Preparing for winter II

bramble1

My friend is Australia mentioned how it seems like spring has come early for them....the whole world's seasons seem to be shifting forwards!

I've down nowt else in terms of prep, need to wait for payday

Rainy-Days

bramble1 wrote: »

My friend is Australia mentioned how it seems like spring has come early for them....the whole world's seasons seem to be shifting forwards!

I've down nowt else in terms of prep, need to wait for payday

I mentioned before that DH thinks it could be the tsunami effect that hit Japan. It is known that if quakes are big enough they can cause a shift in the earths axis and that will also mean changing seasons sightly as well. I recall a few years ago now that when DH was putting up the outside Christmas lights on our cherry tree in the front garden he was still having to knock off leaves. The last three years have absolutely not been like that at all and I have noticed the leaves are already changing this year which is early for it. By the time we get back from holiday I can foresee that the whole of the tree will be hues of oranges, yellows and browns!

We are going to put everything away (garden furniture, hose) at the end of September now and switch off and cover the outside tap at the same time. We just think that winter could come in quickly as all the signs are there.

renegade

grn.w.nv wrote: »

I think we have them over here as well, I have a pair of Craghoppers I use to do the horses in wet weather, I think that brand also do winter fleece lined versions.

http://www.craghoppers.com/buy/kiwi-stretch-winter-lined-trousers-long-length-164754

Thanks for that link, have ordered mine today @ the reduced price of £ 16.50 + p&p.

blackandwhitebunny

I was wondering if anyone here uses winter tyres. I absolutely dread having to drive on icey snowy roads and have 25 miles to work and back including a long rural section that is very open and always seems to get the worse of the weather. I've read sereval of the motoring journalists who say that winter tyres are actually better than a 4x4 with normal tyres. Has anyone done this and what was it like cost wise etc?

redlady_1

Very very expensive! One of the girls I work with is Polish and they always have winter tyres. I believe £600 plus was quoted. I am looking at snow chains this year though.

Rose_Crow

blackandwhitebunny wrote: »

I was wondering if anyone here uses winter tyres. I absolutely dread having to drive on icey snowy roads and have 25 miles to work and back including a long rural section that is very open and always seems to get the worse of the weather. I've read sereval of the motoring journalists who say that winter tyres are actually better than a 4x4 with normal tyres. Has anyone done this and what was it like cost wise etc?

Found this video last year when looking into winter tyres, it's quite interesting http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlYEMH10Z4s

I would love to have winter tyres, however it would mean getting a second set of spare steel wheels as well. Reason for this is that unless you do tens of thousands of miles over the winter you'll never wear them out, then have to put all season tyres back on in the spring. Don't think tyres like being taken off and put back on rims repeatedly, I think they'll get damaged in the process. Much easier to get a set of steel wheels, have winter tyres fitted to those, then just jack the car up and put them on / take them off as needed. At the moment I just really need some decent all weather tyres, as the ones I have on now are shocking (sideways around roundabouts in the rain :eek: )

blackandwhitebunny

Thanks for the link I'll have a good look at that later.
I have read about some places being prepared to change and store tyres for you - not that that is an issue they could just go in the garage and we have a friendly tire place near us. Hadn't thought about having a second set of wheels to be honest - might have to look at that.
I think snow chains might be a bit more than I need, do you leave them on all winter or just fit them as needed?

Ellidee

Saw this and thought of you 'squirrels' !

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/branston-beans-4-pack-buy-1-get-2-free-2-free-2-55-for-12-tins-tesco-instore/1000540

Sunnyday

blackandwhitebunny wrote: »

I was wondering if anyone here uses winter tyres. I absolutely dread having to drive on icey snowy roads and have 25 miles to work and back including a long rural section that is very open and always seems to get the worse of the weather. I've read sereval of the motoring journalists who say that winter tyres are actually better than a 4x4 with normal tyres. Has anyone done this and what was it like cost wise etc?

I will be having winter tyres this year for the first time.

To keep costs down i shall be having two on the driving wheels only, mines a front wheel drive to the front two will get them. I`ll be having them put on the steel rims this year, storing my original tyres and having them swapped back in the spring.

Next year i shall buy the rims and have them put on there so that the whole wheels can be changed. This way i can spread the cost.

There are different ranges and i`m not sure which type to have so i shall take that advice of the garage. My workmate had two done this way last year and the cost was around £80 - she said that it made a huge difference.

HTH

SD

Rose_Crow

blackandwhitebunny wrote: »

Thanks for the link I'll have a good look at that later.
I have read about some places being prepared to change and store tyres for you - not that that is an issue they could just go in the garage and we have a friendly tire place near us. Hadn't thought about having a second set of wheels to be honest - might have to look at that.
I think snow chains might be a bit more than I need, do you leave them on all winter or just fit them as needed?

I'm no expert, but if you just watch a tyre shop removing your old tyres, you can see the process is pretty rough, that said this year we replaced 2 rear tyres, and had the better of the old 2 put back on a spare wheel, and it survived Although you can fork out for a set of spare steels, you will also save yourself money because come summer you can remove them yourself, and put them back on in the winter and subsequent winters until the tyres have reached the end of their life. If you keep taking them off the rim and putting them on (assuming the tyres survive this) you have to pay £15-£20 per wheel, each time you want them changed.

I don't know anything about snow chains I'm afraid, though I'm sure you must not keep them on all the time, only to be used in snow, as if they come in contact with the road surface they can do quite a bit of damage to it.