Tips for Driving in Snow / Slick Roads?

[aaronarf]

Pro tip:  Wait for snow and go find a parking lot without cement stops/barriers and many light poles and go get comfortable with it!  Try turning, braking, accelerating in both 4wd and 2wd.  

[RyanbabZ71]

1 hour ago, aaronarf said:

Pro tip:  Wait for snow and go find a parking lot without cement stops/barriers and many light poles and go get comfortable with it!  Try turning, braking, accelerating in both 4wd and 2wd.  

How I learned, high school parking lot and a 2wd S-10

 

Funny you mention the cement stops.  We had islands with large round cement chunks holding the lights in the lot.  Guy after basketball practice started going nuts doing donuts.  Hit the island curb and launched into the round concrete part.  Smashed his pass side door in pretty good.  He didnt live that down.

[aaronarf]

24 minutes ago, RyanbabZ71 said:

How I learned, high school parking lot and a 2wd S-10

 

Funny you mention the cement stops.  We had islands with large round cement chunks holding the lights in the lot.  Guy after basketball practice started going nuts doing donuts.  Hit the island curb and launched into the round concrete part.  Smashed his pass side door in pretty good.  He didnt live that down.

Hahahah... Same thing here. 2nd gen peg leg S10 I is what I learned to drive in upstate NY winters.... Cement stops from personal experience. Took a chunk out of my aluminium wheels on one in the snow. Got lucky!

 

Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk

 

 

 

[Paintor]

3 hours ago, ScenicView said:

Do you find the downgrade shifting helps or causes some loss of traction when it happens?

Stabyltrak will slip the living pizz out of your transmission if it detects you are losing traction.

 

Downgrade braking wont cause a spin out, computer will detect wheel slip and will disable your motor to wheel connection.....no matter if you are wanting to drift a snowy New England dirt road.....wont let you do it.

[grizzlyltz]

Stabyltrak will slip the living pizz out of your transmission if it detects you are losing traction.
 
Downgrade braking wont cause a spin out, computer will detect wheel slip and will disable your motor to wheel connection.....no matter if you are wanting to drift a snowy New England dirt road.....wont let you do it.

Lol make the trans slip

stabilitrak and traction control
Stabilitrak Adjusts engine torque and/or brake pressure at the individual wheels to get you back on your intended path.
Has nothing to do with the transmission slip


Grizzly

[True North Truckin]

3 hours ago, sdeeter19555 said:

If you can drop tire pressure that will help...changing to a snow tire will make even more difference...

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk
 

Well said! I can 100% second this advice. If you are going to drive icy/winter roads regularly its well worth the upfront cost to get a set of winter rims/tires I use Michelin "LTX Winter" they have performed very well in icy slick road conditions they are E Load rated so perfect for HD trucks. Although the factory A/T tires will bite well in deep snow they still get rock hard in the cold and wont provide much adhesion to the ice compared to the winter specific rubber the difference is night and day, I can go outside on a frigid morning and the tread blocks on my LTX tires still have flex when pushed with my index finger, its that flex at cold weather that allows it to safely stop and steer your truck in the worst of conditions. If you've never experience winter tires you may say A/T tires work fine but once you have a set of winter tires you will never settle for anything less!

[15 Z71]

8 hours ago, Bushleaguechew said:

Personally I turn off traction control as it kills engine power pulling away from a stop. I’d rather have tire slip I can feel and control rather than the unpredictability of what the computer will do


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I agree 100% with this.

[tanner709]

13 hours ago, Paintor said:

Enable-disable downgrade shifting by holding the 'tow' button 5 seconds.

 

Stop worrying....people drive hilly new England with rear wheel drives and no problem.

 

Cut some 2x4's and place in bed grooves to hold a few sand bags over the rear axle...the weight in your bed...u won't need 4wd this year unless a big storm hits.

Can the disabling of downgrade braking be done semi-permanently without pulling a fuse or having a dash light on? Like say, for winter months or will I have to disable it every start?

 

In response to the OP, I live in one of the coldest, most precipitated areas in Canada. The key like most others have said are;

- quality WINTER tires, softer rubber compounds will save your life.

- Tire size is critical as well. The more PSI, your truck places on the tire area is very helpful, therefore decreasing width while staying the same diameter seems to be a large help.

- Tire pressure, this is all preference but I like to drop 0.5-1psi per tire versus what I run in the summer.

- Focus on the road and thinking ahead, braking time and placement

- weight balance, like mentioned before it is suggested to place some weight across the rear axle to keep that very light rear end from wanting to let loose when you do need to brake hard or in the turns

- 4wd will not help you stay on the road, therefore if you are experiencing loss of control it is most likely that you're going to fast. When you hit a patch of ice and there's no traction, 4wd vs 2wd wont make a difference.

- plan your trips, allot for extra time.

- when in doubt, put it in 4wd. Seat time in your own truck will lead you in the right direction within a season

[Sierra706]

Downgrade braking when not in tow haul mode is not the problem some make it out to be. The grade has to be pretty steep and long. I think it’s only ever kicked on once for me in 38k miles. That being said, I sometimes use towhaul on the hills on my commute and it’s never initiated a slide or any other negative.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[tanner709]

48 minutes ago, Bushleaguechew said:

Downgrade braking when not in tow haul mode is not the problem some make it out to be. The grade has to be pretty steep and long. I think it’s only ever kicked on once for me in 38k miles. That being said, I sometimes use towhaul on the hills on my commute and it’s never initiated a slide or any other negative.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You've never had grade braking kick in outside of tow/haul mode? My truck utilizes  grade braking almost every highway trip. It is not nearly as "aggressive" unless tow/haul is enabled though.

[cbrsilv15]

Damn, I can’t wait until we get snow here so I can go out and have some fun. Lol. 

[aero10]

My tip, just stay home, but then again I've always lived in the South and if it's icy everything closes anyways.

[HawkeyeSierra]

I cringe thinking of winter driving. Really makes my job a nightmare. Especially if it's just a light snow vs a heavy one. Everybody thinks they can continue to drive 55 mph+ in a light snow. And they are right, you can. What they forget is; it's not how fast you can go, it's how fast you can stop.  

 

Best advice? SLOW DOWN!

[tanner709]

8 hours ago, cbrsilv15 said:

Damn, I can’t wait until we get snow here so I can go out and have some fun. Lol. 

Like this lol

[Loco-diablo]

I also live in NE. Central MA snow belt to be exact. I’ve been driving in NE winters my whole life, however this will be my first with a half ton pickup. My prior truck, 2008 Tacoma V6 4x4, was an absolute beast in the snow. I’m hoping my Silverado 5.3 DC 4x4 is as good. I can’t wait to try it out! I have 18” duratrac tires, but I’m not sure how a bigger truck will handle in snowy weather. I guess I’ll find out soon enough. I’ll be experimenting with 4wd auto (Tacoma didn’t have it) as well as 4wd H. Which setting do owners prefer when driving in the snow and ice?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk