Which car for the snow?

John L gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

Whichever has the most suitable tyres.

In the absence of either having winter tyres, then use trial and error - but expect them both to be shit.

On the whole though I've found smaller lighter cars on narrower tyres generally a lot more manageable than bigger wider tyred cars. My parents' old Renalut 4 (on skinny Michelin X tyres!) was great in the snow.

Tim

Either will do. If you're a s**te driver, it'll make no difference.

lol, valid point.

but my findings based on a citroen c2 with big fat tyres on was s*1t. but my old mk2 1L polo with 135's on went everywhere that no other bigger modern car could do.

2CV on Michelin X tyres is *brilliant* in the snow IME.

Mike P

Audi quattro. I love snow.

The Alto will probably be better, narrower tyres are usually better in snow unless you have winter tyres.

Z

We once had a Golf Mk2 Driver on 185/60 14 Goodyear NCT2s, and a Mk2 Polo 1.0 on midrange 145 13 tyres, and the Polo was far easier going in snow.

I drive an 88 Mini on 145x12 Sime tyres (you can only get about 4 brands for the Mini now :-( and that takes me pretty well anywhere.

Talking of such, does anyone here have, or have you seen anyone using snow chains this year (or any year for that matter)?

Our daughter is currently in Scotland with her b/f and his family and their Corsa couldn't get up the drive the other day (it was mainly down to ice rather than snow though). I was wondering if a pair of snow chains may have helped ... maybe they would mash up the ice if nothing else?

I've been rock-salting the minor crossroad in front of our house and so far it's kept it clear. Not so much being public spirited but more hoping a bit of traction might keep other people cars off ours. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

p.s. We haven't had enough snow yet to bother taking the Jeep style kitcar out ... with it's M+S tyres. I remember driving it (basically a shorter and heavier MkII Escort) up a very snow covered and long car park access ramp that wasn't easy to walk up.

T i m gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

Yep - over the road used a pair the other day when he couldn't get his BMW X3 back into his drive, and there's a bloke in the village with a set of four snowsocks on his Passat. God knows why, because once he's moved it forward probably half a car length, he's onto a road which is totally clear.

The winter tyres on the Saab are doing a fantastic job.

Ah, thanks.

Are they any better on ice than 'std' tyres then? I mean I was watching the news and a farm tractor trying to recover an overturned box van and it was just wheel spinning all over the place ... because it was on ice not soft mud or snow (where that design of tyre would have been of use).

When you get a studded tyre, can you stud and unstud it yourself or are they built in (not suggesting your tyres are studded). ;-)

Cheers, T i m

T i m gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

Christ, yes. Vredestein SnowTracs.

Chalk and cheese.

I've been the only 2wd even attempting some roads - and just before Xmas even had the entertainment of using a layby with totally virginal snow to go round a 4x4 which was bottling attempting to go down one hill. No problems whatsoever for me.

No. Not unless you've got the special machine...

They're not even studdable.

It's partly the tread - it's a bit more open, a bit "sharper", so does a good job in shifting slush & water - but mainly the rubber compound. Anything below about 5degC, they grip better than normal summer tyres. There's also "all-seasons", which we don't really see in the UK - not quite as good in warmth, not quite as good in the cold.

Read this:

Hence why I believe 'winter tyres' are required in some countries in the winter?

But I wonder how much of that was down to your car and you? I do a better job than many you see out there in such conditions. I followed some old dear off at a T junction the other day and in spite of the fact the tarmac we were now driving on was clear and dry she was doing

5 mph. I dare say she'd been advised to 'drive slowly when there's ice about' so that's what she was doing? There is also the age / value of the car. None of ours are worth much so I don't mind being on the edge or taking risks that someone driving £40k's worth of 4x4 might not take (as was often seen at clay shoots when the 4x4's would be left in the lower car park and we would be beside the Landy's in the kitcar in the top field). ;-)

Ah, ta.

K

That's fine, whilst what you are driving on is fluid like slush or slippery mud, it's when the treads (any treads) clog that you just get a big bald tyre.

Ok.

Ok thanks.

I guess the reason we (well, most of us ) aren't ready for all this is because it hasn't been happening very often of late and when it has it hasn't lasted for very long. Not worth spending much effort or money prepping for 5degC when it rarely goes below 10 etc.

I never got round to replacing the tired but not particularly worn Colways M+S on the Kitcar and I think there was a SnowTrac in a useable (175-80-14) size but I remember they weren't cheap.

Cheers, T i m

T i m gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

Yup

Well, I bought the winter tyres last winter after getting bloody terrified down the back lanes, and nearly taking out a brand new 5-series as I slithered straight into a verge at walking pace...

Oh, indeed. Although I think "rarely below 10deg" is a bit OTT... At least, it is around here... We normally get a couple of snowy mornings every winter, and fairly regular frosts.

About £50-55 each. Cheaper than decent summer tyres.

Ah, then that's a good comparison assuming it was the same car, same you and similar conditions. ;-)

We get all the heat radiated from 'da smoke' ere in Norf Lundin. ;-)

Fairy muff.

Oh, not as bad as I remember then. Could you leave them on all the time (if you were doing low mileage, as we currently are with the kit car)?

Do you have two sets of wheels or do you swap the tyres over?

Cheers, T i m

T i m gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

You could. But the ride is harsher and noisier and the fuel economy drops. In addition, the grip drops once the temperatures rise.

Yep. A second set of OEM alloys cost me £40.

Thanks for that, I'd read that (there) previously but wasn't sure how much of it was marketing talk. Adrian's reply therefore was very interesting (all be it non scientific etc [1]).

I'm still not sure any road tyre (as it seems most of these 'winter tyres' still look to me) would stand up 'off road'. The 'mud' part of the M+S tyres on my kitcar means there are some very chunky / off-road looking blocks, the sort that would take quite a bit to clog in the mud. I note these 'winter tyres' are just that, they are designed for the cold / ice (tyre compound) and snow (less clogging than a summer tyres) but not mud.

Is there such a thing as a 'winter' M+S? Are all M+S tyres made with the same rubber as 'winter tyres anyway?

Taken to the extremes, for maximum warm / dry weather traction you want slicks. For wet you need good water clearance and for cold you need a soft compound. For 'soft going' you need a more open / block / paddle tread type pattern and for ice you need spikes (as seen on ice speedway).

Cheers, T i m

[1] Was he comparing the summer and winder versions of the same make and model of tyre (if not the previous tyres may just have been particularly bad in cold weather). Were the conditions exactly the same (as you know from walking on the pavements at the moment, there is slippery and SLIPPERY!). ;-(