# English Snow



## pigrad (Nov 14, 2010)

Why are bmw's useless in snow. I have had most makes of car and never got stuck, untill today i got stuck in Newcastle outside my mum & dad's house. It's the first time i had to dig my car out and get pushed. or is that why some of you put winter tyres on


----------



## moorechr (Nov 13, 2010)

New Castle where? 

Your email worries me as I commute to Philly every week and have been concerned about snow driving but was reassured by several that with snow tires it wouldn't be a problem...

Sent from my PC36100 using BimmerApp


----------



## pigrad (Nov 14, 2010)

westerhope Newcastle upon tyne, England. (Geordie Land) :rofl:


----------



## dvon (Jun 27, 2010)

What kind of tires are on your car now? BMWs don't suck in snow more than other rwd cars but tires make a word of difference.


----------



## TRS550 (Jan 2, 2010)

BMW's worthless in the snow???

I drove my 550 all last winter with the stock Dunlop RFT's on it. Drove to and from work on snow covered highways for 26 miles one way on several occasions. Of course I grew up on RWD and have never owned an automatic or a FWD vehicle so I've never been taught that you can't drive a RWD vehicle in the snow.

BMW worthless in the snow??? Me thinks its the driver.


----------



## Andrew*Debbie (Jul 2, 2004)

pigrad said:


> Why are bmw's useless in snow.


I've only lived here 2 years, but isn't this latest snow a little unusual? Nothing short of a Defender or a tractor is going anywhere in fresh heavy snow.

BMW's aren't useless in snow. The tires they come with are. Performance summer tires that come stock on many BMWs should never be used in wintry conditions. All season tires are fine in the cold and wet but not much good in real snow.

Buy some proper snow tires or wait for the roads to clear.


----------



## rotty (Jun 29, 2008)

My X3 was 'interesting' in the UK snow last year - it would 'go' ok, but steering/stopping was a wheeze ... that was fitted with the OEM Dunlop SP01 Sport 'summer' tyres. So this year I invested in a spare set of alloys (£80 for 5 X5 style 57's off evilbay) and a set of Vredestein Wintrac 4 Xtremes - world of difference and well worth doing, having a steep driveway and fairly steep/tricky roads out of our village.

It isn't just BMW's that are poor in snow - two of my neighbours have Merc's - one a 'hearse' estate - he couldn't even get it off his drive last year or this.

Winter (M&S with the snowflake/mountain symbol) are the way to go, though I doubt you'll be able to find any now as stocks in the UK are almost out for all the normal sizes. Let's just hope the snow is early this year and the rest of the winter is just mild and wet (not much hope).


----------



## pony_trekker (May 26, 2003)

pigrad said:


> Why are bmw's useless in snow. I have had most makes of car and never got stuck, untill today i got stuck in Newcastle outside my mum & dad's house. It's the first time i had to dig my car out and get pushed. or is that why some of you put winter tyres on


Invention called SNOW TIRES. I got stuck in a rental Camry today without him. The TIRES touch the snow. The car doesn't.

And maybe it's because you drive on the wrong side of the road.


----------



## pigrad (Nov 14, 2010)

Ha Ha good one


----------



## pigrad (Nov 14, 2010)

pony_trekker said:


> Invention called SNOW TIRES. I got stuck in a rental Camry today without him. The TIRES touch the snow. The car doesn't.
> 
> And maybe it's because you drive on the wrong side of the road.


 Ha Ha good one.


----------



## cwinter (Feb 3, 2009)

pigrad said:


> Why are bmw's useless in snow. I have had most makes of car and never got stuck, untill today i got stuck in Newcastle outside my mum & dad's house. It's the first time i had to dig my car out and get pushed. *or is that why some of you put winter tyres on*


Head on over to the E90 forum. You'll fit right in with the other baffoons that complain about being stuck in snow with improper tires, excuse me, tyres.

I am thinking about starting a discussion about why my transmission feels so terrible. Makes horrible noises everytime I shift. Or is that why some of you use the clutch when shifting?

:angel:


----------



## pigrad (Nov 14, 2010)

cwinter said:


> Head on over to the E90 forum. You'll fit right in with the other baffoons that complain about being stuck in snow with improper tires, excuse me, tyres.
> 
> I am thinking about starting a discussion about why my transmission feels so terrible. Makes horrible noises everytime I shift. Or is that why some of you use the clutch when shifting?
> 
> :angel:


Clutch what's that. I thought it was a foot rest, that's what that smell of burning. Cheers for that:bigpimp: I can drive ok now, the snow has gone.


----------



## Campfamily (Sep 20, 2010)

I have the ultimate solution for driving in the snow. Live somewhere where it doesn't snow!!

Snow, pretty to look at, but I wouldn't want to live in it!


----------



## Jimbo335 (Oct 3, 2010)

Campfamily said:


> I have the ultimate solution for driving in the snow. Live somewhere where it doesn't snow!!
> 
> Snow, pretty to look at, but I wouldn't want to live in it!


+1:thumbup:


----------



## pigrad (Nov 14, 2010)

Campfamily said:


> I have the ultimate solution for driving in the snow. Live somewhere where it doesn't snow!!
> 
> Snow, pretty to look at, but I wouldn't want to live in it!


If only


----------



## Coconutpete (Feb 7, 2008)

Bad news: You could take the most capable vehicle in the world and put sh!t tires on it and it would SUCK in the now.

Your car is only as connected to the road as the tires will allow. Put some nice summer tires on your car and it will be horrible in the snow.

Sorry to dissapoint you, but this has nothing to do with your BMW.


----------



## pigrad (Nov 14, 2010)

Coconutpete said:


> Bad news: You could take the most capable vehicle in the world and put sh!t tires on it and it would SUCK in the now.
> 
> Your car is only as connected to the road as the tires will allow. Put some nice summer tires on your car and it will be horrible in the snow.
> 
> Sorry to dissapoint you, but this has nothing to do with your BMW.


If you have snow tyres for sale i will buy them because from you they must be goooood :tsk:


----------



## S93D (Apr 24, 2008)

It doesn't take that much snow to shut down England, particularly the southeast. Don't feel bad, the same thing is true for the U.S. South.


----------



## Andrew*Debbie (Jul 2, 2004)

*Welsh Snow*

Took the MINI out this weekend. All things considered it did reasonably well. I wouldn't drive too far or risk taking it somewhere foolish but it did get the job done. Biggest problem is a lack of ground clearance.

Someone recently explained to me that the British term for snow is "Snow Chaos". That explains a lot.

Snow Chaos Photos from Saturday...


----------



## AzNMpower32 (Oct 23, 2005)

I heard that Wales is probably one of the parts of the UK that didn't get hit so hard by the recent snow compared to say, Scotland.


----------



## dms540i (Mar 27, 2010)

Yes, they are useless if you don't have a good of snow tires on all four wheels. With good snow tires it's better than walking.


----------



## Andrew*Debbie (Jul 2, 2004)

AzNMpower32 said:


> I heard that Wales is probably one of the parts of the UK that didn't get hit so hard by the recent snow compared to say, Scotland.


That's correct. Up to now the snow has been mostly in Scotland, eastern and southern England. 
This weekend was the first substantial snow this year. We got about 1ft of snow. Our neighbor said this was the heaviest snow he'd seen on Anglesey in 40 years.

Its also unusually cold with record lows in Northern Ireland. Its cold here too. -8 at the north end of Angelsey, -16 in Capel Curig and -10 (14F) here. I'm worried about ice on the roads.

My sister-in-law in Montana sent us photos of her snow up to the windows on her pickup. With studs and AWD she was able to dig it out and drive off. If it snowed like that here, we'd have a Land Rover.


----------



## Andrew*Debbie (Jul 2, 2004)

*Snow Choas*

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/w...s-cancelled-as-BAA-criticism-intensifies.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12034317

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12025538

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12027553


----------



## Patrick (Dec 23, 2001)

The greater Helsinki area has got 71cm of snow in the month of December, and it is still snowing there. Big deal.

Public transportation still works, Helsinki-Vantaa International Airport is open, and anyone that needs to can drive their cars where ever they chose because the roads have been cleaned.

Enjoy your white holiday season and stop complaining!


----------



## Inline Sixer (Oct 28, 2010)

Sigh, again, a Toyota Corolla on snow tires will beat a Range Rover equipped with summer tires.

Little to do with the car.

Case in point:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXuhfwY74b8&feature=youtube_gdata_player

And another:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlYEMH10Z4s&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Sent from my iPhone using BimmerApp


----------



## AzNMpower32 (Oct 23, 2005)

Patrick said:


> The greater Helsinki area has got 71cm of snow in the month of December, and it is still snowing there. Big deal.
> 
> Public transportation still works, Helsinki-Vantaa International Airport is open, and anyone that needs to can drive their cars where ever they chose because the roads have been cleaned.
> 
> Enjoy your white holiday season and stop complaining!


I assume that 23% VAT on almost everything helps pay for the timely snow removal


----------



## chemguy (Sep 1, 2009)

pigrad said:


> Why are bmw's useless in snow. I have had most makes of car and never got stuck, untill today i got stuck in Newcastle outside my mum & dad's house. It's the first time i had to dig my car out and get pushed. or is that why some of you put winter tyres on


OP, curious as to what tyres you have mounted?


----------



## AzNMpower32 (Oct 23, 2005)

chemguy said:


> OP, curious as to what tyres you have mounted?


OEM for most European 3ers (non-staggered 16 and 17") are the Pirelli [email protected], a summer tire.


----------



## Andrew*Debbie (Jul 2, 2004)

I wonder if the OPs car is a 320d ED. Those come with EnergySaver tyres. Maybe he will come back and tell us.

http://www.bmw.co.uk/bmwuk/models/320d-ED/0,,1156___sit-bmwuk,00.html?requestSource=topnav

http://www.bmw.co.uk/bmwuk/[email protected][email protected][email protected],00.html


----------



## chemguy (Sep 1, 2009)

AzNMpower32 said:


> OEM for most European 3ers (non-staggered 16 and 17") are the Pirelli [email protected], a summer tire.


In that case, the follow up question would be to ask how the OP expected to drive with summer tyres in winter conditions.


----------



## Andrew*Debbie (Jul 2, 2004)

*Welsh Snow pt. 2*

The island got another 10" of snow overnight.

Cost Guard is taking nurses to the hospital.

First time I've seen an ambulance-snowplow. Lets hear it for govt. cost saving measures 










http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-12055533


----------



## AzNMpower32 (Oct 23, 2005)

Turns out a few celebrities were also caught a bit off guard in the UK.

http://uk.cars.yahoo.com/22122010/36/clarkson-hitches-ditching-car-snow-0.html



> *Clarkson hitches after ditching car in snow*
> 
> Jeremy Clarkson became a high profile casualty of the snow yesterday, as he was forced to abandon his car and hitch a ride with two strangers.
> 
> ...


----------

