AWESOME! Safe and fun drive in REAL snow in Massachusetts

[127.0.0.1]

well.

Took bone-stock with OEM Goodyear M+S tires, 2010 Yaris 5 door automatic for a
16 mile drive on ultra greasy surface streets, and 29 miles on a slushy, snowy, icy Interstate.


And lemme tell ya, this thing is pretty damn awesome in snow.

I tried sections with trac off, and quickly put it back on.

TRAC does NOT leave me hanging on hills. It does prevent me from
getting out of sorts in many situations. (like gassing it around GranPa on an interstate
lane change....granted he is doing 30 and I wanna do 35....2 inches of mashed tater snow...FINE)

The Yaris in snow...of course, ...It won't fix stupid.


Anyhow, I have read this and that about the Yaris in snow, and my report
is, it is stable, drivable, confident, feels safe. Slush on highway doesn't toss it around much, lane changes at 50 mph in slush seem fine to me.


I now know that (probably) anyone complaining about it in snow, just doesn't
really know how to drive in snow in the first place, or there is a tire
or alignment problem. Mine is a blast.

[MUSKOKA800]

Doesn't sound like my experience on the OEM Goodyear LS rubber. I beleive LS must stand for 'Lots of Slip"

[Zaphod]

That made me laugh. I remember the stock Goodyears RTS they put on my wrangler when I first got it.

They were fine for snow and relatively great on ice, but holy heck they hydroplaned on the highway.

Getting snow here, but it's not sticking yet. I'm more afraid of all the salt I know they're going to put down, and the ensuing potholes they'll dig :smile:

[stouffer]

VSC & traction control :thumbsup:

[yannis-b]

Basically I think that VSC just reduces the power engine and applies the brakes when you start skiding, something you can do yourself anyway :p It costs £700 to have VSC in the UK hence I only went for the protection pack.

[supmet]

applies the brakes when you start skiding, something you can do yourself anyway :p

Half true... VSC applies brakes to individual wheels, something you can't do.

[yannis-b]

Is it possible to add it after you bought the car? (I would assume not)

[DevilGirl]

VSC & traction control:thumbdown:

proper driving techinques and skill aka (knowing what you doing and whats happening around you):thumbup:

Unfortunately, the majority of drivers do not know what they are doing, nor do they even know what's happening around them. :frown:

I will admit I'm not the most skilled driver when it comes to snow. Hence why I stay off the roads unless absolutely necessary, and then go nice and slow to stay in better control of my car if I do need to venture out.

[schleppy]

I'm glad I was home sick during the storm in MA yesterday. I heard the morning commute was AWFUL.

I'm ready for the next snow though. Brand new Winterforce tires, ready for snow/slush. My ebrake hand is ready too :)

[derickveliz2]

Mmm... OEM Tires? in the snow or wet... suck!

You'll be amazed using winter tires!


.:thumbsup:

[stouffer]

Basically I think that VSC just reduces the power engine and applies the brakes when you start skiding, something you can do yourself anyway :p It costs £700 to have VSC in the UK hence I only went for the protection pack.

Good luck with that one!!

Proper driving technique is useless when in ice or snow with no traction.
Stability control will intervene before even the most skilled driver has realised what has gone on.

How Effective is Stability Control...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3m24bjkfg0

[yannis-b]

Nah, I wouldn't even bother to drive the yaris in snow or ice, I'd probably use my wife's qashqai (which has stability control and is obviously heavier) or even better the train to commute :p Also apart from a week last February it hardly ever snows here in southern England so it's mostly wind and heavy rain in winter and I believe that with the right tyres you don't really need vsc.

[supmet]

good luck with that one, if you spend as much time as i do on the road you will quickly learn that ABS and TSC is useless

VSC makes corrections that are IMPOSSIBLE to make with human input, so driver skill is a completely moot point.

As for ABS, in fresh loose snow you may be able to stop 5-10 feet faster, but you still have absolutely no control while braking. I'll still take ABS in rain/sleet/snow/ice or in dry weather.

btw, my yaris doesn't have either.

[127.0.0.1]

VSC makes corrections that are IMPOSSIBLE to make with human input, so driver skill is a completely moot point.

As for ABS, in fresh loose snow you may be able to stop 5-10 feet faster, but you still have absolutely no control while braking. I'll still take ABS in rain/sleet/snow/ice or in dry weather.

btw, my yaris doesn't have either.

MY point for this whole thread was...

I heard a lot about how 'poor' the Yaris is in snow. I got one, and was worried "Hmm, did I get a car that is somehow hard to drive in winter ?"

the answer is negative. it is as capable as ANY front wheel drive car.
--------------------------------------------------


also

TRAC helps a lot in winter. VSC doesn't do crap for you in winter (I am sure it does something but I have yet to get an open parking lot to test all it's functions...). when VSC activates it beeps. VSC doesn't activate on highway lane changes in slush from what I seen (if it did I would already be wrapped around a tree). and it beeps all over the place when you have the Yaris already sideways from driving it incorrectly, but doesn't do much to regain control on ice. What VSC will do is prevent or assist 'over correction' in an emergency maneuver. I guess it would help if you are slightly out of whack on an icy ramp, but all bets are off.

VSC real benefit is dry pavement emergency assist

[supmet]

I love how you know so much about me and assume you know what i know or dont know. VCS is another crutch designed for the masses. And on our car it is useless. Btw i never said i was a good driver, im sure i still have tons of things to learn, buit what i did learn from experience is that there is no need for all these systems if you simply pay attention to your driving. And between you and me i think ive seen more snow than you so please keep your flames to yourself. As for being arrogant , im not sure you're the person to talk...

99.9% ad hominem... lol

I realize I do the same, but there is no substance to your argument, just "flaming"

[why?]

wow someone from southern california trying to talk about driving in the snow...

I definately miss snow driving. Nothing like literally being the only one on the highway. I remember one night it was white out conditions, and my car literally slid 100 feet when i tried to slow down to take my exit on the highway. Fun stuff. Humans have dealt with horrible weather for decades without electronic nanny's. Frankly, it is more important for a car to be predictable, then for it to try and "save" you.

[tomato]

wow someone from southern california trying to talk about driving in the snow...

.

got a point there.

of course, keep in mind that the vast majority of Californians are transplants, not born here.

I sure don't miss driving the snow, but I do miss having snow to play with.

We had snow in San Francisco Bay Area 3 days ago, if you can believe that.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/12/08/MNMB1B0B19.DTL

People were completely confused. I saw a woman drive with her windshield completely frozen, just with her head popping out of the driver's window. Didn't think of trying to defrost first or even gently scrape the windshield with a credit card or something like that. So here she was, driving down the street, pretty much with next to zero visibility. :rolleyes: :iono: