Driving On Ice
How To Drive On Ice Without Dying
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Walter Tillman
"The more throttle you apply the more sideways you'll end up, tires howling madly as you giggle like a tickled schoolgirl..."We all know that, just like Bond in Die Another Day, we too may one day find ourselves escaping a vile supervillain’s ice fortress while a comely damsel in distress clutches our arm, desperately hoping for escape. And the only way out of his frozen lair is the most intense car chase of our lives. The only problem is, we’re not 007, and chances are, when you mash on the gas while zooming down that snowy mountain pass, you’re probably gonna end up hood down in a ditch, back wheels spinning uselessly while Gustav Graves’ goons spell your doom.
That is, of course, unless you attend the AMG Driving Academy. You see, way up in the frigid tundra of the Arctic Circle, high in the wilds of Lapland in northern Sweden, Mercedes-Benz has built a school in the middle of a wide frozen lake to teach you, the common man, how to perfect the skills of ice driving. Why? If you need to ask, you’re probably not fit for the mission.
For three days last week we found ourselves jumping from AMG to AMG (E63, C63 and SLK63), racing on a multitude of courses and skill challenges with gruff German ex-GT champion Bernd Schneider barking commands at us in loud staccato bursts. With spiked tires biting into the ice, and the V8 of a high-performance Benz roaring wildly (followed by innumerable tows out of massive snow banks, naturally), we eventually picked up a thing or seven about the exact complexities of ice driving.
The number one takeaway: Many maneuvers are counterintuitive to road driving, so your first instinct is not always right. And while you may not ever battle supervillains in the Arctic Circle, you will most definitely find yourself needing these skills any time the winter clouds gather. Sure, your damsel won’t be in distress, but maybe you can give her some thrills by adding a precision drift to your ski lodge commute.
1. Driving position
First off, when driving on ice you want to position your seat much closer to the wheel. With all the slipping and sliding, you’ll have to turn the steering wheel so much to correct and counter-steer that a traditional driving position will strain your shoulders. Also, if you crash -- which you most definitely will -- you don’t want your arms or legs to be straight and lock on impact, as all the crash energy goes to hips and shoulders, potentially shattering them.2. Steering
You want to hold the wheel with a quarter-to-three grip, as if your hands were imitating a clockface. If you turn the steering wheel to control an understeer on a corner, and after a third of a revolution the car doesn't turn, slow down. Do not keep turning the wheel. You will have the habit of continuing to turn it in order to get the car to go where you want it to as if on asphalt. It’s only natural, but refrain from this habit as it is a useless -- and dangerous -- endeavor. Further turning will do nothing but set you on a horrific trajectory when the front wheels do eventually catch traction. If you open wheel just a bit, you’ll feel the tires bite.3. Braking
You want to apply maximum pressure at every stop -- really attack the pedal as the initial distance is key. This also throws the weight to the front tires, giving you more grip to strike corners. And fret not -- the modern marvel of ABS engineering will stabilize the car.