Winter Tyres

PCMcGarry

Car_54 wrote: »

I cannot predict the weather, but I do foresee a long boring debate (again) about the pros and cons of winter tyres.

Well it's long.

tired_dad

not put winters on yet as not cold enough. Previous years they were on by mid Dec.

Agree with comments that they make a big difference

bowlhead99

prosaver wrote: »

i noticed many cars got stuck in the snow when they had rear drive wheels...

If you have a car where the rear wheels are trying to simply push the car forwards in a straight line without much grip, it can be more of a problem compared to a FWD where the front tyres that want to pull the car are being pushed down to the ground by the weight of the engine and can wiggle a bit as you steer rather than getting bogged down. It's also generally safer to pull the car as a FWD rather than push it in RWD (harder to oversteer).

I was dead chuffed when we passed a jag, which was stuck in the snow ..(rear drive)
har.. harr

As a jag driver I suppose it makes a change for people to be going past going har harr so we can be jealous of them instead of all of the other days of the year when they're jealous of us

WellKnownSid

prosaver wrote: »

i noticed many cars got stuck in the snow when they had rear drive wheels...

I have never had issues with rear wheel drives in snow - although the run-flats used on most UK BMWs as standard are known to perform particularly badly in snow as most owners have discovered.

The biggest limitation is usually the driver, to be fair. We have too little snow in most of the country for people to learn how to cope naturally. People will slip over on the ice/snow three times getting to the car. Spend twenty minutes removing the snow from the drive. Spend a further fifteen minutes de-icing the car. Then get in and try to drive around like it's a Summer's day.

prosaver wrote: »

I was dead chuffed when we passed a jag, which was stuck in the snow ..(rear drive)
har.. harr

I'll bet you were... I've also pulled and/or pushed plenty of front-wheel drives out of the snow - it only takes one loose driven wheel...

prosaver

WellKnownSid wrote: »

I have never had issues with rear wheel drives in snow - although the run-flats used on most UK BMWs as standard are known to perform particularly badly in snow as most owners have discovered.

The biggest limitation is usually the driver, to be fair. We have too little snow in most of the country for people to learn how to cope naturally. People will slip over on the ice/snow three times getting to the car. Spend twenty minutes removing the snow from the drive. Spend a further fifteen minutes de-icing the car. Then get in and try to drive around like it's a Summer's day.

I'll bet you were... I've also pulled and/or pushed plenty of front-wheel drives out of the snow - it only takes one loose driven wheel...

it was when we were going up a hill..
found this mad idea quote
We’re going to let you in on a little known secret though – one that can turn almost any novice driver into a king of the snow hill. That trick is driving in reverse! This might sound bizarre, but the principle is based on elementary physics. By driving a car in reverse up a hill, the weight of the car is shifted to the front tires. The majority of all vehicles are front-wheel drive, which means weight is now fully on the tires delivering the power. Since traction is created as a result of friction and weight, this setup provides the maximum amount of traction for a FWD vehicle.

so that means rwd is better...
dont get it?
maybe the jag was driving to slow and that caused the problem.

force_ten

prosaver wrote: »

so that means rwd is better...
dont get it?
maybe the jag was driving to slow and that caused the problem.

the key words in the quote you posted are

The majority of all vehicles are front-wheel drive

if the car is front wheel drive then when you reverse up the hill all the weight at the front of the car is pushing down on the drive wheels so increasing grip, and it really does work as i have done it in a front wheel drive transit van which failed twice to go up the hill in forward gears but it went up easily in reverse

prosaver

force_ten wrote: »

the key words in the quote you posted are

The majority of all vehicles are front-wheel drive

if the car is front wheel drive then when you reverse up the hill all the weight at the front of the car is pushing down on the drive wheels so increasing grip, and it really does work as i have done it in a front wheel drive transit van which failed twice to go up the hill in forward gears but it went up easily in reverse

sound like fun ..might try it...
if it snows this year:p

bowlhead99

prosaver wrote: »

By driving a car in reverse up a hill, the weight of the car is shifted to the front tires. The majority of all vehicles are front-wheel drive, which means weight is now fully on the tires delivering the power. Since traction is created as a result of friction and weight, this setup provides the maximum amount of traction for a FWD vehicle.

so that means rwd is better...
dont get it?
maybe the jag was driving to slow and that caused the problem.

They are heavy cars to get up hills in snow, and unlike FWDs, don't have the advantage of their engine adding weight over the driven wheels. But also, the driver might just have been inexperienced in snow.

Maybe the jag driver was just enjoying being in a nice warm comfy car and was therefore rather less concerned about getting out of the cold than the peasants whose lives depended on it were [/caricature jag driver mode]

prosaver

bowlhead99 wrote: »

They are heavy cars to get up hills in snow, and unlike FWDs, don't have the advantage of their engine adding weight over the driven wheels. But also, the driver might just have been inexperienced in snow.

Maybe the jag driver was just enjoying being in a nice warm comfy car and was therefore rather less concerned about getting out of the cold than the peasants whose lives depended on it were [/caricature jag driver mode]

and...smoking a cigar and having a nip of whiskey
out of his hip flask.
:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

force_ten

in the days of cars being all rear wheel drive pre Alex issigonis mini which i will add were before my driving days you heard stories of people putting weight in the boot of a rear wheel drive car to improve grip during winter months

I assume that would still be the case in a modern rear wheel drive car where passengers in the back or weight in the boot would increase traction to the drive wheels