Snow/winter driving

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Pampera

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Just a tip for anyone who has to drive an ordinary car in the snow.

Fit winter tyres. Outstanding grip on ice and snow. You can keep your standard tyres and have them put back on in March.

Winter tyres work better than standard ones on all road surfaces, providing the ambient temp is 7 C or below.

Did this at the weekend and have been driving straight and ture where others fear to tread.
 
Good tip!

Mine would be to either buy/hire a 4x4 or make friends with someone that has one! Or to have a light weight car i.e. Volkswagen Polo that is so light that it can get you further than an estate! Downside to the light weight polo though, is that the wind tends to bully it :(
 
Winter tyres rule! In the first snowfall we were driving past 4x4s, landrovers, etc without a care! We gave the police a lift after they crashed their car! Today we got up the steep hill to the yard, that you can't actually walk on! OH will keep them on all year as, although best under 7 degrees, are actually fine over that. You won't get them now as they are sold out all over Europe! What you can do is order them on line (from Germany or Holland, where you HAVE to have them) in September/October and get them sent to your local garage to fit. They cost a little more, but my friend whose car was written off last week thinks it's worth it!!
 
Or if like me, you've got a company car (or can't be bothered to fit the winter tyres!) let the pressure down by 10psi or so. Don't let it down below 20 or so, don't drive too fast with the pressure low and do remember to pump them back up again! This tip has certainly helped me and made my little BMW ever so slightly less cr*p in the snow - still no match for a 4x4 or FWD though!!
 
We have had winter tyres on order since September I think. They are apparently now in this country having obviously been on the very slow boat from Norway. Should be with us tomorrow or Wednesday. That is fairly pathetic to say the least.
 
frannieuk said:
Or if like me, you've got a company car (or can't be bothered to fit the winter tyres!) let the pressure down by 10psi or so. Don't let it down below 20 or so, don't drive too fast with the pressure low and do remember to pump them back up again! This tip has certainly helped me and made my little BMW ever so slightly less cr*p in the snow - still no match for a 4x4 or FWD though!!
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Second this ive got a company car and felt stranded without OHs 4x4 anyhow he got fed up with me nagging to borrow it so he let my tyres down and now i can at least make it around the local roads :)
 
If you do get stuck use your car mats ton your drive wheels to provide grip. My yard carpark last year was sheet ice and this did the trick.
 
For those worried about the cost - Remember you only need the snow tyres on your driving wheels. IE the front two on a front wheel drive car.

We had ours fitted on cheap steel rims so we can keep them in the garage & swop them ourselves in the spring/winter. This also saves wear and tear on your alloys in the weather.

It doesn't work out expensive in the long run as obviously you'll get twice the wear from 2 sets of tyres, and it's way cheaper than the inconvenience of sliding and hitting something.
 
Be careful with Winter tyres, some insurance companies are refusing cover because they say they are a modification. I would check with your insurers.

Sorry to be a bit of a Grinch, but I would hate someone to have an accident and then find they are uninsured.
FDC
 
Does letting your tyre pressure down really help and is it safe to drive around with your tyre pressures too low?!

I have an estate car and haven't been able to get out of my road since Saturday. I only have a problem with about 20 metres of road but it's just too steep and slippery for my crap car to get any sort of grip so I keep sliding back down. I think I am going to have to attempt to dig the road out!
 
Stupid isn't it...they are compulsory in Germany.


IMHO the insurer would have to prove they had contributed to an accident if they were to refuse a claim.

That might happen if the incorrect size was fitted or they failed because of sustained high-speed driving
 
Pampera said:
Stupid isn't it...they are compulsory in Germany.


IMHO the insurer would have to prove they had contributed to an accident if they were to refuse a claim.

That might happen if the incorrect size was fitted or they failed because of sustained high-speed driving
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Apparently not, they are allowed to say no just because it is modified and they have not approved the modification. Just another example of them trying to get out of paying I imagine.:mad:

FDC
 
Snow chains are another option & storage shouldnt really be an issue :)

On another note....if youve got a 4x4 dont do what we did & put cheap & cheerfull tyres on, we did as we had the MOT coming up & were a bit skint, needless to say weve had to be towed out twice in this weather, & weve not had much snow compared to last year & we were going out when it was really bad then.
 
Not everywhere is sold out. I work for family tyre business and we still have some. Obviously not all sizes as we would need an aircraft hangar to keep them all.

We have been rushed off our feet for the last month with winters. We have some customers who come in every October to get the winter tyres out on and back again in March or April. A set can last 3 or 4 winters if you do this.
 
I needed new tyres on my car and was looking at winter tyres as they do not cost a great deal more, funny enough no garage in almost the whole of Hampshire can get any. I think everyone has the same idea :(
 
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