Winter Tyres

[Bibs]

Wheels will only turn the car if they're steering and abs allows this to happen, that's the idea behind it as locked wheels are useless for anything as I'm sure you know.

Unfortunately it's also, in the big scheme of things, pretty violent with it's on/off oscillations (ie all, none, all, none) which cause it to be much less effective than a sensitive right foot which can, in experienced shoes, be more effective at knowing where the level of traction lies. A harsh activation of the brakes on ice is worse than a gentle touch, it's either in a skid or not but keeping on the 'not' side of skidding through good braking means your still in control of the car.

ABS is set up for the majority of times it will be used, in the wet under very heavy braking when all the weight is on the front of the car under extreme braking. It's not set up for light braking in low traction circumstances, I would assume that figuring this into the system would be too much of a compromise.

[Bibs]

[fitz]

I found my old focus had very sensative ABS in icy conditions, and it took great care to stop the car, I actually cadence braked in the car once I had a reasonable idea of when the ABS was going to kick in. In my first experience of it in the focus, and i'm a very 'gentle' driver, i gently braked from 5mph at a light change, the ABS came on in full force and I found myself 1 metre past were I intended to stop.

The corsa I now have for daily use has a more reluctant ABS system that seems to wait a little longer before kicking in, and I have had no problems in this weather driving suitably for the conditions,

The excel also behaved itself impeccably when I had to use it in ice.

I maybe be tempted to get winter tyres for the corsa, because I do enough mileage that the tyres won't age too much, and I use it for work and travel around the norfolk countryside. I'd happy run it on steelies in the winter, but they may cost more than alloys for it !!

[Bibs]

Just a remnder to get some winter tyres fittted as I'm sure you all will! We'll be rocking the snow scks if the weather gets bad again this year !

[basalte]

Had winter tyres for the first time ever last year, on the Pug 206...what a revelatory difference ! Sailing past all those BMWs floundering in the snow like upside-down tortoises-in fact it was worth getting them just to do that to the ultimate driving machine

spine-shatterers.

[Black Sport 160]

Living as you do in Kent, Andy, if I was going to install winter tyres, i'd be looking to have them on the car around mid-November.

This is around the time when the tarmac often has that nasty greasy, slimy layer on it for much of the time, the ambient temperature being too low / humidity too high to wick it away

[Sport 160]

I've got a set of winter tyres for my sensible winter commuter. I'll keep the Elise on it's summer tyres and just take it out for an occasional run over winter (I hate not driving it and get really twitchy if I go without if for a few days).

My sensible winter commuter is a turbo MX5 with a roll cage. Winter tyres for it are £40, wheels were £50 for a set and it is amazing in the snow. Never gets stuck and I don't care much if something happens to it. Also it means I can run silly track day tyres on it all summer.

There is a huge difference in grip with the winter tyres on, but on the other hand I did 20 years of commuting without them and didn't die or crash once, not even the decade I spent driving MR2s.

[Petrol feet driven]

I have been told these are great to use.

http://www.valuetyres.co.uk/snow_gecko.php