Tires with Cables Just Spun On BlackTop

This guys' video starts on level ground, but he does deal with hills and then a foot of snow in his driveway at the end. It's almost enough to make me head north with mine. He is in a Gen 4, but I don't think there's all that much difference from a Gen 3.

 

I have a PiP and contrary to others on here, I think it's a the slowest thing I've ever driven. Not really, but it sure feels that way and I came from a Civic, so I'm not exactly used to having ample power. Anyway, I've brought my PiP up to snow at least once every year since I've owned it. It performs as horribly as any FWD vehicle. It slips a little but otherwise gets me to my destination. This year, I had the unfortunate opportunity to install chains. Other years, the PiP soldiered through without them. But as before, it performed on blacktop and snow as badly as any FWD drive vehicle with chains. Press on the peddle a little too hard and the wheel spins. Less than a second later, traction control kicks in and you go forward again in a straight line. The parking lot I drove in had about a foot deep snow and the PiP with chains slalomed through it without issue. I don't expect much from my PiP in snowy conditions and it doesn't provide me any in terms of confidence. However, it works as well as any FWD vehicle I've ever driven in snow.

My take? It's easy to blame the car for not performing well in the snow. See video below: There's nothing wrong with the Jeep. Nothing wrong with the hill either as you can see a Toyota Prius traversed that hill unassisted.

 

Oh I forgot to type the point of the video. You could've just been stuck in a really bad patch of ice and snow like the Jeep. You can see his 4WD is working perfectly. You can get frustrated like him or learn what to do when stuck.

 

That first sentence makes no sense, given your claim that the tires were spinning INSIDE the chains.
The second part is true but the question is "WHY?".
I can't help but think that there is a critical piece of information missing here.

 

that's the conundrum, isn't it?

 

i have to think it's physics, but who knows. have you tried a rav4 hybrid?

 

Maybe the kitchen staff is packing up?

Nice rims...

 

I have both (a Prius and a Forester), for different applications. E.g. elder care duties require traveling a long rural poorly-groomed road, where clearance is important in winter. Sometimes even a Caterpiller dozer is needed when an F250 with chains on all four gets stuck. Forester obviously can't handle those conditions either, but it gets through many winter conditions when the Prius can't.

This afternoon that road melted out enough that the Prius could handle it, if necessary, for the first time this visit. But I have the Forester this time.

Prius is already 'geared' from Zero to Infinity. You can't get lower than that. No traditional transmission, manual or automatic, nor even a Subaru CVT, can match it on either end (low or high gear).

B is a no-op in this case. It is useful for some downhills, not uphills.

That may be true, but it has no connection or relevance to your problem expressed in this thread. If your wheels are spinning on the road surface and breaking traction, your car has plenty of power for that particular situation. More power just spins the wheels faster and creates more noise and smoke.

 

I tried to be subtle and I keep coming back to this thread to see if anyone manages to make OP realize the problem is not the car but him. I'm being blunt now.

 

I can't see that the car itself is to blame. I think the chains didn't fit well or were crap or something else.

On the other hand, you really aren't supposed to use chains on pavement. Aren't they designed to roll around the tire somewhat?

 

That video takes the bloody cake! Very funny! Thanks for sharing! ...I was waiting for the stupid driver to return with a stick to teach the Jeep a lesson! (...think Basil Fawlty) What a jerk!!!

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Do you see a significant number of ordinary 2WD vehicles at this particular ski venue? If so, then your PiP should be able to make it too, if adequately equipped (tires, chains and the nut behind the wheel.) But if the crowd there is overwhelmingly 4WD / AWD, then you ought to see some handwriting on the wall.

 

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