Snow

[rich1068]

Re-read my post, sounded a bit arsey. Certainly wasn't meant to be a dig Jeff.

We had snow again today and I really did feel handicapped by my IS. Not a nice feeling. The Bambi on ice handling does make me wonder about winters on this car but I just can't justify them for the few days I'd need them. Watched a film called The Snowman the other night which is set in Norway and the snow scenes were astonishing but what struck me most was the number of rear wheel drive cars in use. The taxis were all Mercs and one of the lead characters drove everywhere in an F30 BMW. Even my wife commented. Lovely G-Wagen at the end though 

[rayaans]

8 hours ago, rich1068 said:

It is odd people still ask about how a certain car is in snow. It's either terrible or brilliant depending on what sort of tyres are fitted. 

That's not true though is it?

Different cars handle differently in snow. Yes tyres will make a difference but with tyres being of the same kind it'll still be different.

I used to run a 10 year old Merc C220 in winter. It had narrow 205/55 r16 tyres and barely any weight over the rear axle. On summer tyres was a nightmare and I would switch to part worn winters because all the money I had went into building a house. Or I would stick  heavy weights in the boot of the car like 2x25kg bags of sand.

The IS is genuinely fine on oem bridgestones in winter that I feel no need to change. The RX is even better probably because it's primary FWD and very heavy 

[dutchie01]

12 hours ago, rich1068 said:

Re-read my post, sounded a bit arsey. Certainly wasn't meant to be a dig Jeff.

We had snow again today and I really did feel handicapped by my IS. Not a nice feeling. The Bambi on ice handling does make me wonder about winters on this car but I just can't justify them for the few days I'd need them. Watched a film called The Snowman the other night which is set in Norway and the snow scenes were astonishing but what struck me most was the number of rear wheel drive cars in use. The taxis were all Mercs and one of the lead characters drove everywhere in an F30 BMW. Even my wife commented. Lovely G-Wagen at the end though 

In countries that have snow every year for months people are used to this and are prepared. Anti skid lessons and snow driving techniques are part of the drivinglessons and snowtyres are rule ( sometimes even spikes!). Airports dont close, trains keep running and traffic is as usual. ( i once was in Sweden waiting for a cab when in a snowdrift mothers were doing the schoolrun. No Problem.) Are they driving special cars? No they dont. Maybe in the alp countries youĺl find more 4x4 s but in Scandinavia especially due to high prices you will find lots of old Volvos or Saabs. 

Rearwheel or frontwheeldrive does make a difference but with both it is well possible to tackle the snow.

In our part of the world we are just not prepared and completely freak out when the streets turn white. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

[dutchie01]

7 hours ago, rayaans said:

That's not true though is it?

Different cars handle differently in snow. Yes tyres will make a difference but with tyres being of the same kind it'll still be different.

I used to run a 10 year old Merc C220 in winter. It had narrow 205/55 r16 tyres and barely any weight over the rear axle. On summer tyres was a nightmare and I would switch to part worn winters because all the money I had went into building a house. Or I would stick  heavy weights in the boot of the car like 2x25kg bags of sand.

The IS is genuinely fine on oem bridgestones in winter that I feel no need to change. The RX is even better probably because it's primary FWD and very heavy 

My IS300H is on Michelin winter tyres. I put them on mid November until Mid March. When driving in snow i find the car very stable and never lost grip when accellerating ( in SNOW mode).

My previous IS250 also had michelin winters on and also that car i found excellent in driving on snow. 

However, on summertyres i would be in a ditch by now!

[chris_fletcher]

First drive in snow for quite a while yesterday and the gen 4 RX was brilliant going up and on the flat even on the summer tyres. However on a moderate down slope approaching a mini roundabout doing less than 10mph the car became a 2.5 ton sledge at the first light touch of the brakes. Just goes to prove that having a 4x4 doesnt help much once you are sliding LOL. No other cars on the road so eased of the brakes and continued unscathed with the return of traction, no way I was stopping though. Makes me wonder if winter tyres would have maintained grip.

[rayaans]

1 hour ago, chris_fletcher said:

First drive in snow for quite a while yesterday and the gen 4 RX was brilliant going up and on the flat even on the summer tyres. However on a moderate down slope approaching a mini roundabout doing less than 10mph the car became a 2.5 ton sledge at the first light touch of the brakes. Just goes to prove that having a 4x4 doesnt help much once you are sliding LOL. No other cars on the road so eased of the brakes and continued unscathed with the return of traction, no way I was stopping though. Makes me wonder if winter tyres would have maintained grip.

Sounds like you'd hit nice. Nothing will work at that point.

Took the Golf out with winter tyres when it was throwing it down. It was 8pm and -1 degrees outside

It's got winter tyres as I couldn't be bothered changing them when we bought it

Anyway, at 70mph on a dual carriageway near scarborough, the traction control light flashed continuously for 5-10 seconds and the steering wheel did absolutely nothing. A bend was approaching quick but it found grip by then. In ice, nothing works bar spikes.

[Big Rat]

@rayaans Not true as someone who spent sometime as a tyre development driver for Michelin on high performance and winter tyres there is irrefutable evidence of the effective s of these tyres in winter driving conditions, including ice may it not have been your excessive speed in the conditions, with regard to your own admission of the temperature and speed you were travelling at.

 

Not a bad little video to show the 'ice' effectiveness of winters.

Big Rat

 

[dutchie01]

17 hours ago, chris_fletcher said:

First drive in snow for quite a while yesterday and the gen 4 RX was brilliant going up and on the flat even on the summer tyres. However on a moderate down slope approaching a mini roundabout doing less than 10mph the car became a 2.5 ton sledge at the first light touch of the brakes. Just goes to prove that having a 4x4 doesnt help much once you are sliding LOL. No other cars on the road so eased of the brakes and continued unscathed with the return of traction, no way I was stopping though. Makes me wonder if winter tyres would have maintained grip.

Yes they most likely would Chris. You really have to experience the difference between winters and summertyres to believe the effectivness of them. Once you swap you will never go back.

the profile of winters is designed to claw into the snow and thus maintain grip. Summers will fill up with snow that stays in the profile making the tyre seeking for grip it can find. Compare it with summers boat shoes with a slippery sole and winter boots with a rough profile and now try to walk on the snow with your boaties!

Having said that the laws of physics will tell you that weight really is an issue here. Once grip breaks weight takes over and you can be a passenger in your own sledge.  

[dutchie01]

Chris, one thing i forgot is the compound of winters is different securing the rubber stays supple and soft in low temps unlike summers that become rock hard. So, below 7 celcius winters come in their own right and even give shorther brakingdistances when no snow! When temps go up above 12 i always change back to summers as that is the best option then. ( plus the winters start to wear down really really fast). Last thing profile depth of 4 mm on a winter is a dead tyre needs to be higher than that. 

[grantwils]

Sounds like you'd hit nice. Nothing will work at that point.
Took the Golf out with winter tyres when it was throwing it down. It was 8pm and -1 degrees outside
It's got winter tyres as I couldn't be bothered changing them when we bought it
Anyway, at 70mph on a dual carriageway near scarborough, the traction control light flashed continuously for 5-10 seconds and the steering wheel did absolutely nothing. A bend was approaching quick but it found grip by then. In ice, nothing works bar spikes.

I’d also dispute this. There’s a video I can’t find of it being very simply demonstrated with two identical sized cuts of summer and winter tyres on a sheet of ice. As they increase the angle the summer section slides off almost immediately. The winter rubber sticks well beyond 45 degrees.

They also did it on a cold slab of plywood which had been in the freezer too.

It’s entirely untrue to suggest winter tyres make no difference over summer on ice.



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[DanD]

I have always found it odd that Volvo, and previously SAAB, do/did not make more AWD cars, considering that their prime markets are/were Scandinavia.

[grantwils]

I have always found it odd that Volvo, and previously SAAB, do/did not make more AWD cars, considering that their prime markets are/were Scandinavia.

They don’t need to because... tyres. Even some old volvos were RWD with no traction control!


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