Trip to the Snow

[bmorris]

Hi all,

I'm planning on going on a skiing trip this winter (within NSW) and I want to drive down. I've never driving in an area where it snows (never actually seen snow) and I was after some advice/ things I should look out for. I understand that by law I need to have chains in the car however I don't have to use them unless needed. Anything else I should know?

Car is a 06 BF Falcon XR6.

Thanks in advance.

[Polyal]

Basically once your get to a particular area that has enough snow coverage there will be stations where they check that you have chains installed. So if your going to the snow make sure you have chains in the boot, or IIRC you can hire them but I think the price works out to be close enough that if you return you may aswell have some of your own.

Other than that just take it easy, go at your own pace on the way up and dont let the AWD's et al hassle you on the way

[Yellow_Festiva]

Make sure your car is in tip top condition, especially battery!

The rest should be fine... if you have some degree of glycol / coolant you will not need to worry about that freezing.

Know how to fit chains, not just carry them cause you must. Larger diameter wheels could pose a problem.

I would also carry a thick rubber / foam mat (like half a blue camping mat) to kneel on should you need to change a tyre / fit the chains, as well as some disposable cotton gloves.

Driving in light snow is fine as long as you adapt to the conditions... as soon as you pass that very fine threshhold you will never forget that un-nerving feeling for the first time where you want the car to do one thing, and it's drifting by itself in another direction, and not responding to your commands.

Have fun.

[madwag]

Yep that's about it.
1. car is working order
2. Anti freeze
3. Carry chains
4. As with all driving, every accident is avoidable if your driving to the conditions and concentrating
5. Gloves and a mat for putting the chains on
6. A full tank of fuel is good to reduce the amount of condensation in your fuel tank
7. Grease the door rubers as they can freeze
8. Park with car in neutral or don't use the handbrake i can't remember. someone might be able to help with this one.
9. Park with the wipes up as they can freeze to your window


i thinks that's about it for now Haha and enjoy i went for the first time last year in my wagon. it managed fine but fog lights would have been nice. and just take your time and have fun

[devilcv8]

Originally Posted by madwag

8. Park with car in neutral or don't use the handbrake i can't remember. someone might be able to help with this one.


i thinks that's about it for now Haha and enjoy i went for the first time last year in my wagon. it managed fine but fog lights would have been nice. and just take your time and have fun

don't use handbrake as it can freeze on. In gear is fine.

[CFOUR]

Defrost window with sub 40deg water.

[mik]

i`d say just watch the road conditions and other cars coming the other way very closely, if you strike a bit icey road or the slippery stuff unprepared you may end up doing an unintentional excursion off road.

[poppa smurf]

don't eat yellow snow and don't run over the snow bunnies!

[Mechan1k]

Stay at Jindabyne and catch the ski tube up ... that way you don't have to worry about chains and driving in hazardous conditions that you are not used to.

It's another option.

[sudszy]

You may be forced to park on a hill that you really need the handbrake for, not even reverse gear holding it. If you rely on the park function in an auto, you may not be able to force the lever out again on a steep incline.

Wheel chocks can be used, but dont rely on finding the right sized rocks nearby, carry some.
To set the car on chocks, park it with the handbrake on, place the chocks and release the handbrake and let the car force itself onto the chocks and see it holds, sounds obvious, but people get it wrong. Yes, you will have to drive the car off the chocks when you return.

Also be wary that if you park the car in soft snow the car may not want to roll, but when the snow melts, the resistance disappears and gravity can take over.

If conditions were dry when you parked the car, chances there is not going to be any moisture that has found its way into the handbrake cable, but if you drove up when it was pouring rain then assume it is full of it. Ive always parked the car with the hand brake off, but have checked its operation when returning and have never found it to be frozen.

Take a shovel, it can take a long time to dig a car out with your hands. Depending on where you are staying, take it with you, then you dont have to dig into the car to get it.

For snow driving, tread depth is everything, if you were considering new tyres, get em now, and put your best tyres on the non chained wheels.

Take a decent torch and waterproofs, not your ski gear....the areas where they make you fit the chains are not always covered in virgin snow and may indeed be mudpits, take rags, towels for cleaning yourself up. Practice putting your chains on in the dark and while someone has a hose aimed at you......that's being prepared! if you start slipping around and sliding before the chain section, you need to use your own discretion and fit the chains there and then, but obviously look to do it where you aren't going to be in danger of being slammed.

Snow driving, uphill vehicle has the right of way on narrow tracks roads, while its more difficult to stop going downhill, people should be in control, the idea is that it can be very hard for cars to get going once stopped on a tricky uphill section, on a hairpin turn etc.

If your car allows you to leave the aerial up, put a marker on it, its amazing how many cars look the same when covered in snow and pay very close attention to where you left it exactly.

Use of handbrake in snow driving: hopefully you wont have any reason to, but if you are stuck in the situation where you cant move and have one wheel spinning in a rwd(can happen with chains on too), apply the handbrake give it some throttle and hopefully you'll get some drive from both wheels to get through the spot(poor mans lsd /traction control)

Other times the handbrake can be useful is for rwd when braking downhill if the engine braking is proving not to be sufficient, the front wheels are going to lock up pretty easily and not do much other than lose your steering!, use the handbrake ever so gently to get more braking on your chained wheels. This is something that you really should practice, when conditions are ok, rather than trying it when things get desperate. Never actually done it in a car with ABS, perhaps ABS would take car of this situation.

Make sure the inside of the windscreen is spotless, the effect of water condensing on the inside is magnified if there is grease and grime under it.
Small amount of detergent in washer bottle can lower the freezing point a little.

Despite other countries having a lot more snow and cold, they rarely have steep twisty alpine roads to negotiate to get to their ski resorts, snow driving in AUS and NZ is far more dangerous.

parking the car nose in or out, tricky one, its always nice to drive out, but the wheels may be on the softest bit of ground that could fall away, and also better for if you need a jump start.

Dont be hasty, if the windscreen still hasnt cleared in five after starting the car, wait until it has

[galaxy xr8]

I have heard of the no handbrake thing before but gee it's a bit of a worry parking your vehicle amongst other's with no handbrake, I mean let's face it most places where vehicles are parked are places where you stay, ie in the mountain's and on a hill.
I'd be worried about a vehicle rolling or some degenerate taking the chock's out from under the tyres for kick's, but then again it might be pointless using the Falcon's handbrake as half the time they are useless anyway..lol.

[Dr Smith]

I think Sudszy has given great advice. And don't rush fitting the chains, I've seen a Focus with badly damaged front guards from the chains flapping around, practising a few times is recommended. Your hands will go numb very quickly without some tight fitting gloves (tight so you can feel what you're doing) and I once remember actually sliding away from my car due to the ice underneath me. Don't rush anything is probably the motto of snow trips. I've even seen a driver put them on the rear wheels of his fwd car.

...oh... remember to remove the chains before speeding down the highway, people start to race a bit having been snailed down the mountain, I've seen them melted into the rubber, lol.

And you'll never forgot the first time you spot the first bit of snow in a small clump by the side of the road as you climb.

[Windsor342ci]

I drove to Thredbo first time ever last Winter. Before that I havent seen snow since I was a toddler. Im come from an amature 4wd backround and honestly I was surprised and a little poo scared! We go caught on a storm. Crazy experience and one that was amazing on many levels. Though chains are a must. I cant express this enough! Its a complete death wish without them!

Have fun! I cant wait to go back!

[Windsor342ci]

Forgive me. iPhone makes it hard to read my post prior to sending. Hence the shocking grammer.

[XR Martin]

Chains wont fit properly on XR6s as they are too low.

[Cheech]

ex-volunteer ski patroller here.

Clearance can be an issue with xr's when it comes to fitting chains.
As such, if I go to Perisher, I drive to skitube (20 minutes from Jindabyne) and it dumps you about 100 metres from front valley lifts.

It is very rare that you will actually need to fit chains, however, you need to know how to do it in crap conditions. As other posters have advised make sure you've got something to kneel/lie on and some gloves as frostbite on fingers is damn painfull.

Black ice is the big problem early in the morning. It forms in shadowy areas on the roads and if you hit it on a bend to fast, then you're in deep trouble.

Hint: An old credit card makes a good windscreen ice scraper.

Most people that are serious snowgoers buy an AWD/4wd as they don't have to carry/use chains. However, some gumbies seem to think this makes them bulletproof in the alps.

[bmorris]

Thanks everyone for all the advice. It sounds like I've got a few things to keep in mind. However is that confirmed that I can't put chains on my xr6? Where is the best place to buy chains? Supercheap?

[sudszy]

Originally Posted by bmorris

Thanks everyone for all the advice. It sounds like I've got a few things to keep in mind. However is that confirmed that I can't put chains on my xr6? Where is the best place to buy chains? Supercheap?

Don't know if you can put chains on your car or not. It will depend how chunky the chains are, the profile of your wheels etc, some low profile wheels are just impossible. Even with chains cars with low profile wide tyres can struggle to get suitable traction, skinny tyres are your friend on snow.

do have a look on fleabay, people need to off load chains for fairly genuine reasons, ie different car etc and most have had little use(just look at the links to see how worn they are)

Go to konig's(a good reputable chain) web site to work our what model you need as many punters out there aren't smart enough to list all the details of what they are selling. apart from auto accessory shops, some ski shops also sell them.

[Cheech]

Don't buy them.

Hire them from Cooma. try skico.com.au. They're behind maccas.

FYI for all ski gear/chains hire, the closer you get to the snow, the more expensive it becomes. Although check out perisher/thredbo/selwyn websites.
They tend to have packages which include lessons/lifts & hire for first timers.

Be aware that if you are able to fit chains that they could cause some marking on your rims.

[madwag]

there are some good tips here so far, im not 100% sure if chains will fit your car there or not, but with the big wheels that people put on now and low rubber, they do make chains to cater for this.


Here are a couple pics of what it looked like for my drive up.



and i had some stockies with 99% rubber so i put them on the rear in case chains scratched my rims or did not fit and i took out my lowering blocks too.

[gtxb67]

at what point do you need chains - the road doesn't look that bad to someone who has never seen a snow/ice covered road in those pics by madwag

do they cut through the snow, the ice or both

i assume they go on the driving wheels going by posts here. we have a rav4 with pretend awd and a 4wd button. i assume that will grip a little more than a 2wd vehicle

[madwag]

Originally Posted by gtxb67

at what point do you need chains - the road doesn't look that bad to someone who has never seen a snow/ice covered road in those pics by madwag

do they cut through the snow, the ice or both

i assume they go on the driving wheels going by posts here. we have a rav4 with pretend awd and a 4wd button. i assume that will grip a little more than a 2wd vehicle

yeah we got up fine without chains, didnt feel the car slipping at all.

But when i parked at the top and looked at the road surface, there was a little ice.

not sure exactly how the chains work.

and your rav4 will be better than a 2wd car, but that being said it doesn't mean you cant get up in a falcon if its icey or snowy.

[Cheech]

Originally Posted by gtxb67

at what point do you need chains - the road doesn't look that bad to someone who has never seen a snow/ice covered road in those pics by madwag

do they cut through the snow, the ice or both

i assume they go on the driving wheels going by posts here. we have a rav4 with pretend awd and a 4wd button. i assume that will grip a little more than a 2wd vehicle

RTA/resort staff will direct you to put on chains when conditions require it.
Obviously if you're going nowhere or slipping all over the place, then put them on. IMHO RTA direct the fitting of chains way too early to cover for the lowest common denominator.

Put them on the driving wheels. so front on the rav 4, rear on a falcon. Limit yourself to about 40kmh. Legally you don't have to carry chains for rav4 in nsw only.

[madwag]

not sure if you in vic, but this gumtree link might help you to see if they will fit your wheels

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/hawth...ain/1002623840

[gtxb67]

thanx for that madwag and cheech - it is appreciated

and yes, in vic madwag

[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

[MitchG]

Originally Posted by madwag

there are some good tips here so far, im not 100% sure if chains will fit your car there or not, but with the big wheels that people put on now and low rubber, they do make chains to cater for this.


Here are a couple pics of what it looked like for my drive up.
image
image

and i had some stockies with 99% rubber so i put them on the rear in case chains scratched my rims or did not fit and i took out my lowering blocks too.
image

No head lights on in the snow & driving a white car???
your game.

[madwag]

Originally Posted by MitchG

No head lights on in the snow & driving a white car???
your game.

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.

[sgt_doofey]

Be prepare to dig your car out should you get a bit of snow fall whilst you're there!

[Yellow_Festiva]

Originally Posted by gtxb67

at what point do you need chains - the road doesn't look that bad to someone who has never seen a snow/ice covered road in those pics by madwag

do they cut through the snow, the ice or both

i assume they go on the driving wheels going by posts here. we have a rav4 with pretend awd and a 4wd button. i assume that will grip a little more than a 2wd vehicle

I was in Tasmania last Winter and did a fair bit of driving in the snow. Never carried chains, but took extra care..

Was a near new hire car with lots of electronic driver / vehicle control aides (that all kicked in when needed) with obviously near new tyres, which went a long way. I would let any 4x4 behind me pass so I could drive in their tracks, and took it extra slow, reminding myself to try and roll out of a problem rather than mash on the brakes.

It worked, perhaps out of luck, and for the sum of the other variables listed above. I saw MANY other cars, old and new that had lost it, or were just stuck. Only twice did I feel the car actually slip, and each time, for less that a second / foot while going pretty slow.







How chains work? They reduce the contact patch with the ground to very little, ie the bends that protude outermost from each chain link. This causes a great deal of pressure for each pointy bit which forces itself through the snow / ice to the road beneath, making contact and helping traction. The same tyre without chains will float in the snow / ice causing the tyre to not make contact with the road.. very slippery.... (all that is an educated guess!)

Also, I felt safer driving in these conditions in a FWD car for some reason... but that is a debate for another thread!