Winter Avservations!

[NJAV]

The black ice is the number cause of winter accidents I feel around here....people don't see it so they imagine it is ok to step on the gas a little more...and before you know it like Boar had said...someone is fish-tailing in front of you....next thing you know..your trying to dodge someone and making it a very scary experience....

 

[Traz]

I am interested in purchasing the molded mud flaps, but read on here somewhere they should not be used if you have the extra cladding piece over the wheel well. I have a 2003, 2500 with that piece. Anyone know why they shouldn't be used there? It is on the front, the ones I would be most interested in, to help keep the running boards clear of snow.
Traz

 

[Boar-Ral]

Lucky for Mom that it wasn't an AV that tagged her!
(Thank goodness!)

Even with a vehicle as large as the Avalanche, I do not know how well the truck would have fared against a Thunderbird. Those cars were almost as big as the Avalanche then.

 

[Boar-Ral]

?I am interested in purchasing the molded mud flaps, but read on here somewhere ?they should not be used if you have the extra cladding piece over the wheel well. ?I have a 2003, 2500 with that piece. ?Anyone know why they shouldn't be used there? ?It is on the front, the ones I would be most interested in, to help keep the running boards clear of snow.

I do not know why the over-wheel cladding would have any impact on the splash guards. When I have more time, I will search for that thread, because I am very curious what experiences people have had that would cause them to advise against the splash guard installation.

 

[milb440]

I do not know why the over-wheel cladding would have any impact on the splash guards. ?When I have more time, I will search for that thread, because I am very curious what experiences people have had that would cause them to advise against the splash guard installation.

I'm with you completely...
how could that possibly make any difference?

Strange...

Seven

 

[NJAV]

Maybe it has something to do with the way they are fixed...but I can't see how that would matter either....maybe someone can provide some insight....

 

[milb440]

Well folks, its official... winter will never be the same!

I took the Av out this morning in 6" of fresh snow-
our salt trucks & plows must have gone south - very few roads were treated.

I went up & down the steepest hills around, and the AV drove like it was 80 degrees & sunny! TRIED to make her slide... stopped on hills then punched it, she just took off!

Finally, I took a downhill 90 degree turn to the right at about 25 mph... that worked! Slid over into the other lane, but never close to being "out of control"!

Later today, I will go out and play in 2HI - that should do it!

Seven

 

[NJAV]

Well folks, its official... winter will never be the same!

I took the Av out this morning in 6" of fresh snow-
our salt trucks & plows must have gone south - very few roads were treated. ?

I went up & down the steepest hills around, and the AV drove like it was 80 degrees & sunny! TRIED to make her slide... stopped on hills then punched it, she just took off!

Finally, I took a downhill 90 degree turn to the right at about 25 mph... that worked! Slid over into the other lane, but never close to being "out of control"!

Later today, I will go out and play in 2HI - that should do it! ?

Seven ?

Once again I was very impressed as to how the Av....was poised in the white stuff....seven....feels good to have a truck that you trust to keep you on all fours huh...

 

[A.J.]

Well, I was out playing the 5-7" of snow that we got around here yesterday. I've always thought that it's a good idea to play in the snow with all of my cars, so I know the capabilities / downfalls of driving in snow / ice, so that god forbid you have to face an 'incident' while driving, you know what to excpect.

I of course, was playing with the ABS - that is pretty cool technology! Also, was playing with the difference between Auto 4WD and 4WD Hi - I found it more stable in 4WD Hi. I was doing donuts in 2WD, Auto 4WD, and 4WD Hi. Pretty cool to see the difference.

If you guys remember when I got towed out of the mud by the backhoe, I ran into the same guy / backhoe yesterday. He was spinning tires trying to get up a minor incline. He was using the thing to plow snow. I offered to tow him up, but he said he didn't care, he was having fun...

Another benefit I've found with the Lanche - you can take spots that other people won't take. Just make sure you're in 4WD before pulling in, and just 'mount a mound' - like this:

The guy that usually parks there has a Jeep Liberty, and was afraid to park there. ;-)

 

[NJAV]

One thing I noticed yesterday driving in the stuff is that people don't tend to feel too comfortable with something the size of the Av runnng along side of them...most would fall back...and let me just roam free....but of course there are those folks that drive their cars like they are invinsible....those are the one's that you would find against the guard rails....

Bottom line...I have never driven anything that felt as stable in the snow as the Av does....

 

[FogHorn]

Greetings from N.C. Now that I have power again I'd like to chime in about the AV and Ice/Slush. For those that aren't familiar with winter weather here, let me sum it up by saying it's kinda like a piece if Granite..... a little of this, a little of that and no two are ever the same....
Now that being said I'd also like to state that it does tend to be more Ice than anything. When we get "Snow" it usually has a layer of snow mixed with sleet and freezing rain. Ok nuff background.
This is my first 4X4 and I'm glad I finally got one. The weather here turned nasty on Wed and we got about 1/4" of Ice. I left work early, along with the rest of the Raleigh area and crawled along most of the way home. I stayed in 4 auto just to see how it went. I can honestly say that I don't know of a better Ice vehicle that the AV. I guess the combination of weight along with the right load dist. kept me stuck to the road while some of the others around me just skidded and fish-tailed all across the road.
I did find a secluded parkway to "test" the stability on. I didn't push too hard due to a history with black ice. I am most impressed.... now I see what all the fuss was about.

 

[dgalarne]

Well, I have read the different threads, but I have yet to see anyone talking about winter tires (except me).

Is there anyone out there with winter tires on their AV?

Living in Qu?bec (Canada), we get snow every other day, and it is essential here if you are going to do any driving outside of major cities. This is one aspect of winter driving that has been overlooked for years, although new ratings for tires are coming out (both in US and Canada) to identify true winter tires.

Four season radials and M+S tires are just not made for winter driving conditions. The rubber is not soft enough at low temperature to give the proper grip on ice and snow. The treads are also not designed for chanelling snow and hugging icy roads.

A 4X4 vehicle (specially one like the AV) will give you a false confidence level as you can accelerate quicker from a standing point but you just are as vulnerable as any other vehicle when it comes to stopping and road handling (I know you can use the added power to all wheels to help you around curves, but only to a certain limit).

I have tried both tire types on the AV (in snow and ice conditions) and I can certainly say that winter tires make a huge difference.

Last year, I made that point clear to a Mercedes SUV owner when I left him watching my tail lights go small as we took off from a traffic light on a snow covered street. He was furious when he caught up with me at the next light, and with reason, after all I did it in a Chevy Blazer! But I did it because I saw he was running on the original tires of the vehicle and I was on winter tires and I was turning right on that last traffic light!

Now, let the comments and opinions storm in.....

 

[redlion6]

I was in Iceland about a month ago. Every morning there is black ice and/or snow. Everyone up there has winter tires and most have studs. They would not think of riding around on anything else during winter. Studs are loud but great on the black ice. By the way I did see one AV up there but I did not get a chance to talk with the owner. Most of the roads up there require 4WD winter and summer. I am sure he/she is having fun.

 

[gojira-san]

Well, I have read the different threads, but I have yet to see anyone talking about winter tires (except me).

I used to live in upstate NY right near Cornwall ON, and I still spend a lot of time up there and in QC and ON visiting friends. When I lived up there I always used studded winter tires because driving in the Adirondacks can be hellish during the winter!

Living on the side of a hill in southern NH, I put Bridgestone Blizzaks on my wife's Camry - the OEM tires are really useless for the winter. With the Blizzaks the car is quite the little tank! (Until the snow gets too deep of course!)

With the AV, I will see this winter. I have been comfortable with the winter handling so far -- the first test of it was right up along the Canadian border as a matter of fact! I haven't even had to use the 4wd yet around here... the AV was heavy enough to get around fine in 2wd. I need more time though to see how it will handle everywhere we go (the ski slope, mountains, etc)

Bottom line is I will experiment with the AV this year to see how it performs then make a decision on winter tires for next winter.

 

[milb440]

Hey FogHorn:

WELCOME to the club!

I understand... I lived in Raleigh from '89 til '01

Winter was fun there, cuz when we did get that rare snow, since they don't have many plows / salt trucks, you could play! Up here in Ohio, the roads are cleared way too fast... it is a challenge to find a place to play!

During THE Raleigh snow... when was that... must have been '00 or '01 - they predicted 2 to 4 inches, and we got well over a foot & a half in North Raleigh! That was great - wifey & I watched until it got about a foot deep around 3:00 am, and we went out driving for an hour or two - had to guess where the roads were... stay between the signs & poles!

Only bad thing about winter in the triangle... the folks with 4x4 SUVs think they can do anything... saw MANY of them fly past me on the beltline during different winter 'events", only to see them in the median or off the side of the road a mile or 2 later!

Well, have fun on the site, and watch out for that ice - even the AV is vulnerable to ice!

Seven

 

[NJAV]

Mostly because of the fact that I may get limited snow during the winter months...I can't justify going out and spending money on winter tires exclusively.....but my AT/s seem to handle just fine in the snow fall that is expected here in NJ....so unless Blueruck brings some more of that stuff out of Colorado....I'll stick to the AT/s's...