i have a 2001 discovery and i slid down this entire hill yesteday. I would come to a complete stop, and the moment i lifted my foot off the break and put it back on i would just slide, meanwhile cars like 95 corollas were blowing by me. I had trouble in the snow last winter due to no anti-lock breaks (my three lights were on, but since then i got a sensor fixed and all the lights turned off). Could it be that my abs still doesnt work even though no lights are on? Also, I have some sort of mud-tires on it, which someone told me could be the problem. I thought this car would be good in the snow so any help/suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks a lot.

 

yeah mud and snow are two different beasts... thats why they make snow tires... braking on snow or ice is a touchy subject, someone with more experience than me with it will have to chime it, but i am pretty sure that even with anti lock brakes in full functioning form it is still very easy to slide all over the place... just remember turn into the skid and light throttle... drift... maintain a smooth line and drift closer to walls for more points... oh wait thats video games... but do it anyway...

 

If you're driving on that much snow and ice you should probably lock your center diff, I don't know if you have the linkage installed in your truck, but that's what I'd do if I knew I was going to be on ice for more than a minute or two. Oh and if you're going downhill (not 100% on this someone correct me if I'm wrong) it's better to use engine braking, right?

 

I'm running Goodyear MT/R's in the snow and I've had to adjust to braking a lot earlier than normal in the snow.

Corolla's weigh less than half what your Rover does, making them much easier to stop. I only use the first 1/4 of the brake pedal in the snow to stop, anything more and the ABS kicks in.

On long downhill sections move down a gear so the RPM's are between 2000 and 3000 rpm, where the torque peak is. This will help you keep from accelerating too much.

Cheers,

Pete

 

Engine raking is the safer way to slow the vehicle on ice. It keeps the tires turning while slowing. If possible, I never touch my brakes until I am about to come to a complete stop, usually under 10 mph. Give yourself plenty of room to react if you do start to slide. And contrary to what your senses may tell you, in a slide it is best to head for snow. Loose snow will help your vehicle stop. I have actually gone up on an empty sidewalk to get a sliding vehicle stopped. I grew up in Alaska so I have a fair amount of experience driving in snow and ice.

As for tires, mud tires suck on ice. You want tires with lots of edges or siping since it is those edges that grip the ice and allow you to stop without sliding. Most all terrains do acceptably well on ice but a true snow tire is a better way to go. I recently purchased a set of Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armor tires and swear by them on icy roads. I have them on my hemi powered Dodge pickup and have no trouble getting around in two wheel drive, if I drive sanely. The Bridgestone Dueler ATs I have on my Rover also did well in snow. Snow tires are kind of mislabeled. They should be called ice tires. Snow tires will have lots of block treads close together to give the edges needed to grip on ice. A real "snow" tire would look more like a mud tire that is capable of acting pretty much as a paddle to pull through the snow. I'm not sure where you live but if you are somewhere that gets a lot of snow and ice you may also want to look in to a set of studded snow tires.

 

If you are running the stock Goodyear type tire, that will be your main problem, second problem sounds like you need a lot more experience driving in the snow and should go find some quiet areas to learn how to get around better once you have the tires. Lastly, as already mentioned, if the snow is really bad you need to learn more about your t/case and it's CDL feature.

 

snow driving is easy,,

i am on street tires.

lock your center diff right off,,
drive in 3rd gear to get moving,,
downshift to 2nd and to 1st when driving down a hill,,
when coming to a stop start slowing well before the place you want to stop. only use the first 1/4 of your brake peddle.
if you are in doubt, then DO NOT attempt,,,

have fun!

 

I live in MI and I drive a cargo van for a living, alot of driving on snow covered frozen dirt roads.
Your LR is heavy, it will take longer to stop even on dry roads.
You will need to get rid of the mud tires as they are a harder rubber and tires get stiff when they are cold and do not grip as well.
Snow tires are made of soft rubber so that they stay pliable in the cold weather.
When you are on ice or slippery snow do NOT downshift, you can cause the tires to lose traction.
In my humble opinion ABS sucks a$$ on snow and ice, I can stop my van is a shorter distance by not using it.
If you shift into neutral you can stop faster, no power to the drive wheels means the braking goes to stopping the car not fighting the engine and stopping the car.
Practice, pratice, pratice. You must know your car and the way that it will handle on snow.
If you can avoid long steep hills when they are snow covered.
There are times when I have to walk down driveways because I cannot get down them with my van, either I could get stuck or I could slide into something.

 

Though I do love the landrover I miss being able to spin a full cookie in front of my house. My truck is an 81 ford f-100 with a 302. I hit the gas and turn the wheel and it goes round and round. A whole lotta fun.

If however a more experienced driver with the all wheel drive knows a way of doing this please tell!!

 

Well...LR's are full time four wheel drive, NOT all wheel drive.

Crank the wheel and hit the gas, she'll spin around and do donuts.