Snow and Marauder Suck

[TheDealer]

Got a Explorer to drive home tonight. Had about 1" of snow this morning and the Marauder sucked!!! Supposed to get another 8".

[TAF]

I'd say come South...but, heck it didn't make it out of the 30s here today...none of that white junk, though.

[GarageMahal]

It's not that bad with proper tires :)

[TheDealer]

Yeah, performance tires suck in wet weather.

[Bowman9]

The factory tires are M+S?
I did a little sliding around myself this morning. My bigger problem was stopping, I am not use to the ABS brakes.
All that feed back through the pedal is kind of scary, but I was told by a friend not to let off the pedal once the ABS starts.
I guess I'll have to learn to slow down enough before the ABS kicks in.

[Bowman9]

Does anybody know of any "snow chains" that will fit our wheels "without" straching our rims.
Maybe something made out of nylon, rubber, or plastic. No metal please. And if they went on and off with velcro instead of a buckle that would pretty cool.
Just a thought.

[Agent M79]

Heh, TAF. NC+30°=1 FAST MM

I finally got to feel a WOT 2-3 shift properly today with the MM snorking up that fresh cold air! It happens somewhere near 75 or so!

Might have to do the "Helmholtz Maneuver" (remove the intake silencer) so I can hear the MM huff!

[duhtroll]

I drove the speed limit all the way to work this morning in a few inches of the schnee.

Even with no extra weight in the trunk this car is better on snow than any other I've owned (but also the only one I've spent money on these tires for) It is certainly better than the last three cars which were all front wheel drive.

In any case I have no worries about snow driving.

-A

[MapleLeafMerc]

Dealer, if you get snow tires like some of us have done it handles pretty well. The factory 'slicks' are no match for the white stuff.

[CRUZTAKER]

NO CHAINS!!!!!!
unless your in the adirondaks or something...and then I would suggest BUYING A TRUCK OR SOMETHING!:D

Seriously, I ran Kelly Wintermark studded snows last year and I had no issue at all, in fact, it was a riot how well I got around!

Don't let that M+S fool you. Those tires suck in snow. Period. It actually stands for Miserable in Snow.

BTW: My MM saw nearly 6 inches of snow today.....I opened the barn doors and let her see it :P
Crown Vic with studded Kelly's ROCKS :up:

[CRUZTAKER]

I am putting my old MM snow package on a new member's car tomorrow....he would have never made it home tonight around here at this moment. He took the train to work today.

[Marauderman]

Originally posted by Agent M79
Heh, TAF. NC+30°=1 FAST MM

I finally got to feel a WOT 2-3 shift properly today with the MM snorking up that fresh cold air! It happens somewhere near 75 or so!

Might have to do the "Helmholtz Maneuver" (remove the intake silencer) so I can hear the MM huff!

I suppose any future "light" runs together are out of the question.

[jgc61sr2002]

Originally posted by Bowman9
The factory tires are M+S?
I did a little sliding around myself this morning. My bigger problem was stopping, I am not use to the ABS brakes.
All that feed back through the pedal is kind of scary, but I was told by a friend not to let off the pedal once the ABS starts.
I guess I'll have to learn to slow down enough before the ABS kicks in. Bowman9 - That is correct, just keep pressure on the brake pedal. The ABS will pulsate the brakes faster than any human IMO.

[Bigdogjim]

Well my Marauder is sleeping well under a blanket of snow:):):)

It can stay their till spring.................

This way I can't see the ^&%$#* paint :):):):):):)

[Bigdogjim]

Originally posted by TheDealer
Got a Explorer to drive home tonight. Had about 1" of snow this morning and the Marauder sucked!!! Supposed to get another 8".

Hang in their Ray.............

We are in a 40 hour storm......................... ....

Should get 12"+ when finished:):):)

[Murader03]

I work the night shift, midnight to 8 AM. I hadn't planned on putting the winter boots on the MM till next week as I'm of to Ohio on Friday. Who knows what kinda weather would be happening there or in the PA mountains. So, when I got up about 4 PM yesterday and heard the lastest of 6-10" on snow, I got out the boots. Sure glad I did, even though most had turned to rain and slush by the time I got off work this morning. The winter boots make the MM more docile with little or now slipping and sliding. Sure glad I got the last year........

[martyo]

My MM is tucked safely in the garage because it just will not go up my 45 degree angled driveway (traction cointrol be damned!). It's for the best though--the salt truck just went by for the 6th time.....

[CRUZTAKER]

Another happy owner! :D

Gil, a new 300B MM owner, and new to the site, picked up my former cruz winter package today. He's gonna love these Kelly's! And now I buy something.....mmmm:P

Something for Gage....yeah.... thats the ticket:bs:

[junehhan]

I am absolutely jealous of all you guys getting snow at this time. I love snow, and as twisted as it sounds, I love driving in it. We were supposed to get something, but they changed the forcast and now there is no snow in the forcast for us. If you guys don't want it, please send it my way! Even if the snow is too dangerous or deep to drive in, I just love bringing out the inner kid in me and just going out to play in it.

[TripleG]

Getting a foot of snow today. I couldn't believe I got a call to go to work!. My MM is in the garage with a cover over it. I ended up talking a co-worker on how to join a group so I wouldn't have to drive in this weather.

I never owned a front wheel drive car and I always got around just find. The key is know when to give it some gas. I will be out and about tomorrow. Will let you know.

[Bowman9]

I did some more driving today on the snow packed/ice covered roads of Chester County, thanks Penn Dott :(
I have the T/C on and have been letting the ABS do it's thing as "jgc61sr2002" told me, but should I have the overdrive on or off? I think I had a little better control with it off.
What do you guys think?

[BillyGman]

but i don't have traction control nor do I want it, and I drove for four hours today in that snow storm just looking for hills that my Marauder couldn't handle w/the Michelin Arctic Alpines on all four corners, and let me tell you, I made it up some of the biggest, longest, and steepest hills in Connecticut that were all snow covered!!! I've never had snow tires that worked this good on a rear wheel drive car before. And I've had plenty of rear wheel drive cars. I highly recommend these tires to everyone. Especially to those who have rear wheel drive cars. Yesterday, I had to drive in the snow w/the stock tires on my Marauder, and I couldn't get around at all in the snow. Today it snowed even more than it did yesterday, but I mounted the snows. What a difference!!!

[TripleTransAm]

Originally posted by Bowman9

I have the T/C on and have been letting the ABS do it's thing as "jgc61sr2002" told me, but should I have the overdrive on or off? I think I had a little better control with it off.
What do you guys think?


Interesting... back in the days of my 2.93:1 equipped Parisienne, I used to notice how in really bad snowy conditions, most of the times it seemed to help stability if I kept the car in '2' (which on GM cars allows you to start in 1st and upshift to 2nd but no further).

Perhaps it's the fact of the lower tranny gear applying some ever-so-slight engine braking to the rear wheels which might help keep the rear end where it belongs? Might help to keep in mind that those were the days of putting snow tires only on the rear of RWD cars... perhaps the different sizes of the MM tires front-to-back might result in a similar effect?

I got caught in a surprise snow dump today, in my MM, without snow tires. I did notice a big improvement in stability with the OD off, to be honest, at speeds where 4th gear might kick in if I let off the pedal.

And just to p*ss off BillyGman ;) , I'll add that traction control helped me out quite a few times, and allowed me to climb the snowed-in slight incline of my driveway without any stress, as I initially tried last spring. Any more than 1/2 a foot of snow might have incapacitated my MM with its 14000 mile BFGs (not many burnouts on them, though), but I was able to at least make use of their supposed M+S rating without getting into too much trouble. I even tried pulling myself up the incline by starting on the incline itself, and with a light foot on the throttle, the TCS was able to get me moving.

Should be getting the Arctic Alpines soon enough...

[junehhan]

It's amazing how something so simple like traction control can be so effective. Last year during a big snow storm, I rode to church in my father's Crown Vic because my vehicle was out of service at the time. There is a very steep driveway leading up to the parking lot, and while non TC vehicles were having a helluva time trying to get up the driveway, mine gradually inched it's way up as I kept a constant throttle position. The CV has an open differential too, which made it even more impressive.

However, the most impressive use of a traction control system i've ever seen is probably on a Land Rover Discovery which is one of the reasons why it's so incredibly capable offroad............

[TripleTransAm]

Originally posted by junehhan
I mine gradually inched it's way up as I kept a constant throttle position.


Interesting, as I noticed a similar thing. I got the best results from my TC climbs by holding the pedal steady once the TC kicked in, and let it do its job.

On my way home, I could hear it working even when it wasn't physically noticeable. I have developed a squeak in the passenger's rear brake (probably some crap on the pads, or a vibrating loose pad) that happens only when cold and I've been stopped for a while, and only during light brake application. Coming back from the local grocery store last night, I'd drive away from a stop sign in about an inch of snow and occasionally hear the squeak from that rear brake. That tells me the TC unit was modulating the brakes on that wheel, keeping wheelspin to a minimum.

Nonetheless, the M+S on these tires should read "M+S / E" for "Mud and Snow, Elsewhere!". The car's parked until the roads dry up and I get my winters put on.

BTW:
Another instance where TC helped... I was 'hot-dogging' on my way to work, on a rainy day. Kicked off the TC and goosed it somewhat from a light... once the engine hit 3500 RPM in 1st, my back end started drifting badly. Funny how I never noticed how close to the edge I was, traction-wise, when I had TC helping me on rainy days. Not that I usually drive aggressively on rainy days, but this particular day I was in the mood for some goofing off...

[MapleLeafMerc]

BillyGman, I'm with you.

I learned how to drive on snowy roads long before TC became available, and I could live without it and the extra cost. As far as the '03 Marauder, 2003eh (Canadian buyers) had no choice- it was standard eqpt for Canada.

Ford even delayed Canadian deliveries after they decided to make Traction Control mandatory for Canadian Marauders.

In a thread a while ago I thought it was generally accepted that TC could confound the driver in situations like starting in snow from a dead stop, or climbing a hill.

I think it should have been an option, not standard equipment.

[jbr927]

I bought Nokian snow tires on all four and to be honest prior to our first snow on Friday I was concerned about getting around in the snow. I live in the snow belt and the plowing around me is well, pretty bad. Anyway, I don't have TC and have only had 4x4's since we've lived out here.

I had to take my son to the Dr. Friday and we had a blast!! I really felt safer in the MM then in any of my trucks!! I even went to work Sat. night late and the landlord only plows on weekdays. No problem, yeah I had some slippage, but nothing stopped her from bringing me right up to the door. (It's a large horse prop. and our office is "in the back".)

I no longer have any concern about the MM getting me and the kids from a to b this winter. I won't be as willing to go out in the worst of it, the old ford truck got me and some others out of a couple nasty storms last winter. That's not something I want to risk in any car.

J

[Bowman9]

Originally posted by TripleTransAm
I have developed a squeak in the passenger's rear brake (probably some crap on the pads, or a vibrating loose pad) that happens only when cold and I've been stopped for a while, and only during light brake application.


I too have developed the same squeak as TripleTransAm.
But I thought it might have had something to do with the ABS and not the T/C.
I hope that this does not turn out to be a major problem.

Has anybody else noticed this squeak?