4WD Fever

mjt said:
I don't know if you want RFT ones, but we've got 17" Goodyear Ultra Grips on the E60 and they're rather good.
God knows how much they cost though..

Conti do their TS810s in SSR form too - £250 each for 17s :eek:
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Another Director at work asked for my tyre sizes and he's ordering for us both so I've no idea what I've got coming but I can't wait - I'm having real problems on a brand new set of PS2's.
 
I would like to get a SUV whether that is 4x4 or not I don't care. The main thing is ground clearance (I'm fedup of clearing the drive of snow). We can see up to 4 months of snow here so a 4x4 would see more use.
 
I want a 4x4 suv and a 4wd car its the only things left on my types of car to own before i pop my clogs list. Winter makes it worse I went and looked a Jeep last week :D
 
merlin said:
Yes that's it - I can't drive, that must be it.

Please do enlighten us oh mighty god of driving - how do you get a car rwd car going when even bringing the clutch up in 3rd with zero throttle spins the driven wheels?
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On slushed snow? I've not had a problem at all with my 530i. The only day it was really bad was Saturday when all the snow came down and I didn't even bother going out, that was not 'slushed snow' though it was about 10 inches which fell in about an hour. I wouldn't have bothered in that weather if I still lived in Munich with winter tyres on either.
 
JonRohan said:
I would like to get a SUV whether that is 4x4 or not I don't care. The main thing is ground clearance (I'm fedup of clearing the drive of snow). We can see up to 4 months of snow here so a 4x4 would see more use.
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If you've got winter tyres you need never clear your drive :)

Unless it's on a slope, in which case when it melts and it's all slushy, you haven't got a hope in hell :o
 
mjt said:
If you've got winter tyres you need never clear your drive :)

Unless it's on a slope, in which case when it melts and it's all slushy, you haven't got a hope in hell :o
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I do have winter tyres and I do have to clean my drive. My car will not go over 2ft of think heavy snow. :p. And if that wasn't enough the 5ft pile from the snowplough at the end would finish me off. :p

We get a lot more snow here than in the UK
 
I have a Jeep Liberty, but tires are more important than the 4x4. Get some decent tires for winter, they are probably the best winter investment you can make.

The mentality in the UK is to get the cheapest chinese rubber you can, instead of paying once for decent tyres that will last 3 times longer and be safer that the cheap crap.
 
For the last two years I've had 4wd in the winter and they've been great, Merc Ml in 08, Jeep Grand Cherokee last year and a LR Disco this year.

We get the snow pretty bad up here, and the main roads are fine most of the time but trying to get the mile from my house to a main road is very difficult in the snow.

Whilst it is possible to do this journey in the snow in a FWD/ RWD car it's much easier with a 4wd and you don't have to use any skill to do it.

I also have Quattro on my daily driver Audi, and that's been good, but not so good if I have to go somewhere where the snow is deep.

Couple of weeks ago certain parts around here were at least a foot deep, and it got stuck!

The Disco however just ploughs through it easily!
 
I wouldn't, but the girlfriend's folks do generally get snowed completely in because they live in the back of beyond and the roads aren't gritted or cleared. They can get stuck there and had considered a 4x4 for the next car. They didn't get one in the end though :D
 
Jonnycoupe said:
The current consumer 'fever' is certainly winter tyres.
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I asked my mates Sister about this whilst i was down there familys Tyre & Exhaust place.
She told me this is the first year she has had people coming in asking for Winter tyres & she should know as she does the counter/ordering/reception etc & has done for years.
 
Locally we have always had a few who purchase winter tyres but those were the tiny minority. Usually those on a farm or somewhere with rubbish access to there home for what ever reason.

As you say though this year its exploded and they cant get them in quick enough to satisfy demand. I think its a good thing as I'm all for preparation but as of yet I haven't purchased any myself although I have been thinking about it since before the snow.
 
I currently live less than 500 yards from the nearest gritted road so no I wouldn't bother with a 4x4.

That said a lot of the houses that I would really like to consider moving to one day are miles from main/gritted roads. Whilst snow is relatively rare, ice is quite common in the winter months and even mud from farm vehicles can be lethal when we so some form of 4WD car would be a serious consideration.
 
When we had really bad snow a few years ago my wife was a carer for elderly. As the scoob was 4WD it seemed perfectly reasonable to use the scoob to make the rounds.

Turned out to be largely pointless, 18" wheels and low profile tyres had about as much grip as a lady covered in baby oil.

However, my Jeep has been in 4WD for a few weeks now and unless severly provoked it hasn't tripped over once. Also seems to increase in price by £500 as soon as snow is mentioned :)
 
4WD is a big benefit in this weather when trying to move, and yes engine braking makes it much easier to take it steady down slopes.
However, I am yet to get stuck with my 306. So no, I wouldn't buy a 4WD due to the weather. I will however be buying some winter tyres in the future :)
 
merlin said:
My BMW is absolutely dreadful in this weather, wheel-spin even on the flat, wheel-spin even on slushed snow. I'[ve reversed up some hills in desperation.

For 5 days now I don't think I've got beyond 4th gear. Last Saturday I went shopping - weather was ok - whilst I was throwing stuff into the shopping trolley the snow came and I had to abandon the car about half a mile from home - walked home - got kids sledge out - went back to car and dragged shopping home via sledge.

Winter tyres being ordered tomorrow!
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NickXX said:
Good call - reverse turns it into a FWD car.

Have you tried filling the boot with ballast?
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The reason a FWD car can be better in the snow is the weight of the engine is over the driven wheels. Driving a RWD car in reverse does not turn it into a FWD car!:eek: If anything reversing a RWD will make it even worse in snow as weight transfer under acceleration will be off the rear wheels. Going up a hill in reverse worse still as even more weight is off the rear wheels due to the incline. Not to mention you have rear-steering and can't see where you're going properly. I hope you don't live anywhere near me :p. Weight in the boot - there's a sensible suggestion.
 
Jonnycoupe said:
4WD would be a whim.

The current consumer 'fever' is certainly winter tyres.
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I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing. There's no denying their effectiveness during cold, wet or icy weather - which to be fair we do get a significant amount of in the UK.
 
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