Thank you! Here's to good old-fashioned...

 

To everyone saying I should slow down, well 110 is our speed limit and were not like the states where if you go 1 over you get a ticket. Usually people drive 120 on highways in Alberta, that's a normal speed. Even so other vehicles pass me all the time.

If you never test the handling limits of your vehicle how will you ever know what it can / can't do? Then you won't know how to react in a situation when you really need to. I like pushing my vehicle and aspire to understand all its handling characteristics. It's not just a motorized chauffeur for me, I want to DRIVE it.

Best advice I've heard. Actually I've already got one, 4WS and all. But it's just not practical for me to drive daily so there it sits.

 

It's not the driving the speed limit under normal conditions that is objectionable. It's driving the speed limit when conditions are far from ideal that seems a bit crazy. When there's ice on the road, you shouldn't be going full speed. When there are snow drifts on the road, you shouldn't be going full speed.

 

Check with your DMV. There are two speed limits written into most state laws. One is the BASIC which is the normal posted speed limit. That is the speed limit when all conditions (weather, traffic, etc.) are normal. The other is PRIMA FACIA which is the speed limit that should not be exceeded when there are abnormal conditions such as ice, snow, traffic, etc. A person could easily get ticketed for reckless driving while not exceeding the posted speed limit. In-other-words, don't drive in an unsafe manner. (You must first be young and dumb before you can be old and wise.)

 

I agree with the OP, my Fit if the worst winter vehicle I've driven. This is based on the stock tires and Hankook Ice Bears.

Telling him to slow down doesn't negate the fact that the Fit simply cannot be driven as fast (whether than speed is 70mph or 30mph based on conditions) compared to other vehicles.

I know a lot of it is the light weight, short wheelbase, tall profile (when it's windy), and being FWD. Another interesting trait I've noticed on the Fit (and some FWD minivans I've been behind) is that even though it understeers like a dump truck under heavy cornering, when the conditions are slippery enough that the car can start to slide before the suspension gets loaded it has very twitchy oversteer. So there's a huge difference in how the car reacts based on how many g's it can generate before losing grip. Very different than RWD vehicles where the main input into cornerning dynamics is throttle position

 

The only criticism I can give of the Fit's handling is in severe winds and on grooved pavement. It's light and tall, so in winds, it feels like it's getting tossed around, so to compensate I just slow down a little to stay in control more easily. All things considered, I'll live with that trade off due to the other positives of the Fit.

I've got some 14" Pirelli winter tires on my fit right now, and it's been downright fun to drive with the blizzards we've had this winter. I've had no fear of sliding off the road, getting stuck, having trouble stopping, or losing it around a turn...a lot of that comes from still driving slow and smart in addition to having the grip of winter tires.

 

These were taken a couple weeks ago when we had 50+ mph winds and over 20" static snow with some drifts several feet deeper than that.

I had to drive several miles in low to no visibility and the only time I could stop was between drifts where the snow was only a few inches deep.

Somehow I never went off the road, spun out or got stuck... maybe it's because I wasn't doing 60mph through snow drifts?








These pictures were taken between drifts which was the only time I was able to stop and scrape the snow off the windows and wipers. There were spots where it was like rolling waves of snow 50-75 feet wide as deep as 3 feet in the middle and with the hammer down in 2nd gear I was able to paddle and float through it at about 25mph. This was using snow tires on stock ride height.

The second pic was at the end of my driveway and the snow was about 12-14" at the shallowest.

Sounds like the OP needs a driver mod.

 

110 eh
Alberta Highway Traffic Laws and Regulations

Speed Limits

Speed limits in Alberta are in kilometres per hour (km/h). Highways have a speed limit of 100 km/h (62 mph); except in our Rocky Mountain National Parks, which have limits of 90 km/h(56 mph) due to wildlife crossings. Most other rural highways and country roads have a speed limit of 80 km/h (50 mph).




But then if you are doing it through snow drifts you may need the extra 10 klicks.

 

What you read doesn't translate to what's posted on the roads. He's right in that most main highways in Alberta are 110 km/h. This is coming from another Albertan who actually lives here.

 

yup, fit is an awful handler. The guys at spoon and j's racing just routinely waste their time taking their crappy fits to the circuit and they just sing the praises of the insanely ridgid frame and nimble handling because they really really hate the car...right...

 

That's not a fair comment to make when the OP was clearly referring to completely different conditions than what a race track would give you.

 

The OP's comment wasn't a fair one because you can bet Honda wasn't intending the Fit to do 70mph in snow and ice.

Yet when driven competently it seems to manage just find in blizzard conditions...

 

Beyond posted speed limits are concerned its just common sense to slow down in adverse weather conditions.

 

Somehow I think you didn't even read the thread. I never said anything about getting stuck. In fact I've pushed so much snow with my fit the front thing isn't aligned anymore, and the engine cover at the bottom has ripped off.

I never went bombing through snow drifts on the highway with my fit because that would be just crazy. The point of the thread is that the fit slips around like crazy on icy highway or on gravel compared to other cars. The speeds and conditions I have been subjecting my car to is completely beside the point. The fact is that I have to slow down even to change lanes when it's icy, while other vehicles pass me without a problem.

 

You could pretty much say the same about any car ever produced...driven competently of course it'll be just fine. I'm (and I don't think the OP is either) not trying to justify that driving that fast in bad conditions should be done or is even safe, but the OP is just making a point that he feels the Fit doesn't handle as well in said conditions compared to say the other cars he's had. Does that mean the Fit's a bad car? Not necessarily. It's moreso an observation (at least to me) about the limits that this car has, and it's a good one to keep in mind.

If you're on the highway with bad conditions, chances are not everyone will be going as slow as you, even if common sense dictates that they should be. Sometimes if someone is coming up behind you fast, slowing down to get out of their way might not be the best option, and speeding up a little might. Knowing how fast your car can go while still keeping decent control is good knowledge to have.

 

Perhaps you don't read what you write, this is in your first post:

And then you say stuff like this:


The speeds and the conditions have everything to do with the alleged poor handling.

It sounds like crappy driving, and if you are hitting the snow hard enough to wreck the alignment on the front bumper that pretty much confirms it.

Slow down and many of your problems will go away. You are driving a light FF car with 60% forward weight bias and you are wondering why this happens?

 

I agree with you completely, and just wanted to emphasize your first point:

The vast majority of people are no where near as good a driver as they have convinced themselves.

 

You need to take a pill, and you don't even know what you're talking about. I hit the ditch off a gravel road which was covered with snow. Any other of my vehicles from the MPV to the Prelude could have and did make the same trips without a problem. I knew it felt bad but I wanted to test the limits and I found them. They are low.

 

I'm going to agree with all that.

The Fit is not a bad car, and on ideal conditions, clean dry pavement I haven't had any problem even when pushing the limits. Others have mentioned it's light and high, etc. Those things probably have a large factor in it. Although it's probably exactly the way it was designed to be, that doesn't mean potential issues due to its design don't exist.

 

First I didn't read the thread, then I posted the exact quote.

Now I don't know what I am talking about?

I posted pictures of a Fit on snow tires in a blizzard from various points throughout the drive.

Also had the GD in a severe blizzard coming off lake superior in the northwoods of WI and MI on dirt roads on all-season tires, as well as a few trips through some nasty snow/ice storms in Iowa and Kansas when my GF lived in Lawrence for school.

I am pretty well versed in driving in crappy weather and have never had an issue in whatever car I was in. Including a RWD V8 Monza, my current RAV4, a 1950lb Hyunda G4EK, Ram Cummins 3500 Dually, a lowered 2G Talon on rock solid suspension, and even a Yamaha R6 which I was dumb enough to take out in the snow once (and only once )