"Winter" around the corner

M

Mafoo

Veteran
 Cardiff
Am I in the minority in not understanding the urge in everyone spending so much on a set of winter wheels/tyres in the UK. I can understand if I were located in the Northern extremities where winter can get a bit tricky but mid/southern UK??? I had no problems last year on my Z and that was about as bad as I have seen it in recent years.

If I were to consider a winter setup I would say Ballington's route of buying a sub £600 car for the winter and leaving the Z off the road all together is the best option (thus avoiding risks to the Z including grit lorry pepperings, salt buildup, other road users that no amount of grip could save you from etc).

Maybe I am missing something?
 
for me it aint worth the outlay - weekend car with the option of using mrs gannet front wheel drive Mazda 2 if it gets bad :D
 
well I drive the 2009 Z4 and like to take her for a spin when the roads are nice and dry in the winter time. The summer set of tires are not suitable (RFT tire rubber compound too hard for winter driving). Then also in some parts of our country it is against the law to drive on summer tires in the winter time.

Last winter I drove the 2008 Z4 30is with the soft top a few times, without winter tires it was fine no problem. I just hate to see my Z4 covered up all winter long :)
 
only use mine at weekends, but even if i used it daily i would not change tyres, there may be an odd day where the snow and ice is bad, for them days i would just cope

edit: if i was really concerned i think i would be looking at chains or something
 
Anyone tried Autosock last year? http://www.autosock.co.uk/ It is much cheaper and easier solution. But the downside is that they should be taken off when the car is back on tarmac to reduce the fabric wear.

I worked from home last year when the snow fell. :D
 
a cheap-as-chips Nissan Micra is a barrel of laughs - bloody thing almost pays YOU to drive it LOL

I paid £500 (and at that price who cares if it gets dinged???) for one for my kids who now think its too gay to drive, so I pootle about in it...its little 1.0 litre engine with 16v is a hoot when you spin it up......even saw one in the Welsh Rally yesterday (not quite like mine obviously!!). And it will happily do things the Zed or the 4x4 won't always do.....

Winter tyres? Bah! :poke:
 
Mafoo said:
I can understand if I were located in the Northern extremities where winter can get a bit tricky but mid/southern UK???
Click to expand...
I think I just about sneak into that description...

I think there was always going to be a big panic and scramble for "winter" tyres after last years "extreme" conditions last year. People getting taken in by news reports more than anything I guess. But I suggest some folk do a bit more research into so-called "winter" tyres: they're more effective (generally) than regular tyres at temps 7degC or lower, especially in the wet. They should be called "cold-weather" rather than "winter" tyres.

Given that the temperature rarely exceeds 7degC from Nov-Feb/March where I live, I can easily justify cold-weather tyres.
 
It depends on where you drive. If I had a 4 or 5 mile city commute like I used to then I wouldn't bother, but the last two years I've had an 80 mile each way A-road commute that goes over high ground and during the last two years I would have been stuck for at least a couple of days if I didn't have winter tyres. Last year before I could be bothered changing tyres I got stuck for four days before I could get back home.
 
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