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Old 12-04-2005, 10:33 PM
braverichard braverichard is offline
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Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Kansas City, MO, USA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DieselAddict
Well like I said I've been driving the FWD Honda with snows only on the front for the last 10 years and I never had a problem stopping on snow. Even if I applied enough brake pressure to active the ABS I didn't detect any sideway motion. Remember the front tires do most of the stopping on any car. I know 4 snow tires would be safer, but I just think the danger of driving with 2 snow tires on the front is overblown.
I believe you there very much, especially since you have ABS. My good old 1990 Honda Civic doesn't have ABS, but I never have snow tires on it either. That's right. It just has all season tires and it is my designated car for when the roads are nasty with snow and ice. It has been serving that function for three years and I've never had any issues with it. I've driven up and downhill in all conditions with no problems. It sometimes tries to slide around but the car is so small that it is very easy to control.

To answer some questions you asked before, ESP stands for Electronic Stability Program. It is a system that corrects vehicular motion by individually applying the brakes on your car. It can keep your rear wheel drive car tracking straight on snow with no problems at all. It was originally invented by a Mercedes-Benz engineer along with a Bosch engineer in the 1970s but was never put into production until 1995 [due to technological constraints] when it made its debut on the top of the line S600 and CL600. ESP works wonders and utilizes the ABS and ASR sensors on your car to function.

ASR on the other hand I believe stands for Acceleration Slip Regulation. It is Mercedes-Benz's complex language for traction control, which simply cuts engine power to the wheels when wheel slip is detected until the wheels regain traction and it releases all power back to them.
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1999 Mercedes-Benz S600, 103K miles - garage queen
1988 Mercedes-Benz 560SEL, 89K miles - daily driver
2007 Hyundai Sonata Limited, 31K - daily driver
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