Sam
Moderator
Premium Member
Registered: 24th Dec 99
Location: West Midlands
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Which one is supposed to be better?
I've been driving my wife's Ford Cougar V6 recently - it's FWD and has an automatic gearbox. I don't seem to have had any notable issues in the snow driving her car, where it's quite bad I select second gear and away I go, other times I just leave it in Drive.
Where we live it's quite hilly, and I've seen all sorts of people (driving manual cars of all sizes and engines) seem to be having issues driving up our (hilly) road. I was watching some guy in a VW Jetta/Passat something like that making his wife go out and shovel the snow from the road in front of his car whilst he span his front wheels trying to make it up the hill 
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antnee
Member
Registered: 30th Dec 07
Location: Cov Drives: Clio 197
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I would say FWD manual, as you have more control than an auto.
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j10E W
Member
Registered: 30th Sep 04
Location: maidstone
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my rwd auto is just fail, slightest incline and its pretty much stuck
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Adam_B
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Registered: 13th Dec 00
Location: Lancashire
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I dont think you can say either way really, it comes down to specific cars. My dads mk5 Astra is useless with its traction control you cant switch off, but my mums 1.3cdti Corsa D has been fine. My VX220 isnt great but it will get there as long as i dont drive like a bell end. My mates RWD transit was useless.
Most of the stuff stuck at the bottom of our road are BMWs and big fwd audis.
[Edited on 21-12-2010 by Adam_B]
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Paul_J
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Registered: 6th Jun 02
Location: London
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RWD with the engine mounted at the front is officially turd in snow / ice.
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R Lee
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Registered: 15th Aug 03
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by Paul_J
RWD with the engine mounted at the front is officially turd in snow / ice.
I agree 
Which is why I got rid of mine.
SMG II box doesn't understand snow.
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BeetleGav
Member
Registered: 27th Jun 10
Location: lancashire, nelson
User status: Offline
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rear wheel drive with engine stuck out the back  its damn good! beetle all the way 
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TurboChris
Member
Registered: 31st May 02
Location: L'pool,drives ESCORT COSSIE,EVO 9 GT, BMW 525D MSP
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My BMW 5 Series (525D MSPORT) manual is fail big time, cant even get it off my drive!!! Had the same problem last time it snowed  Doesnt help I suppose that its been re-mapped and running more bhp spinning all over the show!!!!
[Edited on 21-12-2010 by TurboChris]
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BeetleGav
Member
Registered: 27th Jun 10
Location: lancashire, nelson
User status: Offline
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all front engined rwd cars = fail unless you have a full boot
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Mike
Organiser: North West and North Wales
Premium Member
Registered: 20th May 06
Location: nr. Skipton, North Yorkshire
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I've been driving mid engined rear drive and it doesn't come close to my old Corsas capabilities, I've had to work it a lot more to get out of situations. Weight'll play a part in that as well though, the MR2's got an extra 400kgs over what my Corsa had, plus wider tyres etc.
Oh and on the Auto/Manual part, imo manual has gotta be far better, a common tactic of mine is pumping the clutch which has helped me out plenty of times and got me unstuck, obviously with an auto the only way to replicate something like that would be knocking it in and out of drive but I can't see any auto box doing that quick enough plus I wouldn't imagine it being too healthy for it
[Edited on 22-12-2010 by Mike B]
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Rob B
Member
Registered: 8th Jan 04
Location: Area Motorsport Drives: Race EP3
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front wheel drive car will be better in the snow as it's pulling rather than pushing.
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Ian W
Member
Registered: 8th Nov 03
Location: Wirral, Merseyside
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S3 is great 
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Mike
Organiser: North West and North Wales
Premium Member
Registered: 20th May 06
Location: nr. Skipton, North Yorkshire
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quote:
Originally posted by Rob B
front wheel drive car will be better in the snow as it's pulling rather than pushing.
That theory was discussed elsewhere earlier on and dismissed. Including being tested by myself earlier on trying reversing up a slope in the MR2, I got further being pushed.
On the other hand, reversing a fwd up a hill works better, weight over the drive wheels which are pushing the car up the hill
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Mike
Organiser: North West and North Wales
Premium Member
Registered: 20th May 06
Location: nr. Skipton, North Yorkshire
User status: Offline
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quote:
•Reversing Uphill: If you are really keen, front wheel drive cars will sometimes climb a snowy slope better in reverse gear, because having the back of the car higher than the front puts more of the engine weight over the driven wheels.
•This unlikely approach does also mean that if you fail to climb the slope, and run out of traction, you are at least facing the right way to control your descent back to the bottom of the hill.
•This avoids the problem that if you fail to climb up a steep snowy slope in the normal forwards direction, you can find yourself sliding down hill backwards.
•The reduced visibility when reversing, means that this method should only be tried if you are sure about the intentions of other traffic.
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Root
Member
Registered: 28th Dec 08
User status: Offline
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FWD manual. RWD will make you lose control. Auto doesn't give enough control over the machine
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Pablo
Member
Registered: 3rd Feb 03
Location: Milton Keynes
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My little Punto Sporting has been epic, loads grip traction control does help although do turn off now and again, motorways 6spd gear box get great milage. Cant complain to be fair
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oceansoul
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Registered: 19th Jun 06
Location: Sunbury, Surrey
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by BeetleGav
all front engined rwd cars = fail unless you have a full boot
I disagree. I dont have a full boot, and ive had no problems. Just dont drive like a twat and all is good. Ive not got stuck at all.
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BeetleGav
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Registered: 27th Jun 10
Location: lancashire, nelson
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by oceansoul
quote:
Originally posted by BeetleGav
all front engined rwd cars = fail unless you have a full boot
I disagree. I dont have a full boot, and ive had no problems. Just dont drive like a twat and all is good. Ive not got stuck at all.
you must not of had much snow/ice then
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rustyarchs
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Registered: 29th Aug 04
Location: scotland
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auto, simply stick it into 2 or some posh autos have snow mode
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SVM 286
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Registered: 13th Feb 05
Location: pain
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The most sure footed snow driving i've ever enjoyed is my Mum's E class estate which is an automatic.
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Sam
Moderator
Premium Member
Registered: 24th Dec 99
Location: West Midlands
User status: Offline
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I guess tyres also help as well?
The Cougar has Kumho KU21 tyres (215/50/16), they stick to the road well even when it's raining.
My Mondeo has cheap ass "Hero" tyres up front and some equally shit tyres at the back, perfect for unexpected drifting and sliding action! 
I would buy decent tyres, but I'm actually saving up for another car!
[Edited on 23-12-2010 by Sam]
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Stu
Member
Registered: 3rd May 00
Location: Madchester UK Drives: 2014 BMW M135i
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Mine hasn't been out for about 3 weeks now, its a joke! Worst car I've ever driven in the snow!!
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pow
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 06
Location: Hazlemere, Buckinghamshire
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The MiTo is shit in this weather, the wide tyres are awful and all the electronic aids cut the power the second you try to get moving.
My Corsa and the family hack KA have been brilliant.
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Neo
Member
Registered: 20th Feb 07
Location: Essex
User status: Offline
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Wide tyres dave  195's aren't they ?
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SetH
Member
Registered: 15th Jul 01
User status: Offline
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Skinny wheels FTW, anything over a 195 just sits on top of the snow where skinny ones cut more of a path, think WRC snow stage spec.
I have 6 big fuck off Batteries taken from the UPS room at work in the boot of my 330 at the moment. Made a world of difference having that weight in the back.
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