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This last weekend (May 20) I took a trip from Commiefornia to Colorado Springs. Weather forecasts indicated that rain and snow were falling in northern Colorado and was expected to move south Saturday early morning.
The GPS showed me arriving in COS around 10PM Friday, and I chose US Hwys 50/285/24 as a Google Maps option instead of I-70 to the north to give an extra margin of time to beat the snow through the mountains.
Leaving Gunnison, the rain was light to moderate and the trip was normal until after I descended from the last pass eastbound into a flat plain. Soon after, the rain turned to snow. Since the road behind me would include steep switchback inclines in deteriorating weather to get back to Gunnison, and any significant snow would make it impassable, I pressed on. Ma Nature decided central CO needed some snow sooner rather than later, so the Corvette Winter Games began.
The snow continued to fall, soon obliterating the road surface. I am an experienced snow driver, so the main concern was the tires getting cold, ceasing to function and cracking. Traffic was light and the few tracks available slowly disappeared, but the 'Vette was handling the snow well, if at a significantly reduced speed of 15-20 mph.
The traction control turned out to be a godsend, as it kept the car straight and limited the throttle to the amount the wheels would accept. I got a great if unusual real-world demonstration of the basics I learned at Spring Mountain
Naturally, the tire temps went from NORMAL to COOL to COLD slogging thru the snow, and the tires worked unexpectedly well until they became large hockey pucks in the freezing conditions, and the TC could no longer keep the car moving.
A flatbed tow truck arrived and its driver knew how to correctly get a 'Vette on the flatbed. We took the car into Lake George and unloaded it in about 1-2 feet of snow. Locals said they had never seen that much snow in May, and that it was more like a full-blown winter storm.
Lessons learned
1. The storm was far more active than the weather guessers had calculated, making their forecasts as good as the data they had, but they ended up being off by about ten hours.
· In retrospect, the rain in Gunnison was an indication of an active storm moving more quickly than forecast. Shoulda caught that and come up with Plan B.
· In hindsight, despite adding an hour and a half to the trip, going further south on US160 would have been a better choice.
2. The TC became my BFF until the tires simply couldn’t get traction
3. When I retrieved the car after the roads cleared two days later, I inspected the tires and found no cracks or deterioration despite showing as COLD for at least an hour. After giving Ruby a bath in St. George, the remainder of the 1300-mile return trip was uneventful
4. I’m glad I bought towing straps “just in case” https://www.ebay.com/itm/302742672841
The Corvette Winter Games arena
Tire chains? Who needs tire chains? Speed was 18 mph
When tires turn to hockey pucks, it's game over. Not unexpectedly, the winner was Ma Nature.
I take it these were Summer only tires? Lessons learned in how the tires will stop rotating? Not sure I follow you there. The Corvette's only good for X amount of snow and slush. I never had these problems on my '77 Corvette. It was a great Winter driver.
What was your source for straps? I should get a set for my 2017.
I take it these were Summer only tires? Lessons learned in how the tires will stop rotating? Not sure I follow you there. The Corvette's only good for X amount of snow and slush. I never had these problems on my '77 Corvette. It was a great Winter driver.
What was your source for straps? I should get a set for my 2017.
This thread is what got me to order tow straps. I got the ebay ones with the extended length to help save my splitter. My '14 doesn't have a spot for a tow hook.
Sometimes when the road gets slippery enough it is best to turn off TC and let the wheels spin a little. The problem with TC is it does two things to limit wheel spin; 1) cut torque; 2) apply a brake to the spinning drive wheel. Sometimes the two things work together to make progress impossible and that is when turning off TC amazingly improves driveability.
Sometimes when the road gets slippery enough it is best to turn off TC and let the wheels spin a little. The problem with TC is it does two things to limit wheel spin; 1) cut torque; 2) apply a brake to the spinning drive wheel. Sometimes the two things work together to make progress impossible and that is when turning off TC amazingly improves driveability.
Bill
In the conditions I was in, I tried TC both on and off and the TC was more effective at making progress.
Very admirable writing skills.👍
I take it these were Summer only tires? Lessons learned in how the tires will stop rotating? Not sure I follow you there. The Corvette's only good for X amount of snow and slush. I never had these problems on my '77 Corvette. It was a great Winter driver.
What was your source for straps? I should get a set for my 2017.
Thanks.
Yep, summer only, likely for both the rubber compound and lack of sipes to allow the water to clear the tire. More like a road slick than a 7.50x14 Firestone tire. Replacements will be A/S run flats just 'cuz.
Got the straps on eBay. Suggest getting an end fitting with both "J" and "T" attachments
Sometimes when the road gets slippery enough it is best to turn off TC and let the wheels spin a little. The problem with TC is it does two things to limit wheel spin; 1) cut torque; 2) apply a brake to the spinning drive wheel. Sometimes the two things work together to make progress impossible and that is when turning off TC amazingly improves driveability.
Bill
It a compromise in locking TC in and out. Trial and error ON/OFF TC will serve the driver best in these conditions.
My '99 Mercedes-Benz E300TD was a lesson on this one, in getting out of our hilly subdivision in Omaha, Nebraska to a main thoroughfare 20 years ago.
Since his tires locked up like "hockey pucks," he was well beyond the car's capabilities TC or not.
Best I could tell he was driving way beyond civilization in those conditions. Frankly, I wouldn't be doing that in his car.
Last edited by Skid Row Joe; May 25, 2022 at 04:47 PM.
Thanks.
Yep, summer only, likely for both the rubber compound and lack of sipes to allow the water to clear the tire. More like a road slick than a 7.50x14 Firestone tire. Replacements will be A/S run flats just 'cuz.
You will give up virtually NOTHING in going with Michelle A/Ss.
Glad you weren't involved in an accident, or, worse out there in the country in those conditions.
Your source for straps, if you please? I do need to have straps for my base 2017......thank you.😊
Last edited by Skid Row Joe; May 25, 2022 at 11:51 PM.
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Glad things ended up being OK, not only with the car but with you too. Thanks for sharing your experience - it just may help someone else if they are in a similar situation.
Glad to see you and your car made it thru that unscathed, @jimmbbo . We may have passed each other somewhere on a highway, as my wife and I are making our way home from covering the western half of Route 66. We departed Colorado for Adrian, TX on Tuesday, 17 May, arriving at the Santa Monica Pier on Sunday, 22 May. We were happy to be somewhere between Holbrook and Peach Springs, AZ when the storm hit CO. Having lived there for over 30 years, I agree with other "locals'" assessment - I can't recall that big a storm this far into the "warm weather" months.
We extended our return trip by a day (today to tomorrow) because of continued freezing temps and precip in over the Continental Divide we have to cross to get home. Plan to post some pics and details from our (more pleasant) trip after we get home...
Last edited by NortonCO; May 26, 2022 at 02:40 AM.
Good to hear you didn't have any serious mishaps. Here in NW Iowa if there's even a hint of snow being forecasted the vettes aren't going anywhere. I remember the days of driving in those conditions in RWD cars. I got good at it because I didn't have other options at the time but I still hated it.
Best I could tell he was driving way beyond civilization in those conditions. Frankly, I wouldn't be doing that in his car.
The route was away from civilization, but IMO US Hwy 50 is adequately conservative as long as rain is the only precip encountered. If snow was forecast I would have driven my '11 Mustang that has all weather tires and chains.
The lesson was that the conditions set upon the area faster than forecast, and the southern route was chosen to add a pad of 100 miles and about four hours from when the snow was to begin on I-70. In hindsight, since the weather system popped up literally in a day, the forecasts were sketchy due to lack of adequate data.
The as-forecast weather would have me in COS about 10PM sipping a glass of 2014 Malbec from the bottle I was bringing to the family, about five or six hours ahead of the blizzard. The Corvette Winter Games concluded when we arrived at 0500 Saturday and I downed a double Black Label and soda before falling into bed at six o'clock, 24 hours since arising. 11AM Saturday, high in the upper 40's, half of the snow has melted.
Moral of this story.....Don't drive your Corvette in the snow, bad idea
If the forecast was for snow, I'd have driven my '11 Mustang, as it has all-season tires and chains...
The point is that the forecast was bad due to the rapid development of the weather system...
^^^^^
Two of us couples drove our C7's (his GS and my Z51) all over Colorado for the last two weeks, returning to Chicago area yesterday.
The same day as you, we drove from Grand Junction to Denver. Started out nice but at the higher elevations around Vail, the rain turned to snow turned to a blizzard so thick we could hardly see to drive.
I was worried that the slush on the road would start to freeze, but the pavement had been warmed by recent sunny weather, and the heavy traffic kept it liquid even at 27'F. The pickups kept flying along at 60-70.
Both of us had the Michelin A/S runflats on our cars, which made a huge difference. Without the A/S it would have been foolhardy. And if the slush had started to freeze, we would have given up immediately.
In the first pic you can dimly see our friends ahead of us.
Winter driving lessons learned
In the conditions I was in, I tried TC both on and off and the TC was more effective at making progress.
