[Rbrown]

Saw a 1 series today that could have done with winter tyres....

I was on the main road and saw him sliding down the hill out of control on the snow. I braked, slowed down the traffic for him so that it was safe for him....he slid out and managed to get control.

Still waiting for any form of thank you from him!

[Armaan]

Originally Posted by Rbrown

Saw a 1 series today that could have done with winter tyres....

I was on the main road and saw him sliding down the hill out of control on the snow. I braked, slowed down the traffic for him so that it was safe for him....he slid out and managed to get control.

Still waiting for any form of thank you from him!

You'll be waiting for about 25 years or until he gets out of his BMW and into a Prius of some kind.

It's very frustrating, always found drivers more inclined to say thanks when I was in the South East - Kent.

Midlands seem to be ok and some are inclined to, others just ignore. Makes everyone less likely to give way.

Armaan

[sensible]

Not the best weather to do it, but eventually changed my wheels to my winter set. 225/45 R18 95V M+S Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4 tyres on a set of 400M wheels.
Snow forecast for tomorrow!

[James-335dx]

Got my little 18" black winters on at the weekend ready for the snow, if it ever comes?
405's fully cleaned and bagged for hibernation

[sensible]

Originally Posted by James-335dx

Got my little 18" black winters on at the weekend ready for the snow, if it ever comes?
405's fully cleaned and bagged for hibernation

My 19" 704M wheels are also bagged and stored. I always thought that they should be stacked on top of each other and not stored on their treads if they were complete with wheels, and only store them on their treads if they are just tyres (without wheels) ??

[aquazi]

Got a dusting of snow here... and for once will need to use my car to do the nursery drop off... wonder how 20” PS4’s will perform on the snowy hills?!

[Alscoob]

Originally Posted by sensible

My 19" 704M wheels are also bagged and stored. I always thought that they should be stacked on top of each other and not stored on their treads if they were complete with wheels, and only store them on their treads if they are just tyres (without wheels) ??

Correct

[skipraider]

I bought these wall brackets to keep them up high out the way, otherewise they take up far too much space.

[James-335dx]

Originally Posted by sensible

My 19" 704M wheels are also bagged and stored. I always thought that they should be stacked on top of each other and not stored on their treads if they were complete with wheels, and only store them on their treads if they are just tyres (without wheels) ??

Yeah they are now they're in the garage Took the photo whilst I was moving them about

[BBri89]

Originally Posted by skipraider

I bought these wall brackets to keep them up high out the way, otherewise they take up far too much space.

Good idea... where did you get them from?

[skipraider]

They were on ebay, can't see any at the moment though.

[sensible]

Originally Posted by James-335dx

Yeah they are now they're in the garage Took the photo whilst I was moving them about

Ah, okay. Nice wheel bags. Mine are not that fancy. 👍

[sensible]

Originally Posted by skipraider

I bought these wall brackets to keep them up high out the way, otherewise they take up far too much space.

They look good, and can be stored that way too.
Although I wouldn't want the weight of the wheel bearing on the bracket at the centre hole of the wheel. On wheels that are diamond cut in that area (which is most of them) a small chip in the lacquer would start the dreaded white worm. I see that yours are painted at that centre wheel hole so may be more durable.

[Jon TDI]

Picked up my winter wheels last weekend, but decided to refurb & change the colour of them before actually fitting them to the car.

We have quite a bit of snow at the moment & by the time I have finished refurbishing them, the snow will have gone!

Good job I’m working from home & don’t actually need to use the car as yet.

[bishbosh]

I have those same brackets, godsend for helping keep the garage tidy. My wheels were diamond cut but are now power coated so should be ok.

[skipraider]

Originally Posted by sensible

They look good, and can be stored that way too.
Although I wouldn't want the weight of the wheel bearing on the bracket at the centre hole of the wheel. On wheels that are diamond cut in that area (which is most of them) a small chip in the lacquer would start the dreaded white worm. I see that yours are painted at that centre wheel hole so may be more durable.

You could always stick some felt on the top of the bracket.

[jenshb]

Originally Posted by skipraider

You could always stick some felt on the top of the bracket.

Or a section of PVC pipe or water pipe insulation foam...? The surface just needs to be softer than the surface of the wheel - including the finish.

[Ennoch]

Originally Posted by VidalBuffoon

I'm guessing that was from here?

https://goo.gl/maps/X975DewWqo3Liv5Q8

I know that road so well, best driving road in the UK. We used to regroup a bit further on.

Originally Posted by skipraider

They were on ebay, can't see any at the moment though.

I'm guessing there are issues getting them from China as I was about to post a link to the ones I got from Amazon which are probably identical apart from the colour and they're not available either. Which is annoying as I need to order another set for the BMW wheels (I'm now up to 5 sets of wheels in the garage )!

[jackstrath]

Iv had my winter set up on a few months now in preparation for going snow boarding.... yeh got 1 day of that before Scotland lockdown happened!

A939 - 20% inclines covered in drifting snow climbing up to 637m.

RWD 340i with nothing more than a snow board and some boots in the rear for weight, never got stuck once, AWD Volvo, Quattro Audi's all on summer tyres sitting spinning at the first incline, look on there faces after they say your not going to get up that in a bmw as you see them for the last time that day .... The Toyo Snow proxes arnt Nokians but they are still very good in the snow!

[peetee]

F31 35d. PS4’s all round and x-drive. No issues - just need to be mindful of braking. If I lived out in the sticks maybe I’d need to consider winters bit overkill for my application.

Picking up studless Nordic winters and some 400m wheels soon for a road trip to Norway, Tromso. I’ll need some winters for that journey.


Pic from last week. Slight uphill gradient no problems

[Ennoch]

Originally Posted by VidalBuffoon

Hadn't realised it had got so bad up there, it's 10 years since we last visited in the MINIs. The roads were empty apart from a few motorhomes and Spanish lorries on their way to Kinlochbervie. That was part of the appeal, quiet roads. Sounds like it's gone the way of the Lake District.

My last trip up there was 2013 but that was in a motorhome. We had real problems with the midgies and have pretty much avoided the NW Highlands ever since. Sounds like it's overrun with tourists, at least the midgies will be well fed.

I've had a couple of close shaves with deer, last time I said I'd fit one of those whistle things but haven't been back to bother.

I missed this originally. It's now an utter disaster up there in summer with chavs in their fast cars trying to race round with each other as fast as possible, and rented camper vans everywhere, many choosing to shit in the lay-bys rather than use their onboard chemical toilet. Or if they do, emptying their chemical toilet into the stream which runs to the beach near my parents - someone up there caught a holidaymaker doing that with their rented camper van. There was also a local old lady up there in her eighties who found a bunch of bikers camping on her driveway last year. When she challenged them for playing loud music at 1am they left turds and broken beer bottles on her drive. Now I know some may say that everyone has the right to enjoy the country up there etc but these people aren't doing that, they're destroying it and massively impacting the locals as a result. Imagine the typical louts who go on lads holidays to Marbella and transfer them to a rented camper van and you have the general idea.

I'm yet to be convinced those deer whistles actually do much, my dad had them on his Honda years ago up there and found zero impact in the number of deer he would nearly hit. I suspect that the speed for them to work effectively is higher than the speed you really want to be doing when there are deer around which IMO is 35-45mph max! Interestingly I discovered last week why there may be so many deer next to the roads - the local estate gives them feed cakes, right next to the road I mean what on earth are they thinking? There are too many of them as it is, it would be no bad thing if some bad winters hit their numbers hard.

Another thing I discovered is that the BMW feels way more planted in the snow with Dynamic stability control rather than fully on. I suspect the electronics are trying to limit all the little triggers from ice etc but this just leads to it feeling super nervous. It was times like last week that made me regret not buying another L322 FFRR but on balance the X Drive is actually pretty good as an all rounder.

[VidalBuffoon]

Originally Posted by Ennoch

I missed this originally. .......
........ It was times like last week that made me regret not buying another L322 FFRR but on balance the X Drive is actually pretty good as an all rounder.

I've just got some aftermarket wheels and I'm about to order some Vector4 Gen3s so I'll soon be able to test out the xDrive system. Long range weather is saying there's a good chance of an easterly which given our location and 850ft altitude means snow will be on the way.

I grew up in Blackpool so I know what it's like to some extent, it was never great but when the stag and hen dos started visiting it really nosedived, became unpleasant to visit the town as a local. Sounds like the NC500 has brought more problems than it's worth.