Another pointless thread

Do you go as far as studs for your winter tyres? Imaging what it's like in the UK when we get snow and nobody uses winter tyres.

I have studs, yep. I remember when I was a kid, must have been 86 or so, when it absolutely threw it down with snow. A foot or so in Coventry, motorists trapped on the M6, abandoned cars everywhere.

Now? A couple of years back I had to go to Germany. I hoofed it down the motorway on fresh snow. 0730 flight, Finnair, from home base. Will it be late? No.
2.5 hours later, circling: "we're sorry, but dusseldorf is closed due to snow".... cue idiots doing 40 on the motorway because they're "not sure" and me flying past doing 80-100 in the empty outside lane, which is well within safe limits with decent winter tyres.

Now I actively look for the slippery stuff, working the car on the loud pedal, finding the limits of grip, allowing slides and learning all the time. ESP off is even more fun but a lot of work.
Should get word back in the next couple of days about my track design for the two day session on a frozen lake in Feb.

Bret

Absolutely, but the idea is to have a 'business' facebook page and a 'personal' facebook page. The business one can be informal, but it doesn't tell people what you're having for lunch, or what you think of the football. Pete's is all in one...

Dan

Same here. Snow is the only time you can drift a Discovery with any degree of success, last time I didn't bother locking the centre diff because it'll turn in better if you don't.

I find snowchains/studs an interesting idea. See, I used to have BF Goodrich A/Ts which despite the name were brilliant on tarmac as well as on gravel, rocks, and less gloopy mud. Those, when new, made driving on snow just like driving on dry tarmac. You had steering and brakes and it'd go up anything, even the little concrete ramps into car parks which had normal cars slipping to a halt. I can't really see that snowchains or studded tyres would have been much of an improvement!

They dig into ice, that's what they are really for. Not legal in the UK unfortunately

Studded tyres are only legal in the UK when there is sufficient ice or snow not to damage the road surface - so you would have to keep a set of stud tyre wheels at home and change them if it snowed - but if you drive on a road which had been cleared they become illegal again.
Same is true of chains.
I can't imagine there are too many places in the UK where chains would be useful.

How about Strictly Come Dancing and X-Factor ??

Just been to see RED with Jo at the local fleapit - excellent hokum and a good action romp - Bruce Willis,Brian Cox,Morgan Freeman,John Malkovitch and Helen Mirren - great fun - and I had a large box of popcorn and the seat were free with points collected on my Premier card

Tony

PS the Fockers are back for Christmas........................

Part of my childhood was spent living on Dartmoor That was in the days when we used to have real winters and we got our share of snow. We had chains in the boot which got used quite often in winter.

Yes after I wrote that I thought of Dartmoor, and the Yorkshire moors, and northern/western Scotland, and quite a few other spots.
teach me to write before I think .

Chains make more sense than studs - easier to get on and off .

Last winter the roads in Bradford were evil.

All the flash BMWs and Mercs were stuck or sliding off the raod, the WRX things(all 4 wheel drive!) didn't even leave the garage!

My little Punto just chugged along as usual, it becomes a works vehicle in extreme conditions. I don't mind, the mileage claim helps pay the insurance.

ASAHI LAGER £1 a bottle at morrisons!!!

Sorry for shouting, they also have Brakspear bitter at the same price.

A long way to my nearest Morrisons .

My Kangoo was horrible in the snow last winter, even with winter tyres on. Even my husband struggled with it.
The Prius however, on normal tyres, was wonderful.
I can't wait to get rid of the Kangoo, what a mistake that was.
Still I have to hang on to it until he retires and we have to buy one decent car between us.

Well, slippery season is now officially upon us. Deliberate spins all the way through first and second are just a twitch of the right foot away, as is different attitude through roundabouts and slides round corners where ESP doesn't get a look in. Roundabouts without getting indicators cancelled? check

I *like* winter.

Will have to mount the 7d in the car tomorrow while I still have it and take some movie....

AFAIK, studs aren't actually banned in the UK? that was the best info I could find. I know the Germans do not like them, which is a pain, but the Danes don't mind and only Stockholm was supposed to be banning them (fine particle dust). We have a requirement for winters from 1/12 to 28/2.

Bret

Studs and chains are only allowed if there is sufficient snow/ice for the studs/chains not to damage the road surface.
That means quite a bit of snow. And as I said as soon as you get onto a cleared road they are illegal since they will damage the road surface.