Setting in the Rain?

(03-11-2012 11:33am)PhilSkill Wrote:  But I've never needed 4wd in the rain let alone Snow mode for extra stability, standard Diff stability control on most cars (incl Evoque) is all you need, and if you need it... try slowing down before you kill someone.

Slowing down is a good option...but sometimes you just feel the need or the need for speed and you can't slow down...( driving in standard is ok ) haven't had any issues, but we are expecting bad weather rain/snow mix soon and therefore was wondering is snow mode was ok ( @ 70-80 mph) or not.

Well I can vouch for 60mph in Grass/Gravel and Snow mode - snow up to 8" deep and on 20" summer tyres on the M74, Dec 23rd 2009 in my last RRS, had to work it up to that speed as the throttle was so damped it wouldn't allow "fast" acceleration - if the car's systems sensed there was enough grip it allowed more power to the wheels. Felt amazing in the UK to be driving like that when all around were stranded X5's, Q7's, WRX Scoobies and lots and lots of saloon cars all going no where on the inside lane and hard shoulder - only company was a Ford Focus and lots of Disco3's, other RRS's, Freelanders, FFRR's, Defenders and Skoda Yeti's. I was even able to help pull a guys into the hard shoulder in his Cayman without loosing traction.
Reminds me - time to prepare the winter travel kit - thermal foil sheet, couple of nylon stops and shackles, welly boots, some mountaineering food packs, torch, collapsible spade and the spare fleece jacket, hopefully I won't need it this year with 3 months in S.E India and Sri Lanka coming up............

(06-11-2012 11:30pm)evQ Wrote:  Slowing down is a good option...but sometimes you just feel the need or the need for speed and you can't slow down...( driving in standard is ok ) haven't had any issues, but we are expecting bad weather rain/snow mix soon and therefore was wondering is snow mode was ok ( @ 70-80 mph) or not.

I drive fast just like most of us and this is just my opinion, but driving fast and G/G/S modes just doesn't fit to me, If the conditions are such that you can drive fast then you don't need G/G/S, and as Tim says the throttle response is dampened according to traction by G/G/S mode, can't see it can do any actual harm, might even save some mpg by avoiding you doing any hard acceleration, but may risk you not pulling away at a junction as fast as you were expecting.

Maybe I'm wrong... but I just can't see the need for it just because its raining, until you are at the point of risking being traction limited where you would need some additional assistance to keep the thing moving e.g. once you're into large areas of standing water, slippery conditions from leaves/snow/mud or ice. Stability control is active in normal driving mode.

I think I would consider using it on a motorway with fairly deep water on the surface in the summer on summer tyres but I have run on ice and snow tyres in July on the Cumbria / Lancashire section of the M6 over Shap summit with a couple of inches of standing water over miles and miles, I never used the GGS setting then because the winter tyres grip was amazing and the TC never came on at all but also I slowed right down to about 40mph while nutters in lesser cars were rushing buy in clouds of spray at carzy speeds. I think that maintaining 75-80mph like many people do in those conditions, is madness when they would loose nothing by slowing down to 40mph. It isn't the ability to go fast in these conditions that is the problem, it is the ability to stop quickly without problems and that is what many people forget.

(07-11-2012 11:51am)XFullFatTim Wrote:  I think I would consider using it on a motorway with fairly deep water on the surface in the summer on summer tyres but I have run on ice and snow tyres in July on the Cumbria / Lancashire section of the M6 over Shap summit with a couple of inches of standing water over miles and miles, I never used the GGS setting then because the winter tyres grip was amazing and the TC never came on at all but also I slowed right down to about 40mph while nutters in lesser cars were rushing buy in clouds of spray at carzy speeds. I think that maintaining 75-80mph like many people do in those conditions, is madness when they would loose nothing by slowing down to 40mph. It isn't the ability to go fast in these conditions that is the problem, it is the ability to stop quickly without problems and that is what many people forget.

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