My winter driving story (Moderator: A+ would read again)

[Bmwguy11]

I admit I used all seasons on most of my AWD or FWD vehicles because back then I didn't know any better.

[Bmwguy11]

Originally Posted by Lups

Dear god guys. It's a baby. Not their first even, they had that down. She is an expert of her body and if she had any doubt about the time or her husbands capabilities, they would've called medics to their house.

Agreed. If I had gone into the road and felt the car was not able I would have called for help. Fortunately the neighbor next door is an EMT as well as my brother who lives just down the road (both work as EMT/FD for our village), and our neighbor across the street is a nurse.

[minn19]

Originally Posted by Bmwguy11

Well one would not generally buy a car based around the need to drive to the hospital in the middle of a snowstorm. The stars aligned and that's what happened. We made it without a hitch. My wife and I both work from home so having a RWD car as our only vehicle is a non issue 99.99% of the time. And given my experience here this car is plenty capable with the proper tired, clearance being the only possible issue. 8" was ok though.

Really? Two things are known here.

1. Your wife was pregnant and would need to go to the hospital at some point. You obviously knew the due date was in the winter.

2. It routinely snows in our area and sometimes it snows a lot. As you mentioned you live in the country so you also know it drifts a lot over barren farm fields.

Two different modes of thought. I guess I do the prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

Glad it worked out and you guys are safe. Congrats on the new baby girl!

Edit: I guess that is more than two things.

[Bmwguy11]

Originally Posted by myzmak

Hmmmm....this thread seems to be going all kinds of upside down.

First off, this is primarily a story about a BP'er becoming a father again. Mazel tov to him

Second, an M3 is a perfectly acceptable sole car for a family anywhere that has paved roads. Those criticizing the OP for owning the wrong car (see post #38) are off base.

Third, is an M3 an ideal car to drive on 8" of unplowed snow? While I suspect the OP is exaggerating the state of the roads at least a little (c'mon folks, who hasnt told a fishing tale? I would suspect there were other cars on the road, creating paths in the snow that OP was able to follow along - not like he was forging a path through the wilderness here....), no, it probably isnt the best car. But it is an acceptable car, driven properly and with the right tires. It won't necessarily be pretty going there but it can do the job. So your high horses to be getting off please and thank you kind sirs.

Third and a half - what might also help in that sort of situation are snow chains (credit to solstice in another thread for mentioning that - a good idea for that situation).

Fourth, combining points 2 and 3, buying a car (or not buying it, as some of you would have it) because of the low chance of having a more comfortable drive in a very rare and unexpected circumstance is silly. How many days over the life of the car are you going to need to drive a woman in labour to a hospital through 8-10" of unplowed snow? Not enough for it to be a defining factor in car choice. For 99.99% of the days in one's life, the M3 is completely acceptable. Any day that i can't drive somewhere in an M3 is a day I shouldnt be driving anywhere at all.

Firth, most of the 'M3 cant be an only car' crowd seem to be singing from the hymm book of SUVs and AWD. In case it isnt clear, AWD is not, not, not, not, not, not, not, not not better than an RWD or FWD car with snow tires and a competent driver. AWD is great from a light, but doesnt help you corner or stop better than snow tires. What matters far more than the number of wheels driving it is the rubber you are carrying.

...and SUVs are just marketing bs that car companies originally invented to sell to gullible north americans to allow them to keep a lot of their passenger vehicles in a 'truck' category and avoid fuel economy laws. They are likely more dangerous in this day and age because of the false confidence they bestow on drivers (as this thread would bear some witness to).

Random aside, as a northerner, i also wonder what kind of snow (wet and heavy? dry and fluffy? For those down south, this matters quite a bit...as does the air temperature, whether any salt had been thrown down, etc).

Salt was early in the morning. It was heavy and compacted snow as it went snow then ice then snow again because of temp change. The high areas were 8"-10" with lows maybe 4". There were tracks here and there I tried to stay in because that's just smart to do.

[Bmwguy11]

Originally Posted by Naz24

Congrats! what's her name? (the baby, not the car)

Aria

[2015F80]

you should send your story to bridgestone tire co.

Maybe they will send you a gift for the baby or use your story for a commercial?

[Arcades]

Originally Posted by Bmwguy11

Aria

Awesome name

[Bmwguy11]

Originally Posted by minn19

Really? Two things are known here.

1. Your wife was pregnant and would need to go to the hospital at some point. You obviously knew the due date was in the winter.

2. It routinely snows in our area and sometimes it snows a lot. As you mentioned you live in the country so you also know it drifts a lot over barren farm fields.

Two different modes of thought. I guess I do the prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

Glad it worked out and you guys are safe. Congrats on the new baby girl!

Edit: I guess that is more than two things.

1. Labor lasts many hours. In general a woman will be in labor for as much as 12 hours before you actually have to go to the hospital. It's not like in the movies where the water breaks without any prior sign and out pops a baby 20 minutes later. My wife felt she was having Braxton Higgs contractions for about 6 hours. It was very sporadic and had even stopped by 8pm. Turns out it was actual labor but we didn't know until her water broke.

But normally we would have had far more warning. This was a rather abnormal start to labor.

So the chances we would have to drive in the middle of a snowstorm was incredibly low. Even then most of our snowstorms don't bring over 10" of snow. (Quite rare actually).

[Lups]

Originally Posted by Bmwguy11

Agreed. If I had gone into the road and felt the car was not able I would have called for help. Fortunately the neighbor next door is an EMT as well as my brother who lives just down the road (both work as EMT/FD for our village), and our neighbor across the street is a nurse.

Yeah, the guys have the whole drama mode on.

OMC MY WIFE IS POPPING OUT THE FIRST BABY EVER AND THE WORLD WILL EXPLODE!

Panic in a situation like this will kill everyone, not the M car. I'm sure your wife is strong enough to knock you out with a diaper bag if needed and then to drive herself to the baby popping facility (yup, I forgot the specific name in English).

This thread duo will work as a good reminder to us all that M cars should only be used in Arizona and that next time someone has a chance to have sex: Check your calendar first! We don't need an other snow baby!

[minn19]

Originally Posted by Bmwguy11

1. Labor lasts many hours. In general a woman will be in labor for as much as 12 hours before you actually have to go to the hospital. It's not like in the movies where the water breaks without any prior sign and out pops a baby 20 minutes later. My wife felt she was having Braxton Higgs contractions for about 6 hours. It was very sporadic and had even stopped by 8pm. Turns out it was actual labor but we didn't know until her water broke.

But normally we would have had far more warning. This was a rather abnormal start to labor.

So the chances we would have to drive in the middle of a snowstorm was incredibly low. Even then most of our snowstorms don't bring over 10" of snow. (Quite rare actually).

When we had our daughter, my wife's water never broke. She had mild contractions so we had a rather relaxed trip to the hospital. She got in the room and within 10 minutes they wheeled her out, threw scrubs at me and we had a daughter via emergency C-section about a 1/2 hour after walking through the door. She flipped sometime in the last week and was breech. They said if it would've progressed farther without intervention there could of been complications.

Like I said, we have different ways of thinking about things and I guess I try not to take things like this for granted. Such as the it usually doesn't snow X amount or labor usually lasts X amount of time.

[Bmwguy11]

Originally Posted by Lups

Yeah, the guys have the whole drama mode on.

OMC MY WIFE IS POPPING OUT THE FIRST BABY EVER AND THE WORLD WILL EXPLODE!

Panic in a situation like this will kill everyone, not the M car. I'm sure your wife is strong enough to knock you out with a diaper bag if needed and then to drive herself to the baby popping facility (yup, I forgot the specific name in English).

This thread duo will work as a good reminder to us all that M cars should only be used in Arizona and that next time someone has a chance to have sex: Check your calendar first! We don't need an other snow baby!

She had a natural birth for all 3 kids. No epidural and only one dose of pain med near the end. She's a strong woman.

[JoeFromPA]

First, awesome story - congrats on taking your wife through hell to get her to deliver at the hospital. If you get pregnant again due in the winter, may I recommend learning about home delivery The odds of a complication are far lower than the odds of a travel-related issue in those conditions! Holy cow! Way to go man

Second, you should send your story to tirerack. They chose that tire and recommended it for your needs and size and I am confident the car would not have made it with BMW's recommended setup (which is a performance minded setup).

Third, this story is the difference between a "winter" tire and a "snow/ice studless" tire. Those are conditions where an SUV rocking good all terrain tires would struggle mightily.

Lastly....a note on the complainants. My last vehicle (besides an e39 m5) was a 6,000 pound SUV with front and rear locking differentials (stock), an air suspension that could raise and lower the vehicle >6" (stock), great gearing for snow (diesel), and very good all terrain tires (Toyo). And it was dangerous in winter...the combination of all that weight, non-winter tires, an extremely heavy engine, and a much higher CoG made it truly a bad vehicle to drive around other people. It may have been able to forge through 2' of unplowed snow in a mountain pass - but that doesn't mean it would be a good vehicle for lots of stop signs and vehicles all around me.

I sold my e39 m5 and that SUV and bought an f80 m3 and a set of winter tires. The low center of gravity, good weight distribution, rear diff, and the right tires makes it a much better vehicle. I drove my wife to the delivery center in it last October and drove our newborn home in it.

[Bmwguy11]

Originally Posted by minn19

When we had our daughter, my wife's water never broke. She had mild contractions so we had a rather relaxed trip to the hospital. She got in the room and within 10 minutes they wheeled her out, threw scrubs at me and we had a daughter via emergency C-section about a 1/2 hour after walking through the door. She flipped sometime in the last week and was breech. They said if it would've progressed farther without intervention there could of been complications.

Like I said, we have different ways of thinking about things and I guess I try not to take things like this for granted. Such as the it usually doesn't snow X amount or labor usually lasts X amount of time.

In that case it would have been a 911 call in which a good chance my neighbor and/or brother would be first responders. I still don't see the problem. Agree to disagree I guess.

[minn19]

Originally Posted by Bmwguy11

In that case it would have been a 911 call in which a good chance my neighbor and/or brother would be first responders. I still don't see the problem. Agree to disagree I guess.

Point is, we didn't know until we got there. Had we been delayed for quite awhile it could have been bad.

[Lups]

Originally Posted by minn19

Point is, we didn't know until we got there. Had we been delayed for quite awhile it could have been bad.

For your cars interior for sure, but I'm sure the baby and the mom would've been fine.

You would've died if you had mentioned detailing then but that's an other lesson for an other day.

[minn19]

Originally Posted by Lups

For your cars interior for sure, but I'm sure the baby and the mom would've been fine.

You would've died if you had mentioned detailing then but that's an other lesson for an other day.

We had an Altima then so I didn't give a shit about the car.

Most likely yes, but breech and other complications are nothing to screw around with. I'm glad I didn't have to find out.

[clutchdj]

Congrats!

[MSportTune2]

Originally Posted by Bmwguy11

She had a natural birth for all 3 kids. No epidural and only one dose of pain med near the end. She's a strong woman.

Reminds me of my Wife. She had my Son and Daughter similarly but without any painkillers. I was with her all the way and appreciated her even more after that.
When my Son was born, we were text book prepared but went into the hospital too early and they strapped her in. Her cervix took forever to dilate and labor was over 12 hours.
When my daughter was born 3 years later, we were much more relax. Doc told us to take our time to get in though she was in labor. We even had a good lunch and then checked her in. Within a much shorter time our Daughter was born.
The moving about helped with the labor.
I guess what I am trying to say is you have your THIRD child and know what to expect (not talking about the snowstorm) and know what to do.

[shivaswrath]

Originally Posted by Bmwguy11

Last monday we here in the midwest had a pretty strong winter storm move through. It brought us around 10" of snow, plus about an inch of rain that fell as "ice" (imagine hailing for 3 hours, but the hail doesn't melt). It was a pretty awful snowstorm, the roads were terrible, and the plows couldn't keep up as they had not anticipated to get as much snowfall as we did. Add 40mph winds and it was quite the sight.

My M3 was parked all snug in the garage, and we were snug in our house. My M3 is our only vehicle, and I have Michelin X-Ice Xi3 tires on it. 225/45R18 with Rial P10 18x8 rims square setup. I have previously used blizzaks and nokkian on RWD and AWD vehicles for winter. I like the nokians over the blizzaks, as the blizzaks are super floaty/squishy/awful for dry performance and I also felt the nokians did better in snow/ice too. But this time around I went with a package from tirerack so I couldn't get nokians and the michelins got great reviews. Anyways on to the story...

So 10pm rolls around, and my wife who is 40 weeks pregnant says "we need to go NOW". Her water broke. Immediately I'm thinking holy crap. We have a RWD car, yes with winter tires, but the roads are 8-10" of unplowed snow and ice, we live in the country, so it's hills and backroads to get to the hospital. On a normal day it would take 20 minutes.

I get the car warmed up and ready and get my wife in, and off we go. The roads are horrendous. These are probably the worst roads I've ever driven on. The plows had been through earlier but stopped plowing sometime in the late afternoon. The roads were snow and ice, hard packed and heavy, with large drifts up to my windshield in some areas. My wife's mother was here for a visit so fortunately she was able to stay with our 2 other kids.

We saw only 1 other car the entire way to the hospital. We had to go up big hills, down big hills, country back roads, and through large drifts. While I know that the kind of tires you have make all the difference regardless of what you're driving, the M3 stayed pointing in the right direction the entire time. The traction control did its job and the winter tires did their job. Never once did we feel like we were going to get stuck, even when having to stop in large drifts for intersections, or go through snowplow embankments in the middle of the roads left after the plows gave up for the night. The car performed amazingly, and the tires were fantastic. I had full control at all times, traction every time I needed it, and we made it to the hospital safe and sound. And 5 hours later our 3rd child was born. Someday we'll have a story to tell her about the worst snowstorm we ever had to drive in, and that story will have an M3 in it to boot.

F'in A man, congratulations! Kids come at such random times...my son came mid-summer which such drama, it was gut wrenching and brilliant at the same time.

Enjoy #3! Full house!!! Here's a pic of my fav 2...

[Lups]

Originally Posted by Bmwguy11

She had a natural birth for all 3 kids. No epidural and only one dose of pain med near the end. She's a strong woman.

Some women handle pain better than others.

Originally Posted by minn19

We had an Altima then so I didn't give a shit about the car.

Most likely yes, but breech and other complications are nothing to screw around with. I'm glad I didn't have to find out.

I know, and none of us take unneeded risks with the offspring. We with issues in adding condoms to shopping lists tend to be a lot more relaxed about these though.

[gblansten]

Congrats from me as well.

[evilgabbie]

Congrats on the third !