Thought I'd make a full thread out of this, just to get a bit of a debate going

Give it your best shot

Yes, they take all the fun out of driving a beemer in the snow!

Here are a few shots (including a beemer)

Edited 18 November, 201015 yr by swedishskoda

Yes, they take all the fun out of driving a beemer in the snow!

Thats an oxymoron

Have you ever run any Brimma?

If people lived further oop north then they may think different as some of the weather is shocking. Top quality winters like Dunlop sport 3d's or Goodyear 7+ are immense in the dry, wet and snow.

LOL @ Brimma

Yes, they take all the fun out of driving a beemer in the snow!

Thats an oxymoron

+1

Most BM's go nowhere when it snows!

Hopefully my winters go on next week if I feel a bit better (full of cold...sniff....atchoo....cough)

[dons environmental suit ] {Amanda}

Maybe Winter tyres are better, but I've only ever once encountered conditions I didn't feel able to cope with running tyres which don't claim to be season specialised.

I managed for countless years without winter tyres, but there again I managed many years with toe-straps on my bike. Now I have clipless pedals and wouldn’t go back.

Winter tyres are just an improvement over standard tyres during the cold months and are really not just about ploughing through huge snow banks. I have seen first hand the difference between the 2 types of tyre on more than one occasion. Sometimes traction in snow is obviously better, but having seen a 4x4 A3 spin out in front of me as I was following it round a bend, I realised that my winter tyres not only stopped me spinning, but helped me avoid a collision.

Come to think of it, I managed many years without ABS braking and didn't have an accident, but would I want to lose my ABS brakes now? Certainly not.

Cough...cough.....snifff.....fluggghghgghghghbbbbpllluughghgh (nose blow)

For the one or two days per year of heavy snow we get here in Brum, I'll either invest in Snow Socks or I'll leave the car at home.

The wide(ish), low(ish) profile tyres on my Scout were pants in the snow last year.

My old Allegro (with bog-standard tyres and no electronic wizardry) would have run rings around my Roomie.

For the one or two days per year of heavy snow we get here in Brum, I'll either invest in Snow Socks or I'll leave the car at home.

The wide(ish), low(ish) profile tyres on my Scout were pants in the snow last year.

My old Allegro (with bog-standard tyres and no electronic wizardry) would have run rings around my Roomie.

But winter tyres aren’t all about snow. They are about the whole thing of cold weather and poor conditions :(

OOPS double post????

Edited 18 November, 201015 yr by Lady Elanore

But winter tyres aren’t all about snow. They are about the whole thing of cold weather and poor conditions :(

And there was me thinking they were just an excuse for people thinking they could drive like Sebastian Loeb

And there was me thinking they were just an excuse for people thinking they could drive like Sebastian Loeb

But then actually driving like Kimi Raikkonen.

And there was me thinking they were just an excuse for people thinking they could drive like Sebastian Loeb

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoMSDrcSe0k&feature=related

This next link has nothing to do with this thread at all, but I found it looking for the videos and it's kinda cool:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOEyrINcFL0&NR=1

Maybe Winter tyres are better, but I've only ever once encountered conditions I didn't feel able to cope with running tyres which don't claim to be season specialised.

Fair enough you might be able to get about OK, but what about people who struggle to drive on the best of days ?

Its not all the good drivers who need winter tyres, its everyone else !

Edited 19 November, 201015 yr by snow_muncher

I just think they look cool.

At the 3 degrees temperature that the above photo was taken in, my winters out grip my wider Dunlop Sport 'performance' tyres!

If I could afford them I'd buy them but I can't so I'll cope.

Managed the Octy all last winter when the drive was covered in ice for 6 weeks and it was -17C at night.

Doubt it'll be any worse than that.

I've never been stopped in the snow because of the snow, it's always been some plonker in the way blocking the road. How would me spending a load of money on different tyres help?

Fair enough you might be able to get about OK, but what about people who struggle to drive on the best of days ?

Its not all the good drivers who need winter tyres, its everyone else !

Thats the biggest thing!!! Its not what you're driving in the snow its how you drive it. I managed through the last few winters with 2 different BMW's, a 318ti Compact and a 330D Touring. Both were tricky to drive, but if you planned your journey, used cadance braking and used some common sense they were fine. the biggest problem was lack of drive caased by the rear wheels slipping. The simple fix for this was throwing my dog crate in the the back of the car. The extra 40kg over the back wheels helped a lot.

Admittedly for my vRS through I am getting a pair of autosocks to just give me an helping hand. These are in no way a substitution for driving carefully and properly in wintery conditions though

Maybe Winter tyres are better, but I've only ever once encountered conditions I didn't feel able to cope with running tyres which don't claim to be season specialised.

Last year I put winter tyres on steel wheels on our Octavia. Had huge fun on the snow and ice.

I met up with some friends for a cross country drive before Christmas. Those who were driving our Octavia said it felt almost like normal. Others managed to keep going over the route, using momentum to climb iced up roads and praying that they didn't need to stop. Yet others looked at the hill and realised they didn't have enough grip, so turned round and found an alternative route using partially gritted main roads.

After Christmas I visited a friend in Essex for a day of exploring how the tyres performed. He, a very experienced driver, was royally p!ssed off when I told him the route I'd taken - I'd used a road where he'd got stuck the previous night, needing a tractor to pull him up a small hill. After a day of driving on a variety of surfaces including fresh snow, frozen snow, frozen snow over thick ice, gritted roads, and so on, he was astonished about how capable the tyres made the car and vowed to get winter tyres for his next family car. Truly, they made a huge difference, making it possible to negotiate hilly country roads that would defeat the most experienced drivers in cars equipped with summer tyres.

Once you try winter tyres you're unlikely to go back. These threads come up on all the forums. On one side the folks with winters saying they'd never be without. On the other side folks who've never had much experience with them claiming they're a waste of money.

I read umpteen motoring forums, but not seen anyone saying they bought winters but wouldn't "waste" the money again.

Once you try winter tyres you're unlikely to go back.

+1

Once you try winter tyres you're unlikely to go back.

I read umpteen motoring forums, but not seen anyone saying they bought winters but wouldn't "waste" the money again.

+2