winter driving
- Thread starter Tay
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BJR
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Did my first winter driving. All went well. The worst part was seeing the salt on my car afterward.
Drives very well in snowy and even icy roads. However, you have to drive very carefully on ice because if the car ever slips, you will be fighting to get back control of a 5000+ lb sliding car. Its computers will be working to get you back control but if you are driving at excess speed....good luck. I have even pushed through 15 inches of snow without any problems. It just leaves two wheel tracks and a very flat, smooth layer of 4 inch thick, compressed snow. It claws up reasonable grades which are icy very well. However, I go down curvy grades well below the speed limit because I would hate to lose control and slip in a straight line off the road. Stopping this very heavy car going down a grade takes more distance than one is used to, so I go slow in such situations, trying to keep one side of tires in snow if possible. While I have 3 sets of snow socks, I have yet to feel the need to use them.
Living in Northwest Washington, we have been dealing with this "bomb Cyclone" for a few days now. Over 15 inches of snow, and winds up to 50 mph, giving us a wind chill of less than minus 15 degrees F. Currently, we are approaching the edge of warmer temps but are now dealing with freezing rain which has turned our roads to sheets of ice. I have been taking the Lucid out just about every day to see how it drives in these most strenuous conditions. It passes with flying colors!
Living in Northwest Washington, we have been dealing with this "bomb Cyclone" for a few days now. Over 15 inches of snow, and winds up to 50 mph, giving us a wind chill of less than minus 15 degrees F. Currently, we are approaching the edge of warmer temps but are now dealing with freezing rain which has turned our roads to sheets of ice. I have been taking the Lucid out just about every day to see how it drives in these most strenuous conditions. It passes with flying colors!
It can handle most conditions up until the snow reaches the bumper level and then also how much youd like to risk damage the bumper. Packed street snow can be tricky. Almost got stuck in 6" of soft-packed snow yesterday. Im not sure how well the awd works for all conditions. I got temporary stuck yesterday at Wendy's drive through window. The wheel(s) were spinning but car didnt move. I did back and forth a few times and could drive away. It was only less than 2" of snow and ice.
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My experience has been identical , including relative ease pushing through deep snow.
The biggest trick is being prepared for the ice and not getting into trouble with the regenerative breaking, but it just takes a little practice. Ice is not kind to any vehicle and my experience with the Air in icy conditions has been very favorable, but yeah, slow down!! The biggest challenge is likely deep hard packed crusty snow and the low clearance.
I am glad to hear you are also having success and peace of mind during winter. It was one of my biggest concerns , but that fear has been essentially eliminated.
I agree with your thoughts regarding ice and deep snow. No need for fear...just caution and a plan to deal with possible trouble, like with any car.My experience has been identical , including relative ease pushing through deep snow.
The biggest trick is being prepared for the ice and not getting into trouble with the regenerative breaking, but it just takes a little practice. Ice is not kind to any vehicle and my experience with the Air in icy conditions has been very favorable, but yeah, slow down!! The biggest challenge is likely deep hard packed crusty snow and the low clearance.
I am glad to hear you are also having success and peace of mind during winter. It was one of my biggest concerns , but that fear has been essentially eliminated.
Yes to everyone's thoughts here. The two key factors: Go slow. Allow way more than the usual follow distance.
AWD and proper tires should serve you well in the Air. The weight can work both ways. Sometimes, it helps keep the car grounded. But you definitely want to avoid sliding at any sort of speed. Keep the speed down, and the car should remain planted most of the time. Also, avoid any kind of sudden moves.
Give up the illusion that you are in control.
AWD and proper tires should serve you well in the Air. The weight can work both ways. Sometimes, it helps keep the car grounded. But you definitely want to avoid sliding at any sort of speed. Keep the speed down, and the car should remain planted most of the time. Also, avoid any kind of sudden moves.
Give up the illusion that you are in control.
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About a week ago, I was driving on ice , slightly spaced out listening to wonderful music, and realized I was going a tad too fast. Gently let up in the accelerator , but even with caution, I started to slide. It was actually a great experience because the car corrected very very well. It was also a reminder ( that we probably all need on occasion ) to slow the hell down and pay attention .
I was quite surprised and for a moment thought id have to ask a people behind me to push me. I have the Lucid factory 19". One thought i have is that since the tire pressure is ~49 psi as compared to 30 to 35 for most ice cars, the lucid tire may have comparatively lesser tire foot print and also may not shape itself as easily with uneven surfaces. For the snowy streets and since they're slow plowing the streets here or just wait for thaw, it was 6" of "snow mud" caused by all cars driving and no plowing, and if was sort of ok. I just didnt want to pick up speed to get over the worst snow obstscles afraid id damage the bumper. In a sense, it seemed like someting between 2-wheel drive and awd and i guess to have lots of hp is a disadvantage when its slippery.
Could be if it is a wet and heavy snow. Our Lucid breezed through 15 inch of powder before our community's roads were plowed. It is certainly not something I wish to do often but a personal emergency required me to venture out. The Lucid was a gem!
i had a different issue, not with driving dynamics as we don't have any snowy conditions in the immediate DC area but these cold temps affected my ability to open and close the frunk. The gas pistons struggled to open the hood in 16 degrees (no surprise) but when attempting to close electronically the hood would not latch. i didn't want to manually interfere with the opening/closing mechanism so i kept trying to get it to close until i finally attempted to push the hood down manually. It would not close the 5mm gap or so it needed for the car to register the hood closed but i could not manually get it to open either from this "opened" position. i felt it safe enough to drive without the hood flying open during the drive, even with the warning light flashing.
i drove it a couple miles until getting inside a garage to help warm up the car enough for the pistons to function fully- also after a few miles the car entered turtle mode and wouldn't drive above 35mph. From this point on, the hood would open and close but still not fully close and now made clicking sound, i believe coming from the latching mechanism. i called Lucid and they advised me to assist the hood closing from a fully open position. This worked to be able to completely close the frunk hook but the clicking sound is still going on 3 days later. Lucid maintenance will call for service after the Christmas holiday.
The trunk hood also had the same challenges but i learned from the frunk issue to assist the trunk lid in closing fully as well.
Lesson: Be careful opening and closing the frunk/trunk hood and if necessary, gently assist the closing manually if the car cannot do it automatically. i never had a problem with our other vehicles, as this is our first EV.
i drove it a couple miles until getting inside a garage to help warm up the car enough for the pistons to function fully- also after a few miles the car entered turtle mode and wouldn't drive above 35mph. From this point on, the hood would open and close but still not fully close and now made clicking sound, i believe coming from the latching mechanism. i called Lucid and they advised me to assist the hood closing from a fully open position. This worked to be able to completely close the frunk hook but the clicking sound is still going on 3 days later. Lucid maintenance will call for service after the Christmas holiday.
The trunk hood also had the same challenges but i learned from the frunk issue to assist the trunk lid in closing fully as well.
Lesson: Be careful opening and closing the frunk/trunk hood and if necessary, gently assist the closing manually if the car cannot do it automatically. i never had a problem with our other vehicles, as this is our first EV.
I agree with all points above, also my Frunk issue also came from below 20 degrees F, I don't trust the frunk in extremely cold temperatures. I got itt aligned and it's good now, but knowing it could happen again, I use my trunk more often.
Also same thing with people with snow and ice, the regenerative breaking freaks me out a bit as letting off the accelerator can cause jerkiness and slippage, even the ADAS sometimes jerks the wheel or slows down hard when someone cuts you off.
So I'd recommend just drive yourself manually for winter if you're in snow and ice, and maybe go to standard regen, but once you get used to it, it's not bad. But as others have pointed out, it'll be wild to stop a 5k+ lbs car once it starts going. Good luck
Also same thing with people with snow and ice, the regenerative breaking freaks me out a bit as letting off the accelerator can cause jerkiness and slippage, even the ADAS sometimes jerks the wheel or slows down hard when someone cuts you off.
So I'd recommend just drive yourself manually for winter if you're in snow and ice, and maybe go to standard regen, but once you get used to it, it's not bad. But as others have pointed out, it'll be wild to stop a 5k+ lbs car once it starts going. Good luck
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Thanks for posting this; very useful information.
Also, the back windows stopped working in frigid temps, front windows seem fine.
To answer the question in a drop in range, interestingly driving slower in the cold yesterday gave me about the same range as driving in a “spirited” manner in the warmer months. I had a lot of errands to complete on Christmas Eve and wanted to make it to all of them so I stayed with or believe the speed limit and thought the car fared well.
To answer the question in a drop in range, interestingly driving slower in the cold yesterday gave me about the same range as driving in a “spirited” manner in the warmer months. I had a lot of errands to complete on Christmas Eve and wanted to make it to all of them so I stayed with or believe the speed limit and thought the car fared well.
