Slipperyness - What will you be driving this winter?

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The 4x4 Nissan Elgrand on snow tyres and diff lock is parked on the drive uninsured to protect it from the salt. It is brilliant in the snow, mud and oomska, but this winter the mrs’ Astra G 1.7 dti on winters will have to do the business, of it can stop fuckin breaking down

[vulgalour]

 

It'll be FINE.

[Zelandeth]

Van is officially off the road for the winter. It's got budget commercial tyres on and on an even slightly damp road is bloody lethal. You should not be able to pull power slides with 78bhp in something that heavy. Okay...that was actually kinda hilarious - the fact that stopping from 30mph takes about half a mile however and you can lock up all four wheels if you breathe on the brake pedal on the other hand is bloody terrifying. New tyres are high on the to do list for the spring. Anyone want some commercial 15" tyres for a trailer or something? They're only a few years old and look like new...fine on a dry road, just bloody lethal whenever it's wet.

 

Given the prodigious rate at which T1s like to dissolve, keeping it as far away from the salt as possible seems wise anyhow. Really wish I had a garage or a cover for it.

 

Main runaround will be the Activa. Reasonably rust proof and it has heated seats. Tyres are at the end of their lives though. However I don't have to commute and two full size supermarkets are less than 20 minutes away on foot, so if it's properly bad I just won't drive.

 

Well...in fact more likely if it's that bad I'll actually take the Lada out for giggles. It's got decent tyres on and I know from prior experience that they're bloody good in the snow. Will be *trying* to keep it off the road over the winter as far as possible to keep the salt off.

 

If we get a *little* bit of snow the C5 will definitely be out as there are few things the dog enjoys more than running when it's snowing.

[forddeliveryboy]

20181108-03.jpg

 

It'll be FINE.

So long as it's working it'll be ten times more capable than most moderns, providing the tyres have some tread and aren't as hard as the vinyl roof.

 

Edit - just caught up with your thread and surely new Uniroyals will see off plenty of modern RangeRovers, let alone all the other vehicles with more driven wheels than necessary spinning themselves down into ruts. Aeons ago a Saab 900 dragged itself up the steepest, hairpinned back road in deep snow wearing (new) summer tyres. No anti roll bars, engine over the driving wheels, supple springing and gentle power. Even further back there was a crusty Toledo on Pneumants which dodged a back-sliding 4x4xfar up a long, steep snowy hill.

[anonymous user]

This winter I shall mainly be driving people up the wall, as usual. If/when I get my vehicles back I have the choice of the C15 or Land Rover 90 both of which are more than adequate; however, I won't be going out unless I really need to as I'm not working this winter.

[Felly Magic]

WE have gone all GM with a hint of Scandinavia, with a 2000 Saabtra 9-5 LPT SE with almost moon miles, it's an old shed, but by hell does it go when you plant it, kicking down in to second at 65, then it is warp factor 9 Mr Sulu! Blowers default at full blast when starting, think it may be starting to OMGHGF though

[Schaefft]

Last winter I've been driving this with a decent set of winter tires and even without Quattro it was everything you could have ever wished for. Tons of traction, heated seats, just perfect. I didn't have to spend a single penny on the car apart from tax/insurance /fuel and absolutely loved that experience of driving a car without having to take any care of it at all. I bought it so cheap that I had a healthy profit after selling it, which means the car basically cost me nothing. I liked it so much that I'm trying to find a 2.8 Quattro with a manual now. I probably won't drive that during winter though, which seems to be a common theme now.

 

[Mrcento]

Disco 300tdi on AT's. Will probably be it's last duty for me due to the amount of welding required by February. Needs the front inner wings, sills, door posts, rear arches, rear inners, boot floor and a whole new rear cross member and body mounts.

 

On the plus side, i'm less bothered about the winter salt given it's already terminal.

[sutty2006]

Got my Disco 3 ready for winter and that’s ace in the snow, unless you try to stop it.....then it just becomes a 3 ton sled. Scary.

 

There was a cavalier 4x4 on eBay (non gsi) and it never sold. 550 no bids. Gutted. I’d have loved that as a winter project and shits n giggles when the hard stuff falls.

[Guest Hooli]

I've been more sensible and gone for a near 300bhp RWD barge. It'll be fine as my XJ40 went everywhere ok in snow a few years ago.

[stonedagain]

Freelander 2, wearing a set of Nokian Weatherproof SUV all season tyres.

[HMC]

[Guest Hooli]

C6E1DEB8-688B-4433-86E5-1FD3EDCC7A81.jpeg

 

Winnah!

[wuvvum]

I sold my bestest winter car to HMC.  I don't have anything particularly great this winter - the 75 has heated seats and a decent heater and is fine until the roads turn to shite, but the nearside front tyre is near the limit so it doesn't have a great deal of grip in the wet and I would imagine snow would be even worse.  I haven't yet managed to get the locking wheel nuts off yet so I couldn't fit better tyres even if I had them.

 

The Rover of Doom has winter tyres on the front, but it also has very little in the way of heating so obviously less than ideal in sub-zero temperatures.

 

The Audi is utterly shit in the snow, as I found out last year, and I'm not expecting great things of the LDV either.

 

The HR-V would probably be OK were it not for the worn out tyres.  There's a chap on Gumtree selling a set of CR-V wheels with nearly new Avon winter tyres for 75 quid which seems decent value, but they're 215/65 against the HR-V's 205/60 so I'm a bit worried they might foul something.

 

The Innocenti would probably be brilliant in the snow, as would the Renault 6, but I'm not too keen on either of them dissolving into a small pile of brown powder so they're staying put whilst there's salt on the roads.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Freelander 2, wearing a set of Nokian Weatherproof SUV all season tyres.

Do the back wheels still have drive on yours? We discovered , last winter, that our one didn't! Started reading about how we should have changed the oil in the Haldex occaisionally over the 5 years we'd had it. That, an impending timing belt change and numerous electrical foibles led us to trade it in against an ML...

Mrs N moans how much she misses the Freelander every time she sees one!

Here it is when it was still 4wd, green landing in the snow with the real Land Rovers

[bub2006]

Citroen picasso,Toyota avensis or the trike for omgrwdlolz

[andy18s]

Freelander 2, wearing a set of Nokian Weatherproof SUV all season tyres.

What's the spec/info on yours?

We're looking to buy 1 soon around 08-09

Been reliable for you?

[Andyrew]

300tdi discovery on general grabber AT tyres.

 

Good for getting goin', not so good for slowin'

[stonedagain]

What's the spec/info on yours?

We're looking to buy 1 soon around 08-09

Been reliable for you?

It's an 08, XS spec with half leather electric (unheated) seats, climate, Alpine premium audio, etc. I bought it 2 years ago for a good price, as it has had a hard life & needed some work (brake discs & pads all round, handbrake shoes & cables, battery, rear shock absorbers & a clutch), all just service items really. The only thing that I've had to do since was replace a rear wheel bearing. The local independent Land Rover specialist said they hardly ever go wrong (unlike other Land Rovers),& owns one himself.

[Ghosty]

850 has a button on the gearbox that says 'WINTER'. Problem solved.

[captain_70s]

 

It seems to stop fine, lack of low down torque will likely be it's downfall. The heater is damn good though.

[forddeliveryboy]

850 has a button on the gearbox that says 'WINTER'. Problem solved.

It works well, but using it last night up a long incline which rises to 1in4 in places, on recently gritted frozen rain would have ended in another stuck vehicle. Not often that spinning your wheels seemingly mindlessly works, but it did yesterday afternoon.

 

Plan B was to reverse back down to the hairpin, remove heavy loads from the boot and hang them over the front of the car.

[Guest Hooli]

sno.jpg

 

It seems to stop fine, lack of low down torque will likely be it's downfall. The heater is damn good though.

 

[Joey spud]

This is not as rubbish as everyone says.

This wears winter tyres all year round.

It's Japanese Pickups for me if it dares to snow in North Kent again.

 

(Proper old skool mechanical 4x4 systems with low range and diff lock).

[RobT]

 

Rear brakes need fixing first though.  Shoe lining made a bid for freedom a month ago, still not fixed it (latest defeat is the top retaining spring).  Once done, several trips here to rid the worst of the grime.

 

As every year, the Vauxhall Cockroach for when it's very cold/salty.  I fixed the rear quarter window yesterday so it should be less damp and warmer inside now.  First wash in two months too.

 

[Crispian_J_Hotson]

Disco 2 is getting a new set of Goodyears tomorrow from kwikfit mobile who done a grand job with the set of dunlops on the touring. It's the first time I've bought any new tyres for this, so I'm looking forward to a nice, balanced ride for once! Traction control and abs is off on the touring so if it bales... It's only me to blame! It got through that awful winter last time ok. It struggled once on a rather steep downhill on sheet ice over compacted snow... Struggled to stop! But so did every other thing with wheels on. Kettering was a total dogs dinner for roads last winter. 635 has retired from driving on anything damp and salty and will be laid up until March next year, only having the occasional run out if we get a strange mini heatwave. Too much work has gone into it.

[chadders]

Skoda Roomster with Michelin Cross-Climates.

 

Last year was a VW Up! with Continental winter tyres which went well.

[Lacquer Peel]

 

 

Traction control and abs is off on the touring so if it bales... It's only me to blame!

You don't want traction control and ABS when it's properly slippy anyway, ABS increases stopping distances and traction control ruins momentum.

[Guest Hooli]

You don't want traction control and ABS when it's properly slippy anyway, ABS increases stopping distances and traction control ruins momentum.

 

That totally depends on the system. My old Saab was excellent in snow with all that left turned on.

[chadders]

I seem to remember some tests a few years ago that stated the only way having ABS switched off helped stopping distances was in thickish snow so a wedge of snow built up in front of the front wheels.