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#1
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Perfection has a name...SVX!
Tonight is the start of the first *real* snow that Central VA has gotten this Winter and we should get a couple inches overnight and 5+ this coming weekend.
Around 9:30pm, I decided to go out for a quick spin and my step-daughter Kelsey tagged along. I went along some steep backroads which were unsalted and completely covered over by the white stuff. The awd 4EAT and my all-season Bridgestones handled it like it was nothing at all. Kelsey was surprised we made it up a few inclines where there were some fwd/rwd cars that had been abandoned at the side of the road. She honestly commented that my car handled as well in the snow as my mother-in-law's awd Honda CR-V. When we returned, she was beaming ear-to-ear, and my wife asked her if she was ever scared. Her reply "No way, I was in an SVX!" -Chike P.S. How's that for bonding with yer kids!
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"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something." - Plato 2013 Cosmic Blue 5spd Evo X GSR 2006 Galaxy Gray 6MT RX-8 (sold) 2006 Steel Gray WRX TR (sold) 1996 Brilliant Red SVX L (sold) |
#2
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I think the SVX handles better but the CR-V can go deeper...hehe
I'm looking forward to the coming weekend. Just now I went to some dirt roads, it was pretty tough to go. It's about 4-5 inches of snow and underneath was ice. When I was almost got stuck, my rear wheels kept spinning alot more than my front wheels(sometimes my front wheels stopped), do you know why?
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-SSSVX 92 LS-L TEAL since Aug '01 92 LS-L YELLOW since Mar '05 |
#3
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Ice, T
I'll make a guess.
Your front wheels had the benefit of fresh snow, which, when it compacts into the tread and compresses beneath the tyre, actually has a certain level of grip. The rear tyres were following in the track of the fronts, and did not have the luxury of fresh snow to grip. So they kept polishing the track, and losing grip. The AWD system assigns more torque to the wheels with better grip. As there is no way the system can assign zero torque to any one or two wheels, if your rears start spinning [or the fronts!] on really slippy stuff, then you lose traction and spin up the no-grip wheel/s. Laws of Physics, and all that. To give the traction system a chance, you should drive with the MANU system on, and drive as smoothly as possible so as not to provoke a break in traction. Joe
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#4
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yeah, but you need thinner wheels on snow, I guess a set of thin spare wheels will do the trick
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Danny 1994 Silver SVX in hybernation, awaiting for the monsterous awakening (Lebanon) 1967 Mercedes-Benz 250SL Euro Specs, Hard/Softtop, White/Red. Under Complete Restoration 2013 Mercedes-Benz SL350 Euro Specs, White/Red. Mint... Another step into SL Collection. |
#5
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This is correct in principle, but in practise, would work against you in the SVX.
The thin tyres you mention [used for rallying] tend to have lugs on the treads, and dig deep for traction. To offset the "digging deep" the suspension has to be set up for higher ground clearance, and the rims are often taller than standard, which will work in the wheelarches of rally cars. With the SVX, if the tyres dig deep, the car will sit the body on top of the snow, and go nowhere. Joe
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Black Betty [Bam a Lam!] '93 UK spec, still languishing Betty Jersey Girl Silver '92 UK [Channel Isles] 40K Jersey Girl @ Mersea Candy Purple Honda Blackbird Plum Dangerous White X2 RVR Mitsubishi 1800GDI. Vantastic 40,000 miles Jersey Girl |
#6
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Japanese [JDM] snow use.
Just occurs to me,I have a JDM twin-turbo Legacy Wagon.
In Japan, they either ski a lot, or it snows a lot. Many of the Legacy awd wagons like mine come fitted with M&S tyres. These have a block tread pattern, to grip the snow, and are the same size or a little narrower than standard. Trouble is, these tyres are noisy and useless in any situation other than snow. I would consider their lack of stopping ability to be dangerous. So my recommendation for a spare winter set would be decent M&S tyres with a winter low-temp rubber compound, maybe one size narrower than standard. Joe
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Black Betty [Bam a Lam!] '93 UK spec, still languishing Betty Jersey Girl Silver '92 UK [Channel Isles] 40K Jersey Girl @ Mersea Candy Purple Honda Blackbird Plum Dangerous White X2 RVR Mitsubishi 1800GDI. Vantastic 40,000 miles Jersey Girl |
#7
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Quote:
-Chike
__________________
"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something." - Plato 2013 Cosmic Blue 5spd Evo X GSR 2006 Galaxy Gray 6MT RX-8 (sold) 2006 Steel Gray WRX TR (sold) 1996 Brilliant Red SVX L (sold) |
#8
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Wednesday night, we had only two inches of snow on the ground, and I had driven 7+3/4s of the eight miles home, when on the next to last flat ninety degree turn, the one not protected from wind by trees, the back end let go first!
Then it was a long slow slide with me taking up both sides of the narrow road, finally catching it by tossing it in to neutral. I'm glad no one else was there! It would have been stupid/embarassing to crash at 30mph Tonight I put on the new 16s. Winter is here. You be careful out there. Tom
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www.svxfiles.com The first SuperCharged SVX, the first 4.44 gears, the first equal length headers, the first phenolic spacers, the first Class Glass fiberglass hood, the first with 4, 4.44s in his driveway Fiberglass Hood thread My locker 4.44 Swap link |
#9
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Quote:
When one wheel stops spinning the opposite side will be spinning twice as fast as your rear wheels or spedometer will indicate.
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David B. SVXipedia @ SVX-IW.COM -- SVX Information Warehouse 2.0 coming...eventually! Ebony 1992 SVX LS-L 5 spd Koni/GC Stebro 187k miles RIP (Rust In Pieces) 1993 SVX 5 spd Koni/GC Stebro Polyurethane bushings still available! |
#10
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Re: Japanese [JDM] snow use.
Quote:
Mike |
#11
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Finally was able to upload a pic I took this morning after the 1+ inches of snow we got last night.
One thing I did learn today, is that in snow of less than 3", my SVX is better than my mother-in-law's CR-V. She has a steep paved driveway and was unable to get even a 1/4 of the way up before her vehicle went sideways and slid back down. I just put my SVX in 1st gear and powered my way to the top... -Chike
__________________
"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something." - Plato 2013 Cosmic Blue 5spd Evo X GSR 2006 Galaxy Gray 6MT RX-8 (sold) 2006 Steel Gray WRX TR (sold) 1996 Brilliant Red SVX L (sold) |
#12
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Quote:
IBsomeonefromNewEnglandcallsPittsburghsnowweak
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Alan 1987 928 S4 (Black) SOLD! 1997 SVX LSi (Ebony) SOLD! 2005 Legacy GT (Silver) [Cobb Stg 2+] SOLD! 1987 928 S4 (Black) SOLD! 2005 Forester XT Premium (Crystal Gray Metallic) SOLD! 2008 Lancer Evolution X MR (Apex Silver) [Cobb Stg 1+] 2015 Outlander Sport 2.4GT AWD (Mercury Gray) 2013 G37xS (Obsidian Black) |
#13
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i would imagine that for a car like the svx thinner tires would be dramaticly worse because of the weight distribution over a smaller tread patch. i have seen the use of thin tires in mud boggin but i havent in snow. but i could be wrong. hopefully it should start snowing here and if im lucky we will have atleast 8 inches. theirs nothing better than driving past a salisbury cop in your awd sportscar knowing full well that in the event that you were to drive in a reckless maner that he could do nothing about it because america is stupid and they use the crown vic as a cop car..... seeing as i have the only svx in salisbury their will be no donoughts for me tonight. tear ... sniff sniff....
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#14
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thinner tires are better in the snow. if you don't believe that, try driving a Corvette on snow covered roads.
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Alan 1987 928 S4 (Black) SOLD! 1997 SVX LSi (Ebony) SOLD! 2005 Legacy GT (Silver) [Cobb Stg 2+] SOLD! 1987 928 S4 (Black) SOLD! 2005 Forester XT Premium (Crystal Gray Metallic) SOLD! 2008 Lancer Evolution X MR (Apex Silver) [Cobb Stg 1+] 2015 Outlander Sport 2.4GT AWD (Mercury Gray) 2013 G37xS (Obsidian Black) |
#15
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Quote:
But we already said that using thinner tyres on the SVX will cause the body to sit on heavy snow. The Impreza in your pic [nice one, BTW!] has 3 or 4 inches more ground clearance than the standard SVX.
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Black Betty [Bam a Lam!] '93 UK spec, still languishing Betty Jersey Girl Silver '92 UK [Channel Isles] 40K Jersey Girl @ Mersea Candy Purple Honda Blackbird Plum Dangerous White X2 RVR Mitsubishi 1800GDI. Vantastic 40,000 miles Jersey Girl |
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