They're fine but the 3G Eclipse that got yanked face first through some ice and very cold water has probably seen some better times. Next time we'll make sure the plow the course shut after the event... lesson learned. That odd footnote aside, here's some video and photos for your amusement. The owner of the 325 iX is none other than ST4 Miata driver Dave G., and the guy giggling at the steering wheel in the beginning of the video is yours truly. The other guy who drives my car a bit later and then is shown driving his Mini is Jason, an Instructor in training with BMWCCA, and participant at the Tremblant COMSCC event last year.
Anyhow, I found my first real experience ice driving to be incredibly educational, very addictive, and a ton of fun. It's a great environment to try new techniques out (left foot braking, for instance) at much lower speeds and grip levels so you can get a feel for exactly what your moves do to the balance of the car. The effects of trail braking, lifting mid-corner, and of course power-on oversteer are all incredibly magnified on ice, especially if you're not on those cheater screw or bolt tires. All the in-car in the video is from cars on normal studded snows. My Galant is on Nordman 1s and the BMW 325 iX and the Mini are on studded Hakkas, not sure which model.
Never mind that I spun Dave's car at just about the fastest point on our little 9-turn oval, nor that I beached my own car in the heavy snow off course a couple of times, nor that both our cars lost some trim pieces and my car left with a fat-lip bumper bruise. Ice driving/racing is da bomb-diggity. Now to get ready for track and hillclimb season...
