[Billfitz]

Maybe they could spray the roads with Tabasco?

[wilbur_the_goose]

I'm born and raised in Buffalo, NY. Learned to drive there too.

Hints for winter driving:
- 4 wheel drive will not stop you any faster than 2 wheel drive
- Learn what hard braking on ice feels like with anti-lock brakes. DO NOT pump the brakes - let the anti-lock system do it for you
- The only solution for ice is to stay home.
- If you have snow, and don't have winter tires, get some chains. I lived in Portland, OR for 9 years, and when it snowed there (not normal), chains were essentially required because they don't salt the roads there.
- If you're out in snow, drive like a 90 year old guy driving a Buick - accelerate slowly, drive slowly, and break gently.
- Practice in an empty parking lot.
- Better to put your tires into fresh snow than packed down snow. I once encountered a snowstorm in Virginia, and the only way to go was on the shoulder due to the gravel there giving traction. The other drivers hated me in my NY plates, but I wasn't cutting anybody off. (this was 20 years ago).

If they don't salt/sand the roads, just stay home.

[CajunBMW]

Originally Posted by R BMW

I'm sure the cold also slows down the snakes and gators.

And mosquitoes and that is the important thing!

[CajunBMW]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

Maybe they could spray the roads with Tabasco?

Red snow - Hot and spicy snow; I like it. Could just take some and use it in a Bloody Mary or a Spicy Shrimp Po-Boy. All of this would be better than yellow or brown snow.

[admranger]

Originally Posted by wilbur_the_goose

- 4 wheel drive will not stop you any faster than 2 wheel drive.

Newton’s second law isn’t a recommendation. People need to learn that.

[Billfitz]

Where driving on ice is concerned Newton's First Law is the operative constraint: An object at rest remains at rest, or if in motion, remains in motion at a constant velocity unless acted on by a net external force. The net external force required to stop a car is friction between the tires and the road. When the road is covered with ice said friction is almost non-existent. What causes the car to eventually stop is the external force provided by whatever it is that you run into.

[smithbh]

Originally Posted by Techno 9000

Comfort or Eco-Pro to soften the acceleration input and help prevent wheel spin. DTC enabled (short press of DSC button) where necessary to maintain forward motion in snowy conditions. Be aware the auto box can bring on unwanted forward motion at walking pace ('creep' function) when you're trying to slow down, so be ready to select neutral if the back end starts to step out in this situation.

Originally Posted by Techno 9000

Comfort or Eco-Pro to soften the acceleration input and help prevent wheel spin. DTC enabled (short press of DSC button) where necessary to maintain forward motion in snowy conditions. Be aware the auto box can bring on unwanted forward motion at walking pace ('creep' function) when you're trying to slow down, so be ready to select neutral if the back end starts to step out in this situation.

So to follow up, my mother, sister, cousin and her child all wound up stranded without power or water for multiple days here in the Austin area and I braved the conditions with these settings. They worked wonderfully and I was able to get everyone to a safe place. I weighed down the trunk with a 45lb. plate, put two 20lb. dumbbells in the back seat, and a heavy-duty jack and stand in the rear floorboards. NOT that I am recommending anyone drive in these conditions, but in the case of true emergencies was able to do the job. Thanks everyone.

[CajunBMW]

Originally Posted by smithbh

So to follow up, my mother, sister, cousin and her child all wound up stranded without power or water for multiple days here in the Austin area and I braved the conditions with these settings. They worked wonderfully and I was able to get everyone to a safe place. I weighed down the trunk with a 45lb. plate, put two 20lb. dumbbells in the back seat, and a heavy-duty jack and stand in the rear floorboards. NOT that I am recommending anyone drive in these conditions, but in the case of true emergencies was able to do the job. Thanks everyone.

Glad it worked out for you and your family. We were lucky in Northwest Louisiana that we kept power, but water was another story. We stayed safe. I had our X1 ready if needed. Growing up in the North I have experience. Since we were able to boil water and stored water for other uses, we just stayed in the house. Glad again that you guys are all safe.

[smithbh]

Originally Posted by CajunBMW

Glad it worked out for you and your family. We were lucky in Northwest Louisiana that we kept power, but water was another story. We stayed safe. I had our X1 ready if needed. Growing up in the North I have experience. Since we were able to boil water and stored water for other uses, we just stayed in the house. Glad again that you guys are all safe.

That's great to hear, I'm glad y'all survived without having to suffer too much! I got very lucky in that my house didn't lose power or water at any point (unlike everyone else in my family); we were under a boil notice as well, but considered it a luxury compared to snow 😅 That said, I will DEFINITELY be investing in winter tires and/or snow chains soon. That said, do you recommend both for someone living in Austin or would something like sticking to all-season tires with chains for this kind of freak weather suffice?

[Billfitz]

I don't see the need for winter tires. I use all seasons, and I get more snow in one week than you get in a decade. When it's really bad nothing beats chains.

[CajunBMW]

It think it all depends on your car or cars. For my 340, I keep summer tires on year round. I park it for the few bad days a year when summer tires would make it unsafe to drive. The few days it is the 30's in the morning and then 50's later in the morning, I just drive the slow back way to work. I have 3 kids, so we have new van with all season tires that with its weight drives fine in the snow. I also have an X1 that is an xdrive that has all season tires. My teen daughter has sort of taken this as her car, but I use it if needed in bad weather.

I agree with that you don't need snow tires and that all season would work fine. So that is how we handle it. Weather in Shreveport is probably not much different than Austin. This is by far the worst winter we have had in my 20 years here. So for the few days I park my car and use the other vehicles.

Cheers,

[CajunBMW]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

I don't see the need for winter tires. I use all seasons, and I get more snow in one week than you get in a decade. When it's really bad nothing beats chains.

Agree.

[chowser51]

it's not me or my car I'm worried about when driving in the winter. it's everyone else that forgot how to drive when it gets cold.

[Billfitz]

What you have to worry about the most is drivers of AWD SUVs who think that they can drive in any conditions with impunity. That's what we see the interstate medians full of the day after a storm, most of them with out of state plates, ie.,flatlanders.

[smithbh]

Originally Posted by CajunBMW

It think it all depends on your car or cars. For my 340, I keep summer tires on year round. I park it for the few bad days a year when summer tires would make it unsafe to drive. The few days it is the 30's in the morning and then 50's later in the morning, I just drive the slow back way to work. I have 3 kids, so we have new van with all season tires that with its weight drives fine in the snow. I also have an X1 that is an xdrive that has all season tires. My teen daughter has sort of taken this as her car, but I use it if needed in bad weather.

I agree with that you don't need snow tires and that all season would work fine. So that is how we handle it. Weather in Shreveport is probably not much different than Austin. This is by far the worst winter we have had in my 20 years here. So for the few days I park my car and use the other vehicles.

Cheers,

Thanks again for the tips! It's sad that this wasn't the first thing I looked into or thought about but in October I put a new set of General GMAX AS-05 UHP All-Season (M+S) tires on my 3GT w/xDrive and after doing some research see that I was inadvertently prepared, which is the configuration you recommended! I had excellent traction across multiple trips up hills and on unplowed, curvy roads. I took it really easy on the braking which seems to be the main trade-off compared to winter tires, but now after getting some experience under my belt and understanding what I'm working with thanks to you all, am feeling a lot more confident about knowing how to approach any similar emergencies I may encounter in the future.

Last but not least, this is my first experience with Bimmerpost and am thrilled to have such a badass community!

[PeshPNW]

Hello,

Just went on a trip to MT. Hood in Oregon. Snow and Ice were in the forecast, so I made the decision to put on Snow tires at the last minute, and I am beyond glad that I did.

Tires used are Michelin X-Ice Snow.

The care performed beautifully as our BMWs should. It climbed a long uphill/twisty driveway that had a combo of Snow and Ice multiple times. One group rented a 2021 Honda CRV AWD and that did not make it up the driveway.

Bridgestone Blizzaks would perform just as well, and I think they are a little cheaper.

[NxTH]

It's always a bit absurd reading these comments in this thread as a Nordic. It's a no-brainer that you don't drive without proper winter tires, but once you got a set, then it's all up to your skill, as well as being vary of other drivers who might be unpredictable. It's not the driving mode, it's your own adaptation to the weather. I drive on Sport M/S all winter with studded tires, with an RWD and about 400 horses to use, with zero issues.

I probably can't even comprehend how different it is in the USA, having to just stay home when there's snow or ice. Sounds very surreal to us. If in an area it is known to sometimes snow, isn't a winter tire set a good idea, or do you just not distribute them? I've also heard you close schools and certain work places when it snows? I keep hearing about this every year, how most Americans just have summer tires and they just stay home when snow falls. If we did that, we'd be home 6 months a year.

This is all of course coming from someone who comes from a country with a long and detailed driving school process (snow/ice track practice mandatory) until you get a real license after 2 years. Winter tires are mandatory to have, by law. No sane person here would even go and try to drive without them. It's simply impossible. Smack some winters on, go practice in a safe environment and learn what the car, and you are capable of. See what happens if you lose control and how you can correct it. Adapt.

[Billfitz]

Where winter driving conditions are concerned one cannot draw parallels between Finland and the US, other than Alaska.

[NxTH]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

Where winter driving conditions are concerned one cannot draw parallels between Finland and the US, other than Alaska.

That's what I'm saying. However, practice, knowledge and skill acquired still makes the biggest impact, no matter where you live. And winter tires.

Our roads are also plowed daily by the city if weather so requires, even in the countryside and small areas/roads. I take it that cities plowing your streets during winter is not a common occurrence?

[Billfitz]

In the northern states our streets are plowed, sanded and salted. One reason to stay off the roads during a storm is to not interfere with the plows. People by and large don't develop good winter driving skills because they don't need to, other than in the western mountains the roads tend to be clear within a day. Southern states don't have snow removal, sanding or salting equipment, so when they get a rare snow or ice storm they're pretty much screwed until it melts. They also don't know that a blizzard is God's way of telling you to take the day off, so weather related accidents are far more common in the south when there is a storm.