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smartieman

Winter Driving

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Hi everyone,I was waiting to see if there would be any discussions on this topic since we have had a bit more snow this year then others in Southern Ontario. This is my second winter with my smart, last winter was a breeze, mild weather and not alot of snow. This winter we have had two good snow storms so far. The first storm I got stuck at a gas station that hadn't been plowed yet, in about a foot of snow. When i drove in I was thinking this might be a big mistake but I was curious to see how the car would handle in alot of snow. I tried rocking the car etc...but in the end a passerby felt sorry for me or maybe I was blocking his exit...hahaha, and came and gave me just a little push which was all that was needed to get me going. Last friday we had another big storm which dumped maybe a foot or so of snow on us. I parked my car in a parking lot that day and had to leave it over night until the snow plow had been thru to clean up the lot. Of course i watched other cars, small, large, suv's all leave in a good foot of snow while i had to wait by my car for a ride to pick me up. I do have snow tires on the car so I it's frustrating to know I have no traction on initial starts of the car. How's everyone else coping with initial starts in alot of snow, is it no problem for you?...do you have any secrets you'd like to share on how to get a smart moving from 0 to 10 in a foot of snow enen with snows...thanks.

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Hi everyone,I was waiting to see if there would be any discussions on this topic since we have had a bit more snow this year then others in Southern Ontario. This is my second winter with my smart, last winter was a breeze, mild weather and not alot of snow. This winter we have had two good snow storms so far. The first storm I got stuck at a gas station that hadn't been plowed yet, in about a foot of snow. When i drove in I was thinking this might be a big mistake but I was curious to see how the car would handle in alot of snow. I tried rocking the car etc...but in the end a passerby felt sorry for me or maybe I was blocking his exit...hahaha, and came and gave me just a little push which was all that was needed to get me going. Last friday we had another big storm which dumped maybe a foot or so of snow on us. I parked my car in a parking lot that day and had to leave it over night until the snow plow had been thru to clean up the lot. Of course i watched other cars, small, large, suv's all leave in a good foot of snow while i had to wait by my car for a ride to pick me up. I do have snow tires on the car so I it's frustrating to know I have no traction on initial starts of the car. How's everyone else coping with initial starts in alot of snow, is it no problem for you?...do you have any secrets you'd like to share on how to get a smart moving from 0 to 10 in a foot of snow enen with snows...thanks.

This makes a good case for the traction control disabler. I think it would help you get going since without ESP you can churn your way out. With ESP engaged, as soon as one wheel starts spinning, the traction control cuts the power and you're stuck.I have one of these gadgets from smartieparts, though I haven't had occasion to use it yet.HTHBil :sun:

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The car has less than a foot of ground clearance and only weighs 1800lbs or so. Being stuck when other taller heavier vehicles can pull through is unfortunately just par for the course.I think the traction control disabler will help keep your momentum going in certain situations, but I don't think it will help THAT much.Adding some weight to the trunk will help you get more grip as well. I also drive a Mazda B2300 which is RWD and if you have an empty bed and there's a slick surface, forget it, slight incline, forget it. Toss a couple 40kg bags of gravel in the back though and it's (almost) as good as a FWD car.

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Yeah, my thought was that the car is going to be challenged getting going anytime the snow is higher than the bellypan. I was up north of Whistler a few days ago, and I had to clear about a two foot swath in front of the car so that I could get the momentum going. It was over a foot deep of heavy, wet snow. Even with that, I skated across the top on the car's belly for a little bit before I got into a cleared lane.I have winter tires on, but there might as well have been a curb in front of the car for all the good that the go pedal was accomplishing. Clearing away the stuff in front made a big difference. Fortunately, the people we were staying with had a snow shovel handy.

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At low speed the traction control will disengage somewhat if you put the throttle to the floor, then the car will spin a bit. Keep a snow shovel in the car when you know it will snow, and maybe a couple mats or other traction devices that will help you get unstuck.

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Deep snow is a challenge. The particular problem with the type of snow we had in Toronto on Friday was that it was heavy and wet. Great for making snow sculptures, terrible for light vehicles (empty panel vans) and low cars (like our smarts). Using a small folding shovel is about all you can do to keep moving. Keep your wheels straight when starting to move, and remove any obvious buildup for a few inches in front and behind all four wheels before you try moving. The little bit of momentum should be enough to get you moving.I don't have any vehicles with locking differentials and all wheel drive, so I don't drive them into snowy lots. On Friday, my old pickup with lots of ground clearance was a better choice than my very low Escort wagon. My wife had the smart and managed to get around, despite the unremarkable effort Toronto puts into dealing with snow. They sure look busy, but I remember a Toronto that could deal with snow.Another thing to remember in deep snow is that our smarts have components that can be easily damaged by the snow. Snow tires seem to help when combined with the common sense you showed by not pushing your car too hard when it was out of its element.Enjoy your smart on the other 359 days of the year when there isn't snow.I love my smart car,Ian

Edited by ianjay

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Well I bought the shovel at Walmart, same colour as the car, red. Now I'm thinking a sand bag or 2, but there goes my trunk room...would 50lbs be enough or 100.

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I had similar problems on Friday... with winter tyres too. Rear (drive) wheels were both spinning away and tending to go sideways. I had to clear a few inches from the front wheels to get going. I guess it's par for the course.

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Last years snow was somehow different here, We just grunted up all the hills no problem at all.This year, I really had a hard time with the snow on the same roads, and it was no deeper.?

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Last years snow was somehow different here, We just grunted up all the hills no problem at all.This year, I really had a hard time with the snow on the same roads, and it was no deeper.?

Grunt louder.:sun:

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Well I bought the shovel at Walmart, same colour as the car, red. Now I'm thinking a sand bag or 2, but there goes my trunk room...would 50lbs be enough or 100.

The more weight you have on the back wheels, the more grip you have... Whether or not it's worth it to you to have no trunk space left over and to be hauling around 100s of lbs of sand all the time (more gas $$), is a choice you have to make, if you think you're going to be stuck many more times this year, may be worth it to have 100lbs of sand, if not, maybe just get a small bag of sand that you can spread as a traction aid if you get stuck. Having a snow shovel is probably the best thing going for the space and weight it occupies. And suck up to your co-workers, people make good ballast/towtrucks on those occasions where you might get snowed into a parking lot at the office :P

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2 things. 1, ditch the Conties snow tires and go for the Blizzaks. They are worth it. What a difference. The rear 2 cost me $430 but I haven't been stuck yet. Worth it worth it worth it. 2, I have a pair of fold up traction mats from Wal-Mart which btw, haven't been out of the package since I got the Blizzaks. They sit very nicely behind the driver seat. As for adding weight.... remember the old beetles man :hippy: , they went through everything. "How do you think the snow plow drivers get to work?" for those of you who remember the 60's.

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.... remember the old beetles man :hippy: , they went through everything. "How do you think the snow plow drivers get to work?" for those of you who remember the 60's.

Yeah, I remember.. :rolleyes: . however those tires were very narrow and the ground clearance was significantly more - grant it you could never steer properly on ice, as there was no weight on the front tires :D

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I had similar problems on Friday... with winter tyres too. Rear (drive) wheels were both spinning away and tending to go sideways. I had to clear a few inches from the front wheels to get going. I guess it's par for the course.

So you can spin the wheels in the snow? I thought the ESP gets active then?

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It's actually quite adaptive. At low throttle, it will pulse the wheels - spin, pause, spin pause. At heavier throttle, it says f!!! it and lets the wheels spin.

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It's actually quite adaptive. At low throttle, it will pulse the wheels - spin, pause, spin pause. At heavier throttle, it says f!!! it and lets the wheels spin.

Then how come people are complaining that it'll get you stuck if it actually allows wheel spin?

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:-) Much better than the 1st generation smarts. They had Trust-plus in stead of ESP. The trust-plus just stopped the throttle when the wheels were about to spin, so you will stay still...

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Then how come people are complaining that it'll get you stuck if it actually allows wheel spin?

I believe there are two things going on:1: In heavy wet snow over approx 25cm in depth, it doesn't matter. You are driving an underpowered snowplow and will get stuck unless you can get a good running start.2: some people want the ability for the wheels to spin under light throttle conditions, which our car will not do. It takes some intestinal fortitude to discover the deeper throttle spin ability and use it comfortably.

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My Conti's have not gotten me stuck yet. And I have been through some pretty deep snow. I am happy with them. But I will try the Blizzaks when the Contis wear out.

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I believe there are two things going on:1: In heavy wet snow over approx 25cm in depth, it doesn't matter. You are driving an underpowered snowplow and will get stuck unless you can get a good running start.2: some people want the ability for the wheels to spin under light throttle conditions, which our car will not do. It takes some intestinal fortitude to discover the deeper throttle spin ability and use it comfortably.

1. Well I guess that goes for most cars unless you have AWD.2. ahh now that makes sense. I was just up on the mountain (who builds a university on a mountain?) so while the lower levels got rain, we got snowed on. Anyway, after work, even with WRs and light throttle, there was some wheelspin (on slush/ice) but I managed to pull out of my spot. Gotta remember it's heavy throttle on the 451.

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So heavy snow to get going= heavy throttle?You also mention WRs? What are those? Are they Nokian snowies? IF so what size?Thanks

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re: heavy throttle - lol, no, not necessarily. Sometimes you can get rolling with the wheels slipping under heavier throttle, and you don't want to lose that momentum.With deep heavy snow, I first cleared a runway so that I could get going. And had winter tires. And kitty litter.Most of the time I found that the systems light throttle pulsing was just fine - allowed the car to rock, just like I was in a standard and doing it myself.Of course, although I'm from Ontario, I live in Vancouver now so most of my "real" snow experience just comes from trips into the mountains...

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I absoulty hate winter driving in the Smart. Like they said, last year in Toronto, winter wasen't all that bad... but I had no idea the Smart would be this bad...I should've known though... :suicide_anim:

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With a set of Blizzaks and no expectations of miracles, I am happy with the winter performance of my car.

Edited by smart65

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What type of Blizzaks are you running on? Thanks.....BLIZZAK Performance winter tires BLIZZAK Studless Ice & Snow winter tires

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