[Tunna_uk]

must admit I was surprised , I was even running low on fuel so not much weight in the back....obviously still have to be careful with throttle tho. LOL
When I picked my mate up he came out of the house with a shovel so he obviously had no faith in the BMW

[Rochdale Pioneers]

Right then, day 1 with RWD in the snow, and I've gone Stockton - Manchester - Rotherham - Stockton. Inch and a half down when I went out this morning, snow and slush on my street, the main roads and the southbound A19 as far as Thirsk. Absolutely no problem getting about, with just a minor slither getting off my street.

Just got back now and its snowing hard onto impacted snow. Tested grip on DTC mode on the straight, before the awkward tight turn onto my street in the back way with a short hill. Was fine ascending, tickover in 2nd only - any throttle and power was cut. So pretty uneventful really.

Out of interest does auto stop start switch out in the cold? Hasn't worked all day.

Tomorrow? To work in Sheffield, then Holmfirth for a gig tomorrow night, then home.

[buckethead]

yeah stop start does not work until above 3c

[Daz(Teesside)]

Another Teesside driver here ready to experience my first winter in a RWD car!

[red-max]

Originally Posted by Jon D

Agreed, looks like they're incorrectly handed.

Originally Posted by 335rocks

Is it me or do those tyres look to be fitted the wrong way around? Shouldn't the V pattern face the other way?

You guys have got me worried now...

I checked on the tyres themselves and they don't have directional arrows, just "Outer/Exterieur" written on the sidewall.

They're AVON Ice Touring ST, but the website doesn't say if they're directional or asymmetric. Funny thing is, the picture on the brochure has the V pattern going the opposite way to mine... I thought they might have flipped the photo but you can see AVON on the side so I guess not.

After a bit more Googling, looks like several sites list the ICE Touring ST as asymmetric, so I guess that means I'm ok and I haven't got 4 left-handed tyres ;-)

[atomic69]

AVON Ice Touring ST use a Asymmetric tread pattern in that the inner part of the tread is different to the outer but they don't list them as being directional, though as already stated the V of the tread usually points towards the front of the vehicle. A pain in the @ss but all that is required in to swap the wheels over left to right and visa versa.
In Avon's Data sheet it shows Ice Touring ST with the V pointing forward but if you are worried why not just drop Avon a line and see what they say.
http://www.avon-tyres.co.uk/sites/de..._Specsheet.pdf

[SteveF1]

That pdf you linked to is quite confusing.

Looking at the tyre on the wheel to the right of the page it shows the V pointing downwards but on the BMW to the left the V is pointing upwards????

Even Avon don't know which way round the tyres go!

[tomwd20]

Originally Posted by NFS

It's because it is beside the river Tees (and not the river Tee):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Tees

I work for Teesside Power Station and I'm fed up of folk spelling Teesside with one s

Back on subject.... I'm toying with the idea of buying a cheap run-around for the winter, fair enough there are measures you can take to get your 3-series out and about in the snow but I don't want to risk sliding into a lamp post! Seen a few 4x4's below £1k so it's either that or a Fiesta! "My other cars a BMW"!

[2GPP]

I also have Avon ST Ice Touring fitted. Each tyre is marked with "Outside" and this is facing the outside! Each has the "snow groove" (with the serrated inner edges) all on the outside edge of the tyre. The tread pattern on mine looks exactly like your picture (driver side front). However the V direction does seem to run in the opposite direction to the nearside tyre!
Bizarre!
I have spoken to Avon (Tyres!) technical desk and they say it is an Asymmetric tyre (non directional) and so as long as the wording "Outside" faces the outside it is correct. An Asymmetric tyre is one with a different tread pattern on its inner and outer edges. Asymmetric / Non directional means the tyres can be fitted to either side of the car without affecting performance
It is not a directional tyre, one designed to rotate in one direction only!

[briers]

On the wintracs they are marked with an arrow and the word rotation.

Normally it is the w or v grooves pointing forwards/downwards. I assume so the tip bites into the snow first.

[Rochdale Pioneers]

Drove home from Holmfirth late last night, and a blizzard desceded on the upper end of the M1. Traction OK with a couple of slithers, but a absolute white out, disorientating and wondering where on the road I was! At one point I couldn't tell if I was still moving - engine running, but no noise through the open window Switching dipped lights off and just using fogs really helped.

Then we got to Hook Moor, the natural bowl where the M1 and A1(M) merge. That got quite exciting with heavy snow falling onto impacted snow. Full on slithers now, a couple of reverse lock swings to keep in a straight line. A bit more traffic now behind, and I was down to 10mph with a few trucks trundling past doing about 20. I was definitely struggling compared to a few FWD cars who were now clearly OK, but then it started to improve.

The trucks did it. Disperse the standing snow and it got much easier, to the point of doing 50mph comfortably behind them with the wheels on tarmac. So well done Beemer. It was genuinely scary when I got lost in the blizzard, and almost funny when I was snaking up the hill, but we got there. Looking at the tyre tracks which kept shooting off an an acute angle towards either the central reserve or the shoulder then ending with a hard stop and a reverse direction, I did a lot better than the people who'd found themselves falling off the road. I can handle a skid OK, and from what I remember on my Silverstone day RWD is much easier to handle a skid in than FWD.

[Em135eye]

Good covering down here!

[briers]

Same here and I've already had to go out. I think my neighbor was waiting to be amused but I drove straight out.

After a little test my initial thought was wow. The difference is amazing. There is a little slope where I join the main road, covered in compacted snow and ice. The fwd 100bhp hatch back in front of me was frantically spinning its wheels trying to get onto the road.

No such drama for me. In fact no slip unless you give it the beans, even then its not that bad. Braking also very good. I will remember not to get complacent but I'm very happy with my decision.

[seamaster]

No snow in Dorset, dont know what all the fuss is about?

[briers]

And on my way back I saw an accident, rear shunt, unable to stop. People are so thick.

That's going to be my biggest problem

[beemerbird]

Originally Posted by Rochdale Pioneers

Drove home from Holmfirth late last night, and a blizzard desceded on the upper end of the M1. Traction OK with a couple of slithers, but a absolute white out, disorientating and wondering where on the road I was! At one point I couldn't tell if I was still moving - engine running, but no noise through the open window Switching dipped lights off and just using fogs really helped.

Then we got to Hook Moor, the natural bowl where the M1 and A1(M) merge. That got quite exciting with heavy snow falling onto impacted snow. Full on slithers now, a couple of reverse lock swings to keep in a straight line. A bit more traffic now behind, and I was down to 10mph with a few trucks trundling past doing about 20. I was definitely struggling compared to a few FWD cars who were now clearly OK, but then it started to improve.

The trucks did it. Disperse the standing snow and it got much easier, to the point of doing 50mph comfortably behind them with the wheels on tarmac. So well done Beemer. It was genuinely scary when I got lost in the blizzard, and almost funny when I was snaking up the hill, but we got there. Looking at the tyre tracks which kept shooting off an an acute angle towards either the central reserve or the shoulder then ending with a hard stop and a reverse direction, I did a lot better than the people who'd found themselves falling off the road. I can handle a skid OK, and from what I remember on my Silverstone day RWD is much easier to handle a skid in than FWD.

You still on summer tyres also, just the ballast?

[hmi1750]

worst is definitely people not keeping their distance! And being far to aggressive in their steering, acceleration and braking... I left my car in the drive as soon as I got home (before major snow) as I have not go winter tyres. But our fwd car did a fine job with some careful clutch control and high gears.

[M3-FAST]

Originally Posted by briers

Same here and I've already had to go out. I think my neighbor was waiting to be amused but I drove straight out.

After a little test my initial thought was wow. The difference is amazing. There is a little slope where I join the main road, covered in compacted snow and ice. The fwd 100bhp hatch back in front of me was frantically spinning its wheels trying to get onto the road.

No such drama for me. In fact no slip unless you give it the beans, even then its not that bad. Braking also very good. I will remember not to get complacent but I'm very happy with my decision.

Same here Ben - we have not had bad snow really, but the M3 was shocking last year in anything more than a sprinkling of the stuff!

The snow on our estate had been quite compacted by the time I drove on it - the car felt completely surefooted and could actually pull away quite quickly with zero wheelspin!

Absolutely amazed at the difference between the grip levels. Not saying my car would not have done the same journey on the summer PS2's, but for sure, would not have felt as safe as it did this morning on the Wintracs.

[red-max]

Originally Posted by 2GPP

I also have Avon ST Ice Touring fitted. Each tyre is marked with "Outside" and this is facing the outside! Each has the "snow groove" (with the serrated inner edges) all on the outside edge of the tyre. The tread pattern on mine looks exactly like your picture (driver side front). However the V direction does seem to run in the opposite direction to the nearside tyre!
Bizarre!
I have spoken to Avon (Tyres!) technical desk and they say it is an Asymmetric tyre (non directional) and so as long as the wording "Outside" faces the outside it is correct. An Asymmetric tyre is one with a different tread pattern on its inner and outer edges. Asymmetric / Non directional means the tyres can be fitted to either side of the car without affecting performance
It is not a directional tyre, one designed to rotate in one direction only!

Thanks 2GPP, that's reassuring. I got the AVONs from my local tyre fitters and they usually know what they're doing. Strange that the tyres are different to the one in the brochure though.

I had the wife's Fiesta fitted with Bridgestone Blizzaks, and they're definitely directional, they have the rotation arrows on them.

No snow yet here in North Bucks, but it's only a matter of time...

[Rochdale Pioneers]

Been out to play again today. Went to York to pick up a friend, his estate compacted snow and hidden speedbumps (!). More opposite lock action at walking pace to get there. Had a coffee before we set off, and described the fun on the motorway last night. Then we set off and more opposite lock action to get to main roads. He was entertained/impressed by my ability to catch skids - that's what I do like about RWD.

Yes, summer tyres, ballast, plenty of experience driving on snow having grown up in the pennies, and a bit of car control. Simples!