Tonight I drove from Edinburgh to Aberdeen in the S2000. I have the standard rubber all round and my journey was weather free until about 35 miles south of Aberdeen. It was there that I noted the large banks of snow at the sides of the road where the ploughs had pushed it off the road. The road itself had only a very light spreading of compacted snow where the ploughs has pressed it onto the surface and there was a light dusting of drifted snow.

I wasn't overly concerned, I've driven in snow a lot and for all my faults as a driver (usually being overly aggressive) I have a excellent understanding of how to drive smoothly, progressively and safely when I need to and I also understand the physics surrounding car behaviour in such conditions. However, OMFG!!! I've never had such a difficult time keeping control of a vehicle in my life and I was doing no more than 30mph! My forearms and right foot were painful from holding the exact same position so ridgedly for 35 miles. Despite being ultra-smooth the car moved and squirmed soooo much. It is how I would imagine driving on an ice rink - I had zero traction, zero braking and zero steering. A light gust of wind was enough to push the back end round a foot or so and I then had to correct it. It certainly was an experience and as a guy that usually enjoys a driving challenge I can categorically say, NEVER AGAIN!!! In truth the car was absolutely undriveable - I spent most of the 35 miles gently correcting the random directions the front and rear ends took it upon themselves to go.

It was so bad I would go as far as to say that in the hands of anyone that wasn't highly intimate with the car or a highly experienced driver a crash absolutely would have happened. For example, if my girlfriend was driving she would have definately lost it. This is because it was not a case of driving cautiously and with due regard to the conditions to get by. It was a case of being in a constant state of crashing and everything I did as just recovery or varying degrees of control - being careful was not enough you had to take an active role!

I'm actually quite proud that I managed to prevail - I know it sounds bigheaded but I do not believe many drivers would have got an s2000 through those 35 miles without a off.

Safe and sound though

P.S. To give you an idea of traction if I held 30mph in 5th or 6th gear the natural movement in my foot from bumps in the road (i.e. 0-1cm) was enough to spin up the rears You're only hope of increasing speed was to aim to add 1mph every 5 seconds or so any faster and she was away!!

 

But then you're not exactly the shy, retiring, modest type, are you SB?

 

I don't think you can expect any different in the S really.

What were your tyres like, tread-wise?

 

Only remotely similar scenario I've been in was driving a Lexus LS400 to the Alps for a skiing trip a few years ago. I had chains on and the way up the mountain was fine. But the way down at the end of the week Just pray that the vehicles ahead keep moving as touching the brakes is a complete no-no

 

I was sweating from the concentration and breathing very heavily. You just don't get like that unless you are pushing yourself really hard. It seemed so likely I'd end up with some form of cosmetic damage and yet abondoning the car wasn't really an option. I had to find a way to make it work...

Also, its times like these that you really hate X5s, landrovers, audi allroads, scoobys, etc!

 

Tread wise the tyres were pretty weak which didn't help matters. This was unlike any surface condition I've driven on before. Snow is normally a case of being very smooth and very careful but there is some control to be had. This surface was so much more dangerous - if it wasn't for the fact I couldn't afford the lose momentum I'd have stopped to examine the surface as it really didn't look that threatening. There was several cars (fwd ones) that had slid into the barrier on very light bends and even straights. As I said a gust of wind would get you moving around a lot!

 

Also, with every gear change up or down you had to rev match absolutely perfectly. The slightest jolt would set you off on a 20 second recover project!!

The thing that amazed me the most was the clear disregard of other road users. It was clear I was having a lot of difficulty keeping my car in the straight ahead position yet Mr White van was sitting two car lengths behind me. That simply wasn't enough and if I got into trouble he would have hit!

 

SB:

I know exactly what you mean - drove back to my hotel in Liverpool on Wednesday night, and the snow had come down - no gritters had been out, and the conditions were a mix of snow, slush and ice.

dont think I had full traction on all 4 wheels for about 2 miles going down a dual carriagway - slightest move and you could feel it start to fishtail - not pleasant.

 

[QUOTE=Saxo Boy,Mar 3 2006, 10:36 PM]Also, with every gear change up or down you had to rev match absolutely perfectly.

 

that's 2 car lengths more than normal!