Lincoln safety on ice

We have a 2006 Lincoln Town Car and my husband is worried about driving on icy roads. There were no icy roads last year so we don’t know how it drives under this condition. NEED to drive to a nearby town three days a week. Does anyone have experience with this car

The main thing about ice is not the car but mainly the tires it has on it. Tires are on ice, range in ability greatly despite that label M+S typically affixed on it.

Just drive very carefully and see. You may be surprised or scared. My original factory tires called Bridgestone RE92’s on my Subaru were downright scary on ice despite AWD trying to get car moving and ABS working frantically try to stop it. I replaced them with ultra-high performance(typically terrible in winter) all-season tires called Bridgestone RE960’s and they near some of my past winter tires traction in both going and stopping in ice.

Like I said its the tires.

The main problem I see with people driving on ice…is they get the BEST tires for ice they possibly can and then they drive the car like they are on dry pavement. Ice (and snow) can be very tricky to drive on…You MUST SLOW DOWN…Take it slow and easy with decent tires and you’ll be fine.

I strongly recommed the Michelin X-Ice tire for its incredible traction on slippery surfaces. As was said, the tires are more important than the make of car when it comes to icy/snowy conditions, and the most important factor is to drive slowly–whether you have winter tires or not.

My car has AWD, and traction control, and vehicle stability control, and I still feel that a winter tire is essential for very bad winter road conditions. Remember–a winter tire will enable you to STOP in a shorter distance, as well as being able to get going, and as well as to help keep keep the car from sliding out on curves. Of that list, stopping in a short distance is probably the most important, and that is why I consider a good winter tire to be essential for those who have to drive in dicey winter conditions.

ADDENDUM: I should have mentioned that you need to mount FOUR winter tires. The days of only putting them on the drive wheels is long gone.

Sometimes its just that good ice/snow tires make the driver unaware that conditions are really that bad. I owned my/last set of pure winter tires called Blizzack’s when I skiied 50 days/year no matter what the roads looked like before heading out(sometimes over my Civic bumper). They were absolutely incredible on ice/snow but abysmal in everything else including wet roads. I always checked stopping and found it to be fine when conditions told by others with non-winter tires would state it was really bad. I never once no matter what the winter conditions had a problem on any roads. I even got a chance on glare wet ice once (frozen lake) to try them down/up a boat ramp and going in a circle. I noticed some SUV’s spinning their tires(four) up the boat ramp away guessing they had all-seasons.

I am done with winter tires personally as I stay now or extra at the mountains and avoid driving on snow/icy days. I just drive slowly and carefully when I do venture out.

I wholeheartly agree though drive carefully is the best policy no matter what the tires you have.

Your Ford Panther platform car is a V8 powered rear drive automobile. Yours will have “traction control” as part of the anti-lock brakes which helps somewhat. Buying a set of special snow & ice tires (and more than likely a second set of wheels to mount them on) will involve considerable expense.

Instead of exposing your newer Lincoln to winter driving conditions, why not buy an older FWD econo-box and drive IT when conditions are poor. This solution will cost you little more than a set of pricey tires and wheels and will add years to the life of the Lincoln, protecting it from salt and collision damage…

Your post indicates that you have little experience driving. I suggest that you take driving lessons that include advanced driving techniques. Possibly, you and your husband can be taught to make a car skid and how to control skids. Otherwise, you should probaby stay home when there is ice on the road.

Hi there! While I find that all the responses to your question are great suggestions and should be adhered to, I have to say that as a current and past owner of several different models of Lincoln Town Car, these vehicles are horrible on ice. I don’t mean to scare you or your husband, but it hasn’t mattered what kind of tires I have put on any that I have owned. (I do consider myself a decent driver in bad weather, I come from up NorthEast, drive slowly, watch your speed and distance between cars, no jerky or quick movements, etc.) I haven’t had one from the 2000’s yet, but the best things I’ve been able to do is to put extra weight in the trunk of the car. Several bags of dog food of something like that, really helped. I don’t know if it’s got anything to do with the idle speed or what, but the problem I’ve always had is that when you take your foot off the brake, the car would start to slide right away. The braking system tends to be very touching in these cars too, so watch that when slowing down in bad conditions as well. Just be extremely careful when out on ice. The car was always great on snow, but slid terribly on ice and when it first started to rain. And I’m not trying to give Lincoln a bad rap. I love this car, but I also know what it can and cannot do. Take care.

Did you ever equip it with 4 real winter tires like Blizzacks? These tires convert RWD cars into snow machines. Or are you speaking in terms of the all-season tires?

Where is the OP?

Weight in the trunk might be fine, but only if it is secured. Don’t let it slide around. I think it is better in the floor in front of the back seat.

I wholeheartedly agree. Many times I have seen a set of four serious winter tires turn a supposedly “lousy winter car” into one that handled the snow and ice quite well.