Subaru Forester Owners Forum banner

Need some tips on how to stop on ice / black ice

9K views 42 replies 28 participants last post by  dr k 
#1 ·
For once I would like to stop before the stop sign instead of skidding couple of feet pass it. I'm already slowing down way before the stop sign, anti-lock kicks in, and my car is still going. Would it be better for me to be at a almost complete stop couple of yards of where I want to be and then craw forward just incase there is ice there?
 
#2 ·
What kind of tire are you running? Are you running studded tires? Are you staying on the brakes when you get on them; using ABS properly? It sounds like you answered your own question; start your stop sooner.

A good tip: Be extremely careful when you suspect water over ice, such as a snow-packed intersection with lots of traffic. This is the worst road condition you could find yourself in.
 
#3 ·
Thanks for asking this question! Is there a good thread on here about driving a Subaru in the snow?

I have only driven in snow a couple of times but would like to go up into the mountains near here (grew up in Louisiana, now live in Oregon)
 
#4 ·
Well for driving in the snow for many years in all kinds of cars, it really doesn't matter what you have for stopping. With ABS you'll feel like you arn't getting enough stopping power and with no ABS you'll feel the opposite! The best thing you can to is simply slow down early! The way I like to think about it is that the sooner you apply the brakes, the quicker you slow your rotating mass, and the sooner your tires, winter or not, can gain proper grip. When dealing with black ice, or watery ice, you may be SOL in certain situations. What I like to do in most situations, and any car, no matter how familiar, is to give a strong brake tap when I think theres a slick patch, especially on a freeway ramp, intersection or stop sign. This way I am aware of the conditions and they don't just appear when I don't need them. Ice driving takes practice, patience and awareness that neither you, your car or the other cars and their drivers are going to be able to stop suddenly. All said and done, when the temperature drops, so should your speed as well as your space for braking should increase. Go get some practice in, in the quite part of town tonight, just to get the feel.

Drive Safe!
 
#5 ·
Yes...slow down early...if you normally drive 25 MPH on a certain stretch of road, when you suspect icing on cold days...drive 12.5.

Also braking can be challenging and comes with experience on ice, but the real key is making sure your speed is low enough so you never lose complete control of the vehicle...having said that..sometimes you are gonna start to slide...when that happens, if you are going slow enough...very light taps on the brakes (I know the ABS guys say you should not pump the brakes but ABS works better at higher speeds) at low speeds (and if there is ice you should be driving like grandma moses) slight brake pumping works at least for me here in NJ.

11 years in Forester with NJ slushy, icy winters and never an uncontrolled slide...unlike my previous Corolla which slid all over the damn place.
 
#6 ·
Well, I like to drive in 3 when it's slippery out, that way when I let off the gass the gear slows me down first and then I apply the brake a little..You can always down shift to slow the car down with the engine and then brake. I always approach a slippery intersection very slowly..Just slOW dOwn!!..

Cheers~
 
#7 ·
Always have an exit strategy. That's the most important thing. If you approach a stop sign, and there's ice you didn't expect, be sure you have a bail-out plan if something doesn't go right. Be that off-the road, or a smaller impact than getting T-boned at a divided highway. It also helps if the person behind you is about to rear-end you. If you have a safe exit planned, take it. I usually stop and partially cover the gas with my right foot and stay in 1st gear. If someone is flying up on me, I just launch out of the way (if there is no on-coming traffic).

In actual snow, it depends on how much room you have. With a Subaru, stay in the throttle. I find it's easiest to handle the car if you steer by throttle in the snow. If you are going to slide, it's better to oversteer than understeer. Also, keep your front tires and your eyes pointed where you want the car to go.

I find Subaru's are exceptionally easy to slide around. Just keep the wheel pointed and your foot in the throttle.
 
#10 ·
Winter Fun

Snow tires help. But, really take the advice from earlier posts and practice. I have lived in the snow belt of Northern Michigan for most of my life so I believe that driving in winter conditions takes practice. Find that abandoned parking lot and do a few donuts with the parking brake (don't use high speed, cause you never know then the tires may grip....), try all sorts of maneuvers and scenarios to figure out how you and your FOZ react. Lean from the experience and perfect the shortfalls. This will build your confidence and allow you to keep a clear head when all else fails. A bail out plan will not work if you are in a panic. But, please have one as it is easier to tow your car out of a relatively fluffy snowbank than to have the "Jaws" rip your door off. Speed.... You need to practice your driving in slushy, blowing, and icy conditions to determine what a safe speed is for you in all conditions. There will always be a-holes on the road in a hurry, you need to look out for yourself and don't believe that anyone else is a defensive driver. If a driver is posing a safety risk for you then you need to pull off the road at a safe place, not necessarily on the shoulder, and let them by. I pray that you don't creep along at a "Sunday driver" pace, just keep a confident safe speed with an idea of how to react if the car should get into a skid. Confidence is key, white knuckle driving is hazardous.
 
#11 ·
The best thing that will really help are studded tires, even better studded Blizzak tires or some sort of tire cables. Barring that, basically what others have said, practice. My Forester is a manual and I like to rev-match, down shift early before the stop sign. The thing is I've been on glare ice and short of emergency z-cables you will slide around.
 
#12 ·
When it comes to curves...go slower than you feel necessary and then use power to go through them. Its easier to speed up than slow down. Use advance power to go up hills and slow down in advance when going down hills.

Going down a hill and around a curve at the same time is the worst of all worlds.
 
#18 ·
Well up here in Northern Mn, specifically the Fargo/Moorhead area, we get a lot of small snows, which tends to build up and just be driven on and compacted in to a smooth glossy surface. I've definitely noticed that with the increase in fuel, they are not plowing the roads as frequently as they did 10 years ago, especially in town. Our first snow of about an inch or two is still compacted all over creating this ice. And if you get any heavy traffic or strange precipitation, the black ice forms, and traditionally you can't see black ice until you have realized it! It accounts for one totaled car on my parents count.
 
#15 ·
Also, if you try and turn but your car keeps going straight, I've found that shifting into second, turning completely in the way you're turning and flooring it, will kick your tail out and get your car in the right place instead of sliding halfway across the road. This is also called drifting lol but doing it in situations like this (if you're able to do it and keep control) can definitely help you get out of a bad situation!
 
#16 ·
If possible I've found that downshifting (if a manual transmission) in places you normally might not can help eliminate the car's tendancy to shift weight forward and slide... it applies a more even braking force, if you've rev-matched on the downshifts. And excessive coasting is usually a nice help, the less time spent having to use the brakes... the less time you spend sliding to a stop. Also, exit strategies are very important.
 
#19 ·
When I drive I assume that evey single person driving with me on the road is a complete maniac who just escaped a mental institution. This helps me to drive more carefully, on ice, snow, rain, or just stupid traffic where everyone wants to drive 80 with about 4 inches of clearance between cars.
 
#21 · (Edited)
If your car is equipped with an automatic transmission, you might try shifting from "D" to "N" at low speed as you approach a full stop. This will remove any residual engine torque from the drive wheels and help stop the car, especially if the ABS has been activated.

I use this technique when piloting my AT-equipped 3/4 ton RWD pickup in snow and/or ice. It works great, but I do have to remember to shift back into "D" to get going. All four Subarus in my extended family are MT models, so I don't know if/how this technique might work with Subaru's AT/AWD configuration.

An excellent example of this "locked front wheels + driven rear wheels" problem is a Weather Channel winter video of a big ol' white Lincoln heading downhill on ice with the front wheels locked and the rear (drive) wheels slowly rotating...

And, no matter what, even if you can stop under slippery conditions, keep an extra watch in your rear-view mirror...

HTH,
Jim / crewzer
 
#29 · (Edited)
If your car is equipped with an automatic transmission, you might try shifting from "D" to "N" at low speed as you approach a full stop. This will remove any residual engine torque from the drive wheels and help stop the car, especially if the ABS has been activated.
Only in RWD (and may be some part-time, rear-biased AWD, not Subaru), and only near complete stop, never at speed.


Also, careful with the "brake pulsing" and "normal pressure", as it does not do any good by itself, and might just lock the wheels.

Always try to know why you're doing something. It's all about physics. And practice.
 
#22 ·
imo, it all depends on your driving style/habit and how ell you know your vehicles capabilities and limitations. whatever method works for me and my vehicle is not a guarantee that it will work for other people.

i brake earlier at the normal pressure like i normally brake when on dry pavement and distance and then gently re-apply the brakes afterwards.

it's like it breaks that forward momentum from the first quick pulse and then re-applying the brakes slows it down even more.

i didnt come up with this at all. it was pointed out to me by one of my buddies when he asked how i managed to stop before the pedestrian line on traffic lights while we were driving on old keene mill road that was covered with black ice. i told him i didnt know what he was talking about. he watched how i braked and told me that i pulse my foot on the brakes for a second then re-apply it quickly afterwards.

oh, and no, my ABS does not kick in when i do this.
 
#28 ·
i brake earlier at the normal pressure like i normally brake when on dry pavement and distance and then gently re-apply the brakes afterwards.

it's like it breaks that forward momentum from the first quick pulse and then re-applying the brakes slows it down even more.
I think that this is the single greatest fact about slippery conditions, no matter what you drive, or have on the wheels.

If your car is equipped with an automatic transmission, you might try shifting from "D" to "N" at low speed as you approach a full stop. This will remove any residual engine torque from the drive wheels and help stop the car, especially if the ABS has been activated.

I use this technique when piloting my AT-equipped 3/4 ton RWD pickup in snow and/or ice. It works great, but I do have to remember to shift back into "D" to get going. All four Subarus in my extended family are MT models, so I don't know if/how this technique might work with Subaru's AT/AWD configuration.

An excellent example of this "locked front wheels + driven rear wheels" problem is a Weather Channel winter video of a big ol' white Lincoln heading downhill on ice with the front wheels locked and the rear (drive) wheels slowly rotating...

And, no matter what, even if you can stop under slippery conditions, keep an extra watch in your rear-view mirror...

HTH,
Jim / crewzer
I'm not sure how I feel about the N maneuver. I can see this in specific situations, but other wise, the engine will help you brake as long as your in a real gear, and not overdrive.
 
#24 ·
a good rule of thumb ive heard is that for every 10mph u go, u should drive 2 car lengths behind the guy in front of you... I used this up here yesterday morning around 5am, with the roads iced over... gave me just enough room to get my car to a halt.
 
#31 · (Edited)
Like the others have said, I brake early - that last bit of real-estate right before where the "stop line" happens to be tends to be where black-ice forms, and it's always where people get into trouble.

Although both modern "Studless Ice and Snow" tires (can you believe that these things actually have "micropumps," to evacuate water away from the ice surface? yup, they're pretty amazing) and studded tires will help, they're still far from any guaranty - with anything less aggressive, like "Performance Winters," forget about it, you'll still be sliding (trust me on this one, I've got experience with both types, and if you don't want to trust me, that's OK, too :smile:, just take a look at any of the well-recognized winter tire reviews, they all say the same thing).

Controlling your speed early, leaving plenty of space, and having a pre-planned "out" (including watching out behind and around you, after you've come to a stop) - that's about the only thing that you can do....physics is physics. :wink:
 
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.
Top