laurensdejong

After 45 minutes of driving through 7-9 inches of snow this morning, I was back on pavement when I tried to brake. Braking action was minimal; I'm always careful when I come out of snow, so I was prepared, but it got me thinking: even though normal braking comes back when all the accumulated snow has melted, are there any long-term effects I need to worry about?

I don't even know what's causing this effect. I've noticed it before, but I can't decide if there's ice on the brakes (which sounds ridiculous), if the caliper or brake cables are caked in by snow and ice and can't move freely, or if it's something else. And I mean, snow and ice does get everywhere -- suspension, wheels, calipers, it's all covered. Here's an idea of what the wheels looks like:



So, to recap, what I want to know: what's the actual cause of degraded braking after driving through snow like that?

Wildncrazy

It's like driving thru a puddle that stays with you. You need to gently apply the brakes prior to needing them to clear the liquid off the calipers.

crank

poor car

ChanceR

lol @ top down

manuelisfun

Yeah, after you drive out of a puddle (never done it in the S but have in other vehicles) you need to brake slowly to get the water out.

GTS Jeff

Get slotted rotors.

SpitfireS

You did warm up the interiour before opening the top.. right?
Or was it parked indoors?
Think about this: how cold is that top when you close it?

2slow2Bfurious

2 words, "undercarriage wash"

zdave87

Why?

But for topdown in the winter.

aresk3b

I never ran into that situation I live in the caribbean.

I assume that yes, snow can get stuck and reduce caliber movement and I also agree that you will have ice melting over your brakes so they will be wet and sloppy breaking will occur