Hey guys, I got me a question. will manually shifting your automatic car help in bad weather( snow and ice) with traction? and how would one do this (foot on or off the gas) and does it hurt the tranny? The reason Im askin is because we got some bad weather over here in NY. Thanks for the help.. and one more, what would you reccomend I keep the tranny in. thanl you so much!!!!!

 

I wouldn't think so because when accelerating with a automatic while shifting it manually you are forcing the car to be in a lower gear then what the tranny would have shifted into automatically causing higher rpms meaning more hp at the wheels which is bad in bad weather. Down shifting when slowing down might be ok if you know when to but I don't advise to start practicing in this bnad weather. I decided to manually downshift the other day and I did it too quickly and the rear wheels skided a little.

Here is my second attempt at explaining it again: All the automatics I have ever seen (our cars included) will only let you manually keep it in a lower gear then what the trannsmission would have automatically selected example: you can manually keep it in 1st when it automatically would have chosed 2nd but it won't let you keep it 2nd when the tranny wants 1st. O.K I am sorry I suck at explaining things but all you need to remember is when manually shifting a automatic (while accelerating) it is only letting you hold the tranny in a lower gear causing more rpms which equals hp. But it can be useful for slowing down if you downshift carefully.

 

ya 99ss u r right

i was gonna say the same thing

 

Actually this is not true on the new models of the LS1, I don't know which year they started this, but I know on my car, if I put the car in 2nd, it will be in second gear, period. Even at a stop I can have my car in second gear. So to answer your question, if your car is like this, you may want to start out in second, but I don't think it would be much help anyway, just give the car very little gas until it shifts out of first and you should be ok.

 

Well, I'll give ya some Northern advice..................leave the car in Drive or Over-Drive. When I used to have my '81 Z, I nearly ditched it because I was manually shifting (to slow down). When I turned a corner one time, the back end started to kick out a little, so I let off the gas, but because I had left the shifter in 2nd gear, it was like applying the back brakes, so it pulled the car hard the other way. I got it straightened out (facing the other way!? ) but vowed never to manually shift in the snow again!

Lately we've had quite a bit of snow up here, and since I can't afford a good winter beater yet, I've been driving the Zedder (with the factory Eagle RS-A's) and surprisingly it does fine as long as I drive easy. I've found it's accelerating capabilities are squat, but it's braking capabilities are actually very good. As long as you don't try to drive the same as you would on dry roads (or even in the rain) you'll be fine. Here are some pics I took up north last month. All the roads in the pictures had been plowed, but I drove on a few roads that still had 4-6" of snow, and even up a couple of steep hills and the car did OK. Also, I've found that there's no real advantage to starting in 2nd gear, because then if it does decide to spin the wheels, they'll really get spinning, so again, just leave the shifter in D or OD (so it starts in 1st) and don't get too throttle happy.

 

I'm thinking the RSA's must handle much better in snow than the eagle F1's. With the eagle F1's I can't even get up my drive way with half an inch of snow, and the driveway has a very slight hill. I used to have a 2000 v6, with z28 wheels and tires, didn't know much about these cars then so I have no idea what kind of tires they were but they did handle a lot better in the snow than the eagle f1s.

 

I currently have a set of Blizzak snow tires mounted on a set of surplus Firebird rims that I got from SLP. They are really cheap factory GM alloys that look way better that OEM steel. DO NOT shift the car manually. The only thing I would recommend is Second Gear Start (if equipped). Use this only in very slick conditions. Doing this sends less torque to the back wheels, making it harder to spin. It also takes away the upshift from first to second, which causes even more spin.
My stock GS-Cs are terrible in the snow. They are wide and the rubber compound is too hard. Cold weather makes them harder, worsening wet and snow traction. 2GS, winters tires, and ASR really do help when used wisely. I've had a Camaro since 1994 as an everyday car, all year. The best thing you can have in snow is common sense. Be safe and good luck.

FYI: I have a 2000 Z28 (see sig below) built early in the production year. It is equipped with Second Gear Start.

 

If this is true yes it would help a little, thats all the V6 Camaro traction control does is start the car in second instead of first.

 

thanks guys