UKC

Only joking.

Seriously though could all you middle class Skoda Octavia drivers keep the discussion to within this thread this year please...

In reply to Removed User:

Only use them in sets of four or you will die.
I can drive upside down in mine.
Everyone with a fun car is irresponsible.

That's saved a bit of time.

POD black ice rucksacks are the ONLY ones worth using.

In reply to Removed User:

Can you get them fitted to an R1?

In reply to Removed User: You don't need them if you're a good driver - like me.

;

In reply to 999thAndy: Use studded ice-speedway tyres.

In reply to Removed User:

Never needed them on my Octavia (or on any other car I've owned - and I've driven in some pretty crap conditions over the past 40 odd years) - though I do like to make sure my tyres have plenty of tread on them before each winter. An October MOT date is a good starting point.

My daughter recently bought a set for her Rav4 - but then again she does live in central British Columbia.

In reply to Removed User: Seriously though could all you middle class Skoda Octavia drivers keep the discussion to within this thread this year please.......how about us Skoda Yeti drivers. Can we comment?

If so just fitted a set of Continental winter jobbies. They seem fine but any road with snow on it is usually closed by plod.

In reply to Removed User: I recently got some from Blackcicles.com so hope the outlay can be justified. I was beginning to think we were heading for warmest decade on record and so the prospect of falling temperatures and some snow reassures me.

In reply to Removed User:

Never needed them in this country - they would have been nice to have a couple of times, although the amount of snow probably would have overcome them anyway.

Still, since last lot of snow, I've been given a set of snow chains...

In reply to Lord of Starkness: My Octavia was utter sh1t in the snow .... until I put winter tyres on in the dying gasps of the snow last December. Now brilliant. Shame the snow didn't last long after that.
Put them on early this year (end October) - surely the reason for the warm autumn.

In reply to Tim Sparrow: So was mine - after just one 2 mile trip in the snow I was surprised to get back unscathed, so I parked up and left it there 'til the thaw. Worst car I've had for driving in snow - scary

In reply to Removed User:
Got them fitted on my octavia yesterday (same set as last winter), much fun on the way to work today, no snow but cold and wet roads and the things just grip like hell. Was fun out accelerating people round the outside of roundabouts.

And on a serious note, last winter they were awesome in the snow.

And they work better at 7°C or below than normal tyres

In reply to Removed User:

Followed a Range Rover down Heptonstall hill this morning travelling at about 10 mph in about 2cm of very wet semi-slush - tyres biting right (through obviously)

I commend their caution

In reply to obi-wan nick b:

For many years as a sales rep my 'patch' was Cumbria plus Northumberland and Co Durham west of the A68. I never got stuck even though my company cars from '74 consisted of a 1.3 basic Morris Marina, and a couple of 1.3 basic Ford Cortinas (mk4 & 5). Those cars were seriously shit in the snow, but they were RWD and you could always put a couple of paving stones ( or a couple of bags of formwork ties) in the boot to keep the back end in place.

I had customers in Alston, lived near Penrith, and my regional office was in Newcastle. My car was generally one of the last 2wd's over Hartside before it got blocked, and one of the first over after it had been ploughed open.

You certainly learned to read the road and conditions in those days, and became very circumspect about which roads you could get away with. Our boss and company were 'tight' to say the least, and any request for winter tyres would have been met with derision. As a result you learned how to drive in bad conditions. Saying that I did have a couple of 'near misses' and an argument with a tree on the way from Carlisle to Keswick as a result of black ice.

I only ever lost a couple of days 'out on the road' when our village was snowed in, and only tractors could get out.

In reply to Lord of Starkness: Well possibly 225/40 tyres and 200bhp (petrol turbo)are probably not the best combination for such conditions. However for the other 360 days of the year it's brilliant

In reply to obi-wan nick b:

I've no doubt the vRS is brilliant fun but whilst my 1.9 tdi90 estate might not get there as quickly -- at least I get there with my underwear unstained - and still nil points sur le licence

In reply to Graham T:

Just had mine fitted to my Renault Megane estate and they do feel super confident. Looking forward to testing them if when we get snow in the Dartmoor Forest.

In reply to La Shamster:

Newbie question here.

My VW Passat is on summer tyres, and needs two new front ones as they're pretty much at end of life. The back two are fine.

I'm driving my car over to the French Alps next weekend, where I'll be living permanently.

I'm tempted to get 4 winter tyres fitted here before I go, keep the two back tyres and take them with me, and then in the summer in France just get two new tyres for the front to use with the old back ones.

Would this work? Can you keep the tyres without getting new rims? Aside from the expense I would like to minimise, I also won't have much room in the car so was hoping to get away with just the two tyres.

Or would I be better off getting my new tyres in France?

In reply to yorkshireman:

I paid £350 for my new tyres and they said while I don't have spare rims it'll cost £10 per tyre to switch the summer ones back on.