Hot To Get a Rear-Wheel-Drive Car Unstuck with the Handbrake

That open diff is brilliant for normal driving, as it allows the inner wheel, which follows a shorter path through a corner compared to the outer wheel, to go about its business without slipping.

However, when you run out of grip and wheelspin does occur, all the power will end up going to the spinning wheels, which means you'll be going nowhere.

So, what can you do to help? Well, the principle is simple: use the vehicle's handbrake to apply a certain force to both wheels. This means at least a part of the power will be rerouted to the wheel that has a stickier relationship to the ground underneath it.

Of course, you'll have to balance applying the gas, the handbrake and the clutch, if that's the case. But, with a bit of practice, you should be able to nail the maneuver. Heck, you might even be able to pull this one with a foot-operated emergency brake, even though this seems rather difficult, since you have less control over the application.

For demonstrative purposes, we've brought along a piece of footage that showcases the procedure with the help of an E46-generation BMW 3 Series.

The stunt comes for the New Hampshire-based Team O'Neil Rally School, with one instructor getting his shoes wet to show us this: "An easy trick to help you get moving and stay moving a rear wheel drive car, should you be driving an RWD car in the winter, this is a very useful skill to have on snow and ice,"

Of course, fitting your vehicle with tires that are appropriate for the season is a key safety feature, but this video luckily doesn't discriminate, so you can watch it even if you decided to go all summer-vibes on the white season (still, we hope you didn't).