Quick question...would winter tyres have stoped my car from siding down my driveway last night? Although it didnt hit my garage, it definately wasnt where I parked it last night either!
Printable View
Quick question...would winter tyres have stoped my car from siding down my driveway last night? Although it didnt hit my garage, it definately wasnt where I parked it last night either!
Quite possibly. It could be that your brakes were hot when you put your handbrake on and with things contracting in the cold the friction surfaces weren't being pressed together as much as was needed but I doubt it
What if it was left in gear or reverse ?
Fiesta's have rear drum brakes on most models so that shouldn't be a problem. But I'm not sure if the ST has a different setup.Quote:
Originally Posted by Daniel
ST would have rear discs too but the hand brake is probably drum operated like on most cars.
chains are the best for traction on snow, but you´re limited to around 30mph, and you can´t use them on "clean" tarmac :)Quote:
Originally Posted by odykas
That was my point Tomi. Those who wear winter clothes in winter nations wear lots of layers if they are in and out of the shops. Not one heavy jacket, but two jackets is better. Or a light ski jacket (jumper for you Brits) with a hoodie underneath.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tomi
It also helps that most northern nations such as Finland or Canada have people who are accustomed to the cold, and don't have to bundle up like it is -55 out there when it isn't.
Nothing funnier than going to Florida in a cold snap, and walking around in a windbreaker. The locals down there go insane!!! They laugh at us Canadians when they are all bundled up like they are seeing snow and it is only 40 F (4c). I wear a windbreaker and if I am doing anyting physical in that sort of weather, I can be wearing just a t-shirt and jeans in no times. My buddy wears his sandals until that temp is reached, and even then hates having to wear shoes once it gets colder. IT is a mindset...
Chains are illegal here too except in certain applications such as commercial trucks in the mountains. They chew up the Tarmac and they really are only good for emergencies..such as getting your big rig down the pass and out of the mountains.Quote:
Originally Posted by odykas
The best way to negotiate winter is to be in a place where the infrastructure is in place to handle the roads. Since the UK doesn't seem to see enough snow to know how to handle it, you just have to hope for warmer weather once the roads ice up; and take it easy in the mean time. Snow/winter tires (not studded, just aggressive treads) work better than regular tires BUT they are not a panacea, and if the road is icy, you still really have to be careful.
I raced on tractionized snow tires in rubber to ice class in ice racing, and I still was sideways most of my laps...
I doubt my brakes were warm as I'd just finished a long motorway journey and hadn't really needed to brake when I parked it up. It wasn't in reverse but I don't think that would of helped anyway as it could only have slid down the drive. Tonight it's going to sleep in the garage. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Daniel
Sounds like a slippery drive then
Gridgirl, that is really scary. You should put some rock salt down on the drive if you can get some....THAT is dangerous to be even walking on.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark in Oshawa
It's funny how some people get accustomed to the cold. My brother works most of the winter outside on his hill sheep farm so he is used to cold weather (mostly wind chill). Whenever I go and help hm after about 5 minutes of being outdoors I get a 'runny' nose. It makes him laugh because he never does.
What do they do in your cold countries about the pavements? Do they grit them too, clean off the snow? or just leave it? I remember in Turin they just left them and it got really really slushy, surely that doesn't happen everywhere?
They said on the BBC that in some parts of Oslo they have underfloor heating on the pavements so that the snow never settles and the ice never forms, impressive!
Oslo is unique in that Drew. Here, with the size and amount of roads, that wouldn't happen. Here, they plow and use rock salt. It is good to about -15 and if gets below that, they use a salt/sand mix. Lately the roads have been sprayed with a brine to stop the snow from adhering to the asphalt. I know in Alberta and out on the Canadian Praries they use more sand, and drive more on snow or roads just scraped free by ploughs. The cold pretty much dictates it. Salt eats cars, damages the electronics if not sealed well, and has an ecological downside, but everything would stop dead if not used to some extent. Heavy traffic volumes make the road a mess if the snow is packing down too...Quote:
Originally Posted by Drew
You guys are having this debate on whether to buy winter tires and it isn't to me a case of making sense to spend the money on tires for a week or two of snow a year. If you get a spell like this last two weeks, maybe it is because the UK doesn't have the road clearance equipment like Ontario or other winter jurisdiction do. does.
In addition to winter tyres, ESP is a must in winter conditions. It's worth noting that nowadays the ESP light flashes in my dashboard all the time while in the summer you forget there is the system.Quote:
Originally Posted by GridGirl
I'd like to copyright the term "reductio ad slipum" - like Godwin's law which specifies that any discussion about rights will slide inevitably towards "that's how the Nazis got started, my phrase is an acknowledgement of how, when talking about clearing pavements somebody will - with tedious predictibility - state that if somebody slips on a path you've cleared you can get sued.
I'm not even sure it's true, I believe that it's an urban myth based on ambulance chasing lawyers issuing proceedings that don't get defended due to fear or ignorance of the legal system.
i don't mind if someone sues me as long as I actuallly get to injure them properly. It's only fair
No Dave, it's an urban myth invented by The Daily Mirror.
They ran a story about somebody getting sued for clearing a path, when in reality he was sued by somebody for wetting a path which turned to ice that he had then tried to half heartedly clear up (he claimed) but in fact had left covered in ice when nowhere else was.
In short, one total dick ruined it for everyone else. The dick in question was a Mirror journalist, not the ice-maker.
when I was in Helsinki in the 80s,the heat from the power stations was in pipes under the pavements ,it was fed into the stores and factorys I believe,to heat them ,and it kept the pavements clear.
Just one more thing about ESP,I tow a caravan and ALWAYS knock ESP off when towing,because when you pass a truck at speed ,and try to steer slightly out to avoid the sucking in ,the ESP fights you as it suspects your actions are wrong.Handbooks tell you to disengage the ESP for towing
Well my winter tyres that I ordered are somewhere near Hannover now. Come on Fritz! I want my tyres!
and so is the spring! :pQuote:
Originally Posted by Daniel
hehe Daniel. btw if you ordered Contis, Hannover is R&D... yours were probably built in Korbach or in Portugal :p :
Dexter do you mean ESP or traction control?
Nah Donkey I went for the dutch tyres because they were cheaper :uhoh: Hopefully with them on the 500 will be as surefooted as a mountain goat. I did toy with the idea of getting Bridgestone Blizzak LM-30's which tested well in the latest Adac test and were even cheaper but the tyres I bought had been tested in 175/65 R14 T which is the size I bought so I thought I couldn't go wrongQuote:
Originally Posted by donKey jote
you mean Russian :p :
well I guess any at all are better than none :)
Metoffice says we should be cold for at least another week or so and even then the warming up is in doubt :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Brown, Jon Brow
I wouldn't buy Russian tyres :) Indian ownership now :pQuote:
Originally Posted by donKey jote
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vredestein
You mean the guess-officeQuote:
Originally Posted by Daniel
I would have happily specced ESP if I could have switched it off.Quote:
Originally Posted by DexDexter
Everyone likes to show this video as proof that ESP is great but Tiff seems to make a conscious effort to spin the car with ESP off and IMHO it's a dumb test because who does 70 mph on sheet ice at least in the UK? :mark:
[youtube]wR1SSxpKitE[/youtube]
"if the system works here, it will work anywhere"
for normal driving on public roads, do everyone a favour and if you have it, leave it on :)
If I had ESP I would leave it on unless I was having a play on a very quiet road :)
Blizzaks are the best I have heard of, that said, you will get your winter tires likely just in time for the thawing. AS I said, do you see enough snow in the Welsh Riviera to justify this expense?Quote:
Originally Posted by Daniel
ESP, Electronic Stability Program, traction control doesn't do anything, won't help you stay on the road. In fact it's a hindrance in snow. ESP on the other hand works great. If you go to a corner too quickly and turn in, it's pretty surprising how well it stabilizes the movement. Obviously there are limits to that but it does save lives.Quote:
Originally Posted by donKey jote
ESP....that isnt' Mika Hakkinen in a box, but it is better than nothing...lol
:up:Quote:
Originally Posted by DexDexter
I was just wondering if your ESP lamp was blinking all the time due to traction control or stability correction. Bad traction control can be a pain on snow, I know... specially if it cuts the power :p :
Blizzaks are not normally top league.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark in Oshawa
Daniel you'll be lucky if you get any winter tyres from Germany at all... they've been pretty much sold out here for months :D
by jove you're right!Quote:
Originally Posted by Daniel
Indian Winter tyres what is this world coming to :p :
Got them and fitted them today :pQuote:
Originally Posted by donKey jote
http://members.iinet.net.au/~fenix19...0/Wintertyres/
They're pretty much as you said they should be Donkey :) Seem slightly grippier on the cold and damp tarmac but on the ice and slush there is a crapload more traction and the car brakes a lot better. I drove on a road nearby which still has a load of slush and ice and even when there was wheelspin I was still going forward unlike with the Potenza's where you just stood still :mark:
Thanks for your advice Donkey! :kiss:
You had Potenezas?? Oh lord they are the WORST!!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Daniel
Donkey is right by the way, the irony of the Indians making winter tires...lol...it is sort of like a Canadian Curry shop run by a guy from Inuvik....
My Potenza's are great. Unless it's cold, snowy or icy.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark in Oshawa
The tyres are made in the Netherlands btw, just owned by the Indians and I'm happy with that :)
My potenzas on my rx-7, (this being back in 1994) were awful in anything but the dry. I hope they have improved over the years, but I know they would be awful in snow.Quote:
Originally Posted by Daniel