Aotomatic in Snow

[picker]

My Corsa 1.4 Standard aotomatic has a snoflake button which you can activate.do you keep it on when driving or only to get grip to start off.Also I heard someone say on radio you should turn off ABS in slippery conditions.I dont know how to do this.

[rov1200]

This answer was put on a question below but ABS to me seems fraught with problems:

///When it applies to my car you get an unhealthy rattle as though something is coming loose.

I think the design as some faults. For instance if going over a sharp bump in the road at the same time as applying the footbrake the car momentarily free wheels and the car seems to shoot forward without being in control. This is only for a short moment and corrects itself but by then have progressed about 5 yards or so it seems.
I have taken it to the dealer and he says this is normal.///

[AlBags]

Leave it selected on. It's supposed to improve driveability.

ABS tries .. but no ABS is good on totally iced surfaces. You don't turn off ABS.

[dotty.]

I have one of those snowflake signs but I never use it, I suppose I should do really, I;ve actually managed quite well in the snow, took it really slow today, took me 1 hour 30 minutes toi drive the 28 miles home from work but the A 583 was quite bad and there was freezing fog rolling in from the ribble estuary. I used 2nd gear alot though too.

[Graham-W]

The snowflake setting means your car will set off in third gear. There will be so little torque at those revs that you will be unlikely to spin the wheels. On my automatic it automatically disengages when I reach 50 mph. You can disengage it manually if you feel the need.
Whoever said on the radio to turn your ABS of is an idiot. This is just the kind of weather it was designed for.

[dotty.]

graham I am going out now and we still have alot of snow about and so i am going to try using the snowflake! thanks for the info!

[Prudie]

I drive an automatic and I don't have a snowflake button, is it reletively a new feature?

[Graham-W]

The first instance I saw of the snowflake setting was on my dads 1993 Volvo 850.
Probably earlier than that.

[Prudie]

Mine's a lot newer than that but it is a Jap import, maybe that's why.
PS I do know how to spell relatively

[Fitzer]

Theoretically (and in reality) ABS is best switched off on FRESH snow, the concept is that if you lock the front wheels in loose snow a wedge of snow builds up in front of the wheels stopping you more quickly, whereas if the wheels continue to turn this doesn't happen. Unless you are the first person to drive in the snow on your road it's unlikely to be of benefit to you and if you do have a prang explaining to your insurance why you had your ABS off is likely to prove entertaining :-)

[maggie21]

What's Aotomatic?

[R1Geezer]

I think you'll find the button with a snowflake on it means air con!

[nightmare]

I have never seen a car in which ABS can be turned off.

[Graham-W]

And I've never seen a car where you can't turn off the ABS.
Recently I've had Mazda RX8, Alfa 147, Vauxhall Omega, VW Passat and Skoda Superb (same as the passat) and on all of these you could turn off the traction control. The Mazda was a handful as it turned off the stability control as well 8-{{

[razza]

Traction control is not ABS,you cannot turn abs off.If you have abs on your car and it doesnt work MOT failure.

[SlackAlice]

I drive an automatic Nissan Almera which has ABS. The only snowflake symbol I've got is my right foot!!
This is my first automatic car and I'm quite pleased at the way the car has behaved in the poor road conditions. ABS has activated on occasion and a gentle right foot on the 'Go' pedal has given the results I wanted. Manual gearbox might have given slightly better results but not by much.

Would I switch off ABS if I could? Simple answer is NO, benefits outweigh advantages imo.

Fitzer's answer is partially correct, but it was more in relation to Rally Driving which is a different 'kettle of fish'

[Graham-W]

Apologies Razza. Was getting ABS confused with Traction control.

[Fitzer]

The first Audi Quattros used to have a switch to disable the ABS because they were appealing to the rally heritage of the system, don't know if they still do, I doubt it from everyone's comments so far.

[dotty.]

R1 geezer why would the aircon button be next to the gear stick? The aircon button is the button with 'Air Con' written under it on the heater control panel!

[AlBags]

Fitzer ... That's your theory (the wedge of snow theory) which is a very silly one. What friction do you think there is between a wedge of packed ice under a tyre, against another sheet of ice, eh?

ABS is a lot better these days than it used to be soon after it's incorporation on family cars. The electronics and sensors can help control a car much better than in the old days.
On ice, constant on/off light braking is the best .. but few drivers can do this properly without practice.

[Fitzer]

Albags, you didn't read my reply, the theory is on FRESH snow, not snow and ice, and it's not my theory, it is that of rally drivers (which I don't claim to be) and is certainly what Audi maintained when the original Quattro came out, they also said that it was better switched off on loose gravel.