Winter tyres - yay or nay

[dizzyblonde]

Originally Posted by Gazza77

Have to admit, I wish I could get them for around £60 a corner like I can for the MX5.

Maybe I ought to just take the in-laws approach, they just go to the local garage they use for all repairs, ask for tyres and they fit some. It's a good place, so I would expect them to get decent tyres and they seem happy enough. Maybe I just think too much.

We've got the damn thing in a new local 4x4 specialist at the moment, literally round the corner from our house, having the ABS sensor done...it got mauled! See what he can come up with tomorrow.
Nice chap, biker, all good especially as his lass used to have an SV

[Gazza77]

Originally Posted by dizzyblonde

We've got the damn thing in a new local 4x4 specialist at the moment, literally round the corner from our house, having the ABS sensor done...it got mauled! See what he can come up with tomorrow.
Nice chap, biker, all good especially as his lass used to have an SV

I use the same place as the in-laws for servicing/MOT etc. Last tyres I had were from these guys, good service and price.
http://www.ids-tyres.co.uk/

[G]

Originally Posted by Mr Speirs

Yeah...how did that work out for you last winter? I seem to remember you being unable to leave your estate for nearly 2 weeks!

Exactly, hence the statement...

Originally Posted by G

I just can't bring myself to buy some over here for the relatively infrequent snow/ice we have.

No winter tyre would get you out of this when you front bumper is acting as a plough 15cm below the surface lol, even the neighbours freelander on snowchains couldn't move.

4 minutes 30.

If traction control will get you up that, is there any point in buying a set of snow socks on a car with TC?

[fizzwheel]

Interesting. We live halfway up a 10 - 15% in places hill. I couldnt get the Audi up it last year. TC on or TC off. It was better with the TC off, but it ran out of traction and I decided discretion was the better part of valour and left the car on a neighbours drive for a few days until the temperature warmed up a bit and the snow / ice melted off.

It was OK in the fresh Snow, but once it had become hard and compacted it had no grip at all. I think its the Auto Box, plus heavy car, plus 255 / 35 / 19" soft sports tyres it fitted that is the main cause of it.

The Focus we had before was no problem to get in and out with, just thinking the snow socks would allow Liz to get home again if she took the Audi to work and it snowed during the day, she works in the middle of nowhere and would have to cover a fair few miles of untreated roads to get back to the A345 / A303 to get home.

My driveway is steep, and I drive all over the country, so I can come out in the morning and find myself unable to get off the driveway, or I can go somewhere in the morning, and be sliding all over a car park, or stranded somewhere 200 miles away by the afternoon. I'd buy snow socks to leave in the boot if I thought they would be effective.

I don't even know if I can switch off the TC in the Toyota. I know there is a button to switch off the stability control, maybe this is the same button.

[fizzwheel]

The video on the snow snocks website seems to show that they would be, ( but then it would wouldnt it )

They arent huge money and we dont get the weather down here that you do up there. I looked earlier on and they do do Winter tyres in the size for our Audi, but they are £300 a corner FFS. Liz is OK if she goes to go to work in the morning and its snowed as we have the Maverick and she can take that and I can either walk into work or I used her mountain bike last year and cycled in on that. So I cant justify in my mind the expense of winter tyres for the Audi TBH.

[Gazza77]

Originally Posted by fizzwheel

The video on the snow snocks website seems to show that they would be, ( but then it would wouldnt it )

They arent huge money and we dont get the weather down here that you do up there. I looked earlier on and they do do Winter tyres in the size for our Audi, but they are £300 a corner FFS. Liz is OK if she goes to go to work in the morning and its snowed as we have the Maverick and she can take that and I can either walk into work or I used her mountain bike last year and cycled in on that. So I cant justify in my mind the expense of winter tyres for the Audi TBH.

As you said earlier, comes down to how dependent you are on using it to get around.

I'll put money on the Jag on 5th Gear not being on a set of summer tyres...

[Bluepete]

Do you want to hear something funny?

Our traffic unit consists of BMW 330's and X5's with a couple of Discoveries.

The 330's get grounded when it snows, and the job won't pay for winter tyres on the X5's and Disco's.

So in the winter - no traffic unit!

Pete

For 2wd = Yay from me.