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

[muhri]

Awesome story, car and congratulations on the baby!

[Falafel Combo]

Originally Posted by Bmwguy11

... 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 have 2 daughters, 3 years old and 5 months old. So both their birth experiences (and my wife shouting I'M READY WE HAVE TO GO NOW!!!) are still pretty fresh and echoing in my mind. I know "that feeling".

I was holding my head in my hands the whole time I was reading your post. Just thinking oh my God, oh my God, OH MY GOOOOOOD, OMG, OMG, OMG, please let them make it, please make it, please make it!

These Michelin people should make a commercial about your experience.

You have a wife and 2 kids and the M3 is your only car? You are my new internet hero!

CONGRATS ON THE BABY! WHAT AN ADVENTURE!!!

[Falafel Combo]

Originally Posted by Bmwguy11

Aria

PRECIOUS!!!!

[Falafel Combo]

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.

Except in my case, where it's like. *Poke poke shove poke* WAKE UP, I THINK I'M HAVING THE BABY.

90 minutes later, and nurse snaps me out of it and firmly says "SIR, we need her name! For the foot prints?"

The end.

[Falafel Combo]

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.

Dude, sssshhhhhhhhhh! You're ruining a great thread here. Ok, we get it. You're smart, nothing gets past you, you had an Altima. Now please, shhhhhhh!

[Falafel Combo]

I'm just a bit upset that Bmwguy11 was willing to risk his wife's water breaking and ruining his interior. I mean, that's no joke right there. Water never breaks in drops. We're talking water breaking, slimy fluids and possibly setting off all 16 air bags (or whatever number there is).

I mean, dude! Heartless much? Ever think what you would do in that situation? Just imagine, your wife being pregnant and about to pop, and here you are, parked on the side of the road with her screaming and all, and you're cleaning, wiping and detailing your interior.

How could you?

[jtodd_fl]

Love this thread. Congrats Bmwguy11 Great story. And thanks, Lups for your always amazing commentary.

I will pretend that you were listening to opera on the way to the hospital and that made your choice of names topical, in addition to beautiful. Don't listen to the nannies in here. Sounds amazing. However, if that is your third, you may need another car now! May I recommend and Altima?

[Falafel Combo]

One last question? Did you lease or buy your M3? There is no way a leased car makes it through this storm! No way!!!

[minn19]

Originally Posted by Falafel Combo

Dude, sssshhhhhhhhhh! You're ruining a great thread here. Ok, we get it. You're smart, nothing gets past you, you had an Altima. Now please, shhhhhhh!

I didn't bring up the Altima as an alternative safer car, it was one of the cars we had at the time. I was responding to Lups about something else. Our other car was a Subaru Legacy and I had snow tire sets for both cars.

Our daughter was born in early September when it was still 60-70 degrees out so winter weather didn't come in to the equation.

[Bmwguy11]

Originally Posted by jtodd_fl

Love this thread. Congrats Bmwguy11 Great story. And thanks, Lups for your always amazing commentary.

I will pretend that you were listening to opera on the way to the hospital and that made your choice of names topical, in addition to beautiful. Don't listen to the nannies in here. Sounds amazing. However, if that is your third, you may need another car now! May I recommend and Altima?

We plan to add a minivan to the stable once we feel it's necessary.

[Bmwguy11]

Originally Posted by Falafel Combo

One last question? Did you lease or buy your M3? There is no way a leased car makes it through this storm! No way!!!

Financed.

[Blksnowflake]

Originally Posted by CanAutM3

Awesome story bro .

Congrats on the new girl

I second this. Mega Congrats. Cheers.

[jtodd_fl]

Originally Posted by Bmwguy11

We plan to add a minivan to the stable once we feel it's necessary.

Seriously? My wife would have murdered me if I tried to buy a Minivan... I would have been the only one driving it. That said, we have had numerous SUVs in the past. I am kinda lusting after the X5M right now. Those 325 rear wheels are so drool-worthy. Enjoy the new baby (and try to keep enjoying the "old" ones too!). Congrats again.

[Falafel Combo]

Originally Posted by Bmwguy11

Financed.

Makes sense.

[Xerxes480]

Awesome story, and congratulations!

-X-

[Mandi90TT]

All other things being equal (car weight, driver skill, etc...) awd with snow tires > fwd with snow tires > rwd with snow tires >>>>>>>>> awd with all seasons > fwd with all seasons > rwd with all seasons

If it wasn't clear from the above, the tires are vastly more important than awd vs fwd vs rwd. And, which wheels are the drive wheels makes no difference whatsoever when it comes to braking, which is probably the most important part of driving.

All that aside, great story, congratulations, glad it went well. I think I would question the practicality of three car seats in the back of an M3; I don't know enough about it to make any judgements on the safety of that middle car seat (other than knowing that statistically, the middle seat is the most dangerous, but how that applies to car seats, I have no idea) but certainly getting all three kids into their respective car seats has got to be a PITA.

[Sassicaia]

Great story and congratulations. As I've always said driving in the snow is 80% driver ability, 18% tires and 2% car type. Far as Im concerned anytime someone complains about the M3 in snow they need not go further then reading your story.

Ive had an RWD BMW for 12 years and make weekly trips up an an entire mountain in the snow to go snowboarding with zero issues passing SUVs in the ditch regularly. For me its Nokian all the way.

[Fahrvergnügen]

Great story and glad everything worked out.

I have to ask though, you said your wife's mother was visiting and I assume she drove her car to your house, would your wife's mother's car have been the safer/more logical choice in this situation?

[Bmwguy11]

Originally Posted by ChicagoM4

Great story and glad everything worked out.

I have to ask though, you said your wife's mother was visiting and I assume she drove her car to your house, would your wife's mother's car have been the safer/more logical choice in this situation?

No. FWD minivan with near bald all seasons.

[Falafel Combo]

Originally Posted by Bmwguy11

No. FWD minivan with near bald all seasons.

Crazy to drive with bald tires in any weather, in MN.

[Lups]

Originally Posted by jtodd_fl

Seriously? My wife would have murdered me if I tried to buy a Minivan... I would have been the only one driving it. That said, we have had numerous SUVs in the past. I am kinda lusting after the X5M right now. Those 325 rear wheels are so drool-worthy. Enjoy the new baby (and try to keep enjoying the "old" ones too!). Congrats again.

Funny how that goes in some families. Q7 is as minivan as I go and after having one for two years my husband isn't allowed to even mention the word car.

The sad thing is, I preferred the Q7 to an x5M.

I'm trying to make myself sell Peter today but it seems I may have to actually ship him to Finland since my kids hate my guts for this. I've never seen kids cry over a car this much.

[jtodd_fl]

Originally Posted by Bmwguy11

No. FWD minivan with near bald all seasons.

OK, I just have to ask... Did you have enough blankets to perhaps swaddle your wife and carry her on your back to the hospital - assuming of course, that you could have also carried a warm beverage and all the necessary survival gear. I am going to just keep trying until I come up with something "safer" than your car, which has a very high safety rating from IIHS, by the way...

Wait, are there enough dogs in your neighborhood to have maybe formed an ad hoc sled team? (OK, I will stop - forever - on this topic. You sound like a helluva father and husband to my ears. Enjoy your family, enjoy your M3...)

Edit: You are a also a saint for having patiently answered all those questions.