Driving in the Snow for a Newbie

[twoqttsdad]

Going to take a trip to Yosemite in December. Can't wait to get in that snow! Yes I know that sounds crazy to most of you, but I live on a small island in the middle of the Pacific.
Are there any tips to driving in the snow? I heard that I will have to put on snow chains. No idea how to do that.

Thanks,
Two

[Moto]

You probably do not want Yosemite to be your first snow driving experience.

Go find a place where you can experience snow on flat ground. I've never had to opportunity to drive a Kizashi on snow or ice. I expect the traction control system will stop the car from pinwheeling around if you hit the breaks, but that is the biggest mistake you see people make that do not understand how to drive on ice. If you jam on the breaks you go in whatever direction the car was traveling when the breaks were applied. If you feel that start to happen you have to take your foot back off the break and steer.

Breaks are bad M-kay. Downshift smoothly and continue to steer.

If you happen to get stuck. Do not jam on the gas to get going. You will spin a nice glazed spot under your drive wheels.

If you spin the wheels feather the gas to get going. (You may need to disable to traction control. Modern cars attempt to do this for you and they suck at it.[unless it's a subaru])

Think gentle thoughts on the snow (packed snow/ice).

[Moto]

If you are in a rental car expect it to have horrible all season tires.

Mountain roads in California are good relative the most of the rest of the main land, but they a lot more sketchy than the roads I have driven in Hawaii.

I'm sure most of the bad roads in Yosemite are already closed by December. Most people from California aren't very good on ice either.

[Speed_Racer]

Think gentle thoughts on the snow (packed snow/ice).

Great advice. It's not all fun and games and opposite lock power drifting.

Be overcautious and take it very VERY easy. Easy on the gas, easy on the brakes, easy on the steering. You can go from "OK" to "OH SH**" in a hurry.

[delusional29]

Always remember. You have All Wheel Drive. Not All Wheel Brakes!

[KuroNekko]

Always remember. You have All Wheel Drive. Not All Wheel Brakes!

All cars have "all wheel brakes", technically, but I know what you mean. People who have AWD sometimes forget that AWD does nothing to help stop the car over ice and snow. That's where the type of tire matters, not drivetrain.

I learned how to drive on a California mountain that got a lot of snow in the winter. Not only that, roads were along cliffs, sometimes in dense fog. Many nights I drove in dense fog along cliffs on snow-covered alpine roads. Not surprisingly, it's only after moving to the DC area did I get 2WD vehicles.

My best piece of advice in driving on snow is to realize you need to smooth things out and increase distances. Smooth out acceleration, braking, and turning. Give yourself triple the distance you'd usually need to come to a stop because you don't want to brake aggressively as that will cause a skid. When cornering on snow, be easy with the accelerator so you don't slide out. If you do, avoid braking harshly and rather ease off the accelerator than going for heavy braking or gunning the throttle to correct after counter-steering. This can lead to over-correcting and spinning around. Just be smooth with accelerating, braking, and turning without giving the gas or the brakes too much pressure. You basically want to avoid spinning the wheels while accelerating and locking them up while braking when on snow.

I expect that you won't actually see too much snow on the road unless it's actively snowing and it's coming down hard. The reason being that Caltrans (California Dept. of Transportation) is actually very good about plowing and laying down gravel for traction. Most of the commonly used roads such as highways are plowed regularly. My mountain even had Caterpillar tractors with dual plows when the snow was deep. However, I have no idea if this applies to Yosemite.

About chains:
The California Highway Patrol and their Chain Control want to see that you have them in the car. You won't necessarily have to put them on unless the conditions demand it. If you have a 4x4 or AWD vehicle with All Season tires, they'll let you go past the checkpoint but after showing that you have chains with you. On the mountain I lived in, I never once had to put on chains at a checkpoint on my Subaru Impreza (AWD) with All Season tires. I merely told them I had AWD and they checked that my tires were A/S. I then stated I was carrying chains in the trunk and they let me go up.
The checkpoints are usually at some elevation before the snow starts piling up. For my mountain, it was at a large turn-out near 3,500 feet or so.

Yosemite is quite nice, but I've only been to drive through during the summer.
Enjoy your stay in California.

[bootymac]

Always remember. You have All Wheel Drive. Not All Wheel Brakes!

All cars have "all wheel brakes", technically

Lol rekt

[KuroNekko]

I'm just waiting for the Canadians to get on here and comment about snow driving.

[bootymac]

We get a few days of 2-3" snow here in Vancouver. Otherwise it's rain rain rain

[honsonwong]

The other name of Vancouver is "Raincouver".