Spot the silly mistake.

quote:

Originally posted by winkyincanada:
The photo reminded me of the goofy practice in the UK of parking on the wrong side of the street. Why do you guys do that? I've never seen it anywhere else in the world.

Have you ever been in Italy?

quote:

Originally posted by Fabio 1:

quote:

Originally posted by winkyincanada:
The photo reminded me of the goofy practice in the UK of parking on the wrong side of the street. Why do you guys do that? I've never seen it anywhere else in the world.

Have you ever been in Italy?

Well yes. OK, you have me there. In Italy, a legal and legitimate parking space is defined as anywhere a car will fit. But does "We park more sensibly than the Italians" really mean that much?

quote:

Where's here? I'm up in the NE of Scotland and I wouldn't buy anything but a 4x4. Same servicing costs, bootspace etc., never mind the all round handling. All the rest is a small price to pay.

As for Saab and Volvo? The Scandinavians probably have a far better understanding, experience and the ability to cope with the conditions than the Brits.

Sorry, being a typical Englishman in the south. Most of us really don't need 4x4, and if I lived somewhere with guarranteed annual snow (or down Tonym's slimy road!) I'd have a large off-roader with winter tyres. A saloon with 4wd and summer tyres isn't much better than a 2wd.
The countries that have a better understanding, experience and ability to cope with the conditions surely have that because it snows there more often? It's only three or four years ago that the Scottish Highlands were on the verge of turning their ski centres completely over to the likes of mountainbiking, so rare had snow become!
On a separate note, I've driven a fair few thousand miles in the snow of the last few weeks, and haven't seen one car off the road, nor a single crash. I'm beginning to think I live in a protected bubble!!

Rony

PS. -8c this morning. Looks like I'll be scraping some more global warming off my windscreen!

Tony

quote:

Originally posted by Tony Lockhart:
PS. -8c this morning. Looks like I'll be scraping some more global warming off my windscreen!

Tony

Indeed the global warming has frozen the waste pipe for the bath!

Jono

quote:

the BMW is a rear wheel drive

Ah, the missing information! I wondered if that was it. Curiously I was obsessed with toy cars as a boy but never developed any interest in real ones - except a little bit in how they work - so that's exactly the sort of thing I wouldn't know. Thanks HHH.

quote:

Originally posted by winkyincanada:

quote:

Originally posted by Fabio 1:

quote:

Originally posted by winkyincanada:
The photo reminded me of the goofy practice in the UK of parking on the wrong side of the street. Why do you guys do that? I've never seen it anywhere else in the world.

Have you ever been in Italy?

Well yes. OK, you have me there. In Italy, a legal and legitimate parking space is defined as anywhere a car will fit. But does "We park more sensibly than the Italians" really mean that much?

Thanks for your reply.Well,I think it does,until you REALLY park more sensibly than Italians,or if you park your car better(I mean a civil way) than me or somebody else.My parents brought me up to respect civil behaviour, also.But here in Italy everything seems to be strange:if I stop my car on the zebra crossing,pedestrians always say thanks to me!!Even if that's a common right.I was in Manchester,CT on September to meet my relatives and when I got back in Italy I was almost scared of driving my car in my own city...

Still odd though, only putting the chains on one set of wheels.

For many years it was believed that you can put a pair of snow/winter tyres on to the driven wheels of your car when November came along.

But in the last five that advice has changed and it is highly recommended that all four wheels should be fitted with snow tyres.

I have Nokian Snow tyres on my '98 Audi A4 and it makes my drive to work manageable.

I wonder how long it'll be before car tyre shops start selling winter tyres in the UK ???

quote:

Originally posted by George Johnson:
Shirley, would it not be sensible to fit chains on all four wheels?

I might be a belt and braces man, but I would have thought that this was self-evident. In Norway chains come in sets of four ...

ATB from George

PS: It is very easy to buy winter tyres in UK if you ask, and they are no more expensive than normal summer tyres.

I helped a Polish colega do just that in November 2009 ...

quote:

Originally posted by George Johnson:

quote:

Originally posted by George Johnson:
Shirley, would it not be sensible to fit chains on all four wheels?

I might be a belt and braces man, but I would have thought that this was self-evident. In Norway chains come in sets of four ...

ATB from George

PS: It is very easy to buy winter tyres in UK if you ask, and they are no more expensive than normal summer tyres.

I helped a Polish colega do just that in November 2009 ...

Here, you just swap to winter tyres on all four wheels. No big deal, no chains and everyone's happy (except those stuck behind people who kept their summer tyres on).

But even in Norway the main roads are clear of snow, and studded tyres really wear the road out. Chains are a good idea for the less cleared minor rods, and soon taken off for the well cleared main roads ...

Of course even so it is a good idea to run "all-season" tyres rather than the usual UK style "summer" tyre in the winter ... they used to be called "town and country" and we always ran them when I was young, at least on the truck ...

ATB from George

Remember also that its all about rubber compounds and temperature ranges.

I run summer tyres (Fuzion ZRi's) which are rated down to +5 degrees. So when November comes along I put on the Nokian's which are rated from +5 to -50 deg C.

Dear Shoot,

In the UK minus 10 is serious.

In 1984 we had minus 26, and the lowest since was last week at minus 19, [Herefordshire, Worcetershire, and Shropshire] so the truth is that plenty of tread is more significant than going down to minus fifty.

I think we would just stay inside and put some extra clothes on!

ATB from George

Why, during the odd spot of wintry weather, does the whole of the UK criticise itself for awful driving standards. We really aren't that bad, considering how little training and practice we get.
THIS!! is what it can be like. Proof that you cannat change tha lawz a phizziks, captain.

Tony

quote:

Originally posted by winkyincanada:

quote:

Originally posted by Fabio 1:

quote:

Originally posted by winkyincanada:
The photo reminded me of the goofy practice in the UK of parking on the wrong side of the street. Why do you guys do that? I've never seen it anywhere else in the world.

Have you ever been in Italy?

Well yes. OK, you have me there. In Italy, a legal and legitimate parking space is defined as anywhere a car will fit. But does "We park more sensibly than the Italians" really mean that much?

Have you never been in Paris

Here winter tires are mandatory on 4 wheels from Dec 15th to march 15th. And this is a good
thing, the number of crash has dropped big time.
Tires are doing all the difference.

Shoot,
I'm quite OK in our snow with my A4 Quattro on Michelin's Pilot Alpin PA3. A couple of 500's in the trunk help stability

quote:

Originally posted by shoot6x7:
I wonder how long it'll be before car tyre shops start selling winter tyres in the UK?

There has already been a case of an insurance company asking for an increased premium as the fitting of winter tyres was considered a unauthorised modification.

I don't think I can fit winter tyres to the Elise

It has been amusing driving these last weeks, more like driving a sledge than a car. I've generally kept it pointing in thedirection of travel though.

Bruce

Bruce,

This is from a quick google of "lotus Elise winter tyres":


Winter Tyres

"The owners manual recommends Michelin XM+S130 winter tyres for the Elise. The front tyres should be 185/55 R15 81T on the standard front wheels and the rear tyres should be 195/60 R15 88T on standard front wheels. No that is not a mistake, you need four front wheels."

Surprised?

Tony

I'm suprised they bother advising anything actually since it is so patently unsuitable for the weather, but I can see the sense in a narrower winter rear wheel if you really must. The standard Elise S2 has a significant mismatch between front/rear sizes and this is crucial to normal handling balance.

I don't think I'll be buying a winter wheel/tyre combo. I just cover the brake and accelerator with an egg and drive without breaking either.

bruce

I suppose the point with these winter tyres is that they're not just for snow, but for any weather with temps of 7c or lower. I'd have thought an Elise would bottom out pretty quickly though?

Tony

Like I said, more sledge than car. If the snow is so deep that it starts to 'bottom out' you really are not going anywhere!

Bruce

Then, take a deep breath, bend your knees, grasp firmly, and carry the Elise to a clear road!

Tony

quote:

Originally posted by BigH47:
Cue fixedwheel?

Sorry, haven't been keeping up with things in here.

I've been running separate summer and winter tyres for the past 7 or 8 years. Just get a cheap set of steels, or kerbed alloys for the winter tyres. And buy them in August when they are cheaper.

Tread compound stays pliable at low temps, the large sipes and multi edges of the tread pattern also helps in wet conditions, they break away smoothly so you get more of a warning than a major snap away.

It is funny to see 4x4 owners think they can go anywhere 'cos it's four wheel drive, tyres are far more critical than the number of driven wheels.

All IMHO, of course.

John

John

I totally agree with you - I have been considering doing this also. We hire a car fitted with winter tyre every winter when we ski and the difference is astonishing, the winter tyre just give so much more grip, it's uncanny.

Are winter tyres easy to buy over here? I assume so, although I've not yet checked this out.

Gary