[stuckamy]

Driving/Performance and Handling

Background: My name is Amy, and I guess by the name it tells you I’m a girl. I live in Central Vermont, and went to school in Michigan so I had my share of winter driving and got stuck way too many times. I work in a rather professional office so I wear a lot of skirts and dresses. I have a 2003 Mustang with manual transmission and a 2006 Mustang with automatic transmission. On this particular night I had my 2006 Mustang, it has all season tires on it, and this was the first time in the snow with it. I had left work about 7pm, we had a 3 inch mixture of snow and ice on the roads and cars, it was still snowing lightly. Actually due to my being somewhat of an air head I had to let the car warm up about 15 minutes because I neglected to put a snow brush and ice scraper in the car. So after warming the car up, I struggled to get the car our of my parking space and out of the parking lot, and managed to make my way to the entrance ramp to the interstate, a normal 10 minute drive which this night took about 30 minutes. The entrance ramp was clogged with cars trying to make it up, so I thought that I would drive to my tennis club to burn a little time and use the ladies room because by now I had to go sooooo badly. The club is located in a part of an industrial complex, I turned onto the road leading to the club, and was not picky as to where to park which was a parallel parking space in front of the building, only to find the place closed. The area where my club is, is not widely traveled and you somewhat have to go out of your way to find it, and also in a bad area as my cell phone could not get a signal. Once back in the car I found myself stuck so badly, spinning my wheels helplessly. Not that I mind being stuck, because for me I feel sexy and helpless spinning my wheels in my Mustangs, and you often meet some real cute hunks who are more than gladly to rescue the “damsel in distress”, however I was really not going anywhere, and I was getting frantic because of my need to use the ladies room at the time rather badly by now. I think I was there for a total of two hours and must have been on a lot of ice also because I was not going anywhere, when a plow operator who plows the club parking lot came by and helped me out of my situation. I finally made it home about an hour or so later. My old Mustang is a manual transmission, with all season. I usually was able to get around most of the time, got stuck a many times, and was usually able to rock it out, occasionally I would need a push, and this is the first year though with an automatic. Of course having to use the ladies room as badly as I had to and not being very picky about finding a better parking location and I think being as frantic as I was did not help,

Question: I would like to know from you guys other than getting new tires, which might or might not of helped what a girl should keep in her car so that she was have a decent chance to getting out of a situation (if I want to) again I know there are going to be times when I might not be able to do it on my own, however I would just say like to have an 80% chance at it. I really would like a list which could be a survival kit for female drivers in the snow. Also do you think snow tires would have made any difference in this situation, or would I have been still stuck on and in the ice snow mixture?


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[kscoyote]

you need a limited slip differential. when you use the limited slip, be sure to turn off your TCS.

[shinerstang]

Welcome to the forum Amy..... Holy crap!!!! (or cow as they say up here) As a few survival tools that I keep, even in my Jeep, in the Wintertime is a blanket, extra gloves, sweatshirt, socks, and some sand. If you don't need it, maybe someone who is stranded might, so it is better to be safe than sorry. If you had the sand, you may have gotten out. Put a couple bags on the wheelwells to help wiegh down the rear end of the car. I park my Mustang in the Wintertime so I don't have to deal with it. Good luck!!!!!!

[kscoyote]

I got stuck again in the Focus, going to lunch. This is ridiculous.

[uatlb]

i would deffinitly go with about 150-200lbs of sand in the trunk goodluck

[fishingjts]

Once upon a time a friend of mine told me.. If you're going to drive a Mustang in the snow, don't even bother with all seasons... get a set of dedicated snow tires... that being said... get a set of Bridgestone Blizzaks for the back... I've had them on both of my Mustangs and never had a problem with snow! I live in mid-michigan so we are talking driving through 8 inches of snow with out a hitch...

And yes, a limited slip diff will help! A Ford trac-lock will certainly do the trick...

[myltlpny]

Welcome to the forums, Amy.
A former Yank myself, the others have already given some good advice. Dedicated snow tires would definitely help. I used to cary around a bag of sand, which helped on numerous occasions. I also carried a small shovel, and a length of rope in case I needed a pull. If your tires were just spinning, you might have had the underside of the car hung up on ice. The shovel with a bit of sand in front of the tires might have taken care of that. There have also been a couple of occasions where I happened to have some wood with me and was able to slip it under the tire to get some traction. Then again, an F-150 has a lot more storage space than these Mustangs.

You might want to consider AAA membership, but I'm sure you'll be waiting a while for help in a situation like that.

Good luck and be careful.

[06 Slvr Bullitt]

I agree LSD is a must.

[camostang]

park the damn thing and buy a truck... ive got a 89 gt 5-speed... mine slides in spit... i tried it the furst winter i had it... even bought chains but to no avail... i got smart... and why chance other idiots running into you...

[thomasp6161]

Amy;

I live in Upstate New York, in the Adirondack Park. I drive my 2007 Mustang to work almost everyday. Cell Phone coverage over here is also spotty.

Never let the Gas tank go below half.
A Sand Bag or to in the trunk will help.
Have plastic container with the following items:
A small tool set, with duck tape, hose clamps, and fuses
Basic fluids for the Car (Oil, brake fluid, anti-freeze, etc.)
For the anti-freeze and windshield wipe fluid use an old water bottle, for the size of the original container
Blanket
Flashlight
Flares
Empty clean small water bottle (can be useful for things)
Rag or two
A small kids shovel
Jumper Cables

Also the local 4X4 can order steel rims for around 100 bucks a piece. The rims are just plain ugly. Both for the 16” and 17” rims made for your car.

Tom

P.S. My family loves Vermont. We visit at least once year.

[booger]

After having to go through 6 weeks in a row snow I've noticed a few things about the new Mustangs. Turn off the TCS if you are stuck. I know it will cause you to spin more but that might be what you need. "My old Mustang is a manual transmission, with all season. I usually was able to get around most of the time, got stuck a many times, and was usually able to rock it out,... " didn't have TCS did it?

A friend of mine had to help a few ladies that were stuck just before Christmas. What he found is the cars that had some sort of traction control system would not spin the wheels enough to get unstuck. He offered to help the ladies get their cars going and just shut off the TCS systems and got them on the road again. Just a thought.

[zregime]

Rock salt did it for me last winter...two forty-pound bags, one over each wheel. Can be picked up at any Lowe's or Home Depot, lickety split. Sand is good too, but I wasn't down with the whole process of filling up the bags, tying them, etc. Plus the thought of dirtying up Dixi's trunk (shades of Mr. Vandermey)...

Now mind you, the car will be navigable but still not safe at any speed. Our ponies yearn for a warm dry barn when the snow is fallin'; it's just how they are...

Oh, one other suggestion in addition to the above (inspired by the recent astronaut story)...Depends.

Enjoy yer baby!

[06 Slvr Bullitt]

What about using ShurTrax? From what I seen, it's a big bladder that you fill with water and place in the back of your car or truck and depending on the model, it'll provide anywhere between 100 - 300 extra pounds on the back wheels. It might be something to consider and the small car version is only $70 which I don't think is too bad...plus you'll still have use of your trunk if you need it as that bladder can hold items that weighs up to 3 times as much as the bladder does when it's filled completely with water.

It's something worth considering if you are needing a little bit more traction. Here's the website if you want to check it out.

http://www.shurtrax.com/index.asp

[19jim66]

Amy,
Welcome. I don't know if this will help, but I ran into a similar weather issue two days ago. I was cruising with my top down and ran into the "should I leave it down or put it up" predicament when going into Wallyworld. I opted to put it up, probably a smart move.

All kidding aside, it is once again chilly here, but thankfully snow is a rarity. Good luck dealing with the white stuff!

[SOHCman]

Originally Posted by stuckamy

Driving/Performance and Handling
Question: I would like to know from you guys other than getting new tires, which might or might not of helped what a girl should keep in her car so that she was have a decent chance to getting out of a situation (if I want to) again I know there are going to be times when I might not be able to do it on my own, however I would just say like to have an 80% chance at it. I really would like a list which could be a survival kit for female drivers in the snow. Also do you think snow tires would have made any difference in this situation, or would I have been still stuck on and in the ice snow mixture?.

Hi Amy,

I know exactly what it feels like with Vermont winters (I drive my pony almost everyday).

A week after that Valentine's Day snowfall (we got 2 feet worth of the white stuff) I was coming back from the dealer, oil change, rotation etc, when it started to snow.

30 minutes later, my nice, normally traction-filled, dirt road was all covered with pretty white snow...

Wouldn't be too much of problem except we still have the stock axle and tires.

3/4 of the way up the hill I start losing speed... fast...

I was, get this, 20 feet from my driveway when she just stopped on the hill !

After sliding backwards a few feet, I started getting sporatic traction as I burned through the snow to the dirt and gravel below.

Time seemed to stand still as I inched up the hill slowly, tach sitting at 3000 RPM.

Anything less and I'd start sliding backwards.

Drove me freakin' nuts!

After getting into the driveway (by passing it and BACKING in) I swore I was done with "one-leg" axles.

Mine should be here any day now.

Folks,

I hear a lot of talk about "performance" options, but trust me, safety should be FIRST on your list!!

All the power in the world isn't gonna help if you can't get it to the ground.

The T-LOK axle is CHEAP, it's a FORD part (covered under factory warranty) and will help save your bacon!

Go for that axle upgrade if you have bad weather like we do!!!

Oh, Amy,

Don't forget "Mud Season" is here!!

Welcome aboard!

SOHC