Tips for Avoiding Wheelspins on Icy Roads

If you’re venturing out during the winter weather, it’s best to take some precautions. You’ll want to drive more slowly than usual and keep your headlights on. You’ll also want to be prepared in case something goes wrong by having a fully-charged phone, a snow shovel and a warm blanket on hand.

Another thing you should do is learn how to avoid wheelspins on ice. Read on to find out about correcting a slide on icy roads.

Why cars spin out on ice

It doesn’t matter whether it’s rain, ice or snow—the reason your car’s wheels will spin is a lack of traction. A car’s tires grip the road via friction. Snow and ice prevent the car from making contact with the road and result in less friction. This makes your car’s wheels (and sometimes the whole car) begin to spin.

Ice is considerably more slippery than asphalt, so the wheels will lose their grip. A car driving over snow or ice means it causes a thin melted layer of water, which won’t improve the situation.

Correcting a slide on icy roads

If you’re serious about all-weather driving, then you’ll want to invest in snow tires or wrap chains around your tires; however, this isn’t always practical in warmer weather locations that only occasionally have ice and snow. That said, a car with all-wheel drive will be less likely to slip and slide across icy roads.

There’s also a lot you can do in terms of driving to improve your chances. Make sure that you’re steering, accelerating and braking smoothly and gradually. As mentioned before, the key is traction, so you want to make sure that you’re not doing things like braking while turning. This causes weight transfer which has a negative impact on traction.

What to do if your car begins sliding

It’s good to know how to prevent slides and what to do if a slide happens despite your best efforts. First, resist that temptation to slam on the brakes. It will make the slide worse. To correct the slide, your wheels must be turning freely, so don’t press down on the accelerator or the brakes.

Then you want to turn into the slide by pointing the front wheels in the same direction that the rear of the car is sliding. You may have heard this referred to as turning into the slide. So if the car is sliding out to the right, turn the wheel to the right. Do this smoothly and gently. What you want to avoid is oversteering, which can lead to the car fully spinning out. Once you’re out of the spin, then bring the wheel back to its default position.

Whenever you need help from the automotive pros, the team at M & M Tire & Service Center is here to help. We’re a family-owned and -operated business that’s been serving the community since 1975. Our friendly and professional staff offers quality repairs and services at affordable prices. Give us a call today to set up your first appointment.

Categorised in: Tire Replacement

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