SNOW!

About six to eight inches up here in the welsh foothills ,but my mate phoned from Liverpool about 20 miles away and it hadn’t even snowed
 
It's not the first nor the last time it has snowed - pretty moderately - so seeing the chaos and excuses yet again is so inexcusable. Get winter tyres, and get those snow ploughs out on time. How does Austria, Switzerland, Norway or even Russia cope with snow?!
 
LongLensPhotography said:
It's not the first nor the last time it has snowed - pretty moderately - so seeing the chaos and excuses yet again is so inexcusable. Get winter tyres, and get those snow ploughs out on time. How does Austria, Switzerland, Norway or even Russia cope with snow?!
Click to expand...

Because they are used to having snow in winter.
Let's be honest, this current lot will gone in a few days, I know it's annoying, and worse down here where we get even less
but you have to also winder at how many eople would moan if the councils spent millions on keeping snow ploughs etc
in sheds for years on end.?
Where I lived in a rural village, we always got together and dug ourselves out on the odd occasion we did get snowed in,

Yesterday I drove back from Kent in snowy weather along the motorway and the standard of driving was
awful, no lights, people ignoring the speed limits, and cutting others up then braking , drove past 2 accidents, just amazed there weren't more
 
Last edited:
LongLensPhotography said:
It's not the first nor the last time it has snowed - pretty moderately - so seeing the chaos and excuses yet again is so inexcusable. Get winter tyres, and get those snow ploughs out on time. How does Austria, Switzerland, Norway or even Russia cope with snow?!
Click to expand...

Ok, but just listen to all the moaning when millions were spent on snow ploughs for road and rail.
Would everyone be ok if road tax and fares were put up to pay for it, I think not
Hardly had a frost for the last two winters, so for the very odd occasion its wintry we have to put up with some disruption.
 
Really disappointed this morning as I woke to the sound of heavy rain. I was looking forward to a snow covered car park at work this morning to try out the drift mode on the car. :(
 
Gremlin said:
Because they are used to having snow in winter.
Let's be honest, this current lot will gone in a few days, I know it's annoying, and worse down here where we get even less
but you have to also winder at how many eople would moan if the councils spent millions on keeping snow ploughs etc
in sheds for years on end.?
Where I lived in a rural village, we always got together and dug ourselves out on the odd occasion we did get snowed in,

Yesterday I drove back from Kent in snowy weather along the motorway and the standard of driving was
awful, no lights, people ignoring the speed limits, and cutting others up then braking , drove past 2 accidents, just amazed there weren't more
Click to expand...

You may find they already do have a lot of special machinery and it can last for a couple of decades with some maintenance. I know for sure my council has at least 1 of each since I saw them in action last year (new years eve in fact)

Now the easier part is getting winter tyres for your car. They make sense from 7 degrees or less, or in the rain. There are also great all season choices. Over 2-3 years the cost is same or marginally higher, but safety and confidence increase is dramatic.
 
LongLensPhotography said:
Now the easier part is getting winter tyres for your car. They make sense from 7 degrees or less, or in the rain. There are also great all season choices. Over 2-3 years the cost is same or marginally higher, but safety and confidence increase is dramatic.
Click to expand...
For the amount of snow we get and temperature being under 7 degrees, getting winter tyres isn't really a worthwhile investment. Much better and cheaper to get a set of snow socks to put on the tyres as and when they are needed. I've only needed to use them twice in 5yrs.
 
nilagin said:
For the amount of snow we get and temperature being under 7 degrees, getting winter tyres isn't really a worthwhile investment. Much better and cheaper to get a set of snow socks to put on the tyres as and when they are needed. I've only needed to use them twice in 5yrs.
Click to expand...

Of learn how to drive in bad weather, and I'm not only talking ice and snow here
When I was younger it was a regular thing to get snow and living in a village, 3 miles from a main road, you either learnt
how to drive in icy conditions or walked miles in the freezing cold
Nearly ditched the van this morning driving up a very muddy track through the woods, moved to one side to avoid a deep puddle
and the front wheel set itself in a track and was heading for the ditch, thankfully I managed to get i back before that happened
One thing I learnt from those days was to forget brakes etc and just try and steer out of it if you do start to slide
 
I've got some winter wheels - they're buried under the snow! If people are happy to bumble along on ditchfinders all year then they're not going to fork out for winter tyres that can only be used for what 2 months a year are they. Actually come to think of it I was razzing round through 6 inch snow drifts on 40 profile nankangs back in 2010, they were rather good in the snow!
 
All,season tyres are probably a reasonable compromise. Leave them on all year round.
 
Gremlin said:
Of learn how to drive in bad weather, and I'm not only talking ice and snow here
When I was younger it was a regular thing to get snow and living in a village, 3 miles from a main road, you either learnt
how to drive in icy conditions or walked miles in the freezing cold
Nearly ditched the van this morning driving up a very muddy track through the woods, moved to one side to avoid a deep puddle
and the front wheel set itself in a track and was heading for the ditch, thankfully I managed to get i back before that happened
One thing I learnt from those days was to forget brakes etc and just try and steer out of it if you do start to slide
Click to expand...
Hence the fun in a car park that I mentioned earlier.
The only reason I had to use the snow socks was because I was trying to move off on a steep hill with snow so deep my front bumper was acting as a snowplough and the side skirts were below snow level.
Skid pans and rally driving schools are also a great way to honing skills that you may encounter in adverse conditions on the road. I've found a good way to get traction on a slight icy or snowy hill is stick the car in gear and move the car on the starter motor. Obviously can't do that with a start button.
 
Well, I spend half my time on my farm in north Yorkshire, mud and snow are routine and I don't worry about it... Good mud and snow tyres, and when that isn't enough I just move a little lever for 4WD high, and when that isn't enough I just move another one for 4WD low :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: BBR
I have winter tyres that I've fitted into some spare alloy wheels. I put them on the car once it's Nov/Dec and leave them on till March. I've replaced the whole set of tyres once in the 8 years I've had them.

Although they're designed for below 7*C, I find they're more effective below 4*C. Otherwise I'm quite happy with my PS4 tyres.

What I need is some sort of snow shovel to shift the snow off the driveway. Used a broom initially until a neighbour kindly lent me their snow shovel.
 
Last edited:
omens said:
What I need is some sort of snow shovel to shift the snow off the driveway. Used a broom initially until a neighbour kindly lent me their snow shovel.
Click to expand...

Lidl

If not now, there'll be some soon, there always is this time of year :)
 
Alan Clogwyn said:
I've got some winter wheels - they're buried under the snow! If people are happy to bumble along on ditchfinders all year then they're not going to fork out for winter tyres that can only be used for what 2 months a year are they. Actually come to think of it I was razzing round through 6 inch snow drifts on 40 profile nankangs back in 2010, they were rather good in the snow!
Click to expand...

Previous passat was on winter tyres all summer and through the winter till it was sold. Same will happen to current one. Driving on winters is great and I am yet to see that hyped quick wear despite astronomical mileage. The quickest wearing tyre in the summer I had was Michelin Primacy summer, total POS and waste of money.

All season really makes sense here.
 
omens said:
What I need is some sort of snow shovel to shift the snow off the driveway
Click to expand...
When it's fresh, any old piece of 18" x 18" wood, ply, MDF whatever, screwed to a bit of 6 feet long, 2"x2" for the handle and plough away :thumbs:
( measurements are just a guide, you build a smaller one and gets the kids on it :D )
 
LongLensPhotography said:
Previous passat was on winter tyres all summer and through the winter till it was sold. Same will happen to current one. Driving on winters is great and I am yet to see that hyped quick wear despite astronomical mileage. The quickest wearing tyre in the summer I had was Michelin Primacy summer, total POS and waste of money.

All season really makes sense here.
Click to expand...

My Michelin Pilot Sport 3s are fast wearing too, 5k miles on the front! Wanted the cross climate ones but not available in my tyre size.
 
nilagin said:
Really disappointed this morning as I woke to the sound of heavy rain. I was looking forward to a snow covered car park at work this morning to try out the drift mode on the car. :(
Click to expand...

We're forecast warmer weather and rain tonight. I think I'll still try to clear the close at lunchtime. I cleared part of it when it fell, but noone else bothers, so the last half to the road is compacted ice.
 
LongLensPhotography said:
You may find they already do have a lot of special machinery and it can last for a couple of decades with some maintenance. I know for sure my council has at least 1 of each since I saw them in action last year (new years eve in fact)
.
Click to expand...

I'd be happy if ours used their gritters - theres no evidence on the road they've been out on many major routes. They've done a couple around town centre and the main road to the motorway junctions
 
omens said:
PS4 tyres.
Click to expand...


Ultra low ultra wide Cooper Zeon on a RWD and wet / slippery roads most certainly do not like each other :D
 
Alan Clogwyn said:
My Michelin Pilot Sport 3s are fast wearing too, 5k miles on the front! Wanted the cross climate ones but not available in my tyre size.
Click to expand...
Wow. I had PS2s and currently have PS4s. They're lasting 10-15k.
 
Dunno what tyres that little red Fiat I saw last night had, but it was going far to fast on them on an untreated road, and went straight into the back of a parked artic... o_O
 
Well, ive just had to tow a fully laden long wheelbase Sprinter van up an ice covered hill - interesting, and I only just managed it in 4WD low transfer, at tickover speed.
 
Have measured 35 mm of cold rain/wet snow mixture in 24 hours yesterday here at Folkestone. If it was just a degree or two colder with ever so slightly lower humidity levels, I would have ended up with over 12 inches of fluffy snow. But instead it was just soaking wet and the strong north east wind made it all the more bleak for it, although them thar hills (Hawkinge and Capel) did have a slushy covering.

Even though Christmas Day is 13 days away which is a long time in forecasting terms, I can't see most of the UK getting to have a white Christmas this year. The most favoured option (50% certain) as things stand is likely a calm quiet dry cool & cloudy come the day, the second favoured option (45% certain) is for it to be mild, wet 'n' windy and the least likely option (the remaining 5%) is being cold and snowy.
 
20171212-DTR_0333-2.jpg

I decided to post this from yesterday since this is a photography forum after all. Elan Valley is one of my favourite locations in Wales and I'm pretty happy with the composition. Sadly there was no sun and too windy, and you may notice the car is all dirty. It's a workhorse so its a representative photo. I'll try this location with some other cars, namely Jag XF or EOS and hopefully source the drone to make a quick video.

P.S. No getting there without winter tyres.
 
Well it snowed here for six hours last night and I've spent the past hour listening to hailstones. Glad I got my winter tyres on this time.
 
2am this morning we had a covering, about an inch. By 4am it warmed up and turned to rain so barely anything left now.
 
It's snowing heavily here in South Yorkshire. Met office forecast predicted none.
 
I knew it. My Indian Muslim astrologer predicted it.

(reference to the spam posts here this morning)
 
The snow WAS a surprise, wasn't it? Left home at 5am in a blizzard, going to Gatwick and a few times I wondered whether we'd make it, especially when they dropped the M25 to 1 lane by Heathrow and the traffic just stopped for a bit.

Copenhagen is just cold & wet right now, although it did make the paths in Tivoli shiny. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top