First Snowfall with 2003 C230K
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First Snowfall with 2003 C230K
It just snowed here this morning, and it was a very light dusting after a wet day yesterday, and the trucks hadn't been out to put down sand/salt and plow. I put on 1 season old Michelin Arctic Alpines, and here is my verdict of this car on ice/snow.
I was able to make the back of the car fishtail substantially (much to my surprise coming off the highway... been a while since driving RWD), I thought the ESP and anti-slip control (ASR) would prevent this... my mistake I guess.
I did notice that turning into my work that when the rear end did swing around, the front brake was applied and the car sorta gittered, really weird, guess the ASR and ESP aren't that smart, I might disable it for winter driving if its behavious is going to be this unpredictable.
I was able to make the back of the car fishtail substantially (much to my surprise coming off the highway... been a while since driving RWD), I thought the ESP and anti-slip control (ASR) would prevent this... my mistake I guess.
I did notice that turning into my work that when the rear end did swing around, the front brake was applied and the car sorta gittered, really weird, guess the ASR and ESP aren't that smart, I might disable it for winter driving if its behavious is going to be this unpredictable.
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From: Nashua, NH
2008 VW GTI
Interesting. With ESP on I was only able to fishtail the car very little before the power was cut and certain brakes applied. That kooky triangle would blink like crazy but, the car continued in a straight line.
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From: New Jersey
2008 C300 Sport
I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong. The arctic alpin tire is meant more for ice than snow. It has no tread "bite" that is readily noticeable. It probably has some siping but overall it looks as if it's a slick with some straight grooves cut into it. That might explain the poor traction.
Of course, if you were trying to make the car fishtail, as the saying goes, all the safety features still won't overcome the laws of physics.
Of course, if you were trying to make the car fishtail, as the saying goes, all the safety features still won't overcome the laws of physics.
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From: Toronto
You must've been going pretty fast for the ESP not to be able to regain control of your car! I was playing around in a huge parking lot on the first sight of snow, and I was going around 50-60km/h (way too fast for taking turns in snow on the streets) and the car still wouldn't completely fishtail; you'd feel the car start to slip, then the ESP warnign would flash like there's no tomorrow and I'm going straight again, even if I'm on the throttle the whole time. Tried it again without ESP and I just spun around by about 90 degrees. Pretty scary. Well, I guess it depends on what you call "substanially" whipping the tail around 
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Originally posted by vyse
You must've been going pretty fast for the ESP not to be able to regain control of your car! I was playing around in a huge parking lot on the first sight of snow, and I was going around 50-60km/h (way too fast for taking turns in snow on the streets) and the car still wouldn't completely fishtail; you'd feel the car start to slip, then the ESP warnign would flash like there's no tomorrow and I'm going straight again, even if I'm on the throttle the whole time. Tried it again without ESP and I just spun around by about 90 degrees. Pretty scary. Well, I guess it depends on what you call "substanially" whipping the tail around
You must've been going pretty fast for the ESP not to be able to regain control of your car! I was playing around in a huge parking lot on the first sight of snow, and I was going around 50-60km/h (way too fast for taking turns in snow on the streets) and the car still wouldn't completely fishtail; you'd feel the car start to slip, then the ESP warnign would flash like there's no tomorrow and I'm going straight again, even if I'm on the throttle the whole time. Tried it again without ESP and I just spun around by about 90 degrees. Pretty scary. Well, I guess it depends on what you call "substanially" whipping the tail around
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Originally posted by Mark08859
I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong. The arctic alpin tire is meant more for ice than snow. It has no tread "bite" that is readily noticeable. It probably has some siping but overall it looks as if it's a slick with some straight grooves cut into it. That might explain the poor traction.
Of course, if you were trying to make the car fishtail, as the saying goes, all the safety features still won't overcome the laws of physics.
I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong. The arctic alpin tire is meant more for ice than snow. It has no tread "bite" that is readily noticeable. It probably has some siping but overall it looks as if it's a slick with some straight grooves cut into it. That might explain the poor traction.
Of course, if you were trying to make the car fishtail, as the saying goes, all the safety features still won't overcome the laws of physics.
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From: San Diego, Ca
2003 Citron Green C230KMT
Originally posted by Buellwinkle
Snow, that is sooo great, wish we had the stuff. We might get our first real rainfall of the year this weekend, woohooo, wonder if the wipers work.
Snow, that is sooo great, wish we had the stuff. We might get our first real rainfall of the year this weekend, woohooo, wonder if the wipers work.
Last edited by CitronC230K_03; Nov 4, 2002 at 06:43 PM.
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Originally posted by avlis
Interesting. With ESP on I was only able to fishtail the car very little before the power was cut and certain brakes applied. That kooky triangle would blink like crazy but, the car continued in a straight line.
Interesting. With ESP on I was only able to fishtail the car very little before the power was cut and certain brakes applied. That kooky triangle would blink like crazy but, the car continued in a straight line.
I'm off to an empy lot to practice, but I can spin the tires and fish tail the car (only a few feet) with minimal effort with ESP on, and I don't mean I am flooring it, at like 3-4K revs in 1st gear I can fish tail a snow covered corner.
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From: Croton, NY
1991 mr2 turbo, 2002 coupe
I wonder if something may be wrong with your ESP, but in any case- 120km/h is kinda fast in those conditions, and is probably more than ESP can reasonably handle anyway. You may want to add a couple hundred lbs of junk in your trunk to aid traction.
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From: Ohio
2010 C300 4matic
If it happened right when you downshifted and you didn't match revs, then you probably locked the rear wheels for a moment and it took ESP longer to get it back under control. If your rear wheels are locked, applying the brakes won't really do anything as the wheel is not spinning. So ESP probably didn't have anything it could do until the wheels started rolling again.
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Originally posted by Matt230K
If it happened right when you downshifted and you didn't match revs, then you probably locked the rear wheels for a moment and it took ESP longer to get it back under control. If your rear wheels are locked, applying the brakes won't really do anything as the wheel is not spinning. So ESP probably didn't have anything it could do until the wheels started rolling again.
If it happened right when you downshifted and you didn't match revs, then you probably locked the rear wheels for a moment and it took ESP longer to get it back under control. If your rear wheels are locked, applying the brakes won't really do anything as the wheel is not spinning. So ESP probably didn't have anything it could do until the wheels started rolling again.
The car did seem to straighten out fairly quickly and easily, so maybe I just have to get used to the car a little more, it was the first real bad winter day I've driven it in.
As for the other comment, the weight in the trunk sounds like a good idea, this car seems to be light in the rear.
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From: Stockholm, Sweden
C200 Kompressor
Originally posted by Buellwinkle
Snow, that is sooo great, wish we had the stuff. We might get our first real rainfall of the year this weekend, woohooo, wonder if the wipers work.
Snow, that is sooo great, wish we had the stuff. We might get our first real rainfall of the year this weekend, woohooo, wonder if the wipers work.
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Originally posted by NJPaprika230
You might want to put the other hand on the wheel, too. Especially in snow.
You might want to put the other hand on the wheel, too. Especially in snow.
I wonder if there's an aftermarket instrument cluster out there with a different placement for the tach, I'd like to have the fuel and tach gauges swapped locations.... hmmm do right-hand drive cars have the same set of gauges?
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From: New Jersey
2008 C300 Sport
Originally posted by taylor192
Come on, how many of actually drive with 2 hands on the wheel? especially those that drive stick?
Come on, how many of actually drive with 2 hands on the wheel? especially those that drive stick?
In an earlier thread, some months ago, it was mentioned that keeping your hand on the shifter was not good as it was placing unnecessary weight on the mechanism for a prolonged period of time.
Perhaps someone more mechanically inclined than myself can verify or trash this statement.
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Originally posted by Mark08859
Actually, I do. At the nine and three positions, not the ten and two spots.
In an earlier thread, some months ago, it was mentioned that keeping your hand on the shifter was not good as it was placing unnecessary weight on the mechanism for a prolonged period of time.
Perhaps someone more mechanically inclined than myself can verify or trash this statement.
Actually, I do. At the nine and three positions, not the ten and two spots.
In an earlier thread, some months ago, it was mentioned that keeping your hand on the shifter was not good as it was placing unnecessary weight on the mechanism for a prolonged period of time.
Perhaps someone more mechanically inclined than myself can verify or trash this statement.
It should cause more wear on the transmission, have you ever been driving and just pushed the stick into gear a little more, you'll feel the difference, and its probably not good for the transmission, so there probably is technical merit to what you say.
