So what speed would you guys say is good if its deep enough to hit the air dam/front bumper. Personally it scares me knowing that I'd be using my front end as a plow, not to mention I'd be terrified of ripping my bumper apart.

 

The key to driving in deeper snow is not to lift.

If you're driving with that much fear, then trade your X for an 8 or 9.

 

You mean don't lift even if you lose traction right?

 

Yep. If the car is pointed in the right direction, then don't lift; in fact, feed in more power. When you come off the gas, weight shifts forward and the nose drops and you really will be a snow-plow.

The biggest mistake that newbies make when rallycrossing, for example, is lifting when they see ruts. No. Stay on the gas and keep the nose light. Same goes for snow.

This is what I mean by not driving with fear. You are actually more likely to hurt the car (on snow or on dirt) by being too careful.

 

So sorry for trying to get an impromptu lesson in snow driving here as I've always driven 4WD pickups. So hypothetically speaking, what happens if the front end starts going in the wrong direction?

 

That's the only time you ever lift. Turn the wheels a bit - not much - in direction you want to go and lift for a moment. Start feeding power back in - but only a little - immediately. Wait for the nose to come around and then straighten the steering and feed in much more power, but not with a stomp.

Be Patient! That's the key. Asking the car to rotate to the desired direction RIGHT NOW! will just spin the car to the inside too far. It all happens slower on snow. That's why you have to look ahead and have the car rotated before the turn.

No problem chatting this here. It's what this thread was supposed to be about. Ignore all the thread-jackers babbling about tires.

 

In that case, I'm relatively new to the X and the S-AWC system. When I'm driving home tonight, there is a light coating of snow on the back roads but not on the highway. Should I keep it in snow mode the entire time?(there may be ice on the highway) Or should I only have it in snow mode while I'm on the back roads with snow/ice. Is there a max speed limit for each setting?

I'm obviously not going to go ***** deep in it, but do I need to watch my speed when its in any mode other than Tarmac? I only ask because in my older vehicles that were 4WD, your not supposed to go over 55 MPH while in 4WD. Or can you go as fast as you want in different modes?

Again, I just picked mine up about 2 weeks ago so I'm a newb with it, and I've driven in snow/ice before, just not the Evo. I just don't want to mess up the car.

 

99% of the time, on the street, the mode is almost irrelevant. The major differences between the modes are how hard the center locks under power (and at what level of power it starts to lock) and how quickly it re-opens when you lift. Unless you're driving a tad aggressively for the street, it doesn't really matter.

However, in case you suddenly need to move because the idiot behind you is on summer tires and isn't going to stop and is about to rear-end you, it's better to be in Snow when grip is low so that you can escape. Ask me how I know.

 

Ok, so realistically, I should only have to use snow mode when I'm actually driving on snow. So how about if I was going to play around in an empty lot or something(in snow)? Should I turn everything off completely then and run on tarmac mode?

 

I live in Alaska where we get 140" of snow a year and I never take it out of Tarmac and rarely drive with traction control on. Car is way easier to control on snow without the computer trying to adjust. Once you get to an open parking lot and play around with it you'll see. Car is very easy to control.

 

I think that you might be mixing two issues: the AWC mode and the ASC setting. I would always match the AWC mode to the actual conditions, regardless of what I was doing. But I leave ASC fully on when driving calmly and usually go to off/off when having fun. In other words, when messing around, press and hold the ASC button until you see the sliding-car warning on the main display.

 

That first part is silly. (It sounds like macho silliness, as in: "ah done need no nannies to drive mah cah.") With low grip, such as on snow, you want the center to lock earlier and harder. Match the AWC mode to the level of grip and try it again.

I agree about the ASC.

 

Where'd the OP go? Troll thread?

 

The OP hasn't come back (and likely never planned to). I think this thread has run its course.