First of all thank you all for your insights. I listen and learn from you guys.
Problem is that i fly a standard C-172 with fixed pitch no turbo etc... ****ty performance in other words. Climb about 500 fpm (up to 8-9000 feet at most) and therfore I was wondering how much is acceptable. is there any rule of thumb on how long you would accept to stay imc or do you simply look out on your wings/struts and count the seconds till an impending crash??
I really would like to get some real IFR time this winter but i also really like to keep it fairly safe.