Snow...

[97stscaddy]

How in the hell do you guys up north get anywhere in the snow with these cars? I tried to go to work this morning and the friggen traction control just wouldn't leave well enough alone. The car would go if I could get some damn power to the wheels, but no matter how hard I press the gas there is no power! Even on the floor! I gone further, in deeper snow, with my Rwd 2200lb truck than I did with my Lincoln this morning.

How do I make the traction control just GO AWAY!?!?!?!?!

 

[pektel]

push the button next to your shifter...

also, i have about 280 pounds of salt in the trunk right now. does the trick quite nicely, and it's cheaper than lowering springs

 

[02V8Sport]

I run a set of winter tires and 360lbs (6-60lb bags) of quikrete in my trunk, gets around like a champ.

 

[bufordtpisser]

Just turn off the traction control and drive sideways. It is actually fun but the gas mileage sucks.

 

[97stscaddy]

Traction control WAS OFF. Still wouldn't go anywhere. It does just fine on flat ground, but even the slightest incline and I was stuck. I don't mind driving sideways, but the car has to actually DRIVE. I don't know what the deal was. The engine just would not rev when I hit the gas.

I don't have any bags of quikrete laying around, but I can find some other form of weight to put in the trunk. Ive already got 100 lbs of tools back there. I guess 100lbs is a drop in the bucket though.

 

[Jim Henderson]

I have never driven my LS in snow so I don't know how it works with the traction control, but I have driven many different cars in snow over the past 30+ years and the first rule is...

You do NOT need more power to get around in snow. Gentle and easy touch is what gets you around.

The traction control is doing it's job when you say no matter how hard you push the gas, you get no power. The computer is cutting power to prevent wheel spin which is what you would get with lots of gas or no traction control. You could just push the button to turn it off, but then it would be up to you to be easy on the gas.

Also how are your tires? Tires with little tread depth are no good in snow. You need deep treads or better, blocky open treads to throw out the snow that tries to build up in the grooves.

I drove a 96 Impala SS with big fat tires(which are supposed to be bad in snow) for many years thru snow and ice. 90% of the time I was able to do my commute, even sometimes thru some local "mountains" where the snow and ice were worse, but fewer cars stuck on the road. The key was VERY light gas pressure, slow control movements, No twisting the steering wheel or jabbing the brakes.

I have read many other postings about the LS in snow and most of those guys swear the LS is great in snow and the traction control is a big part of it. I think you are just overpowering the car and the traction control is pulling you back.

So, Slow and Easy will probably get you there quicker than pedal to the metal. And always remember, Stopping is way more important than starting.

Just my experience,

Jim Henderson

 

[lseguy]

From what I am reading in your posts, it appears the primary factor is your present (as in today) lack of dedicated winter/snow tires and or/lack of chains.

 

[midi_junkie]

might be your alternator.

 

[HDDave]

Also how are your tires? Tires with little tread depth are no good in snow. You need deep treads or better, blocky open treads to throw out the snow that tries to build up in the grooves.

I have to agree that tires make a huge difference! 2 winters ago I had some Toyo performance tires which were great in the summer but I could hardly get out of my own way with just a half inch of snow. Bought some BF Goodrich KDWS all season tires from a member here and the difference was night and day. I can only imagine with snow tires and extra weight in the trunk (360 LBs!) that snow would be no problem!

 

[MMAFIGHTER121]

i live and was born and raised in syracuse, ny.... so if anyone is an expert in snow driving. its this guy. At first yea, the traction control did seem awfully eager to kick on, since then i've just turned it off and really have had no more problems sliding about than i have had in any other car. but its all in throttle control cuz of the torque; every now and then in really bad snowy conditions i'll turn the tcs off until i've hit like 55mph then i'll turn it on cuz thats when the TCS can really help in case of some higher speed black ice.. happened to me coming back from oswego new york i was going in a straight line mid mega blizzard then just started to go sideways and the tcs did a nice job of keeping me from going full blown drift king style...i really have no problems getting it started and i have an empty trunk and all weathers on all 4 corners. but my last car was an 88 camaro with no posi, no power brakes, and crappy tires.. so maybe its one of those i've been trained in worse conditions type situations.

 

[NateRW21]

I'm going to go with Jim on this one... it's slow and easy on the gas pedel.

Also, I run Blizzak winter tires and about 170lbs of salt in my trunk. Makes a huge difference. All season tires suck in compairson.

 

[97stscaddy]

My tires suck I can say that much. Cooper Lifeliners, and they have plenty of tread. I just checked and rotated them last week and measured between 5/32" on the rears and 7/32" on the fronts before the rotation. All of the reviews I could find said that these were good tires in the snow, so I decided to hold off on buying snow tires. I think I've changed my mind now.

I just went out and tried again with about 250lbs or so of "whateverdeadweightIcouldfind" in the trunk. And there was big a difference. I'm still not sure what the deal was with the TC this morning, maybe I confused it or something I don't know, but I turned it off as soon as I started the car and left it off while I drove around for about an hour. It seems fine except on steep hills.

I'm going to go with Jim on this one... it's slow and easy on the gas pedel.

I know. I've driven in snow for 5 years. This is my first winter with the LS. The issue was not the throttle, it was the traction control. It would NOT LET the car move. It would cut the engine back at even the lightest touch of the pedal, because the road was too slick to move without spinning. I tried turning it off and it still did the same thing. Then back on, then off, then on, no dice either way.

 

[NateRW21]

Man, I hate to break it to you but... for winter (I'm talking real winter... not southern winter) 5/32" and 7/32" is not plenty of tread! That's close to 1/8" and 1/4" respectively. I'd say the 5/32" are certainly too worn for snow duty, the 7/32" are okay... maybe borderline. Hell, by most standards 3/32" are considered excessively worn.

Anyway, tread depth is certainly an issue for your forward momentum problems.

 

[MMAFIGHTER121]

i do agree, sometimes it seems like the TCS is really eager to kick on, but the only way to stop it is to either turn it off or to take your foot off the pedal when it turns on instead of trying to push through it once your car slows back down then you have to be really easy on the gas again or it'll kick back on

 

[mespock]

What snow... this was today mess LOL

 

[GrayGhost1]

What snow... this was today mess LOL

Ugh! That looks like a mess. Here in Knoxville, TN we haven't seen any measurable amount of snow in quite some time. I wouldn't mind seeing a little snow here but where snow is measured in feet is not a place I want to go to.

 

[mespock]

Ugh! That looks like a mess. Here in Knoxville, TN we haven't seen any measurable amount of snow in quite some time. I wouldn't mind seeing a little snow here but where snow is measured in feet is not a place I want to go to.

We haven't had a real winter in about 5-7 years... this is back to what I'm more use to...

My good friend who moved up hear from AL is starting to wonder why...

What I like about Wisconsin is you get enough snow not too much but enough to have fun in. Then when spring comes it's done. Well mabye once in a while you get those big spring snows but the snow is gone in about 2 days.

 

[HDDave]

What snow... this was today mess LOL

This was Monday -

I don't even bother trying to get up the driveway until the snow is cleared off...

 

[macboy]

If your TC button has a little icon of a skidding car rather than a spinning wheel, then you have AdvanceTrac, not just traction control. If this is the case, then pressing the button disables only the anti-skid part of the system and does not disable the traction control part. To disable the traction control, you need to press and hold the button for 5 seconds.

And like others said, 5/32" is simply not sufficient tread depth for snow. Some All-season tires can be OK in snow when they are new and have 12/32" of tread, but when they wear down they are crap.

 

[97stscaddy]

Well the rears are 7/32". Which is only about 1/2 worn according to what I can find about them. But you're right that's simply not enough for any decent snow traction. So today I ordered a pair of Winterforce M/S tires from a local shop. They wont be here in time for the expected snow tomorrow (and of course, now that Ive ordered them, it wont snow any more this season) but ill at least have them just in case. And I'll probably end up putting them on even if it doesn't snow, just because.

I didn't know that about the AdvanceTrac, I'll have to try that I suppose.

 

[NYC LS8]

I didn't know that about the AdvanceTrac, I'll have to try that I suppose.

Yeah, same here. I always turn mine off when I get in the car.

As far as winter time driving, my car sucked last year as well. I'm sure the lack of winter tires and rockin' the Falkens didn't help one bit.

 

[luttersj]

As was said above, tires make all the difference. I had 'performance' level tires on. I went for a drive with about 4" of snow on the ground and couldn't get anywhere. I was first in line to make a left turn at a red light. When the arrow turned green I started moving and it was red by the time I made it out of the intersection. I'm guessing the people behind me weren't too impressed! After that I ordered up some Blizakks, mounted them on the car and it's been transformed! The best $500 I've ever spent on a car before. There's no way to convince anyone of how much better it is without taking them for a back to back comparo ride. That's basically what I did and it opened my eyes! My wife's car, 325i, has all season tires. She can get around pretty good, too, but nothing like I can. So get yourself a 2nd set of wheels and some dedicated snow tires. You won't be sorry! If you get regular snow that is....