OT: Snow Removal From Your Car Before Driving | Page 11 | The Boneyard

OT: Snow Removal From Your Car Before Driving

nelsonmuntz said:
I park in a garage (#17).
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I do too, but not everyone does, and those people, if they don't clear the snow, are a problem.

Trucks are a problem too. They generally can't clear the snow from the top of the trailer and that can lead to huge frozen chunks flying off as they get up to speed.

Just stay home until at least mid March. That's the answer.
 
nelsonmuntz said:
I park in a garage (#17).
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Depends on how tough it is to clean. I will always wipe down the windows and wind shields and head out, although I will let the defroster do the work on the side and rear window if they are icy. Modern defrosters are pretty effective, so why risk getting covered with snow or scratching the car? I don't go too crazy on the top of the car, especially if I am in business attire.

3 inches is my over/under to deal with snow on the roof. Less, and I feel like if someone is driving close enough behind me that snow coming off my car is a problem for them, they should stop tailgating. If it is more than 3 inches, I will brush the top layer off to get it down below 3 inches. I don't like running the brush along the roof because the brush can scratch.
 
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John said:
Depends on how tough it is to clean. I will always wipe down the windows and wind shields and head out, although I will let the defroster do the work on the side and rear window if they are icy. Modern defrosters are pretty effective, so why risk getting covered with snow or scratching the car? I don't go too crazy on the top of the car, especially if I am in business attire.

3 inches is my over/under to deal with snow on the roof. Less, and I feel like if someone is driving close enough behind me that snow coming off my car is a problem for them, they should stop tailgating. If it is more than 3 inches, I will brush the top layer off to get it down below 3 inches. I don't like running the brush along the roof because the brush can scratch.
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Do you know what would happen to me if I was behind you and you had cleaned your car like that? Nothing, because I would be at least 4 seconds, or roughly 350 feet, behind you. You could have the driver's side window down, grabbing snow off the roof and trying to throw it at me, and it wouldn't hit.

You know why? Because I would be at least 4 seconds behind you.
 
nelsonmuntz said:
Do you know what would happen to me if I was behind you and you had cleaned your car like that? Nothing, because I would be at least 4 seconds, or roughly 350 feet, behind you. You could have the driver's side window down, grabbing snow off the roof and trying to throw it at me, and it wouldn't hit.

You know why? Because I would be at least 4 seconds behind you.
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lol
 
John said:
Depends on how tough it is to clean. I will always wipe down the windows and wind shields and head out, although I will let the defroster do the work on the side and rear window if they are icy. Modern defrosters are pretty effective, so why risk getting covered with snow or scratching the car? I don't go too crazy on the top of the car, especially if I am in business attire.

3 inches is my over/under to deal with snow on the roof. Less, and I feel like if someone is driving close enough behind me that snow coming off my car is a problem for them, they should stop tailgating. If it is more than 3 inches, I will brush the top layer off to get it down below 3 inches. I don't like running the brush along the roof because the brush can scratch.
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If you could strap yourself to the roof somehow, and try to scrape up sheets of ice and throw them at me like a frisbee while travelling down the highway at 60 or 70 mph, you still wouldn't be able to hit me, because I would just drop to 5 or 6 seconds back. There is no way you have the arm strength to throw a sheet of ice 500+ feet, and even if you did, a) it would come apart with the force of that throw or b) I would be able to avoid it because I would be 500+ feet back.

I would be willing to test this theory if you want to go on the roof of a car with under 3 inches of ice and snow on it that is travelling at highway speeds. Heck, I would even let you go to 6 inches, and let you pack it down. There is still no way you could hit me.
 
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nelsonmuntz said:
Do you know what would happen to me if I was behind you and you had cleaned your car like that? Nothing, because I would be at least 4 seconds, or roughly 350 feet, behind you. You could have the driver's side window down, grabbing snow off the roof and trying to throw it at me, and it wouldn't hit.

You know why? Because I would be at least 4 seconds behind you.
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I'm calling BS on this. 350 ft is roughly 23 car lengths of an average passenger sedan. In this state unless you're driving at 2:00 am there is no way a car on the highway will have 23 car lengths between it and the car immediately ahead of it.
 
FfldCntyFan said:
I'm calling BS on this. 350 ft is roughly 23 car lengths of an average passenger sedan. In this state unless you're driving at 2:00 am there is no way a car on the highway will have 23 car lengths between it and the car immediately ahead of it.
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60 mph = 1 mile per minute. 5280 feet in a mile. 5280 feet in one minute/60 seconds = 88 feet/second. 4 seconds =352 feet.
 
John said:
I don't like running the brush along the roof because the brush can scratch.

are you using a wire brush? Steel wool?
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A slingshot would be more accurate. My physics is a little rusty. How much power can you unleash on a sheet of ice from a slingshot if you are moving at 70 mph in the opposite direction? How long would the ice stay in the air? The problem with this method is that the ice would come apart if you used a sling shot.

If you really wanted to hit me driving behind you, you would be better off just throwing the ice straight up in the air and hoping I didn't notice and drove directly under it. How high would you have to throw it? There must be a website where we could calculate how high @John would have to throw the rock to land on the exact spot he threw it 4 seconds later. Would his lateral motion impact this analysis at all?
 
temery said:
Plot twist: I just got back from the grocery store. I had a truck in front of me drop half a dozen basketball size chunks of packed wheel well ice from the underside of the truck.

Clean off the underside of your vehicles, people. Be considerate - clean the underside of your vehicles.
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Always clean your undercarriage.

Also clean off that big load of ice that forms right behind the tire. That can interfere with turning the tires.

Even a few inches of snow on top of the car can absorb precipitation and throw the balance of the car into a tailspin.
 
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nelsonmuntz said:
This winter sucks, no denying that, but it is the first really bad winter we have had in 11 years. Most weeks in Connecticut in mid-December through February it is in the 40's several times, and most snows melt within a few days. You get the plow piles in the parking lots, but otherwise snow on the ground doesn't last. We usually get one week long cold snap a winter where it is 0ish at night and mid teens in the day, and then we are done with the extreme cold. This winter is a 1980's style Connecticut winter.
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I bought my first snowblowah in 2012 when we moved here. I probably used it four times in last 5 years leading up to this winter. So far, 4 times this season.
 
Last edited:
Ha Who said:
#21
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Tired Good Night GIF by MLB
 
nelsonmuntz said:
60 mph = 1 mile per minute. 5280 feet in a mile. 5280 feet in one minute/60 seconds = 88 feet/second. 4 seconds =352 feet.
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I wasn't questioning how much distance four seconds at 60 mph is, that's easy math.

What I'm calling BS on is the idea that you are normally 350 feet behind the car directly in front of you on a Connecticut highway. Other than overnight, when nobody is on the road, there are very few instances where that much room is available with the congestion on these highways.

You knew that going in but as is standard for you, instead of trying to defend the more than twenty car lengths you claim to keep between you and the car immediately in front of you, you find some item that was never disputed and show proof of what nobody questioned.

For your sake I seriously hope that the personna you display here is merely an act.
 
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