I attempted to drive up a very snowy and icy hill this week and our Octavia decided that it would only reverse down the hill and not up it.

Just wondering if it is a summer tyre issue (currently using 225/35/R19/88Y) or if any of you have any good ideas I could try.

For the future, I'm thinking of investing in some steel rims and winter tyres and keeping them in my husband's man cave...

Hello Shauna, welcome to the forum. I assume by your saying 'it would only reverse DOWN the hill' that you had lost traction going up - is that correct? Good quality Winter / 3-Peaks / M&S tyres would probably have given you a better chance of getting you up it.

 I guess you are a new and inexperienced driver to be asking such questions .

 

You're just now thinking about winter tyres for the future when winter is already here, but you want to keep them in your husbands "man cave"?  I assume you mean to keep them there during the summer months?

9 minutes ago, Warrior193 said:

Hello Shauna, welcome to the forum. I assume by your saying 'it would only reverse DOWN the hill' that you had lost traction going up - is that correct? Good quality Winter / 3-Peaks / M&S tyres would probably have given you a better chance of getting you up it.

Thanks for the warm welcome. 
Yes correct, I had absolutely no traction trying to drive forwards up the hill. Our car is an automatic so I also tried the manual gears and still no luck. 
 

I was wondering if there was a snow mode I haven’t found in this car and/ or turning on/ off some of the settings?

 

Great advice about the tyres for winter, like I said I’m interested in investing in some winter wheels and tyres for now and future winters 😉

 

My last car was an Audi Quattro all wheel drive, so I was a spoilt. 

Hello and welcome Shauna 

 

What make of tyre does the car currently have? What are the tread depths and how many miles has the car done?

 

It's all a bit subjective in terms of the hill, temperature and other factors, but yes, if you've summer tyres fitted, that will be a factor.  Winter, or all season tyres on now, will probably help.

 

I've been a nay-sayer on all season tyres, as I live right on the south coast, but I have Michelin Cross Climate 2's on my car (also a DSG), and in the current cold temperatures, I'm glad I do.

 

Gaz

Edited 14 December, 20223 yr by Gaz

10 minutes ago, Shauna1 said:

Thanks for the warm welcome. 
Yes correct, I had absolutely no traction trying to drive forwards up the hill. Our car is an automatic so I also tried the manual gears and still no luck. 
 

I was wondering if there was a snow mode I haven’t found in this car and/ or turning on/ off some of the settings?

 

Great advice about the tyres for winter, like I said I’m interested in investing in some winter wheels and tyres for now and future winters 😉

 

My last car was an Audi Quattro all wheel drive, so I was a spoilt. 

In extreme conditions, letting some air out of the tyres can help gain traction - but care needs to be taken that pressures aren't allowed to go too low, then you need to be able to restore correct pressures afterwards. 

Try turning off traction control

2 hours ago, Gaz said:

Hello and welcome Shauna /cdn-cgi/mirage/7ef2a44b785400d29a8fd15a0e4d5fffe2d9913bfac72229cb253167b445d29b/1280/https://www.briskoda.net/forums/uploads/emoticons/emoticon-0128-hi.gif

 

What make of tyre does the car currently have? What are the tread depths and how many miles has the car done?

 

It's all a bit subjective in terms of the hill, temperature and other factors, but yes, if you've summer tyres fitted, that will be a factor.  Winter, or all season tyres on now, will probably help.

 

I've been a nay-sayer on all season tyres, as I live right on the south coast, but I have Michelin Cross Climate 2's on my car (also a DSG), and in the current cold temperatures, I'm glad I do.

 

Gaz

Pirelli P Zeros. Loads of tread as the tyres were bought in July time and we have bikes for burning rubber. I see that they are defo summer tyres so that must be the issue 😳

 

Mileage is around 18k

 

1 hour ago, T07 said:

Try turning off traction control

Fantastic, I’ll try this tomorrow morning

Hi Shauna, I also live on the South Coast like @Gaz, we don't often get snow but I was looking for an all round tyre and  I have had Michelin Cross Climates on my 2.0 TDI Dsg since 2020. 

 

We had a good amount of snow at the weekend and I've had no issues getting about on roads in the last week I would never have ever attempted in the past on "normal" tyres and also into remote sites I  visit for work which are down roads that are not frequently used nor gritted.  They work just as well in wet and in dry summer, quite frankly they are great in all conditions. Plus they've been on now for over 30k miles fronts have worn only to 4.5 mm from 7 new. 

 

Like @Gaz I'm glad I switched to them a few years back, they provide a no compromise option for any season. 

Edited 14 December, 20223 yr by paulski

47 minutes ago, paulski said:

Plus they've been on now for over 30k miles fronts have worn only to 4.5 mm from 7 new. 

 

Good review for CC's as they wear too 👍:

 

 

I think when it comes to turning the traction control off, the caveat should be to only do it for as long as is necessary. It's there for a reason.

 

Gaz

 

Pretty sure it turns itself back on over a certain speed 

11 hours ago, Gaz said:

 

Good review for CC's as they wear too 👍:

 

 

I think when it comes to turning the traction control off, the caveat should be to only do it for as long as is necessary. It's there for a reason.

 

Gaz

 

Well, it seems I need to sell my rubbish Pirellis and find four Michelin CC's.

Many, many thanks for the advice everyone and not laughing at my 'inexperienced' questions.

If you're thinking of having two sets of tyres ( i.e. keeping the Pirelli's - n'owt wrong with them, they just might not be best suited to current conditions), then I'd suggest not going for CC2's, but head for decent winter tyres.  Only go down the CC2 route if your vRS is going to wear them year round - full winters being better purposed than all season tyres when it comes to the recent low temperatures, snow and ice.

 

Don't think any of us would laugh.  That'd be tempting too much fate 🙄  Three cars ago I had an immaculate Saab 9-5, on good tyres, which I wrote off at walking pace on ice under snow.  I felt pretty stupid about that for a long time 

 

Gaz  

Sound from advice @Gaz and certainly the better option if no lack of storage space and willing to change tyres for seasons that change more than we get down south.

 

For me I needed four new boots in one go, I don't have a Vrs so for 16inch wheels I got four for £308 at quickfit so it was a no brainer. But this year has been their first real test and they have proved their performance without a doubt. 

Traction control quite often in the snow can be a pain in the neck. It's fine when you're on mainly level ground to keep you from wheelspinning when you're moving / moving away. However, at the slightest of gradients, it cuts the power too much and you're left to slow down / at a standstill.

 

When I was in my tranny van, I used to turn the traction control off, but I've always found it best to have the ESC in sport if ever I've encountered snow in my car. It gives you that bit of wheelspin to get you moving, but doesn't cut in too quick. It also means you've still got the stability control in the background to assist with slides.

 

The last time it snowed bad in my neck o' the woods, I did go out onto the ungritted back roads, with all the electronics turned off and had tons of fun with handbrake turns, Scandinavian flicks and getting lift off oversteer. That was when I had the god awful Bridgestone Potenzas (they really are a dry summer tyre)

For winter and snow, just fit Winter tyres. The rubber compound and grooving of summer tyres are never going to work in the Winter. All you will achieve is ending in a ditch trying different tips on your summer tyres.

And no 4x4 will helps, when braking all 4 tyres will drift anyway. Summer tyres just don't grip on snow, period. I personally go to all 4 Winter tyres from november to April in France.

There are cheap and very good alternatives like the vredestein wintrax on 17 inch 

Edited 16 December, 20223 yr by nickytheshaft

For many all weather / all season 3 peak will do for 365 day all year.  So not Winters as such.  CrossClimates in the rims the car had.   Michelin CrossClimate 2 as an example, but there are more sports based all weather's available.   The OP,s quattro might of just had better tyres and it was not just having Haldex that made a difference as plenty AWD /;4x4,s part time awd,s are slip sliding around me today.  Wrong tyres, no brain drivers.   Ps, if the postie, taxis, couriers, home delivery vans are out and up and down hill ok then they are nearly all on Summer tyres.  If the roads are not moving with traffic then there is a reason why.   If little old ladies and men are getting about in city cars with factory tyres there is a reason.  Experienced, skill, correct vehicle, not that bright maybe and one stop away from an accident. 

Edited 16 December, 20223 yr by toot

a good shout would be to get a set of 18 inch alloys (which I assume would still fit the challenge), get a set of colder weather orientated tyres and use those over the cooler periods.

 

225/40/R18 tyres are going to be noticeably cheaper than 225/35/R19 tyres, especially the cold weather variants. 

I have a challenge estate and live at the top of a steep hill that over the last week has been covered in snow. My car was parked at the bottom of it for three days as it couldn't get up 🙂 My other car (rear wheel drive bmw) got up as I have a set of inexpensive snow socks which give you traction at low speeds on snow and ice. They are really just for emergencies though.

 

Over the years I've had FWD, RWD and 4x4's as well as summer and winter tyres on both - there is no substitute for winter/all season tyres when it's snowing really. Apart from ground clearance a decent set of winters will get you most places on snow in a Octavia. I haven't bothered with my Octy this winter as it's a lease car and due to go back in a couple of months. I've just accepted that I might have to walk a mile up and down a snowy hill for the next two months.

On 14/12/2022 at 17:53, Shauna1 said:

Octavia decided that it would only reverse down the hill and not up it.

I realise from your subsequent postings that the above was a typo and that you were trying and failing to go up the hill forwards.

 

I am surprised that nobody has suggested trying to reverse up when forward motion failed, the weight transfer of the powertrain on a front engined FWD vehicle going forward up an incline loses traction from the front (facing) axle but adds traction to the rear, it is the reason that Bugginbobs RWD BMW was able to climb the hill and not his  FWD Octavia, setting aside any differences in tyres.