Most people clear a snowed-in car with a brush and a scraper. Chad Wilson used six subwoofers. In his clip “Bass snow removal. Turn down for what?”, uploaded to YouTube on 16 February 2015, he turns up a huge car-audio system and the bass shakes the snow off the windows and roof in loose sheets.
Chad Wilson’s bass snow removal video
The car sits under a fresh layer of powder. As the music starts, the windows and roof begin to vibrate and the snow slides away, revealing the glass. The video’s title borrows from “Turn Down for What”, the 2013 club hit by DJ Snake and Lil Jon, and the description jokes that with a system like this, who needs a snow scraper?
According to the description, the system runs six 10-inch subwoofers powered by two Banda 5000 amplifiers. The clip was licensed through JukinVideo, which helped it spread far beyond the car-audio community. Watch the original upload on YouTube.
Why bass shakes snow loose
Sound is a pressure wave, and subwoofers produce the lowest and most powerful waves in a car-audio system. Inside a sealed car, a high-output bass system pushes the air hard enough to flex the glass and thin metal panels many times a second. Light, dry powder sitting on a smooth, sloping surface has very little grip, so the vibration is enough to break it free and let gravity do the rest.
The trick has clear limits. Wet, heavy snow sticks far more firmly, and ice bonded to the glass needs heat or a scraper. Car-audio enthusiasts build systems like this for competition, not for winter chores, and sustained high volume is hard on the equipment and on your hearing.
How to clear snow from a car properly
For the rest of us, the quickest routine is the classic one:
- Start the engine and set the heater to the windscreen so the defroster softens ice while you work.
- Brush the roof first, then the bonnet, boot lid and windows, so snow does not fall back onto cleared glass.
- Clear the lights, mirrors, number plates and any sensors or cameras.
- Scrape ice with a plastic scraper; hot water on a frozen windscreen can crack the glass.
Snow on the roof is against the law in some places
A slab of snow or ice flying off a car roof at highway speed can smash another driver’s windscreen. In the United States, New Jersey requires drivers to remove snow and ice from all exposed surfaces before driving, with fines up to $75, and up to $1,000 if flying snow or ice causes damage or injury. Pennsylvania passed a law in 2022 requiring drivers to clear the roof, hood and trunk within 24 hours after a storm, with a $50 fine and $200 to $1,500 if falling snow or ice causes serious injury or death.
More winter car stories: Marcel Landry’s tunnel to a buried vehicle in PEI, the ice shell that retained a Jeep’s shape and, for a different snow trick, Joshua Jordan rolls a layer from a lawn.
Related reading
- Ice-Storm Bumper Shells Left Behind by Parked Cars
- Thirty Frozen Scenes: Ice on Buildings, Water, Plants and Everyday Objects
- Ice Driving in Western Norway: Tracks Across a Frozen Surface
- 15 Cars and Windows Transformed by Frost, Ice and Snow
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