Going to Tahoe for the Snow for the first time

[Storm13]

Edited for poor taste.

[c4racer]

hey now folks - settle down. Has anybody else seen the Top Gear episode where they drive to the north pole in a Toyota truck. Now that is a good episode and some serious off-road snow driving. One thing I took from that - always carry a shovel. They didn't use chains, but the tires were studded.

[Storm13]

Originally Posted by c4racer

One thing I took from that - always carry a shovel.

Absolutely!

I used to have an old Plymoth Trail Duster. That thing would go anywhere, but if the snow was deep enough (18" or so), it would get packed in front of the front axle, and eventually enough would get packed in that it would be a solid block of snow I was pushing. I'd have to stop, shovel out from under the front diff, and then take off again.

[amacman]

I am adding my experience of hill starts on ice and snow . ice is very challenging . snow does not give much problem . the cars have winter tyres .
I have found the best traction with the system on . normal mode . power is reduced after some serious wheelspin , usually a few minutes of spinning .
if you go easy on the power some or all wheels can spin slightly with dtc applying enough brake force to assist traction . the cars do move uphill

I tried hill starts with dsc off . this results in no uphill movement . often the cars slide back downhill with the wheels spinning trying to keep going uphill .

[JLW]

Georg300 as for the 4wd thing, do you have a manual? here are a few statements.

Please look at page 187 as it explains the Four-wheel drive well. I.E. the distribution between the front and rear wheels axles is 38% to 62%. This is why the chains go on the rear.

Pg 86, DSC: In the following exceptional circumstances, it may be effective to deactivate the DSC for a short period:

-When rocking the vehicle or starting off in deep snow.
-On sandy road surfaces
-On poor surfaces with deep ruts
-If the wheels "churn" on muddy surfaces.
-When driving with snow chains.


Pg 132 winter operation:

Snow Chains: Mount BMW snow chains only on tire size 235/65 R 17. Always mount chains in pairs and on the rear wheels only. Read and comply with the chain manufacture's safety precautions. Do not exceed a maximum speed of 30mph(50km/h).

Starting off: When starting in deep snow or "rocking " the vehicle free, it may be advisable to deactivate the DSC system briefly. Refer to page 85.

Personally I would run chains on my 18" tires and have a set. I have never had to due to my snows. Now when not on snow tires the manual precautions pay off.

[JLW]

Originally Posted by c4racer

hey now folks - settle down. Has anybody else seen the Top Gear episode where they drive to the north pole in a Toyota truck. Now that is a good episode and some serious off-road snow driving. One thing I took from that - always carry a shovel. They didn't use chains, but the tires were studded.

I agree that was a great edition of Top Gear. I truly feel they had some fear there.
Work with the English often, hate to say the American show is not doing it for me.

Cheers

Regards

Thanks

[JCL]

Originally Posted by amacman

I am adding my experience of hill starts on ice and snow . ice is very challenging . snow does not give much problem . the cars have winter tyres .
I have found the best traction with the system on . normal mode . power is reduced after some serious wheelspin , usually a few minutes of spinning .
if you go easy on the power some or all wheels can spin slightly with dtc applying enough brake force to assist traction . the cars do move uphill

I tried hill starts with dsc off . this results in no uphill movement . often the cars slide back downhill with the wheels spinning trying to keep going uphill .

I have only been better off with DSC off (DTC is still on) when I wanted to churn through deep snow, and wanted wheel spin.

[JCL]

Originally Posted by JLW

Your academic opinion continues. This is why you have so many posts. You have nothing better to do than sit around and pontificate. Jezz go drive your truck. Everything I said holds true. In essence you are the driving force that drive knowledgeable people away from these boards. For the record at the time yes I did have MXV4 (as stated before) and Snows for years now. Feel free to show me pictures of your X5 (or now X3) where it is buried to the floor pans.

I presume you are having a bad day. I hope tomorrow is better for you.

You were right about rocking the vehicle in snowbank, you just blew it when you advised turning off the DSC when driving down a snowy road. Sorry if pointing that out was harsh. It would be a shame for the OP to lose the benefitrs of stability control on snowy roads because of misinformation.

While I don't for a moment think you are serious, I can post pictures in deep snow if you like, but it will have to wait until I am back home at my desktop. I have a laptop with me here in the mountains, and it is snowing heavily, but I don't have a camera with me. I'll see how the BB works.

[Fraser]

Originally Posted by JCL

you just blew it when you advised turning off the DSC when driving down a snowy road.

Totally agree. That's the time when you want it the most.

[chilliwilli]

OP...i'm actually flying into SFO next week and driving to the South Lake area in a 4x4 Tahoe SUV. I keep a shovel and chains at all times for such trips. As c4racer mentioned, always keep tabs on Caltrans website for requirements and updates, it's the most consistent source, outside of opinions and experiences.

Safe travels.