I ca only go on what i have been told by the LRE, one of my best friends who worked on top of the line Mercs now a manager for the RAC.

Both have refered to ABS building up a snow wedge in front of the tyres

A ABS Guide website refers to it too

Quote:

The only exception to this rule is when a tire is on loose snow. A locked tire allows a small wedge of snow to build up ahead of it which allows it to stop in a somewhat shorter distance than a rolling tire. That is why some vehicles have an on/off switch for deactivating the antilock system when driving on snow.

Quote:

turn off ABS brakes in icy conditions (if your car is so equipt). ABS actually lengthens your stopping distance on snow & ice. In the rain, ABS helps ... but on ice, it makes it a lot worse

|You can read the article here or here

I don't doubt you have more experience driving on snow than I will ever get if i remain living in the UK, but I trust the people who have give me the advice. Not the I would ever pull the ABS fuse out to turn it off in snow.

I am not telling you to change your driving style, just what i have been told thats what forums are for  Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

I have checked with some experts. They say this is kind of theoretical, because this is correct at very low speed. And in snow, the snow has to be very wet.

One referred to actual experience at training course on slippery, slippey ice. He had tried (without ABS) to stop on ice. -At low speed. And his stopping distance was a little bit shorter than when he did the same thing with ABS. But without ABS he had absolutely no control over the car. -Which he had with ABS.

All in all the recomendation was to always have the ABS on.

Which is also supported in the film I attached in a previous post. None of you has commented this film. ??? Why? It is in English, so you will understand it. 2008 Freelander 2 HSE TD4 Automatic, Caspian Blue, Alpaca, Moon roof, Exclusive pack.

Meanwhile, you can have a look at how we drive our cars during the winter....

(some kids having fun)
(a regular day in the woods...
(Typical Norwegian driving-style )
(a regular day in traffic )

....this is why we pay so high premiums for insurance....  2008 Freelander 2 HSE TD4 Automatic, Caspian Blue, Alpaca, Moon roof, Exclusive pack.

Leave the abs on --in any event disabling ABS on a Ford volvo LR requires removing the ABS control chip or killing it by breaking and shorting a ABS sensor wire --expensive
On grades greater than 6% 10 km hill in freezing rain over compact the only thing that will keep you alive is a High sipe (slit in the tyre) count tyre Like a Nokian AT with the winter snoflake designation low gears and a very gentle break foot.

ABS gives some turning ability while breaking but in extreme conditions is not enough to prevent wheel lock up
Threshold breaking --break till the abs comes on and then back off a small bit is good.
But from 60 Km/H stopping distances can still be in the order of 200 to 500 m on frozen rain or un gritted compact snow at 8% grade

These are conditions that you should have crampons on your feet just to stay upright though

On back roads with 25% grade snow building up infront of wheels can even lead to lock up and stalling--but not stopping---just mount chains --on all 4 or at least the front end --and to heck with the warranty if the snow is frozen coastal sludge over 8" 600mm you will need the chains to go up anyhow.

Look out for the vertical freeze thaw zones where the snow turns from powder to compactable ice 4x4's and skis

Could you let me know how that plastic firewall cover over the battery stands up to having 600mm snow land on it over night? It looks a bit exposed to ice & snow external loading 4x4's and skis

Wow! That was an exciting read !

In the North of England we used to get heavy snow. As a child I annually walked to school over the tops of buried cars. Now we get maybe 2 x 1 week episodes of 1" (2.5cm ) and it's warm and wet..

The differences are

1. speed
2. snow quality

I think both arguments are right (Viking and npinks) but one technique is for crawling on wet UK snow and the other for making progress on dry (lovely ) Scandinavian stuff.

The DSC/TC/ABS is clever but it can't (as yet) differentiate - so we have switches and knobs for informed use.

My view, anyway

Praying for snow (good stuff)...

Andy

Edit: PS Viking - LOVED the videos. Maybe global warming will shift the Gulf Stream and bring us back some interesting winters

Have been checking out the theory that different roules apply for UK-wet-slushy snow. Well, we have that in Norway too, you know.

Response I have been given here in Norway, is pure head-shaking. Building up of snow in front of the tyres; No one here buyes the theory.

But here is a video of a lot of people having tested the theory. Note that all wheels are blocked, no one is in control of their cars, the snow is very wet and slushy (UK-style?), and the guys from the insurance-companies are definitely working overtime. This video gets you in the Christmas moode though.....




Comments? 2008 Freelander 2 HSE TD4 Automatic, Caspian Blue, Alpaca, Moon roof, Exclusive pack.

VIKING wrote:

Have been checking out the theory that different roules apply for UK-wet-slushy snow. Well, we have that in Norway too, you know.

Comments?

Goldstone69 wrote:

Multi-Car Crash Snow Slide on Ice the clue is in the title "ice" our wet - slushy snow rarely if ever would fall on sheet ice on roads as 1.) Most roads are gritted and 2.) Our cold snaps usually last a couple of days temperatures during the day are nearly always +3 and above The driving conditions you see in the video are not typical of our very rare Snowy conditions.

VIKING wrote:

We hate it when it gets warmer than -4C in the winther. Best is around -10C. That is the ideal temperature. Allthough scenery gets very, very beatyful around -25C, it is a little chilly.

Very beautiful....don`t forget your thermals

AMAZING PHOTO GS69...AMAZING!!!

[quote="VIKING"]



Comments?[/quote]

= My worst nightmare. We actually get that fairly often. Road outside the drive is 20-25% slope, at the dizzy altitude of 350m. (that's HIGH in the UK ). It rains, then freezes, then snows a little on top. No ABS works because there's no grip to be had.

AndrewW wrote:

= My worst nightmare. We actually get that fairly often. Road outside the drive is 20-25% slope, at the dizzy altitude of 350m. (that's HIGH in the UK ). It rains, then freezes, then snows a little on top. No ABS works because there's no grip to be had.

if you get stuck try getting towed out by a mate

https://www.rrsport.co.uk/gallery/displayi...p;pos=3083

Love to see the claim form he sent to his insurers  Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

npinks wrote:

if you get stuck try getting towed out by a mate

https://www.rrsport.co.uk/gallery/displayi...p;pos=3083

Love to see the claim form he sent to his insurers

Oh Dear, oh Dear. Here is absolutely everything done wrong.

1: The car that should tow him out should have gone in the other direction. Then this would not have happened. Here there is little or no snow.

2: Should the towing car go in the direction he does, the rope should have been placed on the right side, not the left side. That would have forced the stranded car over to the left, where there is little snow.

This kind of wet snow, is so compact and heavy that it is not a good idea trying to force a car through it.
Why do they try to pull the car through the worst pile of snow, instead of around it, -where there is little or no snow? AMATEURS!

Glad I dont work in insurance.  2008 Freelander 2 HSE TD4 Automatic, Caspian Blue, Alpaca, Moon roof, Exclusive pack.