01-20-2013, 01:37 PM | #23 |
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It depends on what type of winter weather you get - in South East UK we rarely get more than a few days of snow and it has been pretty much warmer than the magic 7°C often quoted - which makes the "summer" tyres better.
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01-20-2013, 01:41 PM | #24 |
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It happens - you get caught in a situation that wasn't fortold. I frequently drive over mountian passes that get snow so I am more confident with snow tires. I also slow down...
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01-21-2013, 05:14 AM | #25 | |
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Packed and polished snow is more often more slippery than pure ice, I know. And the situation might be like this: If that happens only once a year and you have a choice not to drive at all on a day like that, then of course dedicated winter tyres are not useful. But if you might have a day like that and you must drive, then it is up to risk calculation if it is worth buying dedicated winter tyres or not. In general I would say if anyone thinks summer tyres will not be enough and thinks installing all season tyres, then he/she would be better of with dedicated winter tyres and summer tyres. There is more cost and effort (changing tyres), but that way you will maximize driving pleasure and grip during summer and during winter. |
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01-21-2013, 06:10 AM | #26 | |
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This is our motoring press....
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http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/the-...-winter/264926 So what help is an article like that. I suggest a false sense of security for winter driving. I'll be writing them.... HighlandPete |
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01-21-2013, 07:04 AM | #27 | |
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01-21-2013, 01:56 PM | #28 | |||
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which is more than a lot of people seem to leave for braking distance – you can always do “what ifs”. What if that idiot who pulled out of me the other day had done so when I was 10 yards closer – I would have hit them instead of almost hitting them (and it wasn't a cold day)
In several decades of driving – I have yet to see anything like that on the UK roads, I would expect it to be due to flooding and freezing – in which case I'd find an alternative route. Quote:
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If this year follows typical Winters around here (just North of London) – we might see another day where roads have snow on them (it had largely gone tonight) then it is spring |
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01-21-2013, 02:31 PM | #29 |
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Yes.. summer tyres and no problems at all.. happily driving past other BMW's that can't get up hills or down.. its great. I'm sure with Winter tyres it would be even better, but with careful driving, no issue.. its great! M3 in this weather meant I couldn't leave the house.. this is the reason I changed!
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01-21-2013, 04:46 PM | #30 |
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I took all my M cars out in New England Winters, after swapping Summer wheels/tires for Winter ones. With my C300 4Matic, I did fine with All-Seasons and I expect (hope) to do the same with the X3. We'll see.
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01-22-2013, 03:28 AM | #31 | ||||
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And as I said, it is easier if you know you don't have to go out and drive if the weather is bad. Also for me it was a surprise to see that you Britons actually close roads and highways because of snow. Then it is more understandable that one might try to make with summer tyres all year. Quote:
If overconfidence is something that should be concidered in these theories, then we can make traffic safer by installing a knife on the steering wheel, in the middle, pointing towards the driver... Quote:
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I read that last night, Norh of London, it was minus -11 Celsius. And I hope you do not crash you car And I tried already in my last mail write more generally, not judging your choices per se. And still, in general, I do not think all seasons are good choice for our car. And I know all seasons, I have driven couple of months in Finnish winter with all season tyres and Volvo 240 (RWD). As well as summer of course. And, with an expenive cars, why not use it to the max during summer and during winter? Let's keep those savings to Dacia drivers |
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01-22-2013, 03:35 AM | #32 |
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Well I bought the 2WD X3 on the basis that in the UK (London) there is generally one week in the year when you may encounter real winter weather. It is currently that week here and I have to say that it really struggles. Bambi on ice. Not sure which would make the bigger improvement, Winter tyres or xDrive.
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01-22-2013, 03:54 AM | #33 | |
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It is those four palm sized areas that makes all the controlling, I mean the contact surfaces of the tyres and road. |
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01-22-2013, 04:54 AM | #34 |
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I live in SE England and have fitted Dunlop 3D's on existing rims. They make an enormous difference in the snow. I am also very impressed with the improved braking in wet weather. Well worth the money.
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01-22-2013, 05:45 AM | #35 |
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I'm with MattUK. I used to have a 335i and couldn't get it off the drive in the snow. But....I know winter tyres are loads better in snow and the cold but so far this winter is a more typical UK winter than the last 2 years. I only have to cope with 3 or 4 days of snow. As I don't commute to work I can choose not to drive if conditions are really bad. I've seen comments about having a £40k car and being too stingy to pay for winter tyres and wheels. Yes it's partly cost but is hassle too. Also the £40k is the purchase price but if you sell it for £25k or £20k that actually makes the cost of winter tyres and wheels look pricey. If I lived in the highlands I would use winter tyres but in tropical Manchester I get get away with summer tyres, or I have so far.....
Maybe standard tyres in the UK should have an optimal operating envelope of say -5C to 25C.
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01-22-2013, 06:11 AM | #36 |
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'Adequate' and 'compromise' seem to be the common thread in all winter tyre discusions in the UK across the forums, motor mags and blogs.
We seem to have a trait in the UK to "get by", rather than have the most appropriate, or the best. What would change the opinion and focus the mind IMO, is if the insurance companies acted as they do in other countries where if involved in an accident and were found to be on inappropriate tyres for the conditions, there would be no pay out. Also I sense many will buy expensive but questionable wheel "upgrades" (£1,000 - £2,000) without any complaint, then moan about the cost of winter tyres, which really do something positive for driving performance. "None so fickle as folk." HighlandPete |
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01-22-2013, 06:37 AM | #37 | |
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But we enter the problem of "jack of all trades, master of none". Summer and winter conditions really need different performance characteristics from the rubber compounds, tread patterns, blocks, sipes, etc.. Hence why it is best to have two wheel sets, anything else is really a compromise in virtually all conditions. HighlandPete |
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01-22-2013, 07:16 AM | #38 | |
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It's down to common sense and individual situations and the types of roads driven on. If I were doing one of my old jobs where I drove 30k miles per year and couldn't choose not to drive if the weather was poor, then I would use winter tyres. Given the UK situation with flooding if might be wiser for me to invest in a high-level exhaust system! OK I'm being facetious but my point is that if we want insurance for all eventualities, we could end up with a long list of extras with the X3 equipped for everything from the outback to tundra with flooding in-between!
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01-22-2013, 08:06 AM | #39 |
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Well, I have an axe, a saw and a shovel in the boot on my car ;-)
Seriously, I saw there are offers for a set of wheels (advertised as genuine BMW) with winter tyres for about 800 pounds, it doesn't seem THAT much of a bad deal to me...
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01-22-2013, 08:38 AM | #40 | |
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£800 isn't bad at all, there's still the hassle though but if my usage were different it would be money well spent.
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01-22-2013, 08:56 AM | #41 |
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We live on a hilly estate in the South of England. In the past without winter wheel/tyres on BMWs, Toyota & Hondas I often could not get off the estate in snow/ice.
I have the BMW 17 inch Pirelli winter wheels on at the moment. I was astounded how easily the car coped in the snow. More importantly I tried braking hard on ice (in a safe area) - the car just braked to a halt. no skidding at all - impressed. Plus - The car is much quieter on the 17 inch Pirelli winter tyres than it is on the 19 inch staggered tyres in summer (both RFTs) |
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01-22-2013, 12:22 PM | #42 |
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Rock hard pirelli run flats are coping brilliantly with the 10" plus of snow and now ice weve had around Staffs.
Certainly not justifying 2K plus for a few weeks a year. |
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01-22-2013, 02:26 PM | #44 | |||||||||
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By your inference you are suggesting a Dacia isn't made to be driven which I find strange - maybe not for fun Quote:
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I am sure we can keep this up all year - but I don't intend to |
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