Snow & Ice

[Crista]

First opportunity this morning to get an idea what ma wee car is like in proper wintry conditions. Found a quiet Industrial Park with plenty of snow and ice. I found it very confidence inspiring, with the winter boots on, it felt very safe and very predictable.

[Huskoda]

I'm still waiting here for something to give my winters a proper workout. The weatherman keeps promising, but so far has failed to deliver.

[giandougl]

We don't get much snow down here in the extreme Southwest (Cornwall).

When we do, there is utter chaos and total disruption with one/two inches of snow. LOL

Don't know how some of these drivers from here would cope, with what the weather throws at you up there, in the very North.

Probably sit in their car till spring. LOL

[dave hendy]

All very well having your winter tyres but if the roads are clogged with cars without not going anywhere you won't either!

The council gritting the roads would help they seem to have stopped doing that round here.

Winter tyres are a good idea but we don't get enough bad weather down south to justify them

Dave

[vegit8]

Winter tyres are a good idea but we don't get enough bad weather down south to justify them

Dave

Not sure I would agree with you there Dave.

You dont need snow to feel the benefits of winter rubber.

Once temperatures drop below 7deg normal summer rubber becomes hard and more prone to loss of grip.

I found this out to my cost on a motor bike a few winters ago, dry but very cold road, too much right fist in sport mode on a right hand corner with an adverse camber just a few yards from home ended up with me sliding across the road with the bike spitting sparks.

Back to cars.... winter rubber will shift more water and give significantly shorter stopping distances in the wet let alone icy roads. Plus they wear at a slower rate as well.

Once you have got over the initial expense (which with a citigo is not much really) then you share the wear and tear across both sets of tyres over a year.

[dave hendy]

You are probably right but I don't think our weather or lack of it justifies the cost? But it depends on your budget obviously

[BossFox]

I've bought a set of winters for the Citigo which are due to go on later this week and my wife already has hers on her Yeti.

Although we live "Down South" I feel the cost is worth it, because really it's only the rims.

Although you pay for another set of tyres up front, it means you don't wear your summer ones out while the winters are on, so they last longer.

In the meantime you have the benefits of Winter Tyres (I prefer the term Cold Weater Tyres, as that's what they are!) for several months while the temps hover around 0c. They also seem to clear standing water much better too.

[sharkrider]

ash has her winters on the citygo... its a world of difference, I have mine on the vRS...... best winter safety feature there is! although we do live ooop north, may not be as relevant on the south coast anything below 7 Celcius is an improvement though, and "as above" it actually doesn't cost more..... you are doing the same mileage on one set of rubber! = no difference...

I just sold my part worn summers on ebay, will be going to new summers in the spring

[dave hendy]

You are probably right but I don't think our weather or lack of it justifies the cost? But it depends on your budget obviously

Spoke to soon yesterday went straight on at a junction today as car wouldn't turn on a frosty road, luckily there wasn't any thing coming. May have been going too fast but tyre might have helped?

Roll on the Spring :sun:

[SMART EXAMINER]

Two years ago i drove my Smart to work in the snow. All the cars were crawling along and my car was sliding all over the road.A Range Rover zoomed past all of us as if there was no snow.That is the kind of car you want in the snow.

When i left work that day i was stuck. Thank goodness 5 lads gave me a push out of the work car park. I got home and did not use the car again till the snow went.I used the bus instead,and now i always use the bus when the weather is bad.

[LeeHarrison]

Had a flurry of snow down here this morning, and whilst there were a lot of cars either in the ditch or struggling for traction, our faithful little truck motored on through

[BossFox]

Going up in the world with the company car Lee?

Got to work in the snow this morning and figured it was time to put the winter tyres on.

Saw a Range Rover mentioned above.

I'd much rather have the Yeti (that I bought after the Range Rover) or the Citigo (which is nice and light) on winters because when it's time to stop it's going to be easier bringing 1500kg or 850kg to a halt than 2800kg.

More wheel drive = better traction, but gives you little advantage cornering and no advantage braking, which is why you see Range Rover Sports parked in the bushes once the snow starts to settle.

They seem to think 4x4 means they can just continue to drive normally...

[princeprawn]

Does the Citigo have traction control, I was driving the golf today and the traction control was getting me up hills with ease, whilst others that didnt have it where not moving very far.

[Huskoda]

More wheel drive = better traction, but gives you little advantage cornering and no advantage braking, which is why you see Range Rover Sports parked in the bushes once the snow starts to settle.

They seem to think 4x4 means they can just continue to drive normally...

I know someone who struggled in the snow for years, so I told them to get some winters on. No need, they say, I just bought a CRV. Cue frantic google image search for captain Picard.

2x0 = 0. 4x0 = 4? no, still 0.

[BossFox]

Does the Citigo have traction control, I was driving the golf today and the traction control was getting me up hills with ease, whilst others that didnt have it where not moving very far.

Yes, it's standard fit.

[Yeti_Man]

This morning was the first time in three years that Ive driven my 4x4 Yeti in snow on summer rubber! (Simply due to not having time to get to the garage to get them swapped over yet) and my conclusion is that Id so much rather be driving something fwd with winter tyres than this with (admittedly, end of life Dunlops with 2mm tread) summer tyres. Ideally, something lighter and with narrower tyres too, say, something like a CityGo!

[BossFox]

Ideally, something lighter and with narrower tyres too, say, something like a CityGo!

You know it makes sense!

[Yeti_Man]

You know it makes sense!

Yeh, only thing I'd probably miss is the 4wd and 300+ bhp for the times when it isnt snowing... if you hear of such a CityGo, give me a shout!

[Taylor93]

While at work today my CitiGo had her first sprinkling with snow! :(

[hmibennett]

With the small amounts of snow that people are talking about here, and even with more substantial falls, I firmly believe that the skill and experience of the driver counts most. Too many people fail to adapt their speed, use of gears etc. to the conditions: too macho or too feeble approaches are equally dangerous. I have driven a variety of cars. some 4x4 but not all, have never had winter tyres, and have never been stuck - or skidded off the road - in 25 winters in the Yorkshire Dales!

[Derekmack30]

Hi All

Yes I agree with hmibenett it is the skill behind the wheel that matters I have had a Suzuki Grand Vitara and still lost grip at a round about at Sighthill in the snow now have winter tyres on both my Citigo and the wifes much better grip and breaking distance. + we get alot of snow in Livingston, Scotland.

[Crista]

With the small amounts of snow that people are talking about here, and even with more substantial falls, I firmly believe that the skill and experience of the driver counts most. Too many people fail to adapt their speed, use of gears etc. to the conditions: too macho or too feeble approaches are equally dangerous. I have driven a variety of cars. some 4x4 but not all, have never had winter tyres, and have never been stuck - or skidded off the road - in 25 winters in the Yorkshire Dales!

Modern cars by virtue of the technology and strict testing are much safer and every enhancement such as winter tyres may just make the difference in any given situation. That said - I am 57 now and can remember back in 1978 when I seemed to know no fear. I was working in Greenock on the Clyde for two years and through that awful winter - regular very sub zero temperatures and weeks and weeks of snow. I used to travel home to Lincolnshire every weekend - home on Friday - back on Sunday night. My then transport - an Austin Cambridge which I purchased for £40. There probably couldn't have been a worse car for snow and ice - rear wheel drive - handled like a boat without a rudder - but it had a starting handle - remember them? Against all odds I made it home every weekend. I used to set off - travel down the A74 etc and would cross the country either by the A68 or the A66 (Scotch Corner) or the A57 (Snake Pass) or the M62. The chosen route would be determined by which one was the least blocked with snow. I remember several times going across the A57 in convoy and using my car to push people to get them going again and the starting handle saved me more than once. That must have been partly down to skill as there were no winter aids on cars - maybe something to do with the tyres in those days? There was something in the quoted post post about progress speed and having the nerve to keep going at a good speed - not too fast and not too slow. Winters were worse then and you had to be a better driver in the older cars and of course there was lots of practice. Eeee - they don't make snow like they used too.

[Mike Wrightson]

I think tyres back then were quite a bit narrower too which helps. But the speed thing is correct, you can drive too slowly for snow and ice as well as too fast. If you go too slow, you have to use too low a gear, then you get too much wheelspin, you slow down more, and grind to a halt. Keeping the speed higher, allowing the use of a higher gear, and keeping all inputs as smooth as possible, works well and you can make good progress. Just remember to look a looooong way ahead.

I've been on an icy road with the Citigo now and it coped well even with the standard tyres. Far better than the Fabia with its 205 wide rubber.

[Robjon]

Narrower tyres definitely help in the snow. My old Allegro would have run rings around my Roomster Scout - despite the latter's electronic wizardry.

The more I see and read of the Citigo, the more I think it will replace my Roomy when the time comes.

[CortinaGT]

Did I just note somebody admitted having owned an Allegro! (Only joking!!)

In the days of the older rear wheel drive cars (as Crista mentioned), come the snowy period many also resorted to carrying a bag of cement in the boot to get weight on the back end for traction! (Ask your older relatives!). Anyway, I had quite a few years of rallying way back in poor conditions, but the widest tyres we had then were 175's on 13 x5 1/2J rims. (Only a few affluent types had 6J MiniLites). That would mean that the contact patch is quiet similar to the Citigo I have, where the diameter is greater at 14", but the rim width is narrower being 5J.

So far we have not had snow here and being retired I usually can avoid venturing out when the snow comes, but I wonder how the standard ECO tyres (mine are Bridgestone Ecopia EP25's) handle being as the side walls are supposed to be more compliant than the standard. Do they handle just a little bit more like the winter tyre compositions - understanding that the tread patterns, rubber compositions for lower temperatures etc., are not the same, of course?

Feedback awaited!!

Edited 9 December, 2012 by CortinaGT