JT95 Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 I had my first winter weather driving experience last week (I'll post a few pics when I get the pics in a few days) and overall my 95 wagon did really well. The roads were, for the most part, packed snow with many places a slick layer of ice crusting the top. As far as driving through snow, which was a little over a foot, my Subie did great. The road handling was good as well, although you can't expect too much from any vehicle when ice is on the road. Anyway, as the sun went down and the temperature dropped closer to 0, the roads got extra slick. This is my first AWD car. Both my wife and I noticed, whle driving, that we would periodically get a mild fish-tailing sensation from the car. Not a big, out of control fish tail or anything--just a light and slight movement of the rear of the car. It wasn't anything major, but the feel did catch me off guard the first couple times it happened. My guess was that the car's AWD system would send more power to the rear wheels when it would sense slippage of the front wheels, and, since we were pretty much driving on ice, when the power would get transferred to the rear that would cause a bit of slippage back there, giving the fish-tailing sensation, as the back of the car is not as heavy as the front. Sound reasonable? Any other people have a similar experience with their AWD cars? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderhound Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 Tail out under power is what winter driving is all about. Now if we only had some snow. It was 50 here on Dec 30 while the had enough snow for snowmen in Mexico. WTF! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blitz Posted January 2, 2005 Share Posted January 2, 2005 If you have an auto-trans you'll feel initial understeer followed by oversteer pretty much everytime you add power on the slippery stuff, which gets a little unnerving (front slips, rear kicks-in ...lather, rinse, repeat). It'll getcha in the slippery turns if your not careful. My pet-peeve with the auto-trans setup is the lack of the ability to lock-in the rears manually in second gear (at least on the newer MY's). Maybe ONSTAR can handle it for me. With the manual-trans, you'll get more predictable F/R power distribution with throttle application on account of the viscous center distribution. If you have a rear LSD, it'll give you a little more tail-out attitude with throttle. Tires make a huge difference in how your Subie acts in snow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subarufanatic Posted January 2, 2005 Share Posted January 2, 2005 also make sure that the car has had a 4 wheel alignment lately and the tires are in good shape. if you have a manual button, use it for snow/ice driving Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK-Brando Posted January 2, 2005 Share Posted January 2, 2005 On my '95 when the gearshift was put in 2nd, it put the torque split to 50/50. I don't know about any of the newer models not having this, but it helped out a lot in difficult driving conditions. I had lots of fun powersliding the subaru in the winter too! I never got any video footage, didn't think of it at the time. Go find an empty parking lot and have fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
friendly_jacek Posted January 2, 2005 Share Posted January 2, 2005 I had some of that driving on thick ice in AR and MO a week ago. Eventually, we spinned out of control and landed in a ditch once. The only adwantage of AWD was the fact that we were able to get out from the ditch (snow) on our own, unlike dozens of the cars left abandoned on the sides of the road (I-55). Otherwise, AWD was not big help on ice. Chains on the tires is the only solution on ice IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blitz Posted January 2, 2005 Share Posted January 2, 2005 On my '95 when the gearshift was put in 2nd, it put the torque split to 50/50. I don't know about any of the newer models not having this, but it helped out a lot in difficult driving conditions. Yeah, see? On my '02 it does that only in 1 (low). I don't know what model year was the switchover point tho. '95 might've been the last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felipe01forester Posted January 2, 2005 Share Posted January 2, 2005 Down here in Dallas, the ice we get is usually patchy on the roads, and the AWD is perfect due to the difference in traction, and if I do get lose the road, I can get back on with ease. Besides, with the way the streets are here in the city, you need an all-terrain vehicle just to drive to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry Posted January 3, 2005 Share Posted January 3, 2005 Just got my Baja sideways (unintended) in a slippery interesection in traffic! No contact, but a real wake up call. I was going uphill, and turning right at a light. Fronts started slipping on the hill and curve, backs came on, and care was sideways before it could respond. Nothing I am not used to from my old Grand Wagoneer, but I didn't expect it here. Oh well, fun was had by all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JT95 Posted January 3, 2005 Author Share Posted January 3, 2005 Yeah, see? On my '02 it does that only in 1 (low). I don't know what model year was the switchover point tho. '95 might've been the last year. Yeah, mine has the 50/50 power split when in 1 or 2. I did a lot of driving in 2, but when this fish-tailing sensation happened I was in 3 or D, as the speed I was traveling was too fast for 2. I wish my car had a nice 50/50 button to push whenever i wanted. The new Baja turbo I looked at was neat with a 40/60 split--I bet that would be a fun drive... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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