I presume that most of us are facing some problems with driving conditions at the moment (at least on minor roads) - let's hope that the current weather doesn't herald anything like the prolonged freeze of last winter.
Having done some low-level research (i.e. reading motor magazine articles and the like) into the question of making progress on slippery roads, I find it interesting that there has been a sudden realisation of the benefits of winter tyres - which have seen a 400% increase in sales and are now very hard to get hold of.
I learned some useful info concerning winter tyres. First, that they approximately double the grip that standard (summer) tyres can get on snowy roads, to the benefit of putting down the power to get moving and to climb hills, plus when cornering and braking. 4wd also doubles the power which can be put down, but does nothing to help cornering or braking. So it's actually more sensible to fit winter tyres to your 2WD car than it is to use a 4x4 SUV on standard tyres.
Second, winter tyres aren't just a benefit on slippery roads, they start to grip better than standard tyres when the temperature drops below 7 degrees C. So you're recommended to fit them in November and leave them on until the end of March.
Third, if your tyres need replacing anyway it's worth considering all-season tyres, since these provide about 95% of the performance of standard tyres in summer, and about 80% of the traction of winter tyres on snowy roads, so they're a pretty good compromise.
Of course, if you're on sheet ice nothing much will help but tyre chains (or the fabric tyre socks), since I gather that studded tyres are not permitted here as they make a mess of tarmac. Also, being able to stop smartly won't do you much good if the following car slides into the back of you. And finally, no amount of traction will help if you're stuck in a vast traffic jam caused by cars less capable than yours (been there, done that). Still, it's worth thinking about.
It does put a bit of a dent in the "I need a 4x4 because of winter driving" brigade.
No.Originally Posted by Tony Williams
No car.
But everything else you say is absolutely correct. Many people confuse winter tyres with studded tyres, including the Secretary of State for Transport who said that winter tyres damage roads - wrong! If someone used winter tyres all year around they'd wear out quicker but would be safer in summer than ordinary tyres are in winter.
Of course the safest thing to do is not drive in dodgy conditions.
Not too many problems around here.
Same here, though it would make little difference if I had a car as driving on our steeply sloped and completely uncleared and ungritted street is completely impossible to all but the more adventurous types with 4X4s.No.
Back in the days when I did drive - the 70s and 80s - I don't think winter tyres were generally available. I certainly never heard of them, though I did see some postal vehicles in rural areas with chains on their tyres.
I had two front-wheel-drive vehicles and both were marvelous in adverse conditions - my 1100 coped wonderfully in the bad winter of 77/78 and got me to work every day, though conditions were never quite as bad as they are now. In comparison, my one rear-wheel-drive car - an Escort - was absolutely hopeless in comparison and generally remained at the kerb-side when there was ice or snow about. In the winter of 81/82 I used public transport throughout the cold-spell.
Being completely disinterested in cars, I don't even know which modern vehicles are FWD and which RWD. But I assume the difference in handling still applies - is that so?
We have only had about an inch of snow, and it's all gone now. But when it was lying, the cars with skidding rear wheels were RWD prestige/sporty cars - BMW, Mercedes. The best way to drive a RWD car in slippery conditions appears to be "in reverse".
My particular part of Scotland got hit three times, once when the East was hit, once when the west was hit and again on Monday when the Central Belt ground to an icy halt. Most people are managing to get about fine when there is somewhere to go that is accessible by main road. The only guy I've seen in bother was the driver of a rear wheel drive, automatic Merc.
Yes, front wheel drive is better than rear wheel drive (other things being equal) because the weight of the engine is over the driven wheels. The standard tactic for improving the grip with RWD is to load heavy weights into the boot.
Until recently we had a RWD Mercedes which I assumed would be better than older cars in the slippery stuff since it had all the latest traction control and other electrickery to maximise grip. Nope - it was still rubbish in the snow!
Also in a front wheel drive car, if you get a bit stuck you can spin the wheel to give yourself a different angle of attack - can't do that with rear wheel drive.
I had a Triumph 2.5 PI once with Automatic rear wheel drive. Crap in the snow if you needed to get anywhere but FUN if it didn't really matter. Wheel spin for 5 miles anyone?
I think the main reason FWD cars are better in the ice and snow is that the driven wheels tend to pull the car in the direction you want to go, whereas RWD is generally pushing you away from the direction in which you're steering.
Generally you should just take it nice and steady, with no sudden braking or steering inputs, but that doesn't mean you should drive 30 mph below the limit just because there's a bit of a nip in the air!
We had a couple of feet of snow where I live in Sheffield last week which, as you would expect, blocked the back rounds and residential areas pretty badly. In circumstances like this I have found that internet forums/blogs etvc and local news channels are full of people complaining about the lack of gritting on back roads and how they can't get out onto the main roads. There is a simple solution to this which we adopt on my lane and that is to shovel the bloody snow out of the way and then grit the road. Simples, and it doesn't even take long if neighbours work together to do it. I've lost count of the number of little cul-de-sacs I have passed in the last two weeks which are like ice rinks which could have been cleared of snow in under an hour. Idiots.
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I have fond memories of watching the back end of my RWD BMW overtaking me after I had hit a patch of black ice a few years ago one dark wintery night. Fond that is until my graceful spin was interrupted by a lorry.
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Anecdote warning!
Winter tyres reminds me of snow chains. And they remind me of a trick that was played on me when I was young. We went on a school trip in a coach. Such trips frequently set off an epidemic of travel sickness which was grim for all concerned, not least the teachers. One teacher hit on the idea of telling us all that this particular bus was fitted with 'special chains' that prevented travel sickness! And it worked! It demonstrated to me both the power of suggestion and that you cannot always trust teachers.
This was widely believed (and still may be as far as I know). The theory, which was surely pure woo, was that travel sickness was caused by the build up of static electricity so vehicles needed to be "grounded" by having a chain attached to the vehicle so that it touched the ground. It used to be quite common to see these attached to the rear bumper (when such things were metal!).
Could it have been true? I seem to remember hearing similar tales and actually been shown a chain hanging from the bodywork at the rear of a bus and touching the ground, to prevent static build-up on the vehicle. I don't know if there is any evidence linking static electricity and travel sickness but I believe that was the reason for the chain.
I see that similar devices are still available:
http://www.mizter.com/
And IF their testimonials are trueand it ameliorates travel sickness in pets, then that would suggest a real effect as opposed to suggestion.
But travel sickness also occurs on boats, where static electricity is hardly likely to be a factor.
As I understand it, it is simply due to disturbance in the balance organs (I have a vague schoolboy recollection of "semi-circular canals" by the ears) caused by the movement of the vehicle. It will of course be affected by the nature of the movement (slow, heaving motion being more like to encourage, well, heaving).
Other factors may also apply. I used to be a poor car traveller when I was a child, and can bring nausea on now if I try to read whilst in a moving car; I think that it's the constant jerking movement of the eyes trying to focus on an unsteady page which causes the problem.
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