Snow drive mode is useless?

48379 Views 33 Replies 24 Participants Last post by JudgeSmails, Feb 24, 2015

kkthind

Discussion Starter · Dec 10, 2013

so today it snowed in my city and I tried out the snow mode. I found it to be useless. First I driven the Q50 when there was roughly 1cm of snow and with little snow patches on the road. While driving the car when there's some snow spots on the road, the Q50 handled it like a champ and I didn't notice anything. Later on in the day, it snowed a bit more, roughly another 1cm, and when I backed out of my driveway, the car drove fine. Once i pulled out and put it into drive, I lightly tapped the gas, and the car did a full 360 donut. I didn't really care about that though. After driving on the streets knowing there's snow and some icy patches, the car tends to drift, and the traction control didn't seem to do anything until your car stopped drifting and then the traction control light flashes.

I did a slight comparison driving the Q50 in Eco mode and I found it to do a bit better, and the car detects the car slipping immediately.

What I did notice while driving in snow mode is that while driving, and once you let go of the accelerator, the vehicle tends to slow down quicker rather than continuously gliding down the road

overall, I found that driving my Q50 AWD in the snow in snow mode didn't do anything to prevent it from slipping and sliding around.

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chris2k5

· #2 · Dec 10, 2013

"What I did notice while driving in snow mode is that while driving, and once you let go of the accelerator, the vehicle tends to slow down quicker rather than continuously gliding down the road"

That is the whole point. The slower you go, the lower chance you have of crashing, losing control, sliding, slipping, etc.

If you were looking for a snow monster mode that will get you through 4-5 feet of snow or give you traction on impossible icy roads...You are looking to the wrong solution. You need better TIRES and more height CLEARANCE for that.

Reactions: 1

kosh2248

· #3 · Dec 10, 2013

Uh huh.

Lightly tap the gas from a dead stop and do a 360? I'd say the story is missing a detail or two or somebodies definition of a light tap is skewed.

I've been driving around on 2 inches of fresh snow the last couple of days. I've deliberately tried to break the rear end lose to test the limits of the car. Giving the accelerator a good shove, I've had a hard time getting it to wag its tail in snow mode . That would be with a Q50S and 19" all seasons.

Reactions: 4

SimpsonTide985

· #4 · Dec 10, 2013 (Edited)

Yeah, I'm not buying the whole "car did a 360".

Maybe you meant 180? Even then that must've taken some considerable pedal pressure for just 1cm of snow but maybe that's just me.

In my eyes, most RWD-based cars, even with AWD and Snow Mode will never quite handle as well in the snow as a FWD or AWD car, especially if you're using the stock/OEM tires. Now, get yourself a good pair of snow tires and you might see some considerable improvement

Reactions: 2

AlbertaPearl

· #5 · Dec 10, 2013

I cannot fathom NOT driving in snow mode on icy/snow on ice roads. I only wish the car would start in snow mode and not standard. The difference, particularly accelerating from a stop into a right turn onto a slippery road, is astonishing. The initial throttle tip-in in standard mode causes the rear end to try to come around before torque is transferred to the front wheels (in AWD-equipped vehicles). Stability tries to apply brakes selectively to counteract the slide and traction control cuts the throttle, just when you need it! Try the same maneuver in snow mode and see the difference for yourself. Snow mode makes accelerating and turning on slippery surfaces so much smoother and ultimately, safer. With my Hakka R2's and the Q50 in snow mode, I have excellent control on icy surfaces. Couldn't be happier with the winter performance.

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Reactions: 2

kkthind

Discussion Starter · #6 · Dec 10, 2013

kosh2248 said:
Lightly tap the gas from a dead stop and do a 360? I'd say the story is missing a detail or two or somebodies definition of a light tap is skewed.

I've been driving around on 2 inches of fresh snow the last couple of days. I've deliberately tried to break the rear end lose to test the limits of the car. Giving the accelerator a good shove, I've had a hard time getting it to wag its tail in snow mode . That would be with a Q50S and 19" all seasons.

backed out of the drive way turned the wheel all the way tapped it and spun the car, it was fun though but can be deadly

Nee

· #7 · Dec 10, 2013

I've been very happy with snow mode. I love how it controls the throttle at every intersection. I know because I left it on standard today and man I looked stupid gunning it at an icy intersection. I'm not one that slams on the throttle but there's a crap load of rocks on the ground and i'm tired of looking at the chips on my windshield, so I gotta lead the pack =D

Reactions: 2

joetorch

· #8 · Dec 10, 2013

AlbertaPearl said:
I cannot fathom NOT driving in snow mode on icy/snow on ice roads. I only wish the car would start in snow mode and not standard. The difference, particularly accelerating from a stop into a right turn onto a slippery road, is astonishing. The initial throttle tip-in in standard mode causes the rear end to try to come around before torque is transferred to the front wheels (in AWD-equipped vehicles). Stability tries to apply brakes selectively to counteract the slide and traction control cuts the throttle, just when you need it! Try the same maneuver in snow mode and see the difference for yourself. Snow mode makes accelerating and turning on slippery surfaces so much smoother and ultimately, safer. With my Hakka R2's and the Q50 in snow mode, I have excellent control on icy surfaces. Couldn't be happier with the winter performance.

I completely agree. Best vehicle I've ever driven on icy/snow on ice roads.

Reactions: 3

Mr. PLP

· #9 · Dec 10, 2013

It is useless... in places that doesn't snow like South Florida

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hej

· #10 · Dec 10, 2013

SimpsonTide985 said:
Yeah, I'm not buying the whole "car did a 360".

Maybe you meant 180?

His car did a complete barrel roll.

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Klamalama

· #11 · Dec 10, 2013

Judging by some of the following-too-close incidents, and snow-driving, perhaps it's a good thing that I haven't encountered any Q50s on the road.

Hey folks, let's not meet by accident.

---------------------

Only partially related to this thread:

Like airline pilots, we are heading right for this situation.

Pilots Rely Too Much on Automation, Panel Says - WSJ.com

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SnowItch

· #12 · Dec 10, 2013

kkthind said:
backed out of the drive way turned the wheel all the way tapped it and spun the car, it was fun though but can be deadly

So you purposely tried to spin the car, and then complain when it does what you wanted to have "fun".

What is it about this forum that people are going to such lengths to try and make the car look bad. Is there a coolness factor to being negative that I don't get.

"Hey, I just spent 50 Grand on a car and I'm so cool that I'm going to go on-line and complain about it"

There are legitimate complaints (DAS stopping and steering wheel seeming to lock up - fortunately limited to a small number of cars (hope it stays that way)), but now people are going out of their way to post negative reviews.

Reactions: 5

chris2k5

· #13 · Dec 10, 2013

SnowItch said:
So you purposely tried to spin the car, and then complain when it does what you wanted to have "fun".

What is it about this forum that people are going to such lengths to try and make the car look bad. Is there a coolness factor to being negative that I don't get.

"Hey, I just spent 50 Grand on a car and I'm so cool that I'm going to go on-line and complain about it"

There are legitimate complaints (DAS stopping and steering wheel seeming to lock up - fortunately limited to a small number of cars (hope it stays that way)), but now people are going out of their way to post negative reviews.

I know right. Too many trolls.

CarolinaQ50

· #14 · Dec 10, 2013

SnowItch said:
So you purposely tried to spin the car, and then complain when it does what you wanted to have "fun".

What is it about this forum that people are going to such lengths to try and make the car look bad. Is there a coolness factor to being negative that I don't get.

"Hey, I just spent 50 Grand on a car and I'm so cool that I'm going to go on-line and complain about it"

There are legitimate complaints (DAS stopping and steering wheel seeming to lock up - fortunately limited to a small number of cars (hope it stays that way)), but now people are going out of their way to post negative reviews.

Which in turn, in my opinion, are turning the good people away from the forum and a chance for good buyers to get a really good car!

Reactions: 3

kosh2248

· #15 · Dec 10, 2013

Tested today...

The Q50S AWD is one the best cars I've ever driven on snow and ice. As a test, I pulled up to a stop sign at an empty intersection near my home. The snow is packed and polished with some sand/salt, but cold enough where the sand/salt isn't having much effective.

From a dead stop, I hit the throttle enough to get the tach to between 4000 and 4500 rpm. The tires were spinning some but, the car pulled away from the intersection straight ahead with no indications of any rear end wagging or hint of breaking loose. That's pretty exceptional.

While I've had my gripes about inTouch, I have absolutely no complaints about the drive train and how it functions. Even with those wide, all season run flats, the car gets around just fine on snow and ice.

Reactions: 3

JayG35

· #16 · Dec 10, 2013

kosh2248 said:
The Q50S AWD is one the best cars I've ever driven on snow and ice. As a test, I pulled up to a stop sign at an empty intersection near my home. The snow is packed and polished with some sand/salt, but cold enough where the sand/salt isn't having much effective.

From a dead stop, I hit the throttle enough to get the tach to between 4000 and 4500 rpm. The tires were spinning some but, the car pulled away from the intersection straight ahead with no indications of any rear end wagging or hint of breaking loose. That's pretty exceptional.

While I've had my gripes about inTouch, I have absolutely no complaints about the drive train and how it functions. Even with those wide, all season run flats, the car gets around just fine on snow and ice.

That is awesome! Even with the S wheels and tires, despite them being the dreaded runflats? Nice!

My old G35 is RWD- built before the x debuted. With snow tires it's fairly unstoppable, but the tail will still wag a bit under conditions like those of your test. I've been around upstate NY and Vermont in it. It takes a lot to upset it with a set of Nokians on, but it can't match the winter stability of AWD.

Reactions: 1

SnowItch

· #17 · Dec 10, 2013

JayG35 said:
That is awesome!

Got some snow on the ground. I was going to stay inside and chill, but I guess now I'm going to have to go out and test how the Q drives in the snow.

I'm going to take it over to a local school parking lot and see how hard I have to work to spin it 360.

ashishv

· #18 · Dec 16, 2013

I think Q50 in SNOW mode is better than standard or ECO mode; i drove over last weekend "ELECTRA" storm in Maine, from my friends house with full load of family n a dog in my Q50 with SNOW mode; Streets werent clean at all and it was probably arnd 2.5" when i started.
Stop Signs, Turns, mild slopes were handled like a charm, only concern i had was when i turned towards my drive way and found ~3.5" of Snow... but again no issues it cruised in...

again this is my experience, i was driving very slow ~25-30 mph as conditions were almost whiteout.

Reactions: 1

StevetheTech

· #19 · Dec 16, 2013

I like hearing some praise here for the AWD in the Q. It really is a great system, it works as designed, is quiet and requires no oversight to function properly. It is everything you would hope for from a system like that... at least that is my openly biased opinion.

Interesting note. I have been doing some digging and I can find no hard data on what changes in SNOW as opposed to the output limiting ECO mode. I do know that it cuts engine output significantly and decreases throttle sensitivity somewhat but I cannot find any hard numbers... I would not be surprised if that part of the material was published before all the details on the car were worked out thought...I look forward to seeing if the 15 model year makes a mention of it.

I kind of like that many users are saying they notice no change... in all previous models you know it is working because the gas pedal does not really respond anymore and the awd is fixed at 50%. My wife complains endlessly when she has to use it... says it feels like her old Acura. (But unlike the Acura this one moves in the snow)

JayG35 said:
My old G35 is RWD- built before the x debuted. With snow tires it's fairly unstoppable, but the tail will still wag a bit under conditions like those of your test.

The advancement of 10 years in VDC control also makes the new ones a lot less aggressive when they cut back on throttle response and when wheel slip is detected.

However unlike yours you can no longer actually turn off the VDC with the touch of a button.

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Reactions: 1

Q'ed up

· #20 · Dec 17, 2013

I have to disagree with the title of this thread. I found the AWD with the snow setting to be invaluable on my trip from DC to PA the other week in a pretty serious snowstorm. The Q impressed me thoroughly. Just my .02 worth.

Reactions: 1

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