Member Since: 18 Sep 2011
Location: Nr Sevenoaks,Kent
Posts: 2081
Rykard - another handy tip would also be this. Be relaxed and unhurried in your driving. Rarely do, tensing up and jerky, aggressive or reactive inputs end well. A good way to counter this is to use a very underrated technique called - "BREATHING" When we are stressed, it is a natural reaction to hold our breath. When we do this it is impossible to relax our arms and hands. ( Go on try holding your breath now and see how relaxed your arms are!) It is normal to be apprehensive but if we can stay as relaxed as possible, our drive will be smoother and more flowing and as a result, safer too. Some excellent advice on here too regarding stopping distances. Terrain response is not the Licence to drive like a that some people think it is !
Most importantly - enjoy it. Increase your experience at a comfortable pace and you won't go too far wrong. Welcome to the snow Where in the country are you based? There are loads of good clubs around that can expand your experience and give you some good tips. There are a few companies that offer training weekends in the green lanes etc too. One was featured in this months LRM - Personally Ali and me are going to book a weekend with them because it looks fantastic and at the very worst, we're going to learn something
Best,
SteveMy17 Volvo XC90 Inscription
MY15 Mitsubishi L200 Barbarian
RGK Tiga Fx Wheelchair,
Large Alsation called Abbs
Medium blue Staffie called Piglet
Medium Alsation called Bailey
19th Jan 2013 9:17 am
Mark Y
Member Since: 14 Sep 2008
Location: Warwickshire
Posts: 1249
Steve you are right about the breathing, it's funny sometimes when you notice that someone has stopped breathing and the tongue has come out also .
I would say listen to advice and then find somewhere safe and enjoy the snow while it's here.
Having watched the difference between DSC on and off in extreme frozen lake driving, I'd say leave it on unless you're needing to use a heavy right foot to get out of a situation
Remember if what you're doing doesn't feel safe there's a good reason for that, it probably isn't so back off
19th Jan 2013 10:13 am
DG Site Moderator
Member Since: 12 Dec 2005
Location: The Gaff
Posts: 50977
Good advice here
It will also help greatly if you can find a open tarmaced area (*with permission, safe for you, the vehicle and away from people) to have a feel of how the vehicle responds on snow and ice ...I'm not talking about hooning around like a mad teenager but sensible brake and acceleration testing at appropriate speeds and steering control with and without the TR and DSC on ...it really helps for you to understand what the tech does and anticipate how to deal with conditions you might find on the road.21 year LR veteran > D2 GS 2003 > D3 S 2006 > D3 HSE 2009 > D4 HSE 2013 > D4 HSE 2015 > D5 HSE 2018 > DS HSE R-Dynamic P300e 2021
19th Jan 2013 10:18 am
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 73065
Also don't underestimate what the car will do without fiddling with the TR, DSC, HDC etc. It'll do far more in standard mode than most peeps will need in mud, snow or sand. Most of the time in proper snow I just leave it in standard all round apart from raising suspension, until it bongs at me.
19th Jan 2013 10:40 am
Barn1e D3 Decade
Member Since: 28 Aug 2006
Location: Mid-sussex
Posts: 2021
amazing wrote:
Stop before you reach junctions then trundle up to them.
Lots of good advice on this thread, but the quote above is in my opinion the most pertinent. The Disco is so sure footed when driving, it can lull you into a false sense of security. Stopping almost 3ton takes some planning ahead.2005, TDV6 S, Auto, 190k miles, owned from new, V8 Brake Upgrade, Nancom Evo, RLD protector, BAS EGR blanking & Remap, separate ATF cooler, changing all the fluids ahead of time.
19th Jan 2013 10:41 am
mjcp
Member Since: 02 Sep 2012
Location: Old Windsor
Posts: 403
Barn1e wrote:
Stopping almost 3ton takes some planning ahead.
I will admit to being surprised by the understeer a couple of times yesterday...
I've had various 80/90s hot 4x4 cars over the years and have driven them on snow most years... yesterday the the inertia was (not surprisingly ) significant... nearly 3 times different!
still no paint lost and it was only MY heart rate that noticed!
mjcp03/2007 D3 HSE
98 Audi A4 Avant 2.5 TDi Quattro
Gone but not forgotten
03/2003 330Ci Convertible
93 Corrado 2.0l 16V
98 M3 Evo Cab
19th Jan 2013 10:58 am
Martin Site Admin and Owner
Member Since: 06 Nov 2004
Location: Hook Norton
Posts: 18558
Take your time, no-one likes to see anyone rushing about and showing off in these conditions.
I've found the GGS TR mode is very good for helping one drive smoothly & serenely
Always approach junctions as if there is no grip, better safe than sorry 06 D3 SE / 15 LR D90 XS SW / 88 LR 90 Td5 / 68 BMW 2000 ti
Any issues with the site let me know!
Last edited by Martin on 19th Jan 2013 11:09 am. Edited 1 time in total
19th Jan 2013 11:05 am
Narpy
Member Since: 18 Jul 2011
Location: Stockport
Posts: 7830
Just get out there and have a play around, the D3 is a very capable vehicle, you'll be fine and very probably thoroughly enjoy yourself. Mods:
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I'm not scared, I'm outta here.
With Terrain response you need to think about what it is doing to the cars internals.
The diffs will lock or semi lock automatically without any driver intervention in any TR mode, the driver has no control over this. If you have the 4x4 info screen you can see this happening in real time.
TR can be changed on the move in both high and low range. However, switching from high to low needs the car in neutral i.e. stopped, best not to attempt this on the move!
You could change the suspension height but it will revert to normal again if you go above about 20mph.
GGS will dull the throttle response making it difficult to spin the wheels, the throttle will feel slow to respond but that's normal under GGS setting. Also the DSC is made sharper so that it responds more quickly to a slide. The TC is also dulled to allow some wheel spin before it kicks in.
Sand mode is not advised as it sharpens up the throttle giving more power more quickly and also dulls the DSC allowing sideways slides.
As people have already said the Discovery is very capable without engaging a different TR mode but GGS will help you in this weather.
Also see http://youtu.be/Z5R_aEK2tiM2005 D3 TDV6 HSE
1994 D1 300 TDi S 2" Lift - Off Road prepared
19th Jan 2013 11:11 am
rykard
Member Since: 29 Apr 2012
Location: Leicester
Posts: 310
wow started something there lol. <sorry>
I also have a TD5 D2 and this is my main weekly driver but at the weekends get to play in the D3. Last night was a complete nightmare in the D2 - other cars sliding all over the place , my TC was only going off when 'I booted it' but was sooo worried about those behind sliding into me...
Question was more born out of the fact the D3 is so many light years ahead of the D2 in every dept so was wondering whether I should 'play around with the TR or let is get on with it' . Been out this morning and left it in normal mode and so far it's been on rails. Having slid though a junction in the D2 a couple of months ago I totally take on board the SLOW DOWN BEFORE junctions comments..
thanks for the advice - please feel free to keep it coming as I feel we all continue to learn...
cheers
Rich (male btw)cheers
Rich
55 D3 V8 HSE auto
68 Stelvio 2.2 Speciale
19th Jan 2013 11:15 am
Canburne
Member Since: 15 Jan 2013
Location: Devon
Posts: 2036
No need to apologise - this has been a very constructive and helpful thread. Reminds people to think about the conditions. Last year (2011) in the really bad snow in the west country the owner of our local rescue garage was interviewed on TV and he said 'you have to remember there are an awful lot of drivers out there who have never driven in snow before.....'. When we did drive on the snow 30/40 years ago we all had narrow high profile tyres which cope much much better than todays fat super low profile tyres......
19th Jan 2013 11:23 am
sacimiddx
Member Since: 09 Mar 2007
Location: hants
Posts: 2144
Preety much all good advice
but the single most important thing you can do for snow conditions is fit a good winter tyre Illegitimi Non Carborundum
19th Jan 2013 11:28 am
disco_steve
Member Since: 25 Aug 2009
Location: Are you sure this is the M5 ?
Posts: 1498
johnny585 wrote:
The comment was made because through my work I am fedup with people who don't know how to drive in these conditons going out in the snow and causing chaos. I have to say, unfortunately, this involves disco drivers, such as 'newbies'.
I'm sorry, but what a ridiculous comment, how on earth is a 'newbie' going to learn to drive in snow/ice conditions if they stay at home
Driving in these conditions is quite safe as long as you take your time, and be cautious, especially with speed, then find a nice quite road or track and try different combinations of gears and terrain settings to build on your experience and understanding of the cars capability, ideally have someone with you in another vehicle in case it all goes pear shaped Never get mad - get even !!
06 D3 now gone to family member and still going strong at 265k
previous vehicles:
04 D2 TD5 - (clocked 189k from new)
52 X-Trail 2.2 SVE
various euro boxes !
19th Jan 2013 11:48 am
steveraspberry
Member Since: 18 Sep 2011
Location: Nr Sevenoaks,Kent
Posts: 2081
However, switching from high to low needs the car in neutral i.e. stopped, best not to attempt this on the move!
This is not necessarily the case. If you are careful, you can slip it into Neutral, select high or low range and back into gear on the move. Obviously this only needs to be done at low speed !!!! A bit of practice and it becomes easy. Useful skill in situations where maintaining a little momentum would be useful
My17 Volvo XC90 Inscription
MY15 Mitsubishi L200 Barbarian
RGK Tiga Fx Wheelchair,
Large Alsation called Abbs
Medium blue Staffie called Piglet
Medium Alsation called Bailey
19th Jan 2013 12:42 pm
Martin Site Admin and Owner
Member Since: 06 Nov 2004
Location: Hook Norton
Posts: 18558
The high/low selection is electronically controlled, it is possible on the move (in neutral). In a Defender it's manual 06 D3 SE / 15 LR D90 XS SW / 88 LR 90 Td5 / 68 BMW 2000 ti
Any issues with the site let me know!
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When we are stressed, it is a natural reaction to hold our breath. When we do this it is impossible to relax our arms and hands. ( Go on try holding your breath now and see how relaxed your arms are!) It is normal to be apprehensive but if we can stay as relaxed as possible, our drive will be smoother and more flowing and as a result, safer too. Some excellent advice on here too regarding stopping distances. Terrain response is not the Licence to drive like a 
that some people think it is !
Where in the country are you based? There are loads of good clubs around that can expand your experience and give you some good tips. There are a few companies that offer training weekends in the green lanes etc too. One was featured in this months LRM - Personally Ali and me are going to book a weekend with them because it looks fantastic and at the very worst, we're going to learn something 
.
