

Theoretically, with Subaru's Vehicle Dymamics Control (VDC,) seeing the same two wheels continue to spin with no movement from the other two isn't usual. The traction control will cut power, but the whole point of VDC is to apply brakes as necessary to transfer power, through the open diffs (front and rear,) acting like an electronic LSD.

Originally Posted By: MarkM66
I limited slip makes a huge difference too.

My Vibe is horrible in the snow, as it's a one wheel peal only. The other wheel doesn't give any effort.


Two years ago, when we had tons of snow here in CT, My STI got stuck BAD. I was parked on a decline and wasn't able to back out until a couple of neighbors helped by pushing. This is with THREE LSD's (center fully locked) and...terrible-in-the-snow, ultra-wide AS tires. In this case, all four tires were spinning, but there simply was not any traction.

With narrower tires with more sidewall on smaller wheels, I'm nearly unstoppable in the snow! I have to actively try to lose traction in order to have a little fun. I'll never go another winter without snow tires.