WInterisation

[campbell]

Oooh, I forgot about the hardtop!

[Alistair]

Oooh, I forgot about the hardtop!

Ooops!

Had it on since the first hard frost hit - not fun shivering half way to work whilst driving in a fridge!

However the S2k has an embarrassing habit of the drivers door lock freezing up. Forcing entry through the passenger door and a Herculean clamber over the transmission tunnel!

Re winter prep - make sure your works DR plan is up to date and that you can work from home in an emergency. Leave the roads clear for the folk that really need it - police, medics, teachers etc etc.

[DavieK]

Had our old Type 72 as an only car through winter and once was enough .

Got the troop carrier for family duties at the moment and the S160 is in the garage whilst I repair the cracks/chips in the paintwork.


Cheapo heater and a home made plastic tent make a fine sight in the garage at the moment

[shooomer]

trying to buy a Defender SVX

[Scotty C]

trying to buy a Defender SVX

i hope your not having to drive up and down from ABZ to EDH very often?

I drove one for about 6 months, did my head in.

[Stevoraith]

Bought some cheap alloys and new winter tyres for the 330.

Had them on for a week now and I've never seen the traction control light on so often

I'm hoping that tweaking the pressures may give them a bit more grip. To be fair they were great the other day when there was loads of standing water but when it's just cold and dry they don't seem to have as much grip as the standard tyres.

Bit disappointed so far to be honest.

Apart from that I clayed the car and gave it a coat of wax to protect it over the winter.

[Shug]

Winter tyres don't have as much grip as standard tyres in good conditions, that's not the point of them...

They work great in snow and ice, normal tyres work great in "ordinary" dry and wet conditions - if you could make a tyre that did both, why would we have winter-specific tyres? Tools for the job.

[j2 lot]

Stuck the Autosocks in the boot of the Europa and have the Corsa on standby just in case.

If the snow arrives I forsee a battle to see who gets the Corsa for the daily commute as Ann's Merc is probably worse in snow than the Europa.
Autosocks fit the rear tyres of both though so whoever is relegated to rwd can at least use them on the driven wheels.

[ryallm]

Winter tyres don't have as much grip as standard tyres in good conditions, that's not the point of them...

They work great in snow and ice, normal tyres work great in "ordinary" dry and wet conditions - if you could make a tyre that did both, why would we have winter-specific tyres? Tools for the job.

Seems to me this is the basic problem with winter tyres in the UK. Unless you live in the highlands the days when you really need them are few and far between so it is hard to justify the hassle and expense. If you fit them through the winter for that odd snowy event, a lot of the time they will be no better or even worse than ordinary tyres I am all hooked up for home working now, so if it is snowing I'll just work from home rather than try and pilot a useless beemer to the office. Money saved on winter wheels & tyres will go on something sensible like jump tickets or my next Exige fund

Mark

[Lazydonkey]

Winter tyres don't have as much grip as standard tyres in good conditions, that's not the point of them...

They work great in snow and ice, normal tyres work great in "ordinary" dry and wet conditions - if you could make a tyre that did both, why would we have winter-specific tyres? Tools for the job.

I thoguht winter tyres worked better at temps below 7 degrees ?

The way i read the evo test they were designed to warm up quickly at low temps and it wasn't just about workign well in snow and ice.

[ryallm]

I thoguht winter tyres worked better at temps below x degrees (like 3/4 degrees c) ?

The way i read the evo test they were designed to warm up quickly at low temps and it wasn't just about workign well in snow and ice.

I think that is right, with some manufacturers claiming the switch over is something like 7 c, but only if the road is wet. If the surface is cold and dry or just slightly damp you are still better on ordinary tyres. Anyway I have never found lack of grip to be any problem at all on winter roads with good conventional tyres - the only problem is with snow. Ice is another matter again - the only thing which will grip on that is a studded tyre. Bottom line is that if you fit winter tyres from, say, November through to March, they will be massively better on the few snowy days when you will feel very smug you forked out for them, the majority of the time they will be of little if any benefit, and for a significant chunk of the time they will actually be worse as Steve has experienced above. You pays yer money....

Mark

[Lazydonkey]

Don't get me wrong - in seventeen years of driving I've never felt the need to get winter types im only going on what I've read.......

....which could be rubbish.....

[andyc]

Think I will leave the Lotus on a trickle charge and use the PT Cruiser.........oh wait a minute....that's what I do all the time
I just hope for a sunny Friday from time to time so I can take the Lotus to work as I finish at 1:30pm on Fridays. Driving my 17 mile or so B road commute is ace in summer but utter garbage in the dark....sleet...sna' etc etc! Probs need two front tyres on the cruiser but will wait till the snow appears first. Jump leads are something I must buy actually.

[Stevoraith]

Winter tyres don't have as much grip as standard tyres in good conditions, that's not the point of them...

They work great in snow and ice, normal tyres work great in "ordinary" dry and wet conditions - if you could make a tyre that did both, why would we have winter-specific tyres? Tools for the job.

I thoguht winter tyres worked better at temps below 7 degrees ?

The way i read the evo test they were designed to warm up quickly at low temps and it wasn't just about workign well in snow and ice.

Yep, that's what all the reviews I've seen have said. They're not snow tyres, they're winter tyres.

People think that they're only for snow but as long as the temp is below about 7degC they are supposed to provide more grip because they have a softer compound.

If they were only for snow and ice then they wouldn't sell them in the UK as we don't have much snow/ice in general (last year excepted!).

I did go into the purchase with my eyes open, I did a lot of research, time will tell if they were worth fitting or not.

On the plus side, even if they offer no other benefits, since they are only 17's they were substantially cheaper than the summer 18's which are now sitting in my garage not being worn down!

[campbell]

What we need here is feedback from people who have experience of actually having to fit winter tyres because they live in Switzerland or alpine regions of France etc.

In those places, by no means is it less than 7 degs or snowy all the time so the powers at be presumably believe the tradeoff in grip above 7 degs is worth the benefits for traction and safety below that etc etc.

Anyone able to contribute here?

I have some pals in CH, I will try to ask them!