Tree63 Posted February 3, 2013 Report Share Posted February 3, 2013 Didn't see an emoticon for "scared stiff". Last Monday had the worst driving nightmare of my life with Black Ice at night --- a trip that normally takes 4-5 hours took 8, with 5 hours on patchy BI on Hwy 401, the major expressway in Southern Ontario. I have driven in all kinds of winter conditions before and wasn't worried by some light snow that was falling at first. We had decided to take my wife's Honda Civic on the trip, and even with its good Michelin winter tires, anything over 70 km/hr (about 45 mph) had us in a 4 wheel drift or fish-tailing very quickly. Then we would hit a patch of dry or dry enough road to recover for a bit, then back to BI again. After a while, realized that any pavement that was dark was BI -- and it was everywhere. Reason I raise this here is to ask what icy conditions have others driven their C-Max and how did it handle? All kinds of big 18 wheelers passed all the cars, and many cars passed us -- but many did not as well. Didn't see very many in the ditch, which tells me there was some differentiator between cars that passed us and those that did not. I'm wondering if the heavier C-Max, with engine weight up front, and battery weight at rear, would have given better traction in such conditions. Any experiences to share - C-max or otherwise? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roninsd Posted February 3, 2013 Report Share Posted February 3, 2013 :salute: How about this one when you got to your destination? Glad you made it there safely! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinto Posted February 3, 2013 Report Share Posted February 3, 2013 It takes studded snow tires to have any kind of traction on ice. Anything less is like ice skating. Glad you made it in one peice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RachelnLa Posted February 4, 2013 Report Share Posted February 4, 2013 Yikes. Not for me. I will stay in the south. Fits2at 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jus-A-CMax Posted February 4, 2013 Report Share Posted February 4, 2013 There is a stretch of road that I have to take to drive to Mammoth... 14. This is in the high desert and given the right conditions, its black ice hell, lots of crashes and its single lane both ways. Never fun on ice u can't see. Be safe, go slow so if something happens, less damage or chance to recover. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fits2at Posted February 14, 2013 Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 Well first....ice is ice so I don't know that even with added weight it would help much. However, a couple of weeks ago we got some snow that had the roads turning to black ice in a heartbeat. I had to go out to a store to buy a wedding gift for the next day (yep I'm a procrastinator). I was able to do 35 on heavy ice and didn't slip or fishtail once. Glad you made it home safely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donhak Posted February 14, 2013 Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 I haven't had it on glare ice or in deep snow, but with Blizzaks the C-Max handles as good or better than my last car, a Saturn L200 that handled most conditions well. I drove on studded tires for years before switching to Blizzaks, and I much prefer the studless handling especially after the first season of wear. While waiting for the C-Max I ended up driving a Camry for a while with studded tires, and it would frequently lose traction on a tire in spots where I had no problems with the Saturn or now the C-Max. I will get the traction control light to occasionally come on when initially accelerating in slick conditions, but it recovers quicker than my old car, and I am happy with the handling. Even the stock low rolling resistance tires where better on snow with ice underneath than the Camry with fairly new studded tires, which for some reason was a model year where it had anti-lock breaks but no traction control. As with any car, you still have to take conditions into account in driving. Typically about 75% or more of the vehicles in the ditch here are four wheel drives thinking they can drive like it is summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roninsd Posted February 15, 2013 Report Share Posted February 15, 2013 I've always had luck with my Saturns: an L300, Ion and Vue. I was bummed when they went out of business. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StoBro2 Posted February 15, 2013 Report Share Posted February 15, 2013 I had a very brief low speed black ice experience the other night. I was pulling out of the parking lot at my local Piggly Wiggly (Shop the Pig!) and I had to stop at the sign where the driveway meets the street. Little did I know that what I thought was a puddle of water was actually a sheet of ice. I slid through it for several feet with the anti-lock brakes going through their gymnastics trying to cope with the lack of traction. Fortunately there was no traffic on the street because I didn't stop completely until I was a couple of feet into the street. And this was with a set of Michelin X-Ice XI3 winter tires on the car. Does anyone else think "Black Ice Experience" would be a good name for a band? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill-N Posted February 16, 2013 Report Share Posted February 16, 2013 Does anyone else think "Black Ice Experience" would be a good name for a band?I'd prefer "Slippery When Wet." :) zhackwyatt 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.