Anyone for a drive in the snow?
Anyone for a drive in the snow?
Well I had a fun drive home from work this evening. As most other fellow Q owners here in the northeast, we had quite a bit of snow. Had a hell of a time getting my car going. TCS is worthless for going up a small hill with snow. As I get up the hill and make my turn, my Q stalls. Lucky for me, it started right up and I was on a road that is not busy. I noticed that I was low on gas so I figured a full tank of gas will give me the weight that I would need to get the extra traction. Much better after that. I blew by this BMW 740 that slipping and sliding all over the place. I think, after all these years, I'm getting snow tires. I have Michelin Pilot XGT H4 215 65 R15 with the stock rims. I'm looking to get Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50 of the same size. I've been told these are good. Any opinions? Who else uses snow with thier Qs? Any other kind of snow tires I should look at? I have a weekend home in the Poconos that I didn't own til this year and it looks like snow tires is the ticket for those snowy, hilly gravel road I need to take to get there. Snow Tires are cheaper than an SUV and I hate driving those damn trucks.
Re: Anyone for a drive in the snow?
louiegz wrote:1)TCS is worthless for going up a small hill with snow. As 2)I have Michelin Pilot XGT H4 215 65 R15 with the stock rims. I'm looking to get Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50 of the same size. I've been told these are good. 3)Any opinions? Who else uses snow with thier Qs? 4)Any other kind of snow tires I should look at?
1)Its all in the tires2)Bad bad tirs in snow, or even in cold get a different set now before you wreck the car3)I have in MN before, the car went better than many SUV's w/ all seasons.4)Michelin Alpins are also very good.
Fred..
I have to disagree about the TCS comment. I also spent 5 hours getting home yesterday when it normally takes about an hour or less. I was on 287 south heading home to the Jersey Shore and the TCS on my 92Q worked really well. I've owned the car for over 3 years and have driven it many times in the snow, but the roads were really slick last night and I did'nt have any trouble at all. A couple of times through out the trip (to keep myself awake) I'd turn the TCS off and try to climb a hill or speed up and it's just impossible without TCS. I also have 4 new Goodyear Aquatread 3's so maybe that helped.
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docsmile71
- Posts: 205
- Joined: Sun May 11, 2003 4:16 am
I just installed the Pirelli 210 Wintersport tires from tirerack.com. They are AWESOME!!!! I generally use the TCS and it helps with regular driving. If I get stuck in a snow bank, then I turn the TCS off...and then rock the car back and forth. Haven't gotten stuck yet...and here in Boston, we have a lot of snow and it's still falling hard.
The key is to get some good snow tires. I had Dunlop Sport A2's on previously which are also a M+S rated tire...but the snows are much much better.
The key is to get some good snow tires. I had Dunlop Sport A2's on previously which are also a M+S rated tire...but the snows are much much better.
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rover3l
- Posts: 514
- Joined: Sat Oct 11, 2003 3:22 am
- Car: 1998 Q45, 2000Q45 Anniversary, 1965 Rover 3L,
I have also jist fitted some Pirelli wintersport 210's with steel wheels from Tire Rack. Not had any snow yet here in Buffalo but statistics guarentee we will. I researched the tire issue and decided that the Pirelli's would be better all round thant the Blizzaks as they are also suitable for limited driving on dry roads and supposidly handle a lot better than blizzaks
Would the factory tires do well? If we do need some tires then my pops would probably hit tire rack up. We've used them 3 times before with no problems and its damn cheap. Twice for tires for the Max and just recently for for a rim/tire package for the Windstar. Looks pretty nice. What would be some good winter tires for the FX that are still good on the dry road?
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nuQ
- Posts: 1659
- Joined: Thu Jan 23, 2003 1:39 pm
- Car: 2003 Infiniti M45
2009 Dodge Caliber SXT - Location: Bethlehem PA
i'm also running the es100's, got them over the summer too. the Q is just way to valuable to me to risk sliding into a tree, or having some idiot skid into me so it stays parked in bad winter weather. i still have the original 4 rims in my basement, and i did give thought to installing winter tires, but she's better off staying parked and using my sentra/beater as a bumper car (or the work van).if the Q was my only transportation though, i would defintily get top-notch winter tires installed.
This isn't a comment about snow tires but a query bout your Rover. A friend of mine that I haven't seen in years was a Rover fan. I drove his car a couple of times and it was a nice ride. Does your Rover have the inboard disc brakes? I remember there were some unusual things about that car. Would you mind posting a little blurb on the Rover describing some of its features?rover3l wrote:I have also jist fitted some Pirelli wintersport 210's with steel wheels from Tire Rack. Not had any snow yet here in Buffalo but statistics guarentee we will. I researched the tire issue and decided that the Pirelli's would be better all round thant the Blizzaks as they are also suitable for limited driving on dry roads and supposidly handle a lot better than blizzaks
Carry on with snow talk.
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lessthanjakejohn
- Posts: 4105
- Joined: Fri Oct 25, 2002 6:39 am
Well, I have Yoko AVS ES100's on my 240 too . . . got it up my driveway (somewhat steep), with quite a bit of an icy coating on it today. :-) Very careful blipping of the throttle in 1st gear (was the best out of all them, surprisingly), and I made it up . . . shocked the hell out of my dad (S2000 with the Potenza Pole Positions still), hehe.
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driverdriver
- Posts: 3397
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- Car: NICO's longtime resident Canuck!!!
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I don't run snow tires on my J30, I run them on all season Good Years Eagles. I've never gotten stuck in snow (and where I live in Canada it snows quite a bit-especially when you live as close to the Lake Ontario as I do). In my view its all about technique, keeping a reasonable amount of speed, at least half full tank of gas, making sure my brakes where excellant, and having good radial tires, the limited slip differential helps a bit too. Before I owned the J ,years ago when I was in university, I use to own a early 80's ford mustang wilth all season Michellin radials, I use to drive to and from University at least once a month during the heavy snow season (November to April). between Sherbrooke, Quebec and Toronto (about 1000 KM's or 630 miles one way-with the help of gravel bags sitting in the hatch, the posi helped a bit) along the 401 through many different blizzards and snowstorms without incident. I never donuted or slid off the highway. My strategy use to be to get in behind a larger vehicle and follow its tracks at a safe distance and also not rely on brakes to correct my steering if I started to lose control, instead use the accelerator to gain control-its a technique I learned in winter driving school many years ago. I also use to drive the old 'stang to ski hills/mountains around Quebec city (Mt. St Anne) and into Vermont (Jay Peak) where snow is routinely falls by the foot without incident.
My two cents.
My two cents.
Bridgestone Blizzacks are great snow tires. I have been using them now for three winters and they bite in to the snow to give you acceleration and shorter stopping distance. I highly reccommend them if you live in an area with lots of snow, but because they are a soft compound tire, driving on bare tarmac will reduce its useful life.
On my J30 I have four new Motormaster IceTrack made by Michellin on the OEM rims, this will be my winter wheels, untill next spring when I will buy new 17" Wheels.
On my J30 I have four new Motormaster IceTrack made by Michellin on the OEM rims, this will be my winter wheels, untill next spring when I will buy new 17" Wheels.
expertie wrote:What about Toyo snow tires? A friend of mine suggested them to me. He said they are as good as other big brands. Any comments?
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Toyo builds an awesome studless winter tire.(code name: Observe) Expect similar performance with the Blizzak or Alpin. All are good, but should be used in sets of FOUR. Your drive tires aren't the only ones that need traction. Braking and turning capability in bad weather.. snow/ice, is greatly increased with four winter tires instead of just two.
http://forums.nasioc.com/forum....htmlThere is the list of regulations regarding individual states and use of metal studded winter tiresI gues I can use them until April 30 since I am in Massachusetts