Honda Hybrid Civic
My Honda has now been home for almost a month. I drive it in better weather after the snow plows have been around and the ice has been sanded. I am a good driver, point free and accident free for near forever, but the first week I had the 2006 Honda I put it in a snow bank and down off the shoulder. No damage that I could tell, but what got me there remains a puzzle. Let me explain.
I was driving out the long driveway onto a short gravel road that curves to the left and up hill at a pitch that the 4x4 makes nearly all the time on ice but barely at times, the front wheel drive can make most of the time, and the 2w rear drive will usually have a problem unless studded and limited slip. This would have been a day that the fwd would be iffy, but the 2006 Honda has a computer controlled something or other on the front wheels that limits slip. So, here is what happened. I took a bit of a run at the hill and tried to carry just enough power to carry it to the top, about 100 yards. I slithered to the right, judging it to be no problem I thought front wheel drive, a bit more power and turn further to the left; I should pull right back into the street, but no! The car accelerated hard to the right and into the snow. In far enough that I had to be towed. That hook under the bumper in back comes in handy.
My question is this: why did it swerve to the right when I clearly turned left and accelerated? I drove a front wheel Audi for years and it never behaved in such a way. It always responded best to steering and a bit more power in a drift or slide, never in a skid in the contrary direction. In rehashing the skid, it is clear to me that my Audi would not have done this. Mind you, I am not complaining. I love this car, but I need to understand it.
Is the skid initiated by "P" factor from the torque of the engine, perhaps the electric motor? Second conjecture, is the skid caused by the computer directed power distribution to the front wheels wherein the slipping right front wheel causes the computer to direct all the power to the left front wheel thus pivoting the car to the right? Third conjecture, is the weight on the front wheels so low relative to the car's overall weight that the front is loosey goosey. Fourth conjecture, is the torque of the electric motor so great that it just tends to spin out if you are not careful.
One other guy at the coffee house says his Escape does this, and you just have to get use to it. Since the incident, needless to say, I have proceeded cautiously looking for the edge of the phenomena. It is reproducible but not consistently. A lighter toe on the accelerator helps avoid the problem. I have driven in stocking feet to establish the point. There is no question, it has good traction, very good traction if you just go very slow.
I probably would not sweat this if I had studs, but I can't get them in Homer, and by the time I do, brake-up will be here. Is there anybody out there with some knowledge or experience with this problem. Again, not a complaint but a definite idiosyncrasy.
I was driving out the long driveway onto a short gravel road that curves to the left and up hill at a pitch that the 4x4 makes nearly all the time on ice but barely at times, the front wheel drive can make most of the time, and the 2w rear drive will usually have a problem unless studded and limited slip. This would have been a day that the fwd would be iffy, but the 2006 Honda has a computer controlled something or other on the front wheels that limits slip. So, here is what happened. I took a bit of a run at the hill and tried to carry just enough power to carry it to the top, about 100 yards. I slithered to the right, judging it to be no problem I thought front wheel drive, a bit more power and turn further to the left; I should pull right back into the street, but no! The car accelerated hard to the right and into the snow. In far enough that I had to be towed. That hook under the bumper in back comes in handy.
My question is this: why did it swerve to the right when I clearly turned left and accelerated? I drove a front wheel Audi for years and it never behaved in such a way. It always responded best to steering and a bit more power in a drift or slide, never in a skid in the contrary direction. In rehashing the skid, it is clear to me that my Audi would not have done this. Mind you, I am not complaining. I love this car, but I need to understand it.
Is the skid initiated by "P" factor from the torque of the engine, perhaps the electric motor? Second conjecture, is the skid caused by the computer directed power distribution to the front wheels wherein the slipping right front wheel causes the computer to direct all the power to the left front wheel thus pivoting the car to the right? Third conjecture, is the weight on the front wheels so low relative to the car's overall weight that the front is loosey goosey. Fourth conjecture, is the torque of the electric motor so great that it just tends to spin out if you are not careful.
One other guy at the coffee house says his Escape does this, and you just have to get use to it. Since the incident, needless to say, I have proceeded cautiously looking for the edge of the phenomena. It is reproducible but not consistently. A lighter toe on the accelerator helps avoid the problem. I have driven in stocking feet to establish the point. There is no question, it has good traction, very good traction if you just go very slow.
I probably would not sweat this if I had studs, but I can't get them in Homer, and by the time I do, brake-up will be here. Is there anybody out there with some knowledge or experience with this problem. Again, not a complaint but a definite idiosyncrasy.
posted by Clancy Hughes | 2/13/2006 03:56:00 PM
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