I have a bunch of ice on my driveway, which is is angled about 15 degree for 40 feet. The steep part of the driveway hill is constantly shaded, so salting isn't very effective. I'll put down some sand tonight...but it will still be super slippery. I do have a turn-around spot.

Here's the dillema:

I don't have winter tires on a C2S, yet....and need to move it on Friday early AM. I've never driven it in conditions this icy. I'm expecting it to be a balmy 15 degrees F.

Do I attempt this manouver in reverse?..or turn it around and go down the slope forward?

If this was my nieghbor attempting this, I'd be the first one with a video camera. It would fun to watch someone decapitate their own mailbox post...especially in a $ports car.

 

I would not move a car without chains or studded tires on an iced 15deg slope in 15F weather. Good luck and report back!

 

Does your neighbor have a video camera and can we get his number?

 

Get your neighbour to film it...

Last year I had to move my car home from the shop (after being stuck there for a month), I used ice melter and shoveled all the ice from the main street to my driveway...yes it was a lot of work, but these are low cars and the OEM tires will not give you any grip if you get hung up on some ice.

 

So...would you attempt it in Forward or Reverese? Getting snow T's isn't going to happen before Friday.

Ground clearance shouldn't be an issue. I've removed all the loose snow. The residual surface ice has been glazed by the sun and 40mph wind. I could invite the canadian P-drivers in here to come down and play hockey.

Maybe I exagerated about about the slope of my driveway... It might be closer to 10degrees, not 15....but still enough that many rear wheel drive cars can't climb it in winter. (The previous owners had to park their cars in my neighbors extra spots during really snowy/icy days.)

I'll see if my wife can film it. I don't know if I'm man enough to post it though.

BTW - Has anyone ever used those terrain-assist thingies with a P-car? (They look like folded up plastic ramps on hinges to help people get out of the muck).

-Mike

 

If you HAVE to do it - get to home depot, buy 2 big buckets of salt and pour it all on that slope.
Or better change you opinion on why you HAVE to do such a strange act.

 

Not to be to nosey, but what is the reason you HAVE to move it on Friday?

However, I'm subscribed to this thread and can't wait for the video

 

I drove a high-powered RWD car in Duluth, Minnesota for three years, and yes, we had a steep driveway like that to deal with. The surface was brick. Going up was a real tire-burner. Not to be recommended. Only a California-born engineer would have considered the attempt. What I would do is carry as much speed as possible into the turn, since the road was packed snow. Then I'd hit the power moderately as soon as the car was aligned with the driveway. This got me halfway up, whereupon the tires started slipping, but if you throw caution to the winds, the tires begin to heat as they spin. A trick I learned as something not to do when competing in autocross events with that car. Once heated terribly or possibly as a consequence of it, they would burn through the ice. This bought me another foot or two. With luck, I could delicately let it fall back a foot or so and get enough traction on the hot bricks to accelerate enough to gain another foot or so before starting the spin-and-burn process once more. Eventually, a couple of feet at a time -- with all the neighbors coming out to watch the carnival -- I would reach the level top of the driveway leaving a clear trail up from the road, with steam rising from it as the cooling bricks evaporated the ice melt running back over them. This entertained the kids too. "Ooh! Daddy's coming home!"

All in all, the tire wear is not worth it. Buy snow tires. I will say that sand and salt will help a lot in those temperatures. Mind you, that was an annoyingly warm day in Duluth's Winter. Like natives, I learned to prefer the days well below fifteen, because that's about the transition point. At fifteen and above, the sun and traffic will begin to melt the snow and create a miserable slush. Below fifteen you have that packed snow, which is actually quite easy to drive on. On the level...

Now. Going down those slopes. And we had a lot of them in Duluth. It's a very hilly town. It's like racing in the rain. You have to have the car aligned properly for the exit point before you start down the slope (or across a hydroplaning area of the track). And you have to have an exit strategy. You have to know that you'll recover enough traction to steer at the bottom of the hill/driveway before coming up against solid objects, like parked cars, buildings, rock walls. What have you.

I was doing that in a Camaro model that was the precursor of the Z-28, the 350SS. It had a reasonable departure angle, so I didn't hit the pavement with the exhaust as I came down the driveway gaining speed from mere gravity, since you definitely don't want power on the downslope. And don't brake either for God's sake. Certainly not in an old Camaro, but I don't think ABS would contribute anything either. Not on ice.

Bottom line? I wouldn't like to do that in a 911. Cayenne maybe, with a big departure angle, but unless you can get traction on that driveway somehow you're going to leave behind that frangible black strip on the air dam when you come to the abrupt change of angle that is put on roadsides to create a natural gutter effect.

I'd spend some time today buying those very low profile chains and get them on your car this evening. Yeah, yeah, I know how much of a pain it is at minus fifteen. Or in fact at minus forty, so it won't be much more fun doing it at a balmy, but slushy, plus fifteen. But I think it will save damage to the front of your car.

Oh yes. Forgot to say: definitely forward unless you are very good at backing and you have documentation that the rear departure angle is a lot better than the front. In front, you just damage the air dam. In back, you're talking about much more expensive parts. And you're probably not as good at backing as you think you are unless you've done a lot of those sillycrosse events that include high speed backing and turning. Or... I suppose... if you've done this driveway trick a lot in the past.

I didn't have a turning area, so I had to back out. Not fun. Go down frontwards.

 

only forward, and, do you have any sidewalk on that driveway? even it is in snow - if you can keep wheels from one side on gravel/snow - you will have less chances to slide down as one big brick.

Best idea would be to have big SUV with hauling winch on the top of the hill and attach its rope to you towing hook in case if you loose traction and start sliding.

 

So my questions are:

• when will the neighbor/wife post the footage?
• what is at the bottom of the slope? runoff? Tree? wall?

Salt works until the temp gets so low that the lowered melting point of salted water is still too high for the temps... but that gets salt on the car. If its a temporary move, go get some sand in the interim.

If its a constant problem year over year, I'd consider putting in some heated driveway there, or changing the type of paving material to something less prone to ice over.

 

All a Canadian wants is a little ice, a stick, and puck and we are happy for a few hours!

I would go forward, at least you will be steering in the right direction.

Good Luck!

 

Salt it then wait at least an hour for it to work. Use the big salt crystals, not table salt. You'll at least get traction on the salt even if the ice hasn't completely melted. Drive forward.
Cut the trees down that are creating the shade. Use their branch ends on the ice for traction. Only seems fair.
As long as you're moving the car, stop off and get those winter tires.

 

You might as well go ahead and call the flatbed tow truck. They can either stand by to clean your car up and take it to the body shop, or they can load it and drive it across the ice for you.

 

yeah why do you HAVE to move it? this all sounds scary!! cant wait for the vid!

 

lol.