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[cruisetopoland]

Well, we’ve made it back from the arctic adventure across Europe, in one piece-just!

Driving in winter across untreated roads at down to -17 has been an epic experience and the 2060 mile trip has been eventful and has highlighted the abilities of the Omega.
Our route was Leominster-Harwich-Hook of Holland-Berlin-Lodz-Magdeburg-Hook-Harwich-Leominster and took in the worst of the winter weather by freak of timing; no snow at home on departure and return, none in Lodz, but extreme snow and ice every part of the journey both ways....

We averaged 27.8mpg on the way, which is good taking into account being stood in traffic for four hours on an icebound Berlin motorway and the fact the car was running cold due to the thermostat being stuck fully open, and 29.9mpg (thermo changed) on the return, again good taking into account freezing conditions, heavy loading and covering about 100 miles at 15mph due to conditions.

I spent months with help from welung666 preparing the car for the trip and this proved absolutely essential due to the conditions;  the Omega proved faultless (I did change the thermostat as no chance before leaving) and started instantly in -13 after being left for days.

The extreme conditions and long distances highlight any fault a car has, so perfect maintenance is essential -e.g odd tracking or a warped disc is usually not an issue-but on ice it a huge problem.  We looked into winter tyres, but planned to only use the gritted motorways, so stayed with our nearly new all-season tyres after advice from a few people who said these would be clear.

Another thread with useful stuff to do/take if driving in similar conditions will follow, but this was a sobering moment:

On Thursday we left Lodz for Magdeburg for our overnight stop approx halfway to Hook of Holland and encountered deteriorating conditions on entering Germany, with the autobahn becoming ever more snowbound until white over with one lane dark and slushy.  The Germans drive their Passats and A4s with snow tyres on the snowbound lanes at 120mph which is a sight to behold, but is intimidating when you are struggling for grip and travelling sensibly....
The conditions got worse and we could not continue so made the decision to leave at the next exit and find a nearer hotel, but the next possible exit was a few miles ahead.
Seconds later, at a steady 45mph, all went silent and the Omega turned violently into an oversteer skid with the driver’s side towards the direction we were travelling and us heading at 45mph sideways along the autobahn slowly  towards the central barrier.  I have had extensive skidpan training so steered into the skid and relaxed the throttle,  the car fishtailed gently the other way and headed towards the hard shoulder and the 30 foot drop into a river beyond.  I steered in gently again, following the direction of the skid and gradually regained control.  Heart-stopping...

We then had to just carry on as stopping on the hard shoulder with the ice and the huge speed of the other cars was just not an option.  I have never been so glad to see a hotel!

I wonder what the outcome would have been with poor tracking, poor(er) tyres and no skid training?

 

[jonnycool]

Well done mate, you're a braver man than me

[Shackeng]

Well, we’ve made it back from the arctic adventure across Europe, in one piece-just!

Driving in winter across untreated roads at down to -17 has been an epic experience and the 2060 mile trip has been eventful and has highlighted the abilities of the Omega.
Our route was Leominster-Harwich-Hook of Holland-Berlin-Lodz-Magdeburg-Hook-Harwich-Leominster and took in the worst of the winter weather by freak of timing; no snow at home on departure and return, none in Lodz, but extreme snow and ice every part of the journey both ways....

We averaged 27.8mpg on the way, which is good taking into account being stood in traffic for four hours on an icebound Berlin motorway and the fact the car was running cold due to the thermostat being stuck fully open, and 29.9mpg (thermo changed) on the return, again good taking into account freezing conditions, heavy loading and covering about 100 miles at 15mph due to conditions.

I spent months with help from welung666 preparing the car for the trip and this proved absolutely essential due to the conditions;  the Omega proved faultless (I did change the thermostat as no chance before leaving) and started instantly in -13 after being left for days.

The extreme conditions and long distances highlight any fault a car has, so perfect maintenance is essential -e.g odd tracking or a warped disc is usually not an issue-but on ice it a huge problem.  We looked into winter tyres, but planned to only use the gritted motorways, so stayed with our nearly new all-season tyres after advice from a few people who said these would be clear.

Another thread with useful stuff to do/take if driving in similar conditions will follow, but this was a sobering moment:

On Thursday we left Lodz for Magdeburg for our overnight stop approx halfway to Hook of Holland and encountered deteriorating conditions on entering Germany, with the autobahn becoming ever more snowbound until white over with one lane dark and slushy.  The Germans drive their Passats and A4s with snow tyres on the snowbound lanes at 120mph which is a sight to behold, but is intimidating when you are struggling for grip and travelling sensibly....
The conditions got worse and we could not continue so made the decision to leave at the next exit and find a nearer hotel, but the next possible exit was a few miles ahead.
Seconds later, at a steady 45mph, all went silent and the Omega turned violently into an oversteer skid with the driver’s side towards the direction we were travelling and us heading at 45mph sideways along the autobahn slowly  towards the central barrier.  I have had extensive skidpan training so steered into the skid and relaxed the throttle,  the car fishtailed gently the other way and headed towards the hard shoulder and the 30 foot drop into a river beyond.  I steered in gently again, following the direction of the skid and gradually regained control.  Heart-stopping...

We then had to just carry on as stopping on the hard shoulder with the ice and the huge speed of the other cars was just not an option.  I have never been so glad to see a hotel!

I wonder what the outcome would have been with poor tracking, poor(er) tyres and no skid training?

 

Very well done, and your training obviously paid off, and great to hear also how all your hard preparation work also rewarded, but I wonder how many of todays' young drivers could have coped with your conditions? Or even have coped on the recent icy roads here in the UK? I have come across two crashes within two miles of our village within the last two weeks, both young drivers on (probably) icy roads. Skid training and testing should be compulsory. How many people even know at about what speed their vehicle will begin to aquaplane on water puddles?  9[ch8730]P, where P is tyre pressure, before you ask. Which is only about 50mph in most cases. 

[Omegadoha, Desert Member]

That sounds quite shuddering  Glad you got through it safely though. 

[Entwood]

Welcome home 

Glad you 1) made it safely 2) had a good time 

[cruisetopoland]

Cheers folks, it was epic. 

My wife is stiff today and said it was because she tensed so much when this happened...

Very scary.

The skid pan training seemed a bit obsessive, but possibly saved our lives....

[mr_elite]

hello mate just being nosey and reading your travel story chap..
sounds like u had a top trip well done.like like the other chap says "braver than most"and i agree.
i would'nt say that skid pan trainning woz over the top  as u knew u would come in contact with such conditions and wanted to be prepared.as my late father used to say "better to have it and not need it.rather than need and not have it!!"and i bet the trainning woz a fantastic experience i'd love to do it..

just wanted to pop a comment in there (sorry if u think i'm being cheeky lol )

cheers bud..
wes..,,..

[cruisetopoland]

hello mate just being nosey and reading your travel story chap..
sounds like u had a top trip well done.like like the other chap says "braver than most"and i agree.
i would'nt say that skid pan trainning woz over the top  as u knew u would come in contact with such conditions and wanted to be prepared.as my late father used to say "better to have it and not need it.rather than need and not have it!!"and i bet the trainning woz a fantastic experience i'd love to do it..

just wanted to pop a comment in there (sorry if u think i'm being cheeky lol )

cheers bud..
wes..,,..

Comments always most welcome!
Thanks for reading and commenting 

[Diamond Black Geezer]

Much impressed! Write a book! Serisouly!

[Ghost]

Well, we’ve made it back from the arctic adventure across Europe, in one piece-just!

Driving in winter across untreated roads at down to -17 has been an epic experience and the 2060 mile trip has been eventful and has highlighted the abilities of the Omega.
Our route was Leominster-Harwich-Hook of Holland-Berlin-Lodz-Magdeburg-Hook-Harwich-Leominster and took in the worst of the winter weather by freak of timing; no snow at home on departure and return, none in Lodz, but extreme snow and ice every part of the journey both ways....

We averaged 27.8mpg on the way, which is good taking into account being stood in traffic for four hours on an icebound Berlin motorway and the fact the car was running cold due to the thermostat being stuck fully open, and 29.9mpg (thermo changed) on the return, again good taking into account freezing conditions, heavy loading and covering about 100 miles at 15mph due to conditions.

I spent months with help from welung666 preparing the car for the trip and this proved absolutely essential due to the conditions;  the Omega proved faultless (I did change the thermostat as no chance before leaving) and started instantly in -13 after being left for days.

The extreme conditions and long distances highlight any fault a car has, so perfect maintenance is essential -e.g odd tracking or a warped disc is usually not an issue-but on ice it a huge problem.  We looked into winter tyres, but planned to only use the gritted motorways, so stayed with our nearly new all-season tyres after advice from a few people who said these would be clear.

Another thread with useful stuff to do/take if driving in similar conditions will follow, but this was a sobering moment:

On Thursday we left Lodz for Magdeburg for our overnight stop approx halfway to Hook of Holland and encountered deteriorating conditions on entering Germany, with the autobahn becoming ever more snowbound until white over with one lane dark and slushy.  The Germans drive their Passats and A4s with snow tyres on the snowbound lanes at 120mph which is a sight to behold, but is intimidating when you are struggling for grip and travelling sensibly....
The conditions got worse and we could not continue so made the decision to leave at the next exit and find a nearer hotel, but the next possible exit was a few miles ahead.
Seconds later, at a steady 45mph, all went silent and the Omega turned violently into an oversteer skid with the driver’s side towards the direction we were travelling and us heading at 45mph sideways along the autobahn slowly  towards the central barrier.  I have had extensive skidpan training so steered into the skid and relaxed the throttle,  the car fishtailed gently the other way and headed towards the hard shoulder and the 30 foot drop into a river beyond.  I steered in gently again, following the direction of the skid and gradually regained control.  Heart-stopping...

We then had to just carry on as stopping on the hard shoulder with the ice and the huge speed of the other cars was just not an option.  I have never been so glad to see a hotel!

I wonder what the outcome would have been with poor tracking, poor(er) tyres and no skid training?

 

I used to live about 30 miles from Magdeburg, In the near from Zerbst, so I know the roads very well as I lived there for 15 years and it is not for everyone the winter driving over there,  the further south you go the more snow you get though, ie in the direction of bayern austria, Now that is real fun to drive in.

[cruisetopoland]

Not sure if winter tyres would have made the Omega somewhat driveable in those conditions, but it would have helped I'm sure.

I'm used to poor conditions, having driven coaches for years but the roads around Magdeburg were something else!!

It did make me long for a Skoda Superb CR TDI 4x4 with ESP...this would have avoided the skid, especially with the right tyres.  It amazed me how very fast the Germans drive on ice in Passats, A4s, Golfs etc-it seemed suicidal to me-must be the tyres, quattro/syncro and ESP making them feel invincible.  120mph on snow/icebound autobahns??