I woke up today to find my road is a different beast!

I live in a quiet little cul de sac so no council gritting, obviously. My car has coped really well the last two days with the snow but today I'm a little concerned.

With a slight thaw there is a thin film of water on top of the ice and it's treacherous. I nearly went A over T when I took the dog out for a walk.

My road is quite narrow and I don't want to slide in to any of the cars parked at the side. I need to use my car at 12.00 today. Conditions may have improved a bit by then but......

Will my FL2 be as nimble and as sure footed on this type of surface as I'm hoping? What the best traction setting? Snow or would one of the others be better? DSC on or off? I'm almost tempted to put the hill descent on and let it work it's own way out!

I've had my car 10 months and this is my first experience of this sort of condition. I wouldn't even contemplate trying to drive my wifes BMW on my road as it is.

Would welcome a few tips from regular off roaders and those a bit more experienced in 4x4s.

Many thanks

RR

Only turn off the DRC in deep snow if you need to get free otherwise it should always be on.
Ice is the worst possible conditions to drive with "summer" tyres. You may find the Snow/Gravel/grass setting may help, but if your road is not gritted I would suggest you don't try driving today

I know the conditions well and even with none studded winter tyres we have to be VERY cautious on thick ice  2007 Freelander 2 HSE TD4 Manual with Premium Pack & Moonroof.
Stornoway Grey with Ebony Black Pleather, Clear Indicators, Body Side Mouldings etc.

In such conditions, the problems occur when you need to stop. You'll be able to tip-toe across ice at minimal speed (as long as it's on the flat) but stopping at a junction needs careful planning. If you can get some rock salt or even a couple of bags of sand and treat critical areas then that will help a lot.
Use snow mode for best transmission control and throttle tempering - in fact, try drive at tickover where possible.

go to a local garden center/ builders merchant and buy your own rock salt. its cheap enough At work
At home

"I can't always believe facts I read on the web" - Charles Dickens

winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

Cheap it's was £6 a bag at my local builders

council has all year to stock up and then have the cheek to say we are short of salt  Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

Slightly cheaper at B&Q then but I bet they have sold out by now. I bought mine on Wed and Thurs Night

I've driven through housing estates, which have gone like this.

Driving very very slowly, and braking as little as possible, just take your foot off the accelerator if possible, rather than braking.

But as you've said, if it's on a hill then gravity will have its own effect on you, if there's no other cars parked, I'd try it slowly (but don't take my advice, I told my brother t drive through a small dip in a green lane, 2 hours later we got his FL free )

I have towed a car up a slight incline, when I slipped over it was so smooth, but the car managed well, so it can do it (also with summer tyres).

Does anyone know if the General Grabber AT2 tyres actually work in winter, they are snowflake rated.

Rich

I've been trying to research whether an All Terrain tyre would offer any real benefit in icy conditions. I'm sure they'll make a big difference in snow but would the grip be better than M/S tyres on ice? I had a scary moment last year on thin compacted frozen snow. On a downhill narrow road, I could not stop but fortunately didn't need to. HDC saved the day. Would AT tyres have allowed me to brake and stop?

Been driving mine on ice covered roads today without any problems. The FL2 in GGS mode is a mean beast.

Don't be scared, why buy a 4x4 if you can't use it  ______________________
2011 Full Fat RR 4.4 TDV8
2012 FL2 SD4 Auto HSE
2013 Kawasaki Versys 650

npinks wrote:

Cheap it's was £6 a bag at my local builders

Its a much cheaper way to protect your cars body work than those expensive polishes you keep buying  At work
At home

"I can't always believe facts I read on the web" - Charles Dickens

winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

And it stops the mrs from whining she can't go up the drive because she might slip Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

Rangerider wrote:

I woke up today to find my road is a different beast!

I live in a quiet little cul de sac so no council gritting, obviously. My car has coped really well the last two days with the snow but today I'm a little concerned.

With a slight thaw there is a thin film of water on top of the ice and it's treacherous. I nearly went A over T when I took the dog out for a walk.

My road is quite narrow and I don't want to slide in to any of the cars parked at the side. I need to use my car at 12.00 today. Conditions may have improved a bit by then but......

Will my FL2 be as nimble and as sure footed on this type of surface as I'm hoping? What the best traction setting? Snow or would one of the others be better? DSC on or off? I'm almost tempted to put the hill descent on and let it work it's own way out!

I've had my car 10 months and this is my first experience of this sort of condition. I wouldn't even contemplate trying to drive my wifes BMW on my road as it is.

Would welcome a few tips from regular off roaders and those a bit more experienced in 4x4s.

Many thanks

RR

If you've had the FL2 10mths and are asking the silly questions re the DSC and TRP then Sir I suggest either you spend 10hrs reading for once the Owners Manual, or give the FL2 to someone with more gumption than yourself

athelstan wrote:

Rangerider wrote:

I woke up today to find my road is a different beast!

I live in a quiet little cul de sac so no council gritting, obviously. My car has coped really well the last two days with the snow but today I'm a little concerned.

With a slight thaw there is a thin film of water on top of the ice and it's treacherous. I nearly went A over T when I took the dog out for a walk.

My road is quite narrow and I don't want to slide in to any of the cars parked at the side. I need to use my car at 12.00 today. Conditions may have improved a bit by then but......

Will my FL2 be as nimble and as sure footed on this type of surface as I'm hoping? What the best traction setting? Snow or would one of the others be better? DSC on or off? I'm almost tempted to put the hill descent on and let it work it's own way out!

I've had my car 10 months and this is my first experience of this sort of condition. I wouldn't even contemplate trying to drive my wifes BMW on my road as it is.

Would welcome a few tips from regular off roaders and those a bit more experienced in 4x4s.

Many thanks

RR

If you've had the FL2 10mths and are asking the silly questions re the DSC and TRP then Sir I suggest either you spend 10hrs reading for once the Owners Manual, or give the FL2 to someone with more gumption than yourself

Naturally that was the first thing i did before I left the showroom, they wanted to go home but I had to read the handbook first.
My advise would be use the snow setting, you must keepp traction wherever possible so use gears to slow you down and brake very early and very slowly, If you road is on a gradient probably best to think about if you really need to go out as losing traction will be likely. Any four wheel drive is as good as your wifes BMW if it can not get traction. Tyres are everything when it comes to poor driving conditions weather it be snow or mud, the wrong tyres will struggle and most factory four wheel drives have summer tyres.

Dave wrote:

Been driving mine on ice covered roads today without any problems. The FL2 in GGS mode is a mean beast.
Don't be scared, why buy a 4x4 if you can't use it

You're a hero
Aberdeen's not the hilliest place on the planet.
The past few days I've been out rescuing friends and have descended 1 in 5 hills coated with compacted snow/ice. At times, I couldn't have stopped if required - ABS working overtime on all wheels. My question still remains - Would Grabber AT2s be a significant improvement over the Wranglers I currently have?

Coming back up one such tricky hill, I breezed past an apparently stranded Defender That seemed very strange but it made more sense when I saw the woman behind the wheel as I passed

[quote="athelstan]

If you've had the FL2 10mths and are asking the silly questions re the DSC and TRP then Sir I suggest either you spend 10hrs reading for once the Owners Manual, or give the FL2 to someone with more gumption than yourself [/quote]

Ouch!