using 4wd lock in bad conditions

[trevort]

hi first snow of winter put 4WD lock on to climb small snow covered hill got 3/4 up and lost grip the guy standing next to the car said only front wheels were turning I was expecting all wheels to turn ? the car has only 800 miles on clock is this normal or how should I drive in bad conditions ?speed was 4-6 mph

 

[outofyorkshire]

Did you have ASC on or off?
You ideally should have the ASC turned off to get the PHEV to drive all 4 wheels constantly

 

[jaapv]

The way to do it is to switch 4WD on and stabilization off. The car is brilliant in such conditions, but you do need winter tyres, even on a 4WD. Otherwise you will just have spinning wheels, which is not the end of the earth, but skidding on the downhill part or in a bend is more nasty.

 

[Padped]

A timely thread as I'm driving to the Alps for new year. Good tip on switching off stability electronics.

In relation to this what do people think of having just 2 winter tyres fitted? I know 4 is optimum but that kills the finances of not flying. If doing just 2 which axle - I'm thinking front?

I have snow chains and socks for front /rear if it's really bad but as my car is a lease and the tyres are not ready for replacement I'd have to buy winters myself and not sure what to do.

 

[outofyorkshire]

I would say never only fit 2 winter tyres :shock:

You will create a car that has different grip levels front & rear which will just be asking for problems.

Read this http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/safety/winter-tyres-in-the-uk.html

 

[jaapv]

A timely thread as I'm driving to the Alps for new year. Good tip on switching off stability electronics.

In relation to this what do people think of having just 2 winter tyres fitted? I know 4 is optimum but that kills the finances of not flying. If doing just 2 which axle - I'm thinking front?

I have snow chains and socks for front /rear if it's really bad but as my car is a lease and the tyres are not ready for replacement I'd have to buy winters myself and not sure what to do.

Not only unwise; illegal in Alpine countries and Germany.
I would not even drive without winter tyres in our flat and wet country, and not even consider driving into snowy conditions on summer tyres, but it is safer to gamble on dry roads and take the inconvenience of chains (forget socks, they are only useful on very short distances) as soon as it starts to get slippery instead of mixing up your tyres. Braking -especially downhill-l would be a nightmare if you have more grip on one axle that the other. If you have higher grip on the rear you will go into a spin, if you have it on the front you will lose control cornering by going in a rear wheel skid.

 

[simonrh]

Apparently the PHEV's traction and stability system gets REALLY unhappy about mismatched tyres around the cars. Various people have seen really weird behaviour on regen and cruise with mixed or unequally worn tyres.

 

[Padped]

Ok thanks. Will go as is and use chains if required. It's balmy in the Alps at the moment though so probably a non issue unlike the plans to ski :?

 

[Kim]

If you go skiing in Switzerland and want to go real(!) cheap:
Buy only one winter tyre and put it front/left,
that's where the Swiss police is looking at at the checkpoints in winter.

As soon as there's snowflakes fallin, it's illegal to drive with summer tyres here, and the fine would pretty much empty your holiday piggy bank.

Btw: you will still be fined if there are summer tyres behind your snow chains.

 

[Pancake]

If the choice is made to buy only 2 winter tyres, I would put them (in the case of the PHEV) on the front. Those front tyres are always under power, are loaded (a bit) heavier and they are the steering wheels obviously. When things really get sticky, you could put the chains / socks around the summer tyres.

Personally I think that you should be able to go for a long way, before things get out of control. I have no experience with the PHEV in winter conditions though. I don't know about problems with stability that others have mentioned. Just keep in mind you first want to solve the (future) problem of getting safely off a mountain, instead of getting up / not getting stuck. Don't take risks for a bit of money, and especially don't be a risk for others.

 

[Tipper]

Did you have ASC on or off?
You ideally should have the ASC turned off to get the PHEV to drive all 4 wheels constantly

Seems a strange design decision to me...if you need to turn off the ASC before turning on the 4WD lock surely the 4WD lock should do this for you?

 

[jaapv]

If conditions are not slippery ASC does not have to be turned off. The problem arises in slippery conditions. 4WD is not real 4WD. The car just delivers equal power to all 4 wheels. Thus it is quite possible for one wheel to start spinning. ASC will brake it down using the ABS system. Then the next wheel starts spinning, braked again and so forth until the car comes to a forced standstill.

With 4WD engaged it will not matter if one wheel loses traction, as the other three are powered up equally. With ASC off it will just plod on.

 

[jaapv]

.

If the choice is made to buy only 2 winter tyres, I would put them (in the case of the PHEV) on the front. Those front tyres are always under power, are loaded (a bit) heavier and they are the steering wheels obviously. When things really get sticky, you could put the chains / socks around the summer tyres.

Personally I think that you should be able to go for a long way, before things get out of control. I have no experience with the PHEV in winter conditions though. I don't know about problems with stability that others have mentioned. Just keep in mind you first want to solve the (future) problem of getting safely off a mountain, instead of getting up / not getting stuck. Don't take risks for a bit of money, and especially don't be a risk for others.

Once again: DON'T put only two winter tyres. It is dangerous, illegal and your insurance will likely refuse cover. And the car electronics will start protesting

 

[Neverfuel]

Once again: DON'T put only two winter tyres. It is dangerous, illegal and your insurance will likely refuse cover. And the car electronics will start protesting

Not that I would ever mix tyres, so just curious and never likely to need winter tyres. But would a UK registered vehicle (or other country, where the law is not known about) be prosecuted for not driving on winter tyres, whilst on holiday?

 

[jaapv]

Yes. Worst case even: have it towed and proper tyres fitted locally.

 

[Neverfuel]

Yes. Worst case even: have it towed and proper tyres fitted locally.

I can just imagine what kind of reaction I would get from the wife if I had to leave the suitcases behind so that I could take my summer tyres home! :lol:

 

[Kim]

Yes. Worst case even: have it towed and proper tyres fitted locally.

Here they always do the checks next to parking areas.
Last winter I've seen four or five cars already grounded by the police.
And I applaud them for their zero tolerance appearance:
Whenever there's a traffic jam here in winter, it's almost always the dork with the freakin summer tyres causing it.

 

[jaapv]

Yes. Worst case even: have it towed and proper tyres fitted locally.

I can just imagine what kind of reaction I would get from the wife if I had to leave the suitcases behind so that I could take my summer tyres home! :lol:

You can always leave them at the hotel and have them shipped. (wife and kids I mean..:lol

 

[greendwarf]

Apart from the cost of fitting 4 tyres gives you twice the mileage of 2 - your summer tyres are getting there own winter holiday in your garage - so the "extra cost" is only up front.

As I keep mentioning here - in February. I was able to leave the French locals stuck with their summer tyres when there was a sudden dump of snow on the AutoRoute outside Grenoble. As far as I'm concerned, that incident paid for the cost of the winter tyres.

 

[Neverfuel]

Yes. Worst case even: have it towed and proper tyres fitted locally.

I can just imagine what kind of reaction I would get from the wife if I had to leave the suitcases behind so that I could take my summer tyres home! :lol:

You can always leave them at the hotel and have them shipped. (wife and kids I mean..:lol

Jaapv - you are a bad influence! But, you know that you may have just hit on the idea of the best winter PHEV road trip ever. Switzerland Rally in Jan anyone? :lol: