Z4 + Snow

[a11y]

Drove around 100 miles on Friday night in my Z4 in -13degC temperatures. And I can safely say the Falkens were utterly useless at those temps . I believe the grit and salt put on the roads is far less effective below -6degC (or so I heard), but Friday night was hopeless. Twitchy arse (car AND me) at 35mph accelerating very gently in 4th gear on a flat dual carriageway, shouldn't happen!

Didn't have to resort to my 2 bags of grit or shovel I'm keeping in my boot though...

 

[Z4 Beemer]

4C in Glasgow at the moment, snow and ice melting away. Its practically summer.

 

[Andy]

I read that salt lowers the freezing point to about -10.. so that would make sense too, especially with some wind chill.

 

[lamaman]

Still in the Corsa....getting very very fed up now....might try the Zed this evening though we are almost snow free in my part of Lincolnshire...

 

[cj10jeeper]

I read that salt lowers the freezing point to about -10.. so that would make sense too, especially with some wind chill.

Wind chill is a purely mammal phenomenon and is unrelated to temprature. It's trying to indicate that say 0c feels colder and has a greater cooling effect in a wind than in still air.

 

[a11y]

4C in Glasgow at the moment, snow and ice melting away. Its practically summer.

That twitchy arse moment I mentioned in my post was the M80 Bishopbriggs on Friday - glad it somewhat warmer there now. A balmy 2degC here in Falkirk still, but that's shorts and t-shirt weather for us lot up north

 

[Pauly_G]

Took the Coupe out for the first time yesterday after spending several hours clearing the drive and a section of the road in front of the house. Incidental several people stopped to ridicule my clearance attempts, stating that "It's only going to snow again....." and "I'd be worried it will actually make it slippier...." I retorted that if everyone else put in a little bit of effort and cleared their patch of road then it would make life easier for everyone, however this was lost on them. /rant over.

Anyway back to the car, getting off the drive was fine headed gingerly down the road, had to stop at the end of my road due to traffic and then struggled to get going again. Finally managed to set off in 2nd and then stuck to tickover and 2nd and 1st gear until I cleared the compacted snow. Really not a fan of driving in these conditions - one due to the limited traction with RWD and two, because of all the other idiots on the roads. I know the limits of my car, however most people seem to think they're a WRC World Champion and fail to see the need to leave a safe stopping distance, drive with their lights on, make gentle inputs to the controls.....the list could go on....

This morning the work commute (first time since Tuesday last week) up the M5 to Cheltenham from Bristol was generally fine, aside from the odd tailgater...

On a positive note temperatures are higher today and signs are good for some sort of a thaw.

Take care all and watch out on the roads!

 

[Darren M]

Made it to client site today, first time since last Monday. 30 miles through country lanes wasn't that bad, no scarey monents. Had to park well away from site though and am hoping the car doesn't get run over or shot at by a tank as it's parked on an army tank practice preparation area :?

 

[PawnSacrifice]

4C in Glasgow at the moment, snow and ice melting away. Its practically summer.

That twitchy arse moment I mentioned in my post was the M80 Bishopbriggs on Friday - glad it somewhat warmer there now. A balmy 2degC here in Falkirk still, but that's shorts and t-shirt weather for us lot up north

Similar down here... worse this morning as there was a thin layer of fresh snow on the ground... uber slippery! A couple people went off this morning going past my place. Got a few looks yesterday driving back from my photoshoot (forum comp, not some nerd magazine spread!) with the roof down. Quite enjoyed it... indicated 2 degrees... almost prefer to when it's baking hot

Pauly_G - yep, tailgaters seem to be back in force! Almost more risky now with inconsiderate a-holes on the road than when it was much deeper snow and just me and 4x4s.

 

[cj10jeeper]

I was stuck for a few minutes in the local perfectly flat railway car park. Given a fresh bit of snow and a partial thaw has made it super exciting.

2 locals offered a push, but who needs 'help' pressing on the ally bonnet. Bit of careful throttle and off we went

Had to laugh in the village where a gentle downhill curve has used the outside kerb as a guiderail for countless unwary drivers. Where the first dip for a drive is there are dozens of tyre marks and swirls on the pavement as the guide rail has ended..

 

[Siftah]

That twitchy arse moment I mentioned in my post was the M80 Bishopbriggs on Friday - glad it somewhat warmer there now. A balmy 2degC here in Falkirk still, but that's shorts and t-shirt weather for us lot up north

Small world - I used to go out with a girl from Kirkintilloch and know the area (and roads) well

 

[a11y]

That twitchy arse moment I mentioned in my post was the M80 Bishopbriggs on Friday - glad it somewhat warmer there now. A balmy 2degC here in Falkirk still, but that's shorts and t-shirt weather for us lot up north

Small world - I used to go out with a girl from Kirkintilloch and know the area (and roads) well

Is indeed. Kirintilloch isn't an area I know well - I grew up on the west side of Glasgow (Johnstone) but now live further east in Falkirk but angling for a move to Stirling. Regularly in Glasgow though, a couple of mates live in the east end and a couple in Bishopbriggs. It's amazing the roads that can be reached within 1hr of Glasgow city centre - Dukes Pass, Rest and Be Thankful, anything further north - utterly amazing

Absolute classic in my works carpark today (didn't affect me as I've cycled into work all through this crappy weather): a JCB was dispatched to scrape away all the snow on Friday, but it didn't do a great job at shifting the ice below. They didn't bother to grit afterwards either. Now the carpark is a complete skating rink with a 2-3" layer of completely clear ice and people can hardly stand on it let alone drive over it. Doesn't help it's on a slope and some "parked" cars actually slid down the slope out of their spaces... :roll:

 

[Siftah]

Kirkintilloch isn't an area I know well - I grew up on the west side of Glasgow (Johnstone) but now live further east in Falkirk but angling for a move to Stirling. Regularly in Glasgow though, a couple of mates live in the east end and a couple in Bishopbriggs. It's amazing the roads that can be reached within 1hr of Glasgow city centre - Dukes Pass, Rest and Be Thankful, anything further north - utterly amazing

Definitely - I've not been up there for a few years but it's a lovely place. We did a quick dash over the course of a few days around the highlands as a holiday one year, Plockton, Skye, Loch Carron, the alpine pass to Applecross (utterly stunning), Gairloch and then across to Inverness. Absolutely beautiful, I keep meaning to get back up there with a tent in the summer months and enjoy it a bit more, either on the motorbike or in the car I think the roads would be even better (we were in a lardy old Vectra at the time of the last trip).

I know Johnstone too as my ex's auntie and uncle whom we occasionally stayed with were on Bridge of Weir Road, we used to nip back across the main road and into Johnstone for the chip shop on the main road - where I was always disappointed not to find a deep fried mars bar, but was constantly surprised at what other delights they'd managed to deep fry - Pizza, Sausage etc.

Great memories!

Absolute classic in my works carpark today (didn't affect me as I've cycled into work all through this crappy weather): a JCB was dispatched to scrape away all the snow on Friday, but it didn't do a great job at shifting the ice below. They didn't bother to grit afterwards either. Now the carpark is a complete skating rink with a 2-3" layer of completely clear ice and people can hardly stand on it let alone drive over it. Doesn't help it's on a slope and some "parked" cars actually slid down the slope out of their spaces... :roll:

Exactly what my place has done too, parking the car up was fine but I nearly broke a few bones getting from the car to the office!

 

[a11y]

Kirkintilloch isn't an area I know well - I grew up on the west side of Glasgow (Johnstone) but now live further east in Falkirk but angling for a move to Stirling. Regularly in Glasgow though, a couple of mates live in the east end and a couple in Bishopbriggs. It's amazing the roads that can be reached within 1hr of Glasgow city centre - Dukes Pass, Rest and Be Thankful, anything further north - utterly amazing

Definitely - I've not been up there for a few years but it's a lovely place. We did a quick dash over the course of a few days around the highlands as a holiday one year, Plockton, Skye, Loch Carron, the alpine pass to Applecross (utterly stunning), Gairloch and then across to Inverness. Absolutely beautiful, I keep meaning to get back up there with a tent in the summer months and enjoy it a bit more, either on the motorbike or in the car I think the roads would be even better (we were in a lardy old Vectra at the time of the last trip).

I know Johnstone too as my ex's auntie and uncle whom we occasionally stayed with were on Bridge of Weir Road, we used to nip back across the main road and into Johnstone for the chip shop on the main road - where I was always disappointed not to find a deep fried mars bar, but was constantly surprised at what other delights they'd managed to deep fry - Pizza, Sausage etc.

Great memories!

LOL the great Scottish diet! We'll try to deep-fry anything: pizza, mars bars, creme eggs, crunchie's - although I can honestly say I've NEVER tried anything like that. Haggis or fish, anything else from a chippy is just wrong! Bridge of Weir Road - Brookfield? I lived just on the Johnstone side of the new(ish) main road for 25 years

Feel very lucky to have roads like these so close - living where I am, I'm more likely to head up a bit further east using the roads up past Glenshee - superb. The alpine pass to Applecross (officially the "Bealach Na Ba") is a cracker too, as close to anything you'll find over in Europe although I scared myself going too hot into a hairpin (I got distracted by the view ). Hoping to do a proper driving tour up the west and north coast in the Z4 this summer, cruising, top down and waterproofs on

 

[Z4 Beemer]

I know Johnstone too as my ex's auntie and uncle whom we occasionally stayed with were on Bridge of Weir Road, we used to nip back across the main road and into Johnstone for the chip shop on the main road

Love that stretch of road - Port Glasgow to Kilmacolm, then onto Bridge of Weir. Other option is to take the Lochwinnoch road out of Kilmacolm. I stay just a few miles west, right on the coast!

 

[mcbeee]

I've been down that road a few times, hanging on tight while my crazy friends from Kilmacolm toured us around. Nice country, nice roads. Had a lot of fun.

 

[ZetaTre]

The Z4 is our snowboarding car.

This year we're planing on getting some snow tires to make it easier, but with snow chains it rides just like any other car.

 

[Oakandacorns]

ZetaTre - I absolutely love that snowboard / ski rack! I was thinking of getting the same! Had a look on the BMW site and saw there's an official rack a few months back, is yours that one? Would be interested in knowing about ease of fit, reliability and use!

 

[ZetaTre]

ZetaTre - I absolutely love that snowboard / ski rack! I was thinking of getting the same! Had a look on the BMW site and saw there's an official rack a few months back, is yours that one? Would be interested in knowing about ease of fit, reliability and use!

Yes, it's the BMW rack

It's a 2 piece system. The trunk lid needs to be drilled to fit the rails which are permanently mounted onto the car. The rails allow you to mount several accessories including the snowboard rack (others accessories are the suitcase & the rack).

This will be our 2nd season and it had been working great with us. You can easily drive freeway speeds (80/90 mph) with no problems. Absolutely love it, and love also the faces of people when they see a Z4 make it where they thought only a pick up truck could make it...

Here's another pix:

As you noticed in the 1st pix below, the rack folds in half so you can open the trunk. There's also a latch that is installed inside the trunk that you secure so that the lid doesn't open all the way and avoids having the rack hitting the top.

The only thing is you'll have to replace the rubber stoppers on the trunk lid with a version spring loaded used for example on the Z3: with the rack installed, the trunk won't open by itself.

 

[Oakandacorns]

Thanks for the extra photo. Drilling holes and having the rails on permanently means it's only worth it when you carry all the time. What do you do in the summer? Just put away the rack until the next season? It is really neat that the rack folds so that the board doesn't hit the roof. It looks great - carrying things by a 'roof'rack on a soft top

What are the rubber stoppers on the trunk lid for?