It does surprise many in 4x4's, AWD's, Part Time AWD's, FWD's, RWD's ,with  Winter, cold weather tyres, or just All season tyres, cars with ESP or many other electronic or mechanical aids,

that when you drive onto black ice. there may be no traction of any of the tyres and nothing stopping you untlll something physically brings you to a halt,

kerb, ditch, wall or other vehicle possibly.

 

All the various aids to winter driving can or may assist in that, but there are no guarantees , they might and they might not.

Often gravity and velocity takes over.

Some winter aids just mean you come to a stop facing forwards or backwards, maybe without damage, maybe with.

 

Different people have different needs and wants, and special people sometimes have special needs, or think they do.

 

Light vehicles, narrow tyres, lower powered, higher clearance vehicles often do just fine in the UK when we have some winter roads,

If the roads are closed it hardly matters what equipment you have, and if you are driving safely and in control,

there will always be those around you that are not.

 

george

Who is that man George aka sk4gw, I like the cut of his jib!!

As always George, your posts on here are like listening to Ken Bruce on Radio 2, wise and soothing.

Always a voice of reason.

I might see if Skoda will fit new winter tyres to my Monte instead of the Pirelli P zeros they're recommending, only kidding!!

Sorry but Pirelli P Nero Zero are rather cr4p on cold and icy roads, but not that much worse than other standard tyres as fitted to many cars.

 

They get you where you want to go, you just have to drive to the conditions as with any tyre.

They grip not badly when on top of snow, well some snows.

 

Luckily Fabias are light, mostly the brakes are not sharp, the gears can slow you down, and 205 tyres are not that much of a handicap.

& Vrs's are actually quite good on snow for anyone not having driven one yet in winter.

17" Rims and 40 profile tyre walls not always the best idea when the road surfaces are not prepared.

 

george

 

Tyres are 205 Pirelli P Zeros, & £50 Goodride 215/40's marked as M&S,

both good in the dry, but neither will be getting used when it is properly cold.

FWD cars and Winter tyres? This is for pussaaays who can't drive! Come on guys -Man-up and unleash the inner Rally-Slag...get something with RWD and bald tyres and drift it like a boss through the snow on your way to work.

 

Joking aside I live in Cornwall myself so have never really felt the need for winters but if I lived somewhere 'up Norf' I'd seriously consider them.

If we get any snow down here this year I'll no doubt leave the Beemer on the drive to avoid anyone else crashing into it and take SWMBOs Fabia vRS haha.

Got no choice on the tyres I'm afraid, Skoda are fitting them under warranty to cure the pull to left my Monte has been afflicted with.

I think it's those anyway, the dealer is just waiting for the go ahead from them to fit new tyres!

Probably not find out until Monday what they'll fit as I'm away now until Sunday.

while its comforting that people on here are confident about their driving ability's i for one am not too confident about others around me that i see doping stupid things so therefore i fully support EVERY safety feature that's on a car in the hope some of these muppets don't write me off one day with their confidence

 

btw this isn't a dig at anyone here, i don't know many of you personally so I've no idea of your driving skills, i see stupid things every day on my local roads, brake assist would help some of these tw@s out

Bwahaha, someone at MyTyres has a sense of comic timing anyway

Get some! Winter tread porn

Enjoy x

 

Ummmm "winter-tread porn".... pass me the Kleenex......this could get messy

Ummmm "winter-tread porn".... pass me the Kleenex......this could get messy

My office smells of Taiwanese rubber

I've never used winter tyres but on the theme of winter aids, the best car part I've ever had for traction in the snow was a torsen limited slip diff. I'm hoping the electronic imitation LSD in the vrs proves as functional. If the fabia is as good in the snow as (wait for it...) my Rover 620ti then I'll be happy.

The worst car part I ever had for traction in the snow was a BMW badge... the 3 litre diesel was (I imagine) better than some others though as you could drive around without touching the throttle. 

 

As for the tyre argument. I've never used winter tyres as I said, there for I have no opinion on them other than I will probably try them one day as I can imagine the benefit. If for nothing else than to keep my alloys fresh.

I think if you have never felt the need for winter tyres and have never had a winter accident or gotten stuck then I can see why you wouldn't want to invest. At the same time if you use them and have never had a winter accident or gotten stuck I can see why you want to continue to use them.

 

I'm left wondering about the in-between. Those who use them yet still crash, potentially into someone who doesn't? I think more important than tyre choice is driver capability and wisdom. Something I think generically speaking we lack in the uk when it comes to winter driving. Our country doesn't prepare the roads as well as they could, the poor preparation and last minute quick fixes seem to me to make it worse, and on the whole I don't think the majority of drivers are very good at driving in poor snowy conditions. Let alone making sure they are prepared for the worst. Partly common sense would help with this but also, we only seem to get sporadic exposure to it so don't get a good chance to learn by practicing, unlike the Fins.

 

A question: Does anybody use the snow sock things I've seen and are they any good? Rather than buying winter tyres, just have a pair of bootys for your tyres on hand in the boot?

The word 'snow' keeps on cropping up, but that is only one of the benefits of winter tyres. The clue is in the name, Winter. any people think that the main reason to buy Winters is for traction in moving in snow, that seems to be followed up by braking in the snow. But that is only a small portion of the winter tyres full remit. Cold days, ice, rain, slush etc are all handled better by Winter tyres in cold conditions. The cost argument has been shown to be relatively slight too, as the winters are saving your all-year/summers whilst they are in storage.

 

As the great Martin Brundle is very fond of saying, " You have to be on the right tyres at the right time".

Changed to my winters earlier this month (Pirelli Sotto Zero 205/40R17) - finally got round to getting a wheel tree to neatly stack the summers nicely.

 

 

 

Put my winters on yesterday, feels so much better even just on the cold wet roads than the summer tyres and with the deep tyre depth and sipes in this wet time in the UK.  Great deal from Openeo on the Nexen Winguard tyres and service from Savilles Garage on the extra rims. 

 

http://www.oponeo.co.uk/tyre-finder/car-winter-tyres-205-40-r17

Put my winters on yesterday, feels so much better even just on the cold wet roads than the summer tyres and with the deep tyre depth and sipes in this wet time in the UK.  Great deal from Openeo on the Nexen Winguard tyres and service from Savilles Garage on the extra rims. 

 

http://www.oponeo.co.uk/tyre-finder/car-winter-tyres-205-40-r17

indeed thats why i put mine on recently, my summers were legal, but knackered after oulton park, and not working in the rain any more.... now I have tread back I can go out in the storms with confidence! lol....

Mine are currently making our hallway smell like Kwik Fit (need to get a garage) and SWMBO is not best pleased.

 

They are going to get fitted to my spare alloys this week but given the comments on the Nankangs and temperatures I'm going to hold off fitting for a while, plus my Plastidip is still to arrive

 

lol-lol have you used the Nexen Winguard before, my mate in the office next door is wanting some Winters for his Golf but most options are north of £140.00 a corner.  The Nexen's are half that but he is dubious to fit.

Had my winter wheels and tyre fitted to my mk2 today I forgot how **** they looked lol

Mine are currently making our hallway smell like Kwik Fit (need to get a garage) and SWMBO is not best pleased.

 

They are going to get fitted to my spare alloys this week but given the comments on the Nankangs and temperatures I'm going to hold off fitting for a while, plus my Plastidip is still to arrive

 

lol-lol have you used the Nexen Winguard before, my mate in the office next door is wanting some Winters for his Golf but most options are north of £140.00 a corner.  The Nexen's are half that but he is dubious to fit.

Yes used on the fabia vrs last year and were very confidence giving.

Probably not quite as good as conti ts850s but then only half the price and lots of good reviews.

Worth keeping boot only with light things as weight needs to be forward.

standard tyres for me, Yeti grips plenty well and if the snow is too bad, I will stay in, it is cheaper to buy a heap of groceries and just stay in safe in the knowledge I have enough food in to survive all winter 

2*oC ambient here now, it was damp so frost forming & on the road in sheltered bits ice is forming.

No salt gritting started tonight.

Halfords Night before De-icer is sprayed on.

Many neighbours have their Fords and Heated Front screens. so near enough to start and go.

Forecast in some area for snow on the hills tomorrow and even blizzard type conditions possible on some higher routes.

Love it.

 

george

Totally understand and appreciate the merits of winter tyres but ive always gotten around OK on my summer tyres, unless it snows the conditions in the UK arent usually that scary and driving appropriately to the conditions is all thats called for.

To be honest if we end up with several inches of compacted snow on the roads i wont drive anywhere until its cleared off.

it wouldnt surprise me though if winter tyres become a legal requirement even here in the not too distant future

Had a very near miss with a dog crossing the road in front of my car. Fairly certain had i not fitted Winter tires that i dog wouldn't be still alive. DVR recorded pulling a 0.3g turn at 20mph with no loss of traction considering the conditions 2c and wet. Did also record the dog owner exclaiming 'Holy ****!' when he realized what was about to happen. This Dog owner should learn to start using a leash.

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

 

Snow and snowing really has little to do with anything in many areas, if snow has fallen, then its obvious what you are driving on and how to drive.

it is temperatures that matter, Road/Ground temps often not Air Temp.

 

Tonight it is just above freezing in some areas, and raining, and yet there are patches of ice,

 and easily in dips on roads black ice may form.

Even with the greatest of care, you can come upon ice and get caught out.

There is no Winter Road Treatment started here yet, and often will only be on Trunk Roads at weekends.

Treatment involves, Salt put down at around 6*0C to take moisture from the surface, turn to Brine and stop the Ice Forming.

That can be for roads surfaces or pavements.

(EDIT, I see that some roads have now been treated. they will be expecting the temperature to be dropping lower there.

otherwise the salt would be being wasted)

 

With tonights temps and road temps for some areas, Summer Tyres will do just fine with care, care also needs taken with Cold Weather Tyres. but there are areas of the UK where Cold Weather tyres have their uses, even where there is no snow falling

http://www.trafficscotland.org/weatherstations

Ok winter tyres are potentially a very important safety aid in cold/wintery weather. Let the conversations continue.

What I want to ask, how are you proud Fabia II owners that like to keep your cars looking nice managing to detail your Furbs on a regular basis or at least make sure you have good winter protection on and topped up? I'm leaving for work in the dark now and returning in the same. I've got a young family so weekend freetime is in short supply. Mostly I'm having to run a much reduced cleaning regime Inbetween big detailing sessions where I top up my winter wax, my p/w and Snowfoam is more. Or less abandoned u til Spring and I am switched to a prewash mix in a pressure sprayer to lift the winter grime. I'm also taking a bottle of my own TFR to spray down my vRS and rinse at the local garage pay by time PW station.

Have you guys got any good shortcuts to keep a car clean but cleaning time down?

If it is not going to be below freezing or already below freezing a bucket of Wash & Wax and take the less than 5 minutes to wash the car and wheels.

Can be done in the dark as easily as in the light. Wash it if it is raining.

 

If the car has been Waxed and prepared for winter it will be lovely.

Lots of warm days each of the 4-5 winter months, sometimes days or months of not cold weather depending where you stay.

 

If the roads are salted, then get the car clean as soon as the weather warms.

I would never use a pressure washer, not necessary IMO to keep a car body clean through a winter.

I have silicone or White Grease or dry dressing in wheel arches etc before the winter comes.

Rubber Dressing etc on seals and door, hatch surrounds.

 

george