Winter Tyres

[chesters1]

i just dont go out a RWD volvo with van tyres on the rear isnt good at all.

being in a river valley every exit is up and coming back its down usually with a sharp bend at the bottom even a gritter (obviously lost) got stuck for a day

 

trouble is if you use chains within 3 miles theres generally a clear road so you have the rigmarole of putting them on and then off and then on to get to the next gritted route if you not going where the clear road is

 

remember our "winter" tyres are nothing like our snowy half the year studded tyres some northern foreigners use.our versions just throw the snow out at a lower speed from the treads so theres more grip on the next revolution.you can have 2" cuts in off road tyres but if they just fill up with mud or snow then they become slicks and your wheels dont grip anything

 

generally most FWD can cope with fresh snow but one it goes hard from cars moving over it in ruts and then freezes the problems arise

 

weve passed stuck 4x4's in snow in our old landy merely because they chose their tyres on the side wall graphics rather than how they worked in real life ,you need narrow tyres to break its way through not extremely wide ones that work on grass

 

last year we got bored and filled the boot up with cans of water and the mrs and forced our way out managing to get through the ice to the tarmac and within an hour it was ice free with the rush of everyone else escaping .its easy to get in our road but its on a slope catching you out trying to get back out

Edited November 15, 2011 by chesters1

[corydoras]

our versions just throw the snow out at a lower speed from the treads so theres more grip on the next revolution.

A bit more to it than that. Winter tyres have a fair bit of sand added to the compound to make them grip better. A 4x4 can be just as bad as a realr wheel drive in snow if you don't know what you are doing Edited November 15, 2011 by corydoras

[chesters1]

a stuck 4x4 is really stuck

[Steve Walker]

As well as the tyre compound, the other thing that makes a difference is the sipes in the tread. We've got Quatrac 3 tyres on the Impreza, which are a winter biased all season tyre - they're good enough to carry the alpine snowflake symbol that makes then legal as winter tyres in countries where they are mandatory, but they're not as capable as a full winter. They have sipes across half the tread - you can see them here:

 

 

Quite adequate for what we get here in the soft south west, though if we lived in some of the bits of the UK which get worse winter weather I would go for a separate set of winters. Pretty good all the same, one of the magazines has just included them in a test where they beat all of the other all seasons and two of the six full winters. They're not a high performance tyre - I wouldn't put these on the 350Z or the Elise, they would ruin the handling, but they're fine on the wobbly bus - lots of grip but a little bit squidgy feeling. We just don't use those cars when the weather is wintry.

[Elton]

a stuck 4x4 is really stuck

 

I put my old trooper in a deep ditch once. If you're gonna get stuck, best to do it properly

[Phone]

NJ,

 

A couple comments.

 

As with others, winter tires are over rated. As are tire tread design, compounds and profile. At least where I live we have maybe 20 inches of snow in a year. 30 minutes makes all the difference in the world for the maintainers (sand and salt, plows, etc.) to do their job (if everyone would stay out of their way it would be less). So, a big snow, say, 4 inches or more, may cost me an hour or two a year. What's that all about?

 

Second, the device you are really looking for is "winter brakes". The issue is generally not if you can "GO" but rather if you can "STOP". No such thing yet invented as far as I know.

 

Since in the states it is "required" if you get on the road in foul weather I use Michelin "all weather" tires. They meet the requirements of our laws.

 

Phone

Edit: I have a 12,000 lb winch in my tool box. The one time I've needed it I was about 10 ft. short on cable to find something to latch it onto. Still, I carry it. No telling how much fuel it has cost me over time.

Edited November 15, 2011 by Phone

[corydoras]

a stuck 4x4 is really stuck

Unless you have limited slips diffs or locking diffs all round (front axle, real axle and transfer box) then it can work out that way.

[Andrew]

I put my old trooper in a deep ditch once. If you're gonna get stuck, best to do it properly

 

No half measures then Elton, LoL.

Remind me when i ditched a hydrolic dumper out on a building site. Must have been 18 or 19 and getting a big bucketload of roofing clates, turned the steering wheel the wrong way and " CRASH BANG WOLLOP "LoL

[corydoras]

Second, the device you are really looking for is "winter brakes". The issue is generally not if you can "GO" but rather if you can "STOP". No such thing yet invented as far as I know.

Didn't you watch the clips? They clearly show a difference in breaking distances too.

[nursejudy]

Sorry but i really dont think you can compare the Nottingham area to Stocksbridge (steep sided valley in the foothills of the Pennines ,we live at up at the top of the hill )and the Wincobank area of Sheffield,where i live and then have to get to work in the other ,its all hills.My step son lives in Nottingham and they get very little snow.

 

As we are 7 miles from Sheffield we are always the last area to be cleared and then its usually a farmer who eventually ploughs our side road.

one of the main problems i seemed to have last year was getting behind a driver that is not used to driving in the snow and they get stuck, or other drivers skidding nearly in to you.The black ice was really bad too,the car park at the surgery is on a hill and one day last year the cars were slidding backwards when parked up.

 

As a District Nurse I do not live in the area i work in ,not many of us do ,so it is essential I can get in to work,not possible to walk to work although last year we all had to leave our cars at some point and walk on the side roads,as many of our patients are elderly or very sick the paths,drives and areas on the road in front of the houses are rarely dug out unlike on our road when after we have had the sledges out and are fed up of the snow we all quite often get the road mostly passable with a lot of care.Even the people with 4 wheel drive were getting stuck.

 

I too was taught to use the highest gear in the snow,the road i use everyday to get to work is called Jawbone Hill and has a gradient of 20% what ever that means .... dam steep!!!

 

my old car was a 12 year old Mitsubishi Charisma which duly got me through floods and snow,i now have a nice new Mitsubishi and not sure how it will be in the snow ,so hopefully my investment will be worth it as I understand the tyres cope better with the low temperatures especially first thing in a morning,also if I cannot get into work due to the snow we may not get paid for the time this year.

 

Ps I too did the A66 to Whitehaven for Christmas last year ,very pretty it was too.

 

PPS It would be better too if the kids and their mums walked to school in the bad weather and the barmpots who drive in the snow just for the fun of it stayed indoors.So the people who need to be out and about for work can safely do so.....( rant over )

 

PPPS

Did not think my little post would generate so much interest ,thanks Guys

Edited November 15, 2011 by nursejudy