Blue88Comanche Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 Today is the first time I have ever had to scrape ice off my windows and deal with a frozen door handle. Normally it does not sleet, snow, or anything like that down here. I have no experience when it comes to driving in sleet, snow, or potentially frozen roads, nor do I plan to. But if you here to give tips what would they be? My Charger is staying parked till it I know for a fact there won't be any ice out on the roads, it currently has summer performance tires, and is already easy to cause wheel spin. The MJ is what I have chosen to drive should I need to. However the 4wd is not hooked up due to miss matched gears. I am sure the rear auto locker will cause issues if there are ice patches on the road. However my defrost does work very well on the MJ, it seems to be the only thing that is working well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MancheKid86 Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 don't go too slow on hills, but don't skinny pedal up either if you slide, let the truck grab itself, do not stomp on the brakes drifting in winter is hella fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1987Comanche Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 Put some weight in the bed, directly over the rear axle. It will help settle the back of the truck and give the rear wheels some grip. I usually load around 250lbs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onlyinajeep726 Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 Put some weight in the bed, directly over the rear axle. It will help settle the back of the truck and give the rear wheels some grip. I usually load around 250lbs. Put a fat chick in the back... there, I said it before Jim haha. :rotf: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yxmj Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 Ha Ha...Really...-40 here now feels warm from the -56..... Can't give driving advice.........when you go to pull out from a side street do wish you had more of a lift so you could see over the 7' snowbanks the plows left? :thumbsup: This is were all the locker/tire lift talk that is here every day comes to reality....cuz we use it everyday ...... that being said....let the truck warm up a bit longer (up here we have "command start".....remote start on you key chain,,,,,so you do not have to go outside),,,,make sure you have a all season or all terrain tread on your driving tires.....its a Jeep trust it....i live by the sprint car mantra.....Driving left and steering right :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimoshel Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 1987Comanche, on 28 Jan 2014 - 6:30 PM, said: Put some weight in the bed, directly over the rear axle. It will help settle the back of the truck and give the rear wheels some grip. I usually load around 250lbs. Put a fat chick in the back... there, I said it before Jim haha. :rotf: Humph!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yxmj Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 COME ON GUYS BE REALISTIC,,,,,,you put her in the back you have to feed her to get her out........cuz if you offer her anything else she will just stick around.....it is just not economically feasible.......there must be another way......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Warrior Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 My advice: Drive your truck to an OPEN, EMPTY, slick parking lot. Put the truck into various slides. Brake/wheel spin/turning. Learn how to recover from these and how the truck will react with various inputs. I ALWAYS force an unfamiliar car into a slide/skid prior to tackling the streets. Every vehicle responds differently. I would much rather be driving my lifted TJ on slick roads than my mostly stock MJ because I am more comfortable behind the wheel, 10 years comfortable. Plus, the MJ sucks in 2wd on ice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strokermjcomanche Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 87 warrior is right but I would also add a parking lot that no cops will be in around to watch you sliding through a parking lot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 That's exactly what I did today with the JK in a big abandoned parking lot. We don't get these opportunities often and I wanted to see how it did on the ice. Also had the wife force a few power slides with it since she's the one who drives it mostly. She didn't do too well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RochesterMJ Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 My winter driving advice is to avoid any sudden speed changes. Once you break traction you're gonna slide and lose control. Smoothly accelerate and brake especially if you're on a curve or going around a corner. Have fun with it and if you do find yourself out of control (and fully insured), pray that the rusty panels take all the damage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankTheDog Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 Easy with the brakes. Hit them to hard and you don't have a car anymore, you have a toboggan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
64 Cheyenne Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 Leave early, drive slow, arrive safe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danbyrambler Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 Try to pick a time when traffic is least if you have to be out & about - Staying home is best - - Other drivers are usually more of a hazard than road conditions - - Parking lot practice is great & lots a fun or it used to be anyways - - School lots are usually chained/gated, store lots ok mostly but both attract the attention of the 911 cell phone a$$ whole do gooders according to my son - - . :MJ 1: . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue88Comanche Posted January 29, 2014 Author Share Posted January 29, 2014 I loaded up some firewood in the back of the jeep. The only driving I plan to do today it from my house to my parents or grand parents housed all are less than a mile away. My hot water pipes seem to have frozen again so I am headed to moms house to get a warm shower. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 Last winter I threw some weight in the bed, but this winter I've been running empty to try to save some fuel, and haven't had much of an issue with traction loss. I usually drive in 2wd, and only really have traction issues when stopping or starting at intersections where all the vehicles starting or stopping slide just a little and polish the ice to a shine. I do throw it into 4x4 in that situation, as it helps prevent the front wheels from locking, which they do ridiculously easily in 2wd, and then more traction for getting moving again, hopefully not contributing to the polish. Spinning wheels doesn't help you get anywhere and just makes it worse for the next guy. Definitely get practice sliding. In all honestly, it should be a requirement for a driver's test to show you know how to handle a vehicle once it's beyond "normal" situations. My driver ed instructor liked pulling e-brakes on us occasionally, until a bunch of parents didn't want their children "learning dangerous behaviour". But it's a pretty well known fact among driver instructors that the teenaged guys who ripped around recklessly in their vehicles have fewer incidents when they're older. Go easy. I won't say "go slow" as some have, because vehicles trundling along at a fraction of the rest of traffic are a bit of a hazard, but definitely take it easy. Keep in mind that you're not going to be able to 100% prevent sliding, but you should be prepared and able to deal with it when it happens. Leave lots of following distance. Start slowing down and stopping earlier (my technique usually is to give about twice as much stopping space as I normally would and do my best to stop in the normal distance and then I've got all that extra space when I inevitably can't stop when I want to. Going around corners can be a little interesting. If you hit the corner too fast, you'll just slide past it. If you get back on the gas before you straighten out, you'll end up sideways. My MJ likes being sideways. Again, practice sliding. Drifting as it's called now, is a heap of fun given enough space, and is definitely a useful skill. Just keep in mind that ice isn't like pavement. It doesn't grab you when you let off the gas or reduce the steering angle. You just keep doing whatever you were doing. I prefer frozen lakes to parking lots for learning, but I doubt it's been cold long enough in your area to have built up the three-foot layer of ice that is the minimum three feet for safe hooning. For those frozen pipes, get a heat gun (or if all else fails a hair dryer) and point it at the pipes as close as you can to where you think they're frozen. Hopefully none of them have burst... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankTheDog Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 Crack your faucets too so they trickle, that'll help keep them from freezing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue88Comanche Posted January 29, 2014 Author Share Posted January 29, 2014 There was a little ice on the road on the way to my moms house. a nice stretch about 50 feet or so. I did get to experience the brakes locking up just barely taping them. but now all the ice is gone and hopefully will stay away. I know several roads in Mobile where closed down as well as a few interstate exits. As for my pipes, I had a faucet dripping last night. it did not completely freeze just enough to not have any useable hot water. It is working properly now that things have warmed up a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NHMJXJ Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Having lived in New England most of my adult life, there are a few indisputable facts of winter driving ... Never underestimate the stupidity of other drivers Leave room between you and the vehicle in front of you even when you're stopped Nothing stops on ice DO NOT lock up your brakes, pump them Turn into the slide and take your foot off the gas (your a$$ end is trying to pass your front end) 4WD just means you can get twice as stuck Good advice to go play in a parking lot. Drifting in 2WD and 4WD is a blast!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDirtyJeep401 Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 I let an extra 5 psi out of my rear tires adding up to about 10 psi. I have never put weight in the back and I was running street tires and 2wd, made it through everything just fine. Be sure to put the correct amount back in when it warms up and the ice\snow is gone. And as stated earlier, find an empty parking lot to learn how, plus you can have fun doing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Airing down might help in snow, but it won't on ice. Your contact patch gets wider, but it also tends to come up off the ground in the middle of the tire. You want as much tread as possible down for the ice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
streetjeep2.5 Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 All the advice given is very good and from "experienced" drivers. I will only add something from being in the minneapolis area where we have had snow storm after snow storm and very little dry roads since November: If you live in an area where they put chemical on the roads and they do it a lot and you want to try to keep your MJ from being eaten alive, at any time its above 25 degrees run it through a car wash that has under body wash! BTW, above 25 days in our area have been rare lately! The first snow we had for this season is still on the ground since it turned cold at the same time and has stayed cold! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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