Winter tyres in action

[Phil]

First opportunity to assess the winter tyres since fitted to the 325.
Cant believe the difference they have made. They were just awesome, went through the snow as if there wasnt any. Managed to get the traction control light on once on a 90 degree bend.
Last year I couldnt get out of the drive without a major drama ie sideways into the gutter.

[Brian H]

I had snow tyres fitted to my DD last week in preparation for the bad weather, it now seems as though the whole country has snow bar me oh well at least when is does come I'll be prepared.

[TitanTim]

Theyre great on the 1er, so glad I had them fitted now after the fiasco of last year. Only problem is its all the other idiots on the road.

About time they were made law, would cut down on accidents and help stop the country grinding to a halt after an inch of snow

Tim.

[Mouldy]

. . . . . . .About time they were made law, would cut down on accidents and help stop the country grinding to a halt after an inch of snow

Tim.

Nice if you can afford them Tim. Would you like to work out the cost of rims and tyres for my wife's car and mine?

Skoda 4 x 225/45 R 17

Chrysler 2 x 225/40 R 18 + 2 x 255/35 R 19

I reckon I could by a decent 2.8 Zed for that kind of money. Perhaps if the cost was more reasonable, the VAT reduced as they are effectively a safety aid etc, it would make a difference.

As things stand, I'll remain one of the idiots sliding about on roads that remain untreated.

My wife and I took my mum and dad out last night to celebrate his 82nd birthday and made the short trip home from Milton Keynes to Northampton at about 21:30. The local roads in MK were almost unpassable and the M1 was untreated and dangerous. Moreover, we didn't see a gritter or snowplough for the duration of our journey.

Despite all of the predictions of heavy snow that have been on weather reports for the last few days, little seems to have been done to prepare for the weather conditions that hit us yesterday. I've watched the news, both local and national and various officials have appeared, bragging that the stocks of salt were high and preparations had been made to prevent the chaos that reigned last year.

Why then has so much of our road network been badly affected and so many motorways closed because of the snowfall yesterday? Perhaps the roads were too dangerous for gritter drivers to venture out due to our Health and Safety laws, or the overtime bill was too high for the Councils to afford in these cash strapped times.

Who knows, but one thing is for sure and that is the motorist, who contributes so much to the Exchequer in taxes, got the short straw again!

Well prepared my ar*e!!!!!

[g8jka]

Despite all of the predictions of heavy snow that have been on weather reports for the last few days, little seems to have been done to prepare for the weather conditions that hit us yesterday. I've watched the news, both local and national and various officials have appeared, bragging that the stocks of salt were high and preparations had been made to prevent the chaos that reigned last year.

Why then has so much of our road network been badly affected and so many motorways closed because of the snowfall yesterday? Perhaps the roads were too dangerous for gritter drivers to venture out due to our Health and Safety laws, or the overtime bill was too high for the Councils to afford in these cash strapped times.

Who knows, but one thing is for sure and that is the motorist, who contributes so much to the Exchequer in taxes, got the short straw again!

Well prepared my ar*e!!!!!

Well said! They knew it was coming and said they were prepared but yet again a little bit of snow has caused absolute chaos. The roads were a joke yesterday.

Although sometimes I think some off them idiots who drive in the snow are actually ones with snow tyres fitted, just because they have grip in the snow doesn't give them the right to plough past those struggling or those being careful, same as all the 4x4 owners who think its acceptable to drive at normal speeds in the snow just because they also have the grip.

[TitanTim]

Hmmmmm sorry but I have to disagree regarding gritting of roads, alot of the time gritters can't get through because of abandoned cars etc i.e. people who are running summer tyres. The difference between a winter and a summer tyre is like night and day to a point if everyone swapped to winter tyres the gritters could concentrate on major routes than wasting gritting roads that dont really beed it.

Unfortunately another set of tyres is another expense, mine were £1250 as wanted alloys and runflats, however a cheap set of steelies and winter tyres doesn't cost the earth for your safety.

I'm not saying because you don't have winter tyres then your an idiot for going out on snow ridden roads, however it does make me smile seeing people struggle for grip etc when they knew what was coming.

I guess in other countries where its law to have winter rubber fitted to vehicles is the reason those countries keep moving in the worst of weathers.

Tim.

[TitanTim]

Where is the EDIT button when you need it?



Tim.

[g8jka]

Hmmmmm sorry but I have to disagree regarding gritting of roads, alot of the time gritters can't get through because of abandoned cars etc

Surely the roads should be prepared prior to the snow coming? That way cars wouldn't get abandonned if the roads were pretreated before the snow. Most of the time the gritters/snow ploughs come out far too late and by that time the roads are already horrendous and people have no choice but to abandon their cars.

They knew the snow was coming and it was all over the news that they were prepared for it, but the following day it's yet again all over the news of the chaos that the snow has caused on the roads and nothing seemed to change to prevent it happening!

[TitanTim]

Hmmmmm sorry but I have to disagree regarding gritting of roads, alot of the time gritters can't get through because of abandoned cars etc

Surely the roads should be prepared prior to the snow coming? That way cars wouldn't get abandonned if the roads were pretreated before the snow. Most of the time the gritters/snow ploughs come out far too late and by that time the roads are already horrendous and people have no choice but to abandon their cars.

They knew the snow was coming and it was all over the news that they were prepared for it, but the following day it's yet again all over the news of the chaos that the snow has caused on the roads and nothing seemed to change to prevent it happening!

They were around our parts, depends on your Local Authority and how careful they've been with their budgeting for grit stocks. The buck stops with Central Gov't not Local Government who are strangling Local Authories with less and less budgets but asking them to do more and more. As a Local Authority its whether you waste money throwing grit on the roads or spend it more wisely on care homes, social services etc. Wouldn't it be much better if everyone used winter tyres? more grip, less accidents, and no salt and chippings on your pride and joy

Tim.

[g8jka]

Wouldn't it be much better if everyone used winter tyres? more grip, less accidents, and no salt and chippings on your pride and joy

Tim.

Yes it would, but maybe the government should then charge us less road tax so we can put it towards purchasing winter tyres or even better buy them for us? Most people, including me can not afford or justify the cost of a set of winter tyres that would be fully advantageous only a handful of times per year.

[TitanTim]

Wouldn't it be much better if everyone used winter tyres? more grip, less accidents, and no salt and chippings on your pride and joy

Tim.

Most people, including me can not afford or justify the cost of a set of winter tyres that would be fully advantageous only a handful of times per year.

Thats the part most don't understand about winter tyres, they're not just for snow. The performance of summer tyres decreases dramatically below 7deg C which for our winters is most days. Winter tyres perform much better below these temps.

This is what tickled me and what made me invest in a set of winters for the 1er, your also increasing the life of your summer tyres by fitting winter rubber

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aahMDAr0ksM

Just shows how needless it is wasting money gritting roads or in this case, not gritting the roads

Tim.