I’m a local Angeleno, born and raised other than two years in Boston the place I didn’t drive a lot, so I had by no means actually pushed on snow till I used to be not too long ago invited to the Bridgestone Winter Driving School in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Thankfully the climate was within the excessive 40s to low 50s through the day so I didn’t freeze to loss of life, however this scenic little mountain city was nonetheless lined in a big layer of snow, sufficient to intimidate me.
Bridgestone’s Blizzak snow tires impressed me, and by some means managed to search out grip on straight up ice regardless of my wrestle to disregard my completely Mediterranean local weather driving expertise and begin listening to the knowledge being imparted upon me by my teacher. Once I did my first few runs on the course I gained a ton of confidence within the tires and was capable of unclench my every little thing and start to soak up a number of the recommendation supplied by my Oakley carrying, mullet wielding Yoda of snow driving, teacher Nick Strickler.
Aside from tires, I used to be there to study methods to maintain me protected when driving on snowy or icy roads. I used to be stunned to study a brand new driving line to soundly navigate an icy nook; the skilled driving coaches on the Winter Driving School taught us that the quickest solution to navigate an icy flip whereas remaining in command of the automobile is to completely brake on the straight, goal extensive for the flip, launch the brake then flip the wheel about half a rotation and let the tires do the work. I used to be stunned at how gradual I needed to take turns even on Bridgestone’s spectacular Blizzak tires, however these corners have been extremely icy. The “apex” you’re attempting to hit is remarkably late, principally when you’ve already accomplished the flip, however this technique did yield the very best outcomes to mitigate understeer when coming into the nook and oversteer when exiting.
I used to be most impressed by the grip these tires present in emergency braking situations. Stopping a automobile on ice doesn’t seem to be it’d be straightforward, however soar on the brakes and the Blizzaks appear to chew into the ice and cease with stunning effectivity. This is an enormous security profit, for the reason that best solution to keep away from an accident is by stopping earlier than affect happens; simply you’ll want to go away your self a strong hole between your automobile and the automobile forward of you when driving on slippery surfaces. Bridgestone even allow us to pattern some competitor’s snow tires, which I’ll cowl in a separate article. Just know that, not less than in a take a look at arrange by Bridgestone, with their vehicles, instructors and observe, the Blizzaks supplied the very best mixture of lateral grip and braking efficiency.
I realized a couple of different methods, just like the significance of light steering and throttle inputs when driving on ice. I’ve primarily watched WRC races in snowy situations the place the directive is to conclude the circuit as quickly as bodily attainable, so I anticipated extra Scandinavian flicking and large rooster tails coming off of my rear tires, however we have been there to discover ways to safely management our vehicles. After ending my day on the Winter Driving School, I really feel rather more assured in my capability to retain management of a automobile on snow and ice, and I do know I shouldn’t drive my Mini to the mountains with my summer season tires and anticipate good outcomes.
Source: jalopnik.com