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My dad did the same thing, took me out at first snowfall the year I got my license, stuck me in a large unplowed parking lot and told me to drive like a maniac and figure out how it responded. In a RWD dodge 2500 van with an open rear diff.  That thing would break the rear end loose if you dared to attempt going uphill on wet pavement, it was drat near unmanageable in snow unless we had like 600lbs of sandbags and old cast iron window weights in the back. Which we usually did in the winter.
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Oct 4, 2013 22:45
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Me and my dad both found out what 4-Lo does when I got my permit and learned to drive in a snowy parking lot. Hint: It's loving great.
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Oct 4, 2013 22:47
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I have a Honda so it's FWD, but it has no ABS. I generally leave a moderately generous amount of room in front of me, especially in the winter. She'll slide when braking downhill and sometimes when it's icier, and the lack of ABS means I gotta pump the brakes, so that's why it really bothers me when people cut me off. I don't want to rear end you, buddy. Snow driving with no traffic and large areas is fun, though. Not so much in my car, but in my dad's F250?
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Oct 4, 2013 23:35
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That's probably a good thing if conditions are truly icy - I've had a few arse-puckering moments on ski-field access roads due to the ABS system in my Nissan not really understanding what to do on ice.
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Oct 4, 2013 23:48
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I did a dumb thing during a snowstorm, which had already left about 10" of snow on the ground, when I was around 17 years old. A new set of stores was built on a lot that was previously empty, and I thought it was a great idea to tool around in my Dad's A6 (with winter tires) to impress a friend of mine. I was doing doughnuts and driving like a madman. It turns out that they had built medians in the parking lot where there weren't any before and I drove over one, which left the two front tires off the ground. I thought that Audi AWD was essentially invincible, so I figured it wouldn't be a problem. It turned out that I was completely wrong, but I managed to lift and push the car backwards enough for it to finally get some traction. Luckily for me there was no damage to the bumper or floorpan. After that I learned that I was a jackass and drove much more responsibly.
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Oct 5, 2013 03:50
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I don't notice much activity or intrusion out of the abs on snow/ice/loose surfaces at all. Which is funny because Subaru got a bunch of complaints about the abs not working on snow and loose surfaces after the wrx came out. Until I experience it first hand I'm going to keep blaming it on too much speed on inappropriate tires.
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Oct 5, 2013 06:49
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My 1993 525i has the rear LSD and no traction control whatsoever. It's terror and fun at the same time in the snow and I've gotten used to drifting pretty much constantly.
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Oct 5, 2013 07:21
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jamal posted:I don't notice much activity or intrusion out of the abs on snow/ice/loose surfaces at all. Which is funny because Subaru got a bunch of complaints about the abs not working on snow and loose surfaces after the wrx came out. Until I experience it first hand I'm going to keep blaming it on too much speed on inappropriate tires. I've never had any issues with ABS on my sti on snow/ice. That's including going 120mph to braking hard down to 35mph to make a corner for ice racing.
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Oct 5, 2013 08:04
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jamal posted:I don't notice much activity or intrusion out of the abs on snow/ice/loose surfaces at all. Which is funny because Subaru got a bunch of complaints about the abs not working on snow and loose surfaces after the wrx came out. Until I experience it first hand I'm going to keep blaming it on too much speed on inappropriate tires. I've got an 03 Forester with an ABS system that occasionally gets confused by ice. At higher speeds it reacts exactly like you'd expect it to, but at lower speeds (under about 10 MPH) it'll occasionally kick in under even light braking, although a couple of quick pumps on the brake pedal in that situation somehow convinces the ABS to resume working properly.
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Oct 5, 2013 08:20
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8ender posted:My 1993 525i has the rear LSD and no traction control whatsoever. It's terror and fun at the same time in the snow and I've gotten used to drifting pretty much constantly. This is what the E30 is like. I'm always excited to be out when it snows. I find it's quite easy to control your slip angle in most situations, but one must be attentive to the back end becoming the front end in slippery conditions going fast.
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Oct 5, 2013 09:29
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My mom does the hazards whenever slowed down on the interstate. She's paranoid about truckers hitting her. I keep telling her truckers are the least likely to hit her because their career is over if they do; it's the people like her in four-wheelers she needs to worry about. On learning to drive in snow: I generally drive like an old man, but one Sunday I was working for the newspaper during the worst (only) snowstorm in years. Of course I drifted through every intersection in the deserted downtown. In a former cop car with limited-slip rearend. I worked it out right quick, and never actually spun it, though it did get a bit hairy at times. You want to master the basics of rally driving in five seconds, floor it in a RWD car on a left turn from a stop on ice. Chillbro Baggins fucked around with this message at 12:25 on Oct 5, 2013 |
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Oct 5, 2013 12:21
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Bad Angus! Bad!
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jamal posted:I don't notice much activity or intrusion out of the abs on snow/ice/loose surfaces at all. Which is funny because Subaru got a bunch of complaints about the abs not working on snow and loose surfaces after the wrx came out. Until I experience it first hand I'm going to keep blaming it on too much speed on inappropriate tires. My 2012 Impreza is nothing but ABS and stability control on the snow, even driving like a sane cautious grandparent type. But the stock Yokohamas are so universally panned that I blame them completely, and believe that the ECU is the only thing that kept me from falling off of the road.
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Oct 5, 2013 13:51
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davebo posted:This should absolutely be the state's responsibility to have some sort of frequent re-test for the elderly to ensure the safety of everyone else on the road.
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Oct 5, 2013 14:25
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Lightbulb Out posted:This is what the E30 is like. I'm always excited to be out when it snows. I find it's quite easy to control your slip angle in most situations, but one must be attentive to the back end becoming the front end in slippery conditions going fast. With the LSD just about any sort of throttle is getting me sideways quickly. After a season of driving I learned to not sweat where the rear end was and concentrate on keeping the front end tracking straight. Also the rooster tails an LSD can produce accelerating from stop is magnificent.
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Oct 5, 2013 16:23
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Delivery McGee posted:My mom does the hazards whenever slowed down on the interstate. She's paranoid about truckers hitting her. I keep telling her truckers are the least likely to hit her because their career is over if they do; it's the people like her in four-wheelers she needs to worry about. Also with her hazards on nobody has a loving clue when she's going to change lanes, because in many/most cars the turn indicators are made worthless with them on.
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Oct 5, 2013 16:35
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It's SOP on British motorways to blink the hazards if traffic is coming to a stop, just to highlight the difference between "we're slowing a bit" and "we're actually stopping right now slow down jackass". As a rule Coventry drivers aren't too bad, everybody who lives here knows the score about the ringroad, how to get into the Skydome / IKEA car park etc. but throw some tourists in and everything goes to poo poo. I've seen people drive the wrong way around a one-way road to get to IKEA, even barging through traffic cones to do it. The only thing people seem to be bad at is sticking in the correct lane on a roundabout, my housemate almost got in a wreck just yesterday because some chucklefuck decided to try and straight-line a roundabout where every lane was already occupied. 
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Oct 5, 2013 16:44
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jammyozzy posted:It's SOP on British motorways to blink the hazards if traffic is coming to a stop, just to highlight the difference between "we're slowing a bit" and "we're actually stopping right now slow down jackass". I live in the US and I do this on a routine basis. I figure even if the person behind me doesn't understand why I just flashed my hazards for a few seconds at least it might get their attention more than just my brake lights coming on. Is this a law in the UK, or more of something that everyone gets taught in driver's ed because its a really good idea?
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Oct 5, 2013 21:06
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I guess the hazards are what people use when they don't have or don't know about their rear fog lasers 
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Oct 5, 2013 21:08
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Geoj posted:Is this a law in the UK, or more of something that everyone gets taught in driver's ed because its a really good idea? Neither, as far as I'm aware. Some modern cars do it automatically and rapidly under heavy braking, which is nice as well.
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Oct 5, 2013 21:51
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Geoj posted:Is this a law in the UK, or more of something that everyone gets taught in driver's ed because its a really good idea? It's neither, it's just something I've picked up via osmosis but you'll see almost everybody doing it. If you're doing it right you shouldn't be braking heavily, more coasting / braking gently down to give the people behind you space.
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Oct 5, 2013 22:14
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jammyozzy posted:It's neither, it's just something I've picked up via osmosis but you'll see almost everybody doing it. If you're doing it right you shouldn't be braking heavily, more coasting / braking gently down to give the people behind you space. I've heard some newer cars (Mercedes and Citroen spring to mind) that will put the hazards on automatically, if you slam the brakes on hard enough. Used to see hazards for slowing on trucks a couple of years ago, and now everyone seems to do it edit: whoops, was this window open that long?
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Oct 5, 2013 23:42
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My old mans Fiesta does that - can be a bit embarrassing actually
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Oct 6, 2013 00:48
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Anghammarad posted:I've heard some newer cars (Mercedes and Citroen spring to mind) that will put the hazards on automatically, if you slam the brakes on hard enough. Used to see hazards for slowing on trucks a couple of years ago, and now everyone seems to do it If you watch Top Gear from series 8-onwards, a lot of their car tests around the track flash the hazards during hard braking, even something like the 2007 Ford Fiesta.
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Oct 6, 2013 03:11
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Next time you're out driving take a moment to notice how many people are driving around with their center brake lights out. So. Many.  How?
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Oct 6, 2013 03:30
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Previa_fun posted:Next time you're out driving take a moment to notice how many people are driving around with their center brake lights out. How often do you check all your brake lights? How often does anyone who's not a "car person"? I know that not all mine work all the time, too. Sometimes the bulb holder thing falls out, and I have 3 instead of 4 tail lights. The problem is when two of the three are burned out, and you get just one side lighting up, and you're to interpret that as "STOP!"
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Oct 6, 2013 03:38
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Previa_fun posted:Next time you're out driving take a moment to notice how many people are driving around with their center brake lights out. I have a grand total of 1 taillight. Out of 6. If some jackass hadn't stolen my trunk key I could get back there and fix the electrical mess. I'll have to wait till next month to get a new key made.
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Oct 6, 2013 04:16
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I back up to within a few feet of a wall and use my side mirrors to check my brake lights. Glows red when I stomp on it? Guess that side works. For the CHMSL, I unscrew it, let it hang down, and see it light up in the rearview. Then I bolt it back in, the intermittent connection breaks again, and I get pulled over for it being dead, again.
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Oct 6, 2013 04:24
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11BulletCatcher posted:I have a grand total of 1 taillight. Out of 6. If some jackass hadn't stolen my trunk key I could get back there and fix the electrical mess. I'll have to wait till next month to get a new key made. Are the center ones not reverse lamps like mine are? (center of each cluster of three, I mean)
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Oct 6, 2013 05:38
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Previa_fun posted:Next time you're out driving take a moment to notice how many people are driving around with their center brake lights out. At least in Texas, they're not (supposed to be) checked during the yearly inspection, nor are they even required under state law. Same goes for reverse lights (though I've had an inspector try to fail me over a flaky backup light switch before). I still keep them working, and I've noticed the Avalon will light up the "brake lamp" warning light on the dash if the center bulb is out.
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Oct 6, 2013 09:02
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Anghammarad posted:I've heard some newer cars (Mercedes and Citroen spring to mind) that will put the hazards on automatically, if you slam the brakes on hard enough. Used to see hazards for slowing on trucks a couple of years ago, and now everyone seems to do it I believe newer Mercedes cars will flash their brake lights at like 120hz when you brake really hard. BMW and Audi have been toying with similar things, such as extra-powerful brake light LEDs that only light up under emergency braking or brake lights that become bigger the harder you brake. It's a good idea, but I don't know how the current legislation sees it.
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Oct 6, 2013 09:16
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KozmoNaut posted:I believe newer Mercedes cars will flash their brake lights at like 120hz when you brake really hard. BMW and Audi have been toying with similar things, such as extra-powerful brake light LEDs that only light up under emergency braking or brake lights that become bigger the harder you brake. I think there's some MIT outfit vying for a larger center-light in the US. It's suppose to be a three stage set up, center red, outer amber (I think), and then flashing (basically, brake, hard brake, emergency braking). I was under the impression they were either lobbying for their technology to be implemented, or were wanting to demo it for congress/NTHSB.
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Oct 6, 2013 09:51
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That would confuse the crap out of a lot of people, and we're at a point where cars that radio each other and slam the brakes automatically are close enough that fancier lights for humans to mis-react to is rather pointless.
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Oct 6, 2013 10:43
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Snowdens Secret posted:That would confuse the crap out of a lot of people, and we're at a point where cars that radio each other and slam the brakes automatically are close enough that fancier lights for humans to mis-react to is rather pointless. What might be more effective is lights just spelling out obscenities instead. Obnoxious LED brake lights flashing the work "gently caress" at people would probably grab their attention.
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Oct 6, 2013 10:56
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jammyozzy posted:What might be more effective is lights just spelling out obscenities instead. Obnoxious LED brake lights flashing the work "gently caress" at people would probably grab their attention. LED text display bars for in your car, its the latest road rage application! It can even be voice-controlled! Show your opinion to tailgaters in a whole new way!
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Oct 6, 2013 11:52
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They've been around for several years, though the original version was capable of far more.
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Oct 6, 2013 12:10
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KozmoNaut posted:I believe newer Mercedes cars will flash their brake lights at like 120hz when you brake really hard. BMW and Audi have been toying with similar things, such as extra-powerful brake light LEDs that only light up under emergency braking or brake lights that become bigger the harder you brake. http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2006-01-30/html/E6-1079.htm is a decent read for people who are interested in this. Basically, the feds gave MB USA a temporary exemption to FMVSS 108, which requires steadily illuminated brake lamps, for up to 5000 cars. They had asked for a change to FMVSS 108 to allow all their cars to have it, but the evidence isn't conclusive that they reduce chances of a collision, so a small number of vehicles were exempted so that the results can be studied to allow more informed decisions about whether to modify FMVSS 108. I believe their flash rate is 4Hz, which works out to 240/min. 120Hz would be a barely perceptible "buzz", in fact the PWM drive on most modern LED tail lights is probably around that fast. You can always tell if a car has LED tails if they come on instantly, go off instantly, and produce a series of afterimages instead of a solid streak of light if you sweep your eyes past them quickly.
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Oct 6, 2013 14:37
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kastein posted:http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2006-01-30/html/E6-1079.htm is a decent read for people who are interested in this. Yeah, I messed up the mental calculation, I meant 120/minute 
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Oct 6, 2013 15:25
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KozmoNaut posted:I believe newer Mercedes cars will flash their brake lights at like 120hz when you brake really hard. BMW and Audi have been toying with similar things, such as extra-powerful brake light LEDs that only light up under emergency braking or brake lights that become bigger the harder you brake. This won't stop the five people behind you staring at their phones from running into you. 
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Oct 6, 2013 15:46
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Raluek posted:Are the center ones not reverse lamps like mine are? (center of each cluster of three, I mean) They are. And they don't work either. Wiring is 50 years old after all. I also want to say, must be nice to have hazard lights. Definitely coud have used some several times with my car lol. 11BulletCatcher fucked around with this message at 15:58 on Oct 6, 2013 |
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Oct 6, 2013 15:53
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xsf421 posted:This won't stop the five people behind you staring at their phones from running into you. It actually will. The edges of your vision are extremely sensitive to change and motion, and bright lights blinking are perfect for that.
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Oct 6, 2013 16:20
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