Richy P1984

My last experience was on Toyo T1 Rs going down hill on a partially iced local road with cars either side, and a stack of BMWs at the bottom. Tried to stop from 10mph, nothing happend and I managed to pin ball off two new bmws, the owners didnt even get out to look at the damage, instead they asked me to hurry up and get out the way.

Before that I was unlucky enough to be leaving stevenage leisure centre car park which was made up of 2 inces of frozen snow sluch. Skidded down the entrance on to the main road, luckily no one was coming.

This year, im hoping for no snow, because i dont want to fork out for 4 new winter tyres, and risk killing the scoob.

Surely there must be others in the same boat.

Splitpin

The penultimate line of your post is the key. While there's ultimately little you can do if you get caught on 100% ice (although you can use your eyes and common sense), suitable tyres make an enormous difference on snow and mixed surfaces.

Just work out how much an(other) insurance claim stands to cost you in hassle, excess and raised premiums. A set of tyres, plus, if you really wany to do it properly, some tatty cheap set of spare wheels so you can keep them in your shed and fit them when required, works out a darn sight cheaper than "killing the scoob", let alone killing something or someone more valuable.

We've already seen the start of the threads from newbies full of (misplaced) confidence jabbering on about how they've been laughing at the stranded thousands. We usually see at least one of them find out to his (or her) cost that all wheel drive counts for very little when you're on summer rubber on the wrong type of road.

dpb

Catch the train ?

Moley

iTrader: (9)

I hate driving in the snow and ice.

You can be the best driver in the world.... but if the idiot behind in the 4x4 doesn't know what they're doing is it worth risking damage to the car, or yourself?

L.J.F

iTrader: (31)

as long as you take it easy and read the road 50m ahead you should be ok mate, no sudden sharp steering movement or hard breaking otherwise you lose the ability to stop


Oh and try and avoid going down a hill with ice

dpb

So what happened to the beemers

53

iTrader: (41)

T1R's in the snow, well der !

graeme jones

I have T1Rs and last year they were perfect but I drive super slow in snow as you should.

djandyg

iTrader: (2)

I hate driving in snow, but more worried about other idiots crashing into me tbh!!

This is my first year with the scoob, however last year i only used my car once in the snow - we rarely have snow for more than a week, so i just got a lift to work with my dad in the land rover lol

Richy P1984

Well they both reversed as they could see me coming and not stopping + flashing lights and the rather sheepish look on my face. One of the bmws reversed a little into a parking space, and then got stuck, rear wheels spinning like you wouldnt believe, but she wasnt going anywhere, fresh sluch / ice / snow made sure of that. She had to sit and wait it out.

The other one which had also reversed to try and get out of the way (actually helped as it lessoned the impact) struggled to pull away, and last I saw (in my rear view mirror) he was fishtaling.

What strikes me as odd is - why take your rear wheel drive car up a steep local road which wont have been gritted when the main one is 30 seconds away and much more useable.

Would take the train but at £15.50 return, its not cheap!

When ever people here about this its WTF you've got 4wd how did that happen? We all know that with 4wd you can warp 9 round any corner with perfect grip, and then stop on a dime.

53

iTrader: (41)

Yeah perfect they're god awful in snow, driving slowly doesn't excuse the fact that your tyre compound is redundant in these temps and conditions. If you have to react to something that doesn't entail driving like Miss Daisy in a straight line, you're fvcked ! (see above) If you use your car regularly and have to go out in snow ffs get some appropriate tyres.

ScoobySteve69

iTrader: (13)

This is my first winter with my Scooby. The last couple of winters, I had my FTO and I couldn`t even get up my drive with a bit of snow. One time I actually managed it I ended up sliding sideways into the wall

I know from experience that 4 wheel drive / AWD doesn`t make you invincible in the white stuff

Richy P1984

So can anyone recommend some good reasonably priced winter tyres? Mind you it will be just our luck that as soon as we purchaise some winter rubber, we wont have any snow!

tony de wonderful

LOL another snow thread.

...and T1R's in the snow!

Personally I don't want to drive in horrible slushy,icey, conditions with tons of salt on the road to wreck my car or trash my NCB's. Not worth the hastle.

The exception would be quiet lanes or other areas with fresh snow, which would be quite fun to boot it around in.

tony de wonderful

MrLouKnee

you ppl must all live in arctic because this year is the hottest on record in the uk, well according to the bbc and met office it is

i think the temp display on my dashboard is broke it says its -4, anyone know how to fix it

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11841368

Flaps

iTrader: (1)

What strikes me as odd is if you knew about it then why didn't you use that one yourself?

I'm not looking forward to the snow/ice either. The new set of tyres that the garage put on my car look to be Summer ones too

hedgecutter

iTrader: (5)

RE winter tyre expense; your summer tyres aren`t wearing when your winters are on, so the expense is defrayed over a greater period of time; also they are not just for snow, but excell in slush/water situations. Bring on the winter !!

white.akita

i love driving in the snow/ice,
last year i went out in it actively looking for the steepest icy hills to see how good the subaru was and it was perfect.
but obviously i had my spare wheels on with snow tyres !
if you cant afford snow tyres expect the worst.

-Nic-

iTrader: (4)

Get some proper winter tyres, Nokian's are great

arumdevil

nokians are reasonable price at the moment on mytyres in 17" or 16" sizes. I thinkn splitpins post above is spot on - remember that the cost of proper winter tyres will be less than the long term cost and hassle of a claim, less than your excess in many cases too.

Those of you who haven't tried winter tyres in the past will be astonished at the difference once you try them. They make a measurable difference on ice to, based on my experience last winter when I was able to stop on sheet ice. Unfortunately the citroeon CX could not and they ploughed into the front of me.

AWD is only part of the equation. It may help to get you going better than most other cars, but if you're on performance V, W, Y, Z rated tyres chances are you're still going to struggle with hills and they're going to be hopeless at stopping you.

AWD, combined with a decent set of winter tyres (stop calling them snow tyres as it gives the wrong impression) such as the Nokian WRG2 or similar, will give you the ability to set off in all but the deepest of snow, or icy conditions and you'll still be able to go around corners and stop.

If you still aren't convinced, check tyre rack on youtube for winter tyre tests. Particularly the ones on the indoor ice rink.

[-(o)-]

iTrader: (1)

Winter tyres won't save you from the other idiots... Unless they become a legal requirement theres always going to be someone thinking they can defy Newtons laws.

If its snows this year I won't be driving, we're lucky and can walk to work and the shops if we have to. Summer tyres work well enough until it snows or freezes, so if you do low mileage it is tricky to justify the £££ for being able to use the car for those few days.

dunx

iTrader: (3)

Three days a year...

I'll cycle to work.

dunx

arumdevil

despite people who have never used winter tyres claiming there's no point for 3 days of snow a year, they actually do make a big difference even without snow or frozen roads. They stay supple below 7° or so (summer tyres are much harder compound as they're designed to run hot, they stay brittle at those temps and below).

When I swap to the winter tyres I notice a massive improvement stopping on wet roads straight away, long before it starts to freeze.

chris84

iTrader: (1)

i can't wait but it's hitting everywhere a part from Leeds.

had a rear wheel drive last year so i'm looking forward to not having the push the car everywhere this year. plus we've been keeping an eye out for flat open areas where we can have a play when it finally gets here.

Tidgy

i've just bought tyres for my 5 series beemer, kuhmo ku31, mm, wonder how they will be in the snow? lol

as far as why bmw are very bad is because there rwd, fwd and awd have extra weight over the wheels pulling the car to help them get a grip

Pink_Floyd

Very true. A father of a friend is a retired traffic copper and he stated he towed more idiots in 4x4's out of the snow than people in general cars. Over confidence and arrogance believing they could somehow plow through in their Chelsea tractors caused more hassle than anything else.

KINGTIGER

I had all this problem last year when I slide on thick ice. I just damaged my bumper. Needing a new one. But the amount of work colleagues going on about the fact it was awd. How can they loose grip.

I find they are god for tarction but if you loos it on ice its hard to get back in control. But you can only get experiance from learning.

Rescue Dude

iTrader: (11)

I have the chance of 4 Blizzak's off a mate for the right price. I'm running the standard rims on a JDM, V3 STi. The tyres are 55 profile. They'll be fine wont they? No rubbing or anything?

The Trooper 1815

iTrader: (31)

Why take the p**s out of RWD cars when you drive a AWD car fitted with summer tyres on a frozen road even when you don't like it, then **** two other cars and drive off