why do some cars skid in the snow more than others?

GolfBravo

red_eye wrote: »

rwd has no chance no matter what tyres, unless you load the boot with paving slabs.

Why?

No need to load the boot with paving slabs - to drive RWD on ice/snow all you need is winter tyres and some common sense. And you can even get away with wide low profile tyres.

If you ever go to Switzerland or southern Germany in winter you'll find thousands of RWD BMW 3/5/7 series and C/E/S class doing just fine. Sure, some of them are AWD versions, but FWD or AWD is not a prerequisite for safe winter driving - RWD is fine.

Wig

Beachview wrote: »

That is totally incorrect information. It is essential that all 4 tyres are replaced with the same sort of tyre at the same time.
The car may skid, become destabilised, or become more difficult to control if only 2 winter tyres are fitted to one of the axles.

As fitting winter tyres is considered as a 'modification', your insurance company must be informed, though they will not charge extra (see website of Association of British Insurers). If 2 winter tyres are fitted, your insurance will be invalid.

This is a total overreaction to what is only your opinion. And where do you get that guff from about insurance being invalid? Please quote the FOS ruling, if you don't mind.

You may be thinking about that Michlin advert which says that only 2 leads to an imbalance. The problem with that is that it did not test a car without any winter tyres to compare to the car with 2. And they attempted to drive the 2 winter tyre car in the same manner as they were driving the 4 winter tyre car.

It is obvious that 4 winter tyres will be better than 2 and 2 will be better than none, and that you would only drive to your cars ability in each case.

vikingaero

I agree with Wig.

Beachview wrote: »

That is totally incorrect information. It is essential that all 4 tyres are replaced with the same sort of tyre at the same time.
The car may skid, become destabilised, or become more difficult to control if only 2 winter tyres are fitted to one of the axles.

It is essential to the tyre companies and tyre dealers that you purchase 4 winter tyres. 4 tyresales to them are better 2, and 2 tyre sales are better than none.

I used to live in Glagow and most of the taxis and locals that did fit winter tyres did so only on the front axle of FWD cars. The most important things that winter tyres do are to stop you and help you attain grip when moving off. Yes if you travel at stupid speeds then you will oversteer with summer tyres on the rear and winters on the front. But most people travel so slowly in the snow that it isn't a factor.

As fitting winter tyres is considered as a 'modification', your insurance company must be informed, though they will not charge extra (see website of Association of British Insurers). If 2 winter tyres are fitted, your insurance will be invalid.

Definitely not true. Some Insurers need to be informed some don't. Look at this link:

http://www.abi.org.uk/Information/Consumers/General/Winter_Tyres__The_Motor_Insurance_Committment.aspx

Second column: Do customers need to inform the insurer when fitting winter tyres to their cars?

Mrs_Arcanum

BMW 330D Sport driven today for the first time since Thursday last week. We live on a hill that is never gritted. Little slipping getting onto the road (you could feel the ABS or DSC working) and a bit of trouble parking the car at work. Hubby driving.

I drove home with a little trouble getting out of the car park and fine until I reached our hill. Some idiot pulled into the side of the road obstructing the wheel ruts (would never make it on the compacted snow). Thankfully they turned round & pulled properly off the road whilst I waited. Reversed gently back so I got a decent steady run up the hill and made it home.

Major problem with ours is the amount of torque at low revs putting too much power to the drive wheels.

Wig

RichardD1970 wrote: »

No, definitely on about ABS, I agree in some instances you might want to turn traction control off.

Well, I've had enough of my ABS in this snow, making my brakes feel like jelly. I'm going to remove my fuse if I can find it. I'd much prefer to be able to feel my wheels braking-skidding, and pump it if required, than this useless jelly.

Now then, can anyone tell me wil removing the ABS fuse cause an engine fault light which willl have to be paid to be reset ?

Corsa 2003 F50 fuse for ABS.

fivetide

You'll probably find it throws a light up for brakes (if you have one). Should go out again once it realises the system is ok again. I'd ask on a Corsa owners club board or do some searching to be sure though. I have only done this with a Scooby!

Also, re: winter tyres on only two wheels. Snow Socks suggest you only attach them to the driven wheels so as said, two will be better than non and four better than two of course. Shouldn't make a difference to insurance. What it should do is make your premium go down like it does in Germany. This country has been very slow to winter tyres simply because it is assumed they are only needed for snow when it is actually for low temps in all conditions. We'd benefit at least four-six months of the year.

NeverEnough

I've been using winter tyres for the past 3 seasons and they totally transform the car in cold, wet, or snowy / icy conditions - last year we had such a wet, miserable summer that I did not actually change back to the summers and despite that, the wear on the softer winter compound has not been excessive. I use an X5 as my main vehicle and the reason people jeered at its "non ability" as a 4x4 was purely down to wheels/tyres - stupidly huge alloys with foot wide tyres that look like elastic bands may provide street cred but won't get you far in adverse winter weather. Whereas the recommended much smaller, narrower winter tyre set up transforms the car totally and mine has been terrific in this weather of the past week.

As for those who decry rear wheel drive performance cars - we have an older, classic SLK which, on its summer set up cannot even get off the drive in severe winter conditions whereas with winter tyres it is a different drive altogether and quite useable although I would not like to have to undertake a cross country trip in a blizzard in it! No slipping and sliding and feels secure on the road.

Winter tyres = well worth the investment in terms of safety, that is for certain. Cut down on a few pub visits and get a set of cheap steel wheels to fit your car and buy decent winter tyres for it off season perferably to get the best prices. You will not regret it.

jackieb

aeb wrote: »

This made me laugh Jackie. I walked round the village today and noticed all the 'mens' cars in the driveways, Mercs, Jags, Lexus, etc. They had all gone to work in their wives cars as they handled the snow better. So all WAGs stuck at home

We got it in February a couple of years ago. On the day we took it home it had been snowing. He drove up this brae in town and we just stopped and started to slide back downhill, and this little old banger just passed us like it was the train in Dumbo. :rotfl:

CKhalvashi

interstellaflyer wrote: »

I had an 06 plate Astra Estate 1.3CDTi and it was superb on snow, as said some of it is down to driver ability but wheels and tyres make a difference too, my Astra was the basic Life spec with steel wheels rather than the larger wider alloys with lower profile tyres found on higher spec models, in the last bad snow in 2010 I got up the hill to my house quite easily yet one of my neighbours had to abandon his X5 near the bottom of the hill.

I've got a '62' plate Sportbrake, and I've found that 20in fat wheels have made getting up/down a hill covered in ice an absolute doddle.

It's a large, heavy, RWD automatic car, and I've actually ditched a manual S-Max I'd nabbed from fleet, as it was struggling like nothing else.

I've lived in Moscow, so I like to think I know a thing or two regarding the roads in this weather.

CK

neilmcl

vikingaero wrote: »

Definitely not true. Some Insurers need to be informed [STRIKE]some[/STRIKE] most don't. Look at this link:

http://www.abi.org.uk/Information/Consumers/General/Winter_Tyres__The_Motor_Insurance_Committment.aspx

Slight correction.