DC area update
 

We got 1.5 inches of powder snow early in the week and guess what...The Federal Gov DID NOT shut down and the schools were open (most of them at least). There is hope in the air that we can acutally handle snow/winter/Global Warming (oops I mean "Global Change" as it has been too cold to feel any warming around here). This stuff was so light I used my backpack blower to clear the sidewalks, driveway, and the cars. Everything looks nice and tidy. Even blew off a few hidden leaves on the porch.

Meanwhile the X5 has been great in the stuff. Crabing up hill with the tires clawing away at the ice and snow has me laughing out loud watching the traction light blinking away as the snow flys. Love this SAV. :thumbup:

Now I have to clean off that crap called calcium cloride (Salt Brine) that they bathe everything with.

I'm happy to have started a fun read :). Back to the original topic: My E53's snow/ice performance, on Conti DWS 'appropriate' to my locale, has been exceptional. To treat her/him right, even got the E53 through a car wash late yesterday to remove the road grime! BTW, another car fire on a main exit ramp [I-285/Roswell Rd.] this morning. One of my partners passed by just after the Fire Dept. had put it out with 500+ gallons of water, which of course spread over the ramp and froze, replicating Tuesday's worst conditions.

OMG...sadly its sort of funny.

I remember a video from a few years ago...where a BMW driver (from a southern state) got stuck on ice...and eventually, the over-revving and spinning of the wheels...caught his car on fire...as it was also being caught on video by the local news.

EDIT: found the video...looks like it was Atlanta again...from about 3 years ago.

Atlanta driver's car BMW catches on fire as he attempts to drive on icy roads - YouTube

^That's the 2011 snowstorm, which was heavier and last longer too.

That idiot deserved to have his car catch on fire.

Anyone with half a brain knows that holding the accelerator to the floor on ice isn't going to get you anywhere.

i am surprised that the DME and ABS did not intervene - i could not spin the tires on my E34... the gas pedal goes down, to the floor, the engine starts revving up, the tires start to slipping, the engine comes back to idle level... i even had to get down on my knees to see if i actually was pressing the gas pedal!!!

I can't claim the X is particularly good on ice/snow. Lived in Wisconsin for 20 years so have plenty of experience and I will drive my Honda Pilot in the crud as I finds the X is prone to nasty under steer on the slippery stuff, being so heavy.

There are 6 million people in the DFW metroplex. Let's say 3 million use the freeway system to get to work. Normal habit of 2.2 million is to drive 8 to 15 mph over the speed limit. The fatality rate is maintained since the other 800,000 drive 15 to 20 mph under the speed limit and never look or signal to change lanes, plus the dependable contribution from the ring-ding-ding organ donors.

1 million have out of practice snow/ice experience. 17 of the 1 million have winter tires.

The other 2 million might as well be bent over little old people that need cataract surgery and are trying to read a paper map on the passenger seat because they are lost. The last time 270,000 went out to the grocery store they ended up in Little Rock, Mobile, Milwaukee, 4 in Lincoln and 1 in Miami that they put in a senior home with 259 women.

I knew better but I went to work in the last ice storm. It was only because it was my turn to bring in donuts, the boss never misses a day, he always eats two bear claws, I forgot when it was my turn last month and I didn't want to risk being the only one that didn't come in.

The circumstances: We had 4 hours of freezing rain and two hours of sleet. I was in 6 lanes of bumper to bumper traffic. I had to exit onto a two lane ramp that is a half mile long, a 3 story up and down overpass, iced over curve. There was a sand truck going down the middle blasting sand to both barriers and a stopped fire truck to go around on the upside. I was a half a mile through a mile long backup to get to get to the exit ramp. Half the drivers around me kept changing into the lane moving faster that soon came to a halt so they were wedging back into my lane. 15% were yelling at closed windows while whacking the bird against it. 20% had emptied their coffee thermos and were considering filling it back up instead of making a pit stop. 8% were smiling while they blocked and flipped off someone trying to squeeze their way into their lane.

30% of the 1 million that have winter weather experience were doing one or more of the following: talking on the phone with with one hand while periodically making support jesters with the other, thumb texting, playing the latest game app, reading a book on their tablet, trying to sing louder than their subwoofer while using the steering wheel as a drum set , holding coffee in the hand on the wheel and about to try to eat an egg Mac muffin in one bite with the other, have eye shadow in one hand brushing on way to much with the other and admiring how they look in the rear view mirror, staring over at the blond trophy wife with big hair in the MB SLS convertible that is displaying very large sunglasses and much larger examples of cosmetic surgery in hopes she would acknowledge them with a follow me smile, or, they are already alternating between hitting and missing their overflowing thermos.

20% of the 1 million were like me, near an anxiety attack. I had calculated that 2 out of 3 out there were Miley riding a wrecking ball or don't know they are going to visit Little Rock or maybe the guy that stays in Miami because he's having more sex than when the high school cheerleaders and his math teacher were fighting over him--and they are much more grateful. That means 18 of the 24 near me are destined to to hit somebody in order to contribute to the accuracy of the research I read.

I have already seen 2 cars facing the wrong way and a 4 car rearender. My leg is bouncing to ward off the waves of bladder complaints. My underwear is a little wet and I am worried it got on the seat. There is no way I am going to let it go in my X and I ate the only 2 bear claws.

I got to the top of the overpass where I can see another sand truck, two people standing in back of a police cruiser and 3 other cars that have hit the barrier on one side or the other.

Next time we get this weather I am not going out. My boss is like Bob Ford with a AK47 that he thinks is Tinkerbell's wand. When he calls about his f#$king bear claws I will say-- instead of using crack, crack your f#$%king wallet and buy your own bear claws for once you fat f#$k or give my office to bulls$%t Dave so he'll hustle his Pinocchio brown a#$s nose out and come back with 4 claws and a gift certificate from your dealer.

If you are among those that would jump at the chance to show Texas how it is done, ya'll drive on down to Dallas for the next winter storm. I will ride with you. We will have to stop for donuts and you can't eat the bear claws. I will even buy you a trente coffee.

Good that you didn't come today, it was in the 70s. I enjoyed the walk to get the boss lunch. I told Dave and sh#%face we would buy if they would eat with the rest of the office. The cheap a#$ses jumped on that. I added a special something from me for the boss. Dave didn't want me to get him anything, he brings tuna salad and celery sticks every day. I don't know what Emily put in Dave's salad but he didn't notice. The boss ate his to but he'd kick a vulture to eat a dead skunk in the middle of the road. On the other hand, if you had been here I would have bought you back lunch.

I drove home with my sunroof open and all the windows down. Our Superbowl party will be outside. I will be cooking lots of chicken wing on the grill.

How's the weather there?

:iagree:

NASTY NASTY understeer.

F1 Insight - Oversteer and Understeer - YouTube

I'll add one more NASTY to that.