[blue2000cat]

I have had happen to me 3 times in the last 5 days in different cold conditions, once with a little snow, one with alot, and one with a patch. Each time i was driving straight when i suddenly spun out, as if my rear end is swinging out and i have spun around 2 or more times each. The last time was on 8 mile across all 4 lanes! Now i am a bit worried another each time was different speeds from 45, 25, 35mph. Does this happen to anybody else? IVe never driven a front wheel drive car and had this happen. It also happened a few times last winter but always on a neighborhood street, so i didnt think much of it. Plust the cars rear end will slide out when i brake on snow usually, no matter what. The only thing i could think of that may cause this is the fact that i have new tires in front and old ones in the back, but im gonna get those changed tommorow. Anybody else let me know if this happens to your Cougar as well.

 

[01blkcat]

How familiar are you with driving in the snow? I've lived in Buffalo, NY all my life, spent the last six years driving in the snow, and never had a problem... most of the time it's just that your foot is a little too heavy for the conditions... have the tires changed out for snow or all season, and then take it easy on them...

 

[slockin]

Originally posted by: blue2000cat
The only thing i could think of that may cause this is the fact that i have new tires in front and old ones in the back

If your tires don't have at least half tread, I'm sure they suck in snow. I have about 24K on my "all season" tires with half the tread left and they've been decent so far this winter.

Definitely doing anything quickly in the quickly in the snow can cause you to loose traction. So, take it slow and be careful out there. However, if your sliding out often - there might be a bigger problem. I'd suggest getting those rear tires replaced ASAP, have your tire pressure checked, and have your alignment checked. If you car is pulling, then your weight is already moving side to side - which is causing your rear end to spin. Also, having alignment or tire pressure issues can reduce the amount of tire contract with the road in a negative way.

Defintely investigate this ASAP - the next time you spin out, a semi might be heading the other way...

-Nick

 

[ZEXCougar]

It's weird that your rear is kicking out - since you have a front wheel drive car. Either you are taking corners way too quick, or your parking brake is on.

 

[B3NN3TT]

Yeah, I'm thinking a caliper is sticking or grabbing. Or if you have rear drums, you may have a bad wheel cylinder leaking fluid in the drum and making one side grab.

 

[tropiccougar01]

Turn the same was as the spin. It will help control it. And take it easy lead-foot.

 

[kittykatcanada]

i have 4 kuhmo snow tires on and the handling is awesome, but when i come close to the edge where all that slush is and mushy snow is, the car pulls hard into the curb and i actually hit the curb once cuz the car pulled so hard, but i dun think at the worse the car would actually spin around, just pulls in

 

[tnkgurl]

I recently experienced a pull as well with very little acceleration on snow. Unfortunately, I have to get up a hill to get out of my development so acceleration was mandatory. The needle didn't even hit 10 mph or 2000 rpms and I was having to avoid skids. My tires have 27K miles on them, but the tread still looks awesome. I thought it was just me! :biggrin:

 

[HangTime]

In a front wheel drive car (especially with an ATX and without ABS) when you apply the brakes in icy conditions, what will usually happen is your rear wheels will lock up while the fronts will continue to spin. This is because the engine is still spinning at RPM even though you are applying the brakes and not on the gas. Torque is still being transmitted to the front wheels which is overcoming the braking force being applied, while on the other hand the rear wheel locks up due to lack of weight during braking coupled with the slippery conditions.

The other side of the coin is that if you are travelling along at RPM and then suddenly lift off the gas the engine compression will immediately hook into the front wheels applying a "braking" action at the front wheels. The moment there is a significant enough mismatch between vehicle velocity/momentum and wheel rotation speed you have the beginnings of a slide.

This is why it is advantageous to have an MTX in the snow. Clutching out the power is second nature when you get into trouble and allows for you to coast out the slide and apply braking more evenly across all four tires.

For ATX drivers, if you ever get squirelly on snow and have time to react, you should immediately push your shifter into the neutral position from drive. This should allow you to coast out of the situation. Resist the temptation to apply brakes unless you really need to slow down the vehicle on top of regaining control. What you will also find is that you can shift into Neutral from Drive without even pressing the shift lockout button. The manufacturers have included it for this very reason.

On ICE all bets are off... hopefully you have reacted early enough to be able to coast it out.

In all cases for slippery conditions the rule is to apply and let off on the gas as smoothly and evenly as possible - especially at speed. Same for brakes - and look ahead and start braking early. Adjust your driving style so that you are tending to coast to stops rather than applying the brakes to stop in time.

Stay Safe All!

 

[Massiv]

Originally posted by: blue2000cat
Each time i was driving straight when i suddenly spun out, as if my rear end is swinging out and i have spun around 2 or more times each.

Hahaha... I had something similar happen once. Couldn't figure out why the back end of this old beater Taurus I was driving kept swinging around and saying hi to me after one hard snowfall here in TO. Turns out I was driving with the parking brake on, and the rear wheel(s) were locked! hahahah... must've looked about as funny as a dog when it sits down and pulls itself forward with it's paws!! hahah...

Anyway... hope you changed your tires. Bad news to drive around with grippy fronts and bald rears in snows. Myself, I have four new snows on the car, and I've never spun out or even come close.

Massiv.

 

[starshower]

buy snow tires......go easy......it's not a 4x4