Which car for the snow?

Ok.

Cheers, T i m

;-)

Ok and this is during what I might call everyday driving (rather than spirited driving)? When I got the Rover it had a set of Teflon imports on it and whilst they were fine in the dry and ok in the wet they weren't ok in the wet if you pushed them at all hard. The Avon's that are on there now make a big difference but only in the wet and only if you are 'pushing on' (or emergency's etc).

Indeed. ;-)

I've just had another Google and it would seem the Ka wouldn't be the best thing to 'test' winter tyres on, giving that the std tyres are quite narrow and the Ka is quite light (both good for snow etc).

The 1.4 Belmont might be a better choice but like the Rover isn't worth spending any extra money on (less we move to Scandinavia). ;-)

Cheers, T i m

Well it depends how slushy it is. But in the current conditions round here (Cambridge) it'd be easily noticeable just setting off from flat junctions.

It's a significantly bigger difference than the difference between narrow & wide tyres. But given the choice the narrower tyres are better so it would seem obvious to try them on them.

Ah, so you live in the country , I'd have to drive a good distance from here to find somewhere to test tyres on now.

Ah right (and I know from experience that makes a big difference).

I think it might be all too late now (luckily). I was driving up to Scotland (in the Rover 218SD) when the snow first fell and driving round Scotland while it was falling. I then drove back when it was still snowing in Cumbria (and it falls sideways up there) and it has snowed several times since we have been back. As yet it hasn't stopped me driving whenever and wherever I wanted (and ironic that the longest trip I have done for a while is in the worst conditions for a good few years). When daughter and b/f did the same trip a month before they were driving 25 miles away from Cockermouth when their bridge was being washed away. They came across one set of temporary lights because there was a big puddle across half the road.

I note on the TV news and from what others have seen / said is that there are probably a few 4x4 owners out there that (now) realise that in itself isn't always enough. I was following one up a snowy lane on Friday (taking the Mrs to blood donors) and he was sliding all over the place. They could have been having some fun of course as I may have done ... involving an icy car park and the handbrake. ;-) [1]

Cheers, T i m

[1] Not sure the word 'fun' and Rover218SD have ever been seen together before eh! ;-)

There was a certain degree of grumpiness being exhibited by my boss whilst driving in the snow over the mountain road in Donegal, not because his G-Wagen was off the road & we where in knackered 1997 diesel Vectra but that it was coping without any issues other than being stuck behind people in 4x4s.

Hehe.

I don't suppose I'm unique here in my liking for some of the more traditional vehicles, not only because of their simplicity but when you are driving something you 'know' you can generally drive it well (because you have probably spent a fair bit of time in and under it). ;-)

I know the 15 years or so I'd driven the old Sierra Estate at that time paid off when someone pulled out in front of me and (at very close range and only leaving me one very narrow exit) and I slalomed through by the skin of my teeth. To this day I don't know how I did so but some 'auto pilot' must have taken over, a function of spending so much time behind it's wheel and knowing how the car would handle on (and sometimes beyond ) the limit.

Similar with driving in the snow. I wonder how much of the current problem is down to the weight of modern cars as well?

Thinking back to winter tyres. Whilst I guess it's nice to be able to stop quicker than most people it does carry it's own problems. Not that someone climbing in your boot would be your problem insurance wise but it might be less likely if you are having to travel at the same speed as everyone else?

Cheers, T i m

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

I'm a mile off an M25 junction. There's a tube station at the end of the road. Our road is still solid white across. Most of my commute is going to be very similar...

+1. I had snow chains on and off a hire car about 3-4 times on a cold snowy night driving through the alps - not fun. Remember you can't go over 30mph with them on on a clear road. One valley would be a blizzard where you couldn't get up hills without them the next would be clear. Of course all the locals just zipped past with their winter tyres, some teenagers even did some donuts on the same hill just to rub it in. I've always forked out for winter tyres ever since. Z