Trip to the Snow

[Cheech]

Originally Posted by XARATE

Has anybody tried snow socks? Sounds silly but they are ment to be an alternative when snow chains wont fit.
Ive been reading some good overseas reviews but none from aus

Australia is dragging the chain on snow socks.

They are apparently great, however, they are not authorised for use in place of chains yet. There is an Aussie importer ready to go that has been lobbying for these to be legalised. But no luck yet.

[XR Martin]

I dont think its an issue of the chains fitting the rims, its more the clearence around the the tyres/rims on an XR6

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by madwag

i had my parkers on i think, the headlights reflected off the fog and made it harder to see. Like i said before, fog lights would have been nice.

Parking lights are for just that..... Parking !

They do nothing for you or anyone else in low light conditions. headlights on low beam would be the best.

[madwag]

Originally Posted by GasOLane

Parking lights are for just that..... Parking !

They do nothing for you or anyone else in low light conditions. headlights on low beam would be the best.

This sounds like all the excuse i need to fit some fog lights

[sudszy]

re foggies. The standard fog white lights that many people drive around with are'nt worth a crumpet in snow. There needs to be a tint(typically amber or yellow) which helps the driver distinguish the ground from the fog and the wide angle spread to both sides of the vehicle allows you to distinguish where the sides of the road are(important when there is a big drop on one side!). This is the more important function of them rather than them having far less forward range. The light wont magically pierce through the fog and allow you to see more and if you really need to have them on, you wont be able to see enough to be doing more than 20km/h.

Do also appreciate that fog lights, just as for high beams, should not be used with approaching traffic as unlike your low beams the beam is allowed to project well to the right of the vehicle.

One thing that can help with definition if you dont have the right colour lamps is to actually drive with ski googles that have the yellow/amber tint, night or day.

[sudszy]

Originally Posted by Cheech

Australia is dragging the chain on snow socks.

They are apparently great, however, they are not authorised for use in place of chains yet. There is an Aussie importer ready to go that has been lobbying for these to be legalised. But no luck yet.

Interesting, never heard of them till they were brought up in this thread.
Sounds like they perform well in snow, perhaps its the durability on bitumen that may be of concern here for authorities.

Most of the time one is forced to drive several kms on the bitumen here with the positioning of chain fitting bays. The conditions in Aus hover close to the zero mark, a road covered in snow can quickly have its snow melted and vehicles making contact with the wet bitumen again and vice versa turning back into ice. with some of our mountain roads being the best part of 20km climbs the snow sock may not even endure the journey.

[madwag]

Originally Posted by sudszy

re foggies. The standard fog white lights that many people drive around with are'nt worth a crumpet in snow. There needs to be a tint(typically amber or yellow) which helps the driver distinguish the ground from the fog and the wide angle spread to both sides of the vehicle allows you to distinguish where the sides of the road are(important when there is a big drop on one side!). This is the more important function of them rather than them having far less forward range. The light wont magically pierce through the fog and allow you to see more and if you really need to have them on, you wont be able to see enough to be doing more than 20km/h.

Do also appreciate that fog lights, just as for high beams, should not be used with approaching traffic as unlike your low beams the beam is allowed to project well to the right of the vehicle.

One thing that can help with definition if you dont have the right colour lamps is to actually drive with ski googles that have the yellow/amber tint, night or day.

Right, i did not know a few of those things, Thanks.

But my goggles (electric) say not to wear them while driving?

[aussie muscle]

Originally Posted by bmorris

Anything else I should know?

you have to pay to get into the national park

consider coming back during summer so you can fang around those roads with no ice or traffic.

Originally Posted by GasOLane

Parking lights are for just that..... Parking !

They do nothing for you or anyone else in low light conditions. headlights on low beam would be the best.

I think park lights are mostly to turn on your rear lights, good for divided roads/freeway.

[Cheech]

If you drive up to Perisher and it snows, usually the snow turns to rain around Wilsons Vally (Ski rider Hotel) at around 1400m. This is usually where you can remove chains if you have been required to fit them (if you're going down the hill). It will be extremely rare that you will get heavy snow lower than this, but it does happen. So........Don't be the gumby that drives into Jindabyne with chains on producing a spark show for everyone. It has been done before and causes much amusement when the punters turn into the Jindy shopping centre all chained up.

FYI a few years ago there was 20cms of snow on the road between cooma and Jindy. Absolute chaos ! Be prepared and check out snowatch.com.au for the forecast a day or so before you go.

Also, it's usually easier to drive to Thredbo when the weather is bad as they are at a base of 1300m, whereas Perisher's base is at 1700m. It is frequent for Perisher to get snow and the base at Thredbo gets rain/sleet. Same for Selwyn as they are at around 1300m.

[madwag]

seeing as we are on the topic of snow, and i don't see the point of making a new thread, ill hack this one and ask a related question.

In terms of the paintwork, is there anything special that should be done like a fat layer of wax to help snow slide off the car and keep the paint nice in thew cold, or is this a silly question?

[sudszy]

Originally Posted by madwag

seeing as we are on the topic of snow, and i don't see the point of making a new thread, ill hack this one and ask a related question.

In terms of the paintwork, is there anything special that should be done like a fat layer of wax to help snow slide off the car and keep the paint nice in thew cold, or is this a silly question?

Fair question, certainly wax will help it slide off once it gets around melt temp, but otherwise its going to stick.

If the car is going to be parked in the snow for a while, covers are recommended.
If left near a road long term then grime and dirt + diesel particulates can accumulate in any snow cover on the vehicle, potentially making the snow quite corrosive if it goes through several near thaws etc.

One other tip, if the forecast suggests that when you return to your car that there will be heavy snow, put the chains on before you leave it. One less thing to do after you dig it out and often not easy to put them on with a lot of snow around the vehicle and or you are in the middle of a storm. The worse that could happen is that conditions are fine and you'll need to take them off, getting them off...not nearly as hard.

[madwag]

http://www.aldi.com.au/au/html/offers_20120602.htm

here is some cheap gear which i have heard good things about.

[Keepleft]

Originally Posted by sudszy

re foggies. The standard fog white lights that many people drive around with are'nt worth a crumpet in snow. There needs to be a tint(typically amber or yellow) which helps the driver distinguish the ground from the fog and the wide angle spread to both sides of the vehicle allows you to distinguish where the sides of the road are(important when there is a big drop on one side!). This is the more important function of them rather than them having far less forward range. The light wont magically pierce through the fog and allow you to see more and if you really need to have them on, you wont be able to see enough to be doing more than 20km/h.

I am quite happy with my white-optic front fogs in falling snow Sudzy, and yes - I've had selective yellow front fogs too. 99% of new market vehicles worldwide fit the white-optic variety.

I'll add for others;- in severe conditions, its best to drive at reduce speed (duh) with just the parkers and front fogs on> this further reduces headlight glare caused by the low-beam headlights! Front fogs are excellent in falling snow, especially at night - the worse it is - the better the fog lamp performs!

Do also appreciate that fog lights, just as for high beams, should not be used with approaching traffic as unlike your low beams the beam is allowed to project well to the right of the vehicle.

Properly aligned front fogs so NOT need to be switched off on approach to each and every vehicle, if 'glare' is a concern, switch off the low-beam headlights, THIS action reduces overall glare. ONE COULD - fit an ALL WEATHER bulb to the white-optic front fogs to achieve that selective yellow look, IF it really concerns such folk. Narva use to offer them, but stopped they say because very few bothered.

A couple of pics shown in thread highlight the usefulness of rear fog lights. But ARR 221(e) allows you to drive along with your hazards flashing when moving under such low-visibility condiitons, intended as an alternative to the rear fog for cars not equipped. NOT that I do this myself, not even on the F6 at Bulli - cos I always have a rear fog standard, or fitted:-)

Selective yellow front fogs may be perceived to be gentler to the eye, but that is a subjective observation, and does not make up for the greater loss of luminance when compared to a white optic version of same. That difference can be from 15-25%. (Hella manufacturers handbook).

OP might like to buy a couple of high-vis safety vests, you can get the Euro Spec type in cheap shops here for about $5-7. Buy a couple, and leave them inside the cabin.

Originally Posted by aussie muscle

I think park lights are mostly to turn on your rear lights, good for divided roads/freeway.

They do that, yes.

Park lights alone - 'good' for the freeway? Nobody will see them in daylight, think man. GasOLane is correct; low-beam or if you insist - DRL's. Personally I don't use lights normally, you and others will feel differently. I DO use low-beam/high-beam and front fogs, rear fog when needed, and as required by law (ARR 215).

Young sister in law bought herself a Suzuki Alto 2011 - goes to uni and all over NSW, has factory white optic front fogs. I replaced the DS taillight with a GB version that has the red rear fog compartment in the lower portion, and ordered an ISO rear fog switch, generic, and fitted same to her car. A happy relation. AUS spec version has twin reverse lamsp, a pointless configuration, since she doesn't spend all that much time driving backwards!