E89 in the snow

The local news yesterday told drivers to only make journeys if really necessary. I found it necessary to go cruising :evil:

Best way to get to know your car.

Great fun if you're careful but there are some idiots out there. A Fiat 500 decided it was safe to overtake on the dual carriageway coming back from Stockton. Must have been doing about 90 as he flew past me. He ran out of cleared snow and shot across the carriageway narrowly missing on coming traffic and through the fence on the opposite side. I turned and went back and when I realised he was ok (his car wasn't) gave him a right mouthful. I love to get my foot down, but is there any need in these conditions.
 
TitanTim said:
jenifahaych said:
Was out for about 2 hours mid afternoon yesterday in mine when the snow was pretty heavy and was settling. No greater or lesser issues than any other car I have ever driven in snow before. As long as you drive sensibly it's fine!
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As your only down the road from me jenifa I crown you my chauffer :)

Tim.
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Anytime... I'm on runflats & disable traction control... then drive at no more than 6 mph hahaha
 
jenifahaych said:
TitanTim said:
jenifahaych said:
Was out for about 2 hours mid afternoon yesterday in mine when the snow was pretty heavy and was settling. No greater or lesser issues than any other car I have ever driven in snow before. As long as you drive sensibly it's fine!
Click to expand...

As your only down the road from me jenifa I crown you my chauffer :)

Tim.
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Anytime... I'm on runflats & disable traction control... then drive at no more than 6 mph hahaha
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Haha, thats twice the speed I go :) will wear a blind fold when you hit the traction control button :?

Tim.
 
We had an abnormal dump of snow here last Monday, about 20~30cm, depending on where you are. The roads are pretty much clear by now, but the temperature has hovered around 0 for the whole damn week (also unusual ... the average is around 5°) so the piles of snow all over the place haven't shrunk much at all. So you have reasonably clear roads, but with odd-shaped piles of icy snow encroaching on the lanes and at corners that are a threat on their own, but then they bleed a bit of water across the road when the temperature does rise above freezing, which promptly freezes as soon as the temperature drops, creating spectacularly slippery surfaces. I'm dying to get out in the Zed, especially as I put a set of brand new Blizzaks on it this year, but the sensible part of my brain (as atrophied as it is) tells me it might be wise to just hook up the smart charger and wait for things to clear up a bit. As others have noted, the chances of getting hit by an out-of-control vehicle are pretty high in these conditions.

Mine's an E85 though ... do I get a spanking for posting this in an E89 thread? :telloff:
 
Relatively budget tyres on mine, the rears are Federal or something. Driving on snow / slush / ice isnt all about tyres, its a lot to do with driver skill. You see so many people thinking full revs and spinning wheels in deep snow will work...
I use my car every day, whatever the weather, and it never gets stuck. Rear carpark at gym is still deep snow and fun for snow drifting!

I did a snow and ice driving course in norway when in marines, pure ice skid pans etc, even took 4 tonne trucks on it lol. Driver training needs to improve here, too many idiots on the roads with little skill and no respect for other drivers.

Sent from my HTC One X
 
Fitness First on clough road. Watch out for the tractor tyre that's lying around in the rear carpark :thumbsup:
 
I have memories of a Mazda struggling to go uphill last year, so with today's weather i'm not confident in taking my Z4 out and about. I was supposed to go for a jam session in central London, but had to cancel it. :headbang:
 
Two inches max snow in Manchester today. Car was fine, other than a slightly uh oh moment turning into a not gritted road where the front went out a few inches (going too quickly).

edit: the other guys in the office also slid, in their Fiestas and Peugeots...
 
My experience with RWD cars and low profile tyres with engines (weight) at the front struggle.

The rear wheels cannot grip and the lack of weight pushing them down at the back does not help.

My old 2003 325ci I used to have back in 2003 was truly awful in the white stuff and my old 2005 E85 wasnt much better back in 2008 either.

Engine at the front and RWD is not a good combination in the snow.
 
Like anything if your careful can be done. Not my first choice but the Z has got me to all sorts of places in snow and ice with low profiles.
 
We tend to put a bag of rock salt in the boot. Helps weight it down a bit, and useful if you do get stuck
 
Had 3 days in the snow and car has been fine. Rear wheel drive, non winter run flats....

So to all the sceptics :nahnah:
 
Taz x said:
all bmw's will be crap in the snow -excluding 4x4's
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Even then its all down to the rubber!

The owner of the hotel we used in the Italian Alps last summer said he wouldnt use his Range Rover Sport in the snow - He said it was" impossible" (Pirelli Scorpion tyres) and used his wifes Ford Fiesta instead.

My Disco which is basically the same vehicle on proper winter rubber is better than a mountain goat in the snow!
 
I didn't want my daughter driving on the ice so I took her to school in her little 1.4D 206 today. Such a torquey little engine i though it might be trouble, but it was remarkably well behaved. Possibly because it's out-accelerated by the garden snails...
 
The best ordinary car we ever had was a Citroen 2CV.

30BHP on a good day, two cylinder so the power came in lumpy bumps so just the opposite of cadence braking - That and 125 wide tyres - Brilliant.

In the carpark at work on day were two Lanrovers and my wifes 2CV :D
 
Snow is a very general term, if the road is fairly level then if it's a motorway or main road you'll be absolutely fine even if there is compacted snow and slush and just 2 tyre trenches, sometimes you may need to drive onto the fresh stuff to get the grip to get going if you if you have to stop but i've yet to get stuck. When you come to a hill which has compacted snow or slush you aren't going anywhere, the Z4 is incredibly light on the back end with RWD and 18" low profile and low tread tyres, it's designed to be crap in the snow!

Turn your traction control off for starters, it'll only prevent you going anywhere in snow. Put some lead in the boot if you have any and carry a shovel but chances are when you hit a hill on a sideroad that has snow or slush you'll never get up it so prepare to abandon it at the bottom as I had to on Sunday. My old 3 and also my 5 series were another story, never once got stuck even in snow i'd never dream of attempting with the Z4, because they were heavier over the back, had smaller wheels and the 5 series had winter tyres too. You can get up hills sometimes in the Z4 but you need to wait until it's clear so you can be in 2nd or preferably 3rd gear by the time you're going up it reducing the chance of wheelspin, got past the lights and roundabouts on hills this way but other times we just have to accept defeat.
 
Loving the Vredestein all season tyres on the Z3 :)



The Zed breezed through the snow this morning up our street, compacted ice and a good 10cms of snow, no drama, wheel slippage or tip toeing, very impressed with these tyres.

I really wouldn't want to be on summer runflats, they're simpy cr*p.

Tim.
 
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