[johnung]

Originally Posted by Wills2

The UK is a strange place for tyres, you have people that will insist that they need a set of super high performance summer tyres on their middling 3 series as they want maximum traction and performance (the kind of tyres fitted to 991 Turbo S) When the truth is they have neither the car nor the talent or the roads to exploit that tyres performance, so drive around well below the threshold of those tyres and really don't need them, but they insist they do and feel the benefits everyday in all situations like that morning commute done at an average speed of 25 mph.

But then they do an about face when it comes to fitting a set of performance cold weather tyres (note I said cold weather not snow) suddenly they're not needed as they drive to the conditions well below the threshold where a higher performance tyre would be needed, exactly the reverse of the mind set that made them put a set of PS4S tyres on their 330d in the first place.

For me it's not what people choose to do but the mind set and the logic people then employ to justify their choice as being the optimum one.

Yeah, we don't have the brightest bulbs on this side of the Atlantic either. In that morning snow/ice storm a few days ago there was a guy driving,or more descriptively, sitting in the middle of the road unable to move. Some guys had gotten out of their cars to push the idiot to the side.

Our worst culprits may be guys with huge high heavy American-made trucks or SUVs who apparently believe that a trim piece on the side that says "AWD" or "4WD" means to drive 20mph over the speed limit in traffic even in a torrential downpour or a snow blizzard.

It's also never a good idea, with the rampant gun carrying in certain areas, to respond with words or a gesture when one of these huge monsters sits on your rear bumper in traffic to get you to move to the side when there is literally 10 cars immediately in front of you.

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by Wills2

Well it's not so much the waste of money it's the mindset that says I need those but then flips 180 when it comes to winters, surely the thought process that got you to put the PS4S on the car would then get you to put a set of performance cold weather tyres on like the Pilot Alpin 4 on the car.

Then add the fact we don't run new tyres, (which get 'headline' test results), for more than a few miles. It is also when running through the mid range tread depths, where we should be looking more critically at the performance figures.

There is a big gap in knowledge for part used tyres. The performance of part worn cold weather tyres is not as bad as often made out, as temperatures warm a little. Particularly in wet conditions, where summer tyres have a drop off in performance as they wear.

[JNW1]

Originally Posted by Wills2

...surely the thought process that got you to put the PS4S on the car would then get you to put a set of performance cold weather tyres on like the Pilot Alpin 4 on the car.

Only if you think you're likely to encounter the sort of conditions where the Pilot Alpin 4 would out-perform the PS4S regularly and often; if you think fitting the Alpin 4 is likely to leave you on the wrong tyre most of the time surely it makes perfect sense to stick with the PS4S's?

I suppose you could argue the potential consequences of the Alpin 4 being the wrong tyre aren't as severe as the PS4S being the wrong tyre but where do you draw the line with that? If someone's seriously worried by a low probability of encountering a difficult condition perhaps the safest thing for them to do is not drive at all.....

[CuntFace5000]

If you live somewhere like that and you can afford a winter set of wheels and tyres.... Just buy a cheap Defender 90 for the odd day you need it.

[CajunBMW]

Originally Posted by johnung

Yeah, we don't have the brightest bulbs on this side of the Atlantic either. In that morning snow/ice storm a few days ago there was a guy driving,or more descriptively, sitting in the middle of the road unable to move. Some guys had gotten out of their cars to push the idiot to the side.

Our worst culprits may be guys with huge high heavy American-made trucks or SUVs who apparently believe that a trim piece on the side that says "AWD" or "4WD" means to drive 20mph over the speed limit in traffic even in a torrential downpour or a snow blizzard.

It's also never a good idea, with the rampant gun carrying in certain areas, to respond with words or a gesture when one of these huge monsters sits on your rear bumper in traffic to get you to move to the side when there is literally 10 cars immediately in front of you.

Hahahahaha. That is so true. I grew up and cut my teeth driving on snow in Northern Virginia and then the mountains of southwest Virginia. I even at the end of my time in Blacksburg, had a 5.0 mustang. I could drive in snow no problem, albeit carefully. I moved to Louisiana and it was a different ball game. On that once every other year snow storm there are lots of cars and trucks in ditches, etc. I remember my first experience, before I was able to buy a BMW, and still had my mustang, I was driving home from work because it was closing early due to 2-3" of snow. I stayed late because I did not want be on the road with everyone else. I was driving home and the only other car on this road, a Chevy suburban, was a foot or so from my bumper. I finally found a place to pull off so that they would not wreck my car. I then pulled back on to the road and eventually when the traffic lights on the road finally caught us, the suburban had a serious adventure. Because they were pissed that I was going 25 in the 40 zone, they sped up after I let them by, they basically were at max acceleration (~50-60) when the light turned red. They would have won a gold medal in ice skating as I imagine they did about a 6 to 7 1/2 spin. Somehow they even ended up on the median backwards without flipping or hitting trees or flowers. They didn't move for as long as I could look back. Not sure if they were stunned or had an accident in their pants. It was a good lesson that I needed to be more careful than in the mountains of Virginia where most knew how to drive. Anyway, I have survived here in Louisiana.

[TiredGeek]

Originally Posted by demc1982

If you live somewhere like that and you can afford a winter set of wheels and tyres.... Just buy a cheap Defender 90 for the odd day you need it.

Purchase of said 90 = £2k.
Tax at over £500 a year, insurance, MOT, spares (it is a LandRover) - you're looking at a minimum of a grand a year.
I'll stick with the summer / winter tyres swap thanks

[johnung]

Originally Posted by CajunBMW

Hahahahaha. That is so true. I grew up and cut my teeth driving on snow in Northern Virginia and then the mountains of southwest Virginia. I even at the end of my time in Blacksburg, had a 5.0 mustang. I could drive in snow no problem, albeit carefully. I moved to Louisiana and it was a different ball game. On that once every other year snow storm there are lots of cars and trucks in ditches, etc. I remember my first experience, before I was able to buy a BMW, and still had my mustang, I was driving home from work because it was closing early due to 2-3" of snow. I stayed late because I did not want be on the road with everyone else. I was driving home and the only other car on this road, a Chevy suburban, was a foot or so from my bumper. I finally found a place to pull off so that they would not wreck my car. I then pulled back on to the road and eventually when the traffic lights on the road finally caught us, the suburban had a serious adventure. Because they were pissed that I was going 25 in the 40 zone, they sped up after I let them by, they basically were at max acceleration (~50-60) when the light turned red. They would have won a gold medal in ice skating as I imagine they did about a 6 to 7 1/2 spin. Somehow they even ended up on the median backwards without flipping or hitting trees or flowers. They didn't move for as long as I could look back. Not sure if they were stunned or had an accident in their pants. It was a good lesson that I needed to be more careful than in the mountains of Virginia where most knew how to drive. Anyway, I have survived here in Louisiana.

Those roads in western Virginia are amazingly fun. Beautiful up and down curving perfectly paved roads. I've driven to the University of Virginia in Charlottesville and Virginia Tech in Blacksburg several times.

New Orleans is my favorite food city and a fun place to fly for a long weekend. Married a hot girl who grew up there. And she drives a mean BMW!

[CuntFace5000]

Originally Posted by johnung

Those roads in western Virginia are amazingly fun. Beautiful up and down curving perfectly paved roads. I've driven to the University of Virginia in Charlottesville and Virginia Tech in Blacksburg several times.

New Orleans is my favorite food city and a fun place to fly for a long weekend. Married a hot girl who grew up there. And she drives a mean BMW!

My god. You don't know my mrs

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by demc1982

If you live somewhere like that and you can afford a winter set of wheels and tyres.... Just buy a cheap Defender 90 for the odd day you need it.

Running winter wheels is the cheapest option.

Don't forget you are not really paying any more for tyres, can't wear out summer tyres while running on cold weather tyres!

Plus over a few years use, rims are not that expensive per year. If you are prepared to source nearly new rims (often with tyres already fitted), doesn't cost much more than buying tyres, you'd have to purchase anyway, whatever you use.

I'd say my extra 'rim cost' (two sets) has worked out about £70 a year, all in, for the last 12 winters.

[CuntFace5000]

Originally Posted by HighlandPete

Running winter wheels is the cheapest option.

Don't forget you are not really paying any more for tyres, can't wear out summer tyres while running on cold weather tyres!

Plus over a few years use, rims are not that expensive per year. If you are prepared to source nearly new rims (often with tyres already fitted), doesn't cost much more than buying tyres, you'd have to purchase anyway, whatever you use.

I'd say my extra 'rim cost' (two sets) has worked out about £70 a year, all in, for the last 12 winters.

Okay, just remember there's no such thing as a bad road.

[CajunBMW]

Originally Posted by johnung

Those roads in western Virginia are amazingly fun. Beautiful up and down curving perfectly paved roads. I've driven to the University of Virginia in Charlottesville and Virginia Tech in Blacksburg several times.

New Orleans is my favorite food city and a fun place to fly for a long weekend. Married a hot girl who grew up there. And she drives a mean BMW!

Yeah I really enjoyed the fun roads in the VA mountains. My 5.0 was a GT and a manual, it was a blast driving through valleys and wonderful forests. I'm at the north part of Louisiana now, but I travel a lot for business and kids soccer so I am in New Orleans frequently. The BMW is obviously more fun and more sophisticated, but at the time as a younger fellow there was something to be said for the raw nature of a Mustang. Since we are on the winter thread, i don't use winter tires, since we only average 1-2 days a year where the whole day is below 35 or so. We do get 10-30 freezes a year at night. There is the occasional almost spring like winter where it might not freeze and the occasional really cold winter. I have an X1 that my teen driver has seemingly permanently borrowed, but if needed I drive that on days that my summer tires might struggle. Thus, I do wear out my summer tires as they are on all the time. But we really only have three seasons here; nuclear summer, normal spring or fall (the same thing temperaturewise) and an early spring or late winter (again similar temperaturewise). If we have winter it is usually short.

[johnung]

Originally Posted by demc1982

My god. You don't know my mrs

Uh, oh! Sorry. I thought she had told you

[johnung]

Originally Posted by CajunBMW

Yeah I really enjoyed the fun roads in the VA mountains. My 5.0 was a GT and a manual, it was a blast driving through valleys and wonderful forests. I'm at the north part of Louisiana now, but I travel a lot for business and kids soccer so I am in New Orleans frequently. The BMW is obviously more fun and more sophisticated, but at the time as a younger fellow there was something to be said for the raw nature of a Mustang. Since we are on the winter thread, i don't use winter tires, since we only average 1-2 days a year where the whole day is below 35 or so. We do get 10-30 freezes a year at night. There is the occasional almost spring like winter where it might not freeze and the occasional really cold winter. I have an X1 that my teen driver has seemingly permanently borrowed, but if needed I drive that on days that my summer tires might struggle. Thus, I do wear out my summer tires as they are on all the time. But we really only have three seasons here; nuclear summer, normal spring or fall (the same thing temperaturewise) and an early spring or late winter (again similar temperaturewise). If we have winter it is usually short.

Coolest night ever was in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. 85 degrees in the afternoon playing frisbee on the levee, then bitter moist cold in the Quarter that night. HaHa, forced to stay close to the flaming fountain at Pat O's to stay warm! I always tell people that the best time to visit New Orleans is Fall and Spring (crawfish season!)

[MashinBenzin]

Originally Posted by demc1982

If you live somewhere like that and you can afford a winter set of wheels and tyres.... Just buy a cheap Defender 90 for the odd day you need it.

Hmmm. Until it won't start.

[MashinBenzin]

Originally Posted by johnung

Those roads in western Virginia are amazingly fun. Beautiful up and down curving perfectly paved roads. I've driven to the University of Virginia in Charlottesville and Virginia Tech in Blacksburg several times.

New Orleans is my favorite food city and a fun place to fly for a long weekend. Married a hot girl who grew up there. And she drives a mean BMW!

New Orleans is an amazing place. Stayed around northern Louisiana (near Alexandria) many years ago, some beautiful bayous. Great drive from near Alex to New Orleans via Hooters in Baton Rouge. Happy days and never made it back yet.

Buick Century made heavy work of curving freeway ramps

[MashinBenzin]

Originally Posted by johnung

Coolest night ever was in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. 85 degrees in the afternoon playing frisbee on the levee, then bitter moist cold in the Quarter that night. HaHa, forced to stay close to the flaming fountain at Pat O's to stay warm! I always tell people that the best time to visit New Orleans is Fall and Spring (crawfish season!)

Christ this thread is bringing back happy memories. Pat Os was great and a lot of crawfish were eaten generally - I went in spring. Wandering the French quarter with a hurricane, life seemed pretty simple and enjoyable. What a city.

[CajunBMW]

Originally Posted by MashinBenzin

Christ this thread is bringing back happy memories. Pat Os was great and a lot of crawfish were eaten generally - I went in spring. Wandering the French quarter with a hurricane, life seemed pretty simple and enjoyable. What a city.

It remains a fun city. There have been a lot of positive changes but by and large it is the same city.

[bishbosh]

This thread is becoming impossible to read on a small phone.