[elite38868]

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[sh0rtlife]

step one..know how to drive in the snow/ice WITHOUT TRACTION TIRES

step 2 drop the air presure WAY WAY down 8min 20max

step 3 easy on the go pedal

step 4 use traction tires/devices when required


now that that is out of the ....we got about 6 inches for 2 days last year..and snow here is far and few between...i HAD to take the gtv6 out just to see if the 50/50 balance helps in the snow...i can honestly say its MUCH MUCH worse than even my cuda's..the balance hurts the steering traction in the hard packed snow/ice

FWD's RULE in the snow period..4wd's are nice mind you but IMO a fwd minivan is by far got the best traction in the snow..short of a short base 4x4 on 33inch mud tires and ALOT of extra weight in the bed

 

[alfettish]

You think that's bad!
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[AlfaTaso]

OPA! Ooopa!

 

[lowmileage]

Rock n' Roll baby - my winter ride. Snow

 

[Alex Csank]

You think that's bad!
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Wow! That looks like a place where nobody has ever driven in snow and ice before!!

 

[Pat Braden]

Don't Do this in Your Alfa! Driving in Snow

Driving in snow is an acquired skill or one you learn by virtue of being raised in a snow state/country. If you're going to attempt to acquire the skill, practice in a car other than your Alfa until you can drive in the snow with some skill and confidence.

There is a reason that those of us who were raised in snow or have the acquired skill live where it is not required to be used. While snow days are nice, they are far and few between, but not the winters of dealing with it day-after-day. And then you have what salt states do to the vehicles.

I have trouble walking and avoiding the black ice, let alone trying to look for it or avoid it on overpasses etc. while driving. As I've stated previously, in California when it snows the Highway Patrol escorts traffic, that's because we have such accomplished drivers in regard to snow. It infuriates those, like Pat, that know how to drive in the snow. I'll spare you all my black ice story.

 

[Zunige]

Driving skills can be developed, but common sense...

Best regards,

 

[AlfaDuc]

I have to defend the honor of GTV6's in snow (no disrespect sh0rtlife). For a couple of years in the mid-80's, I had a lot of fun taking my GTV6 to Stowe (from Delaware) in all kinds of snow storms. The key was mounting four good snow tires (on a spare set of rims). The only thing that slowed us down was very deep snow that tended to lift the front of the car (needed a touch more ground clearance). With the snow tires, the 50:50 weight distribution seemed to be very beneficial, and I much preferred that car to a '78 Saab Turbo (again, with snows). On the downside, all the salt started eating the doors after about three years, and the car got traded (for a Milano Verde that's never seen snow).
Jim

 

[Peter]

Driving in snow is an acquired skill or one you learn by virtue of being raised in a snow state/country. If you're going to attempt to acquire the skill, practice in a car other than your Alfa until you can drive in the snow with some skill and confidence.

There is a reason that those of us who were raised in snow or have the acquired skill live where it is not required to be used. While snow days are nice, they are far and few between, but not the winters of dealing with it day-after-day. And then you have what salt states do to the vehicles.

I have trouble walking and avoiding the black ice, let alone trying to look for it or avoid it on overpasses etc. while driving. As I've stated previously, in California when it snows the Highway Patrol escorts traffic, that's because we have such accomplished drivers in regard to snow. It infuriates those, like Pat, that know how to drive in the snow. I'll spare you all my black ice story.

I grew up driving in snow, and I actually think it's fun. Driving on ice though, without tires that have spikes, is no fun at all....a good layer of ice and you will have no control whatsoever

 

[rictorg]

Wow! That looks like a place where nobody has ever driven in snow and ice before!!

Yup. Those are the drivers we contend with in the Seattle area. It doesn't matter how much experience you have in adverse conditions when your surrounding traffic drives like that.

 

[sh0rtlife]

alfaduc i belive the gtv6 would probably do fair with snow tires...i always "test" cars with normal tires just aired down..gives a good "worst case" feel cause lets face it not all roads will have the same snow/pack/ice on them..and studded tires only help so much

we dont get snow here often..but in 92 when i got my license i had NO ONE to teach me how to drive in the snow and we got a nasty pile of snow that lasted a long while..self taught myself in my 69 cuda...2800lbs no weight realy in the back..a nasty small block up front and a **** neer locked diff..lets just say...i know how to drive down a road sideways as long as i want to LOL

backroads are the only way to travel when it snows...to stay away from the morons

 

[PietereQ]

Driving skills can be developed, but common sense...

Best regards,

I agree! I mean how retarded does anyone have to be to drive so mindlessly? Like this moron in SUV in the begginig, hitting accelerator after each spin

 

[144]

The conditions in those videos look like snow over ice. No one has any business moving an automobile in those conditions. Stay home. Even driving very slowly and with studded tires or chains, that doesn't mean some other guy with no judgment isn't going to T-bone you regardless.

In any kind of snow condition, an Alfa Spider's traction is very poor. My old '84 BMW 318i was just as bad in the snow. The rear end would depart controlled flight at the slightest provocation.

 

[elite38868]

Personally, I find this one to be my favorite. Not to mention, it's fairly festive!

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[peglegtom]

And People Question Why I Want to Store my 164Q for the Winter!

I agree that you can never trust other drivers in the snow. I live in the "snow belt" (upper Great Lakes) and we should be able to drive in the snow, but everytime it snows, people go crazy and crash into each other. I'm willing to sacrifice the SHO to these conditions, but not my 164Q!

 

[Pat Braden]

Don't Do this in Your Alfa / Sliding in the Ice and Snow

Chatted with one of my engineer friends today who loves the snow and driving in it because he was paid to to run anti-locking brake and skid tests for one of the major automotive manufacturers on snow and ice. So for him this is all fun and games. I would drive with him at any speed -- dry, wet, or snow and ice. He uses 5-point harnesses and has natural instinct about direction, traction, braking, and acceleration and how they all affect each other and what the ultimate result will be. His favorite test was a 100 miles an hour on ice.

 

[rogerspeed]

Snow over ice the worst. I really miss driving my first Alfa a 67 GTjr, used to make the 400 mile trip between Long Island and Pittsburgh. Heading west on the PA pike there is about a seven mile stretch of ascending "S: curves heading to the Allegeny Mountain tunnel. The roadway had been plowed as it continued to snow so there was about one-two inches of snow & slush on the roadway, the Jr, on its 165x15 cheap M&S tires handled it with ease at about 60mph, one of the truckers on the CB remarked that "someone was driving like Mario Andretti" I had to remind him that if Mario were here, he too, would be driving an ALFA.

 

[Del]

I recognized those film clips. As I remember, everything was wet on packed slush/ice probably above freezing temperatures. These conditions are common in Seattle/Portland, and as many "skilled" snow/ice drivers from other areas find out, almost impossible to drive on. However, these drivers in the films WERE morons for even trying to get around on that stuff, esp when Seattle/Portland are built on hills, not much flat land around. Many local residents do know how to drive on snow and ice, as we have a very large percentage of drivers who have years of experience driving to the nearby mountains for both day and night skiing.

Speaking about GTV6's, even with snow tires, with and without cables, they were not good in these typical conditions. I also concluded it was the weight distribution. You needed to put a few sandbags in the trunk. I usually used about 4-6. That worked.

 

[Zunige]

Snow over ice the worst. I really miss driving my first Alfa a 67 GTjr, used to make the 400 mile trip between Long Island and Pittsburgh. Heading west on the PA pike there is about a seven mile stretch of ascending "S: curves heading to the Allegeny Mountain tunnel. The roadway had been plowed as it continued to snow so there was about one-two inches of snow & slush on the roadway, the Jr, on its 165x15 cheap M&S tires handled it with ease at about 60mph, one of the truckers on the CB remarked that "someone was driving like Mario Andretti" I had to remind him that if Mario were here, he too, would be driving an ALFA.

Very familiar with the ascending "S" curves you mention... In fact just drove them last week - in an Alfa, of course! If it's snowing, the curves are scary. From a driving standpoint, that stretch of road separates the men from the boys. It's a very challenging ascent for both machine and driver. Good to hear that the GTjr. can handle it well!

Best regards,