Topic: Winter - Forwards or Backwards

[RunsinLight]

My Driveway is a slight hill going up when I leave. In the winter when it's either icy or packed snow I sometimes have trouble getting going up the hill.
Would it be easier to back up the hill (more of pushing motion) or to drive forward up the hill which would be more of a pulling motion by the car.

[HeliDriver]

Depends on whether your car is FWD or RWD.

When the car is on a slope, there will be more weight on the downhill end of the car. That's the end that will get better traction, so if the car is RWD you'll be better off driving up forwards, while FWD will have better traction driving up in reverse.

[random006]

My Driveway is a slight hill going up when I leave. In the winter when it's either icy or packed snow I sometimes have trouble getting going up the hill.
Would it be easier to back up the hill (more of pushing motion) or to drive forward up the hill which would be more of a pulling motion by the car.

From the sound of things, you have front wheel drive.  I guess the short answer is to do the opposite of whatever you are currently doing and see if the results are better.

I would imagine going forward (pulling motion) would be easier in a front wheel drive (FWD) car.  I always understood that better traction in such situations was one of the reasons for creating FWD in the first place.

Of course, proper winter tires make either method easier.

[safristi]

HILL STREET BLUES?? ....as wifey always sez of a cute house up onna HILL....HOW do they get UP there in WINTER!!!!!..........saved ME MILLIONS.....

[HeliDriver]

FWD generally gets better traction because of the extra drivetrain mass over the drive wheels.

While a typical RWD car might have 50/50 or 55/45 front/rear weight distribution, your average FWD car is at least 60/40. Given equal vehicle weights, the FWD car will have more weight over the drive wheels, giving it more traction.

Of course, that's only on flat ground. As the vehicle climbs a slope, the weight distribution shifts rearwards, taking traction away from the front wheels and increasing traction at the rear. Same thing happens under acceleration, and why it's so silly to build drag racers from FWD cars (IMHO, of course  ).

[wing]

Also note as you accelerate weight is shifted rear-ward so all in all FWD sucks

FWD wasn't created to get better snow traction it was created to save $$$$$$

[barrie1]

I would wait until a real nasty day and then experiment with going both ways as the driveway surface conditions will dictate which is the easier of the 2. My driveway also has a slope to it but not all that bad and I personally prefer to backin as often as possible myself no-matter which type of drive system I am useing. I find it easier and safer to leave with a front view of the street. 

[airbalancer]

Get a Hummer

[safristi]

  I'm Not sure i wanna see BARRIE go both ways.......................................that's more than Scaerio......

[dr_spock]

Not sure you'll be accelerating in your driveway fast enough that weight shift will make a difference.    When I lived in Montreal, I had one of those steep inclined into the basement driveways.   I always drove in and backed out.  Best thing is to keep the driveway cleared of snow and ice. 

[Railton]

I'm Not sure i wanna see BARRIE go both ways.......................................that's more than Scaerio......

"Stick around, folks. I've got five questions with Francis coming up right after the break.
Railton

[tortoise]

Not sure you'll be accelerating in your driveway fast enough that weight shift will make a difference.   

The weight shift is from the incline, not the acceleration.  The fiances parents have a cottage with a fairly steep road.  After 3 unsucessful attempts last winter at getting the car up driving forwards, I hopped in and drove it up in reverse on the first try.  Of course I like to think it was my superb driving skillz, but the reality is that driving up in reverse made all the difference.

[RunsinLight]

My next question would be. Does anyone have any tricks for stopping side windows from freezing shut and side mirrors from being ice covered?

[Railton]

My next question would be. Does anyone have any tricks for stopping side windows from freezing shut and side mirrors from being ice covered?

Well, if you don't have a working defroster and heated mirrors you could always try a bit of glycerin.
Railton

[johngenx]

The only problem with backing up the driveway is that most transmissions have a super-steep reverse gear, meaning you can easily lose traction thanks to wheelspin.  One feature I loved on my Mercedes was the winter setting for reverse, enabling a lower-numerical reverse gear.  Backing out of down-sloped angle parking spots was so much easier...

[safristi]

Glycerin.........ta fer tha poop...Railton..................i woz "backed UP".......

[barrie1]

Are you so sure its actually worked yet Saf? 

[safristi]

 ...yeah the skidmarks have been taken care off...............