Wrote car off yesterday & Just bought a Grand Vitara

milkydrink

.........................

somethingaboutshopping

You were in what sounds like a pretty bad accident, of course you are a little nervous!

And you'll get used to the size I'm sure,

lots of love
xxx

anewman

If ice really worries you I would recommend getting a new set of wheels and getting a good set of winter tyres. Shove the others in storage somewhere and change all 4 when you may be driving in snow/icy conditions. Some good tyre places will even store a set of tyres professionally for you and change them over on the wheels you have, for a fee of course.

I don't know if AIM covers skidding/wintery conditiongs. Here's Rospa's suggestions http://www.rospa.com/drivertraining/winter/

Good you're not seriously hurt it seems and you have a new car to enjoy now :cool:

Ps: I might have had a go if you got a 4.2l supercharged V8 Land Rover, or a 4.8l BMW X5 :rotfl: Suzuki Vitara is a more sensible choice.

tomstickland

Big tyres won't grip ice any better.

Inactive

tomstickland wrote: »

Big tyres won't grip ice any better.

Spot on correct, in fact a 4x4 is more likely to skid on ice than a standard car, not deep snow tho'.

As you have already lost control of one vehicle, I would advise some specialist driver training.

anewman

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/front_website/gallery_tyre.php?o=0&id=231972

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/products/products/210661/winter_tyres.html

Must admit I don't know if they're all that much better, I haven't driven in wintery conditions yet, only driven for one year and done my best to avoid them so far fortunately.

epninety

'Snow' tyres seem to be in the press a lot lately - strange since we've all (in the uk) got by for years without them. They typically have lots of fine grooves called sipes which allow the water to escape from the contact patch. They are also made of very soft sticky rubber. Nokian 'hakkapellitas' (SP?) are amazing - even at serious sub zero temperatures if you drag your hand lightly over the tread, it will try to pull your glove off. However, they will be useless unless you fit them only on icy days - they have a very short life on tarmac.

Last Easter I drove through Norway up to the arctic circle, and didn't see any tarmac under the ice for days. I had mud tyres on my Land Rover, which should be useless on ice (though not snow) as they have no sipes at all. After a few days confidence and speed creeps up, even in those conditions. It's amazing to be driving at 50mph on snow and ice and then be overtaken by the locals :rotfl:

Anyway, back on topic - a decent 4x4 day will certainly help your confidence. You won't usually do skid control as such, but you'll come away familiar with the feeling of driving slippery surfaces (which is half the battle), and amazed at what a 4x4 can do if driven properly.

You don't need to use your own vehicle, but it might be tricky to find anyone that uses GVs. Land Rover experience centres will usually have Freelanders available I think, but I'd get a 4x4 mag at the newsagent and try to find an indepedent outfit near you. They would be more able to tailor the day around you.

Inactive

kimevans wrote: »

Is this actually true does anyone know?

Am I more likely to skid in the car I thought was safer?

Not only are you more likely to skid on ice with your Vitara, it is also more likely to roll over than a standard car.

A Vitara was primarily designed to be driven over very rough terrain, deep mud etc, which it will do admirably, however using it for everyday road is always going to be a compromise.


As I have said before, you would benefit from some specialist driver training, ice never caused a single accident, it is all down to driver ability at the end of the day.

Remember, in parts of Europe, Sweden etc. drivers drive on ice for months of the year without having an accident.

Markyt

kimevans wrote: »

Is this actually true does anyone know?

Am I more likely to skid in the car I thought was safer?

Yes. the 4x4 is a lot heavier and under braking the 4wd is irrelevant. If it does slide, it will slide a lot further than other cars due to the comparatively higher weight.

apk1

I think one of the main problems in this country - in the south at least, is that we have forgotten how to drive in winter, it has been quite a few years since we have had any significant snow/frost, and so we all assume we can carry on driving around country bends at 50mph-we can't. this time of year if the road looks damp, it could be ice, if its not ice then it is likely to be very slippery/greasy.

For most people winter tyres are not needed, most modern tyres as long as they have 3mm of tread or more should be ok for most conditions.

epninety

Markyt wrote: »

Yes. the 4x4 is a lot heavier and under braking the 4wd is irrelevant. If it does slide, it will slide a lot further than other cars due to the comparatively higher weight.

I dont want to fuel the pro/anti 4x4 debate, but this is vastly over simplifying the real situation. Braking is not the only time when a car can or will skid, and weight is far from the only factor. Take in weight distrubution, tyre size and type, suspension setup and a load of other variables and the situation is far from clear.

Current Suzuki GV 2L 16V. Kerb weight 1580kg.
Ford Mondeo 1373 to 1574kg depending on model.

... so the difference could be a tank of petrol and a bootful of tescos finest. Driver education is surely the real key - compulsory skidpan as part of the driving test always seemed a good idea to me. In Finland, at the start of winter they closed a car park in the centre of town and laid out a cone course for local people to practice on.
Bit radical, but maybe we should encourage drivers to think, instead of driving to a set of rules?