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Right 'settings' for snow-covered road

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abatyuk

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
Hello,

Got my Touareg 2011 TDI couple of weeks ago. After owning Subaru Forester I only wanted AWD car, and now I'm really surprised by behaviour of the car on snow-covered road.

Leaving the office parking slot (1 inch of snow) my car started sliding during the turn. After driving for 5 miles at 20 MPH i've turned on off-road and handling became a little better (i'm a slowpoke, you know), but after arriving to my home I nearly hit a wall because of the sliding car. Checked the manual, it says that for off-road driving in the snow I can turn off ESP, and it may improve handling. Spent half an hour re-reading manual, but haven't found any mentioning on what should I do on snow-covered road for better handling.

Pardon my newbie questions, I'm pretty inexperienced driver ;)
 
#2 ·
Do you have winter tires fitted on it?
 
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#5 ·
All seasons are not good winter tires. You should get some proper winter tires. Like nokians or pirelli snow and ice.. I also felt sliding on mine, a lot with wide summer tires but with good winter tires almost never. I do still have some sliding but its just the way it is.. Especially when that snow becomes ice.
 
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#6 ·
As above, there is no such thing as an all season tire - they are three seasons at best, especially if you get conmsistent temperatures below 7C.

If you get a lot of snow then you need proper winter tires and not just any markedewith Mud and Snow - M+S - either. Fit the narrowest tyres specified for your wheels - wide tires toboggan as you have discovered

Winter tires have a special tread to work with snow and ice and a special compound too so the tread remains supple and grips below 7C.

On an ordinary snow covered road you should be in D and/or using Tiptronic to select the gear you want. All braking should be through the Tiptronic with you managing the speed via engine braking and only using the footbrake gently to stop.

Turn ESP off if you need to get out of a snow bank for example as it can cut engine revs when you actually need them, otherwise leave it on.

Leave lots of space in front of you - and more if the car behind is travelling too close to you.

Lots of people mistakenly think that because they have a 4x4, the car is invincible. It's not. It still needs the right boots!
 
#7 ·
It's a significant weight difference and weight distribution... it will take some time to get familiar with the characteristics vs the Forester.
 
#8 ·
The other thing I should have added is that since 95% of the time I travel alone, for ballast over the rear wheels to help them grip better, I keep the fuel tank full and always put 100-150kgs of road grit in the trunk over the rear axle along with the shovel and the tow rope.

The car rides nicer like that too!

I also put the towing eyes in front and rear so I don't have to fumble in the cold with them and am always ready to give someone a tow, usually to get them out of my way!
 
#9 ·
get winter tires on there and don't worry about gadget settings.

ESP off is for use in deep snow. 1" of snow is not deep snow.

its a 3 ton vehicle, the slick all seasons you have on there sure as heck won't get enough grip to stop the momentum of that beast. All seasons mean rain and sun, they do not in any way mean "for use in snow".

Your question is akin to saying "what can I do to my dress shoes to get more grip on snow?"...answer "take them off and put some boots on".
 
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#11 ·
Also suggest winter tyres. Nokians have been good to us. I switch them and get balance and laser alignment at same time so get great mileage from them.
Summer tyres turn into hard Tupperware in the snow resulting zero grip.
In my experience, dealers don't seem to know or care about tyre choice.
 
#12 ·
Fitting winter tires on is a good suggestion, but not a panacea. In all honesty, knowing your car and driving skills in slippery conditions are the two most important factors. As the OP’s stated he is “inexperienced driver” so if there is an extreme driving school around, attending it can be a good way to learn winter driving in a controlled danger environment and to have fun too. Otherwise, get yourself practiced on an empty snow/ice covered parking lot and see what and how you can do with your vehicle.
 
#14 ·
Paulzenski said:
I know I should have bought snows for my Treg but didn't and now am driving daily from Salt Lake to Park City over Parleys Summit. Been doing this for 24 years. Treg is better than any car I've ever owned for my commute.
The weight of this car can work for you for traction and stability through the crud. Once you break loose though, that weight can make to difficult to get it back. One big tip Is that when you start to loose it , do not break!!!! I know thats contrary to what seems right but it is. You must give the car just enough gas till you get it back. Also when going around a turn, do not drift while off the gas. You need to give just enough steadily increasing gas through the turn. The TDI takes a light foot so the car won't downshift through these moves. Also, a lane change when there is slop between takes a slow, steady speed up to break through. Most important keep a greater distance from other cars and slow down! Stay away from the pack if you can.
We have been getting lots of snow and I have to say that this is an amazing vehicle for these conditions. With snowtires I can only imagine the performance!
Click to expand...
 
#15 ·
I had summer tires on my last winter and i never got stuk and it was more than 10 inches of snow..
 
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#17 ·
Dry snow here, and since the road cleaning service didn't expect snow in the most southern city of Montenegro, they all went north.. it stayed there for 5 days, and since I live 120 meters above sea level and the city is at 5 meters, I had to travel uphill and downhill every day..
 
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#19 ·
snow tires
esp off
drive slow
 
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#20 ·
4ePikanini said:
snow tires esp off drive slow
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I agree, although I'm currently in a ski resort in the Balkans at over 1000m, with -17c and a lot of snow, the General Grabber gt's that I have on the T1 V10 are marked M+S but are supposedly for summer use, however are amazing, I have Pirelli Scorpion snow and ice for my winter setup but this year didnt get time to fit them, I'm just going to stay with the GT's as they are superb despite the 'summer' looking pattern.... Been on solid ice and half a meter of snow on offroad tracks and its tge same as having the scorpions on
 
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