Happy Christmas!! Itwas snowing like mad a short while ago!

RE: Happy Christmas!! Itwas snowing like mad a short while ago!

Martin Atkinson — Thu, 16 Feb 2017 09:13:31 GMT

[quote user="bob lehner"]Absolutely - in semi rural Herts where I worked, a bit of snow created chaos on the roads, with people slewed all over the place in no time at all. The fact that I had a very manly 4x4 with macho tyres was of no help when the roads were blocked by other vehicles.[/quote]Fortunately most other people have kept off the road when it's snowed around here but a couple of years ago I had to haul some woman in a BMW out of a ditch with a tow rope. As I drove away and looked in my rear view mirror I could see her heading back to whence I'd just dragged her - I let her get on with it the second time!

Last year driving home from Austria coming across the Vosges mountains in France on the A4 in an apocalyptic blizzard the few cars that had ventured out were in convoy behind snowploughs going along at 20kph (the French don't have to put on winter tyres unlike in Austria and Germany where it is compulsory - strangely they are not mandatory in Switzerland although they always make you pay for them on a hire car at Geneva airport Swiss side)! I cocked a snook at them as I sailed by with the road to myself.

However, I confess that living in the Thames valley, if I didn't use the car regularly to go skiing I wouldn't bother with winter tyres.

RE: Happy Christmas!! Itwas snowing like mad a short while ago!

bob lehner — Wed, 15 Feb 2017 18:52:41 GMT

[quote user="Malcolm Ness"]What is much more relevant is the fact that when it snows bigly the problem getting about isn't related to the grip and handling of your own car it the a-holes in other cars that get stuck in front of you and block the road.[/quote]

Absolutely - in semi rural Herts where I worked, a bit of snow created chaos on the roads, with people slewed all over the place in no time at all. The fact that I had a very manly 4x4 with macho tyres was of no help when the roads were blocked by other vehicles.

RE: Happy Christmas!! Itwas snowing like mad a short while ago!

Martin Atkinson — Wed, 15 Feb 2017 08:51:09 GMT

[quote user="Malcolm Ness"]We used to fit full-on snow tyres and while these were another league better as far as grip in the snow and ice, the noise was considerable, the fuel consumption was worse again and they wore down really quickly on anything except snow.[/quote]This is the reason I chose the Nokian WRD3. After extensive research I found they had the highest overall rating coming out top or nearly top in nearly all the tests for winter tyres - snow, ice, dry roads, wet roads, including noise, wear and fuel consumption, they're actually quieter than the standard Michelin Primac that came with the car (Skoda Octavia) there is no noticeable increase in fuel consumption and after 2.5 seasons including 4 trips to the Alps there is no noticeable wear. The only thing they're not great on for some reason is slush. The price - less than all the competitors made it a no-brainer. The usual suspects don't stock them so I had to get them from a specialist on t' net.

No doubt things have evolved in two and half years but I would recommend you have a look at Nokian when you're in the market for a new set. As said, the Finns must know a thing or two about winter tyres.

RE: Happy Christmas!! Itwas snowing like mad a short while ago!

Clare Tapsfield-Wright — Tue, 14 Feb 2017 19:25:17 GMT

Snows bigly , brilliant

( I will change my winter tyres this year )

RE: Happy Christmas!! Itwas snowing like mad a short while ago!

Malcolm Ness — Tue, 14 Feb 2017 19:02:14 GMT

We are in mid-Northumberland and therefore obliged, not infrequently, to drive in the snow.

We put "winter tyres" (in fact they are 4 season or all weather tyres) on our Subaru Impreza in Oct and leave them on until March. While the grip with the winter tyres is markedly better, they are also noisier and reduce fuel consumption noticeably - hence the change back at Easter.

We used to fit full-on snow tyres and while these were another league better as far as grip in the snow and ice, the noise was considerable, the fuel consumption was worse again and they wore down really quickly on anything except snow.

What is much more relevant is the fact that when it snows bigly the problem getting about isn't related to the grip and handling of your own car it the a-holes in other cars that get stuck in front of you and block the road.

RE: Happy Christmas!! Itwas snowing like mad a short while ago!

Mark Hedberg — Tue, 14 Feb 2017 18:37:36 GMT

[quote user="Martin Atkinson"]

[quote user="Mark Hedberg"]They're all weather tires, martin, why would I change them twice a year?[/quote]Well you did say the local garage 'fits them for £10 a corner' which is a plural so it sounds as though you change them regularly, otherwise it would have been 'fitted them for......'.

Pedantism apart, I would be interested in your honest opinion on their all year round performance as the reviews I read suggested they were a not very good compromise. Trouble is unless you regularly test them in extreme concoctions it difficult to be sure as we rarely push our tyres to limit like they would in tests. The Michelin Cross Climate however got good reviews.

[/quote]

No worries - the local tire guys will put a tire on a rim for a tenner for anyone who asks, not just me. :)

With regards to the all weather tires, I found them a significant improvement to my previous set, which admittedly were some general discount tire brand that were fairly forgettable and thoroughly adequate, never mind worn out. I can't honestly compare them to high end michelins or pirellis or vredesteins or continentals because i've never run those brands due to cost issues; but the goodyears were on a very good sale so i got them about half price and found them very solid. Stomp on the brakes in summer or winter and it's like someone's dropped an anchor. (i get worried about tailgaters for this reason, i admit!)

They're on an 05 reg suzuki wagon r+, and both in winter and summer i've not had a problem. I feel it's a better behaved car on the occasional slick back road, but i've never taken them into the swiss alps or anything crazy. For running about town and villages and serving on a loyal vet car they do nicely. If you're going proper snow driving i suspect snow tires would be more appropriate, but I think that if the white stuff came down i'd be fine. Summertime it's been 100% no problem.

RE: Happy Christmas!! Itwas snowing like mad a short while ago!

Martin Atkinson — Tue, 14 Feb 2017 17:05:58 GMT

RE: Happy Christmas!! Itwas snowing like mad a short while ago!

Mark Hedberg — Tue, 14 Feb 2017 09:43:51 GMT

[quote user="Martin Atkinson"]

I got my Nokians on a set of flash alloys when I bought the car new so it was an investment as said in both preserving the original wheels and tyres and I can use them on my next car. Over the lifetime of the car I will have more than recouped those 2x£40 a year you pay. You're quids out.

[/quote]

They're all weather tires, martin, why would I change them twice a year? :p

RE: Happy Christmas!! Itwas snowing like mad a short while ago!

Martin Atkinson — Tue, 14 Feb 2017 09:26:22 GMT

[quote user="Mark Hedberg"]You can get tires at wholesale prices at a website called tyreleader.co.uk, great prices and my local shop fits them for £10 a corner and i'm still quids in![/quote]I got my Nokians on a set of flash alloys when I bought the car new so it was an investment as said in both preserving the original wheels and tyres and I can use them on my next car. Over the lifetime of the car I will have more than recouped those 2x£40 a year you pay. You're quids out.

[quote user="Clare Tapsfield-Wright"]

Must admit I got to easter in the Pennines with my winter tyres and thought what's the point? I'll keep them on

[/quote]They do wear faster and don't perform as well in warm weather so although I'm not in a gut busting rush to change mine I do when I have a spare hour at the weekend.

RE: Happy Christmas!! Itwas snowing like mad a short while ago!

Clare Tapsfield-Wright — Mon, 13 Feb 2017 20:24:12 GMT

Must admit I got to easter in the Pennines with my winter tyres and thought what's the point? I'll keep them on

RE: Happy Christmas!! Itwas snowing like mad a short while ago!

Mark Hedberg — Mon, 13 Feb 2017 19:32:08 GMT

I'm a huge fan of the Goodyear 4seasons all weather tires, very pleased with grip and handling.

You can get tires at wholesale prices at a website called tyreleader.co.uk, great prices and my local shop fits them for £10 a corner and i'm still quids in!

RE: Happy Christmas!! Itwas snowing like mad a short while ago!

Martin Atkinson — Mon, 13 Feb 2017 16:05:04 GMT

[quote user="Julian Earl"]Have you, or anyone ever used studded tyres?[/quote]No is the answer and you don't need them with winter tyres. If you've never driven on winter tyres then you would be blown away with how well they perform on snow - you can drive almost normally even with just front wheel drive but equally they perform 90% as well as normal tyres on dry roads. It is difficult to imagine anywhere in the UK where the weather is bad enough for long enough to need them. My tactic when I go skiing is winter tyres plus snow chains if the going gets really tough - at least you can take those off when you hit a dry road.

I do know a couple of cyclists who live in the frozen north (of England) and use studded tyres on their bikes in the snow but they are lot easier to change than on a car.

RE: Happy Christmas!! Itwas snowing like mad a short while ago!

Bob Russell — Mon, 13 Feb 2017 15:59:14 GMT

[quote user="Clare Tapsfield-Wright"]

[quote user="Martin Atkinson"]

Don't forget in the coldest winter of modern times in 1963, it didn't start to snow until the end of January and it stayed put until the end of March. Lets hope it heads south to the Alps, there's still over 2 months of the ski season to go. I'm all right Jack I've got winter tyres on!

[/quote]i remember that winter , it was brilliant. I was seven and school was closed for ages so we went sledging .The snow was higher than the dry stone walls. Epic long runs .No health and safety then!

[/quote]

And we went for a walk on the River Cam (apparently!) in Cambridge as it had frozen over. Too young to remember!

RE: Happy Christmas!! Itwas snowing like mad a short while ago!

Julian Earl — Mon, 13 Feb 2017 15:55:41 GMT

Have you, or anyone ever used studded tyres? I used to consider those but never knew if they were worth the expense and hassle of putting them on and off again whenever the weather changed?

My wife's Swedish so a little layer of white on the ground is no big deal! If it gets to minus thirty, then she might admit it is cold! "I used to walk to school at minus twenty etc! [End-quote!]

RE: Happy Christmas!! Itwas snowing like mad a short while ago!

Martin Atkinson — Mon, 13 Feb 2017 09:31:26 GMT

[quote user="Clive Ansell"]I'm using those new Michelin cross climates, [/quote]I will probably get those on my next new car but it would be interesting to hear a report on how they wear. For now I have a set of Nokian WRD3 (a niche Finnish manufacturer which should know something about driving on snow!) and came with rave reviews from various tests - better and cheaper than the main manufacturers. They're on a spare set of alloys which take about an hour to swap all 4 wheels, they go on the beginning of November and come off at the end of March. The added bonus is that for 5 months of the year at least I'm not kerbing the original wheels so it doesn't devalue the car when I come to sell it and the original tyres may still have some life left in them.

RE: Happy Christmas!! Itwas snowing like mad a short while ago!

Julian Earl — Fri, 10 Feb 2017 22:26:41 GMT

. I know it could be worse Martin. It could be June 1986 in Burnley when it was snowing then! That's East Lancashire for you. Or like my first winter in 1981/82 when Preston was snowed up and no-one could get to the surgery. I did nineteen visits in two days, hoping [a] that the address was correct, and [b] that you had suitable treatment in the car-boot! Happy Days? Or not? as the case may be!

I just want the roads to unfreeze so I can get out riding again as soon as a rotten cough/cold has gone.

RE: Happy Christmas!! Itwas snowing like mad a short while ago!

Clare Tapsfield-Wright — Fri, 10 Feb 2017 17:54:40 GMT

[quote user="Martin Atkinson"]

RE: Happy Christmas!! Itwas snowing like mad a short while ago!

Tim Browning — Fri, 10 Feb 2017 17:48:26 GMT

Yes Its a real pain swapping winter/summer tyres I hope they work

RE: Happy Christmas!! Itwas snowing like mad a short while ago!

Clive Ansell — Fri, 10 Feb 2017 17:41:38 GMT

[quote user="Martin Atkinson"]I'm all right Jack I've got winter tyres on![/quote]

I'm using those new Michelin cross climates, designed for summer and winter, and must say so far very impressed; wear well, and hold the road very well in snow, ice and wet.

http://www.michelin.co.uk/GB/en/tyres/products/crossclimate.html

RE: Happy Christmas!! Itwas snowing like mad a short while ago!

Anthony Todd — Fri, 10 Feb 2017 17:20:03 GMT

[quote user="Julian Earl"]

Bah, I was hoping spring was nearly here and then all this white stuff has dropped out of the sky!

[/quote]

Yeah I sniffed some and my nose got sort of numb.

RE: Happy Christmas!! Itwas snowing like mad a short while ago!

Martin Atkinson — Fri, 10 Feb 2017 16:09:41 GMT