Because your average diesel A4 doesn’t need 19″ rims.

Given the cost of Winter tyres for the bigger dimensions some forumites might find it cheaper to buy a Winter car. I suggest a Citroen AX GTi on Alpins for snowy days – possibly the most fum you’ll ever have without breaking the speed limit.

Audi gave me the option of a second set of alloys and winter tyres for only £1900…and £140 a year for the ‘audi hotel’ , which includes changing them over spring and autumn and storage in secure indoor bags….. Could buy a used Jimny for that 😯

I’d suggest getting a grip. Chances of that starting at -20 are between remote and none existent…….. not to mention the frostbite while you wait to get some warm air out of the heater……

😉

Better chance of it starting than a diesel below -20. I’ve only ever owned one diesel and learned to park it facing downhill with a clear run out of the resort. When it’s really cold the recovery truck does great business – with diesels.

Edit: I also kept a spare battery nice and warm indoors.

@ianc I think as I posted before sadly for me the local dealer was the worst part of owning the car £1900 😐

Don’t see the point of maintaining large wide tyres with low profiles for snow. Thin tyres cut through better and taller side walls allow lower pressures if required without smashing rims or for when you rediscover the kerb in the snow.

This. 2CVs are legendary in the snow not least due to their “bicycle” tyres. My Swiss mate had an A3 3.2 Quattro with low profiles for the summer and normal wheels and snow tyres for the winter.

Meh the landy started at -28 it’s a diesel.

The van didnt. It was parked next door with the same fuel – also diesel.

jambalaya – Member

@ianc I think as I posted before sadly for me the local dealer was the worst part of owning the car

Yeah, £1900 for wheels and tyres is just silly 👿

Mine appears to come with 17 inch wheels anyway, so once original tyres are work I can put Michelin cross climates on at £150 a corner….

[Quote=”Edukator”]Better chance of it starting than a diesel below -20. I’ve only ever owned one diesel and learned to park it facing downhill with a clear run out of the resort. When it’s really cold the recovery truck does great business – with diesels.[/quote]Funnily enough, in a country which actually knows about these things, sales of tinny, badly made, French rust buckets are pretty much in single figures. As in actual sales.

And diesels start first time everytime.
My record is 42 degrees below zero. -30 is pretty much every year, once or twice. -20 is for about a month or 6 weeks……

Seriously, I’d take a diesel with a filter heater (pretty much standard across Europe since the late 90s) and a battery with some proper grunt (even when cold) over petrol, a cold battery specced for an AX and French electrics from the 80s.

And no. Is not my fault the French are too daft to fill up with winter diesel before going somewhere cold.

Typing “panne de diesel grand froid” into search yields pages of diesels that won’t start when they’re cold.

As you clearly don’t have much affection for the French or things French could you let me know where you’re from, Ghostlymachine, so I can take the Micky out of wherever you’re from in an unfair sterotypical manner.

Just got back from the dealer having swapped to a set of Continental WinterContacts in 255/50 R19. Granted, going that big isn’t as good as having narrower tyres but they are still exceptional compared to the summer tyres I run. I recall the winter before last coming past Fox House outside Sheffield and seeing a scene of carnage with cars in the ditch, one in a wall and one pirouetting down the road behind me. Only me and a Defender got through safely and they shut the road a few minutes later. Wouldn’t be without winters on any vehicle.

It’s not unfair, it’s a professional opinion, based on time spent dealing with french electrics, for a french manufacturer, in France, where i used to live, on and off. For most of the 80’s and 90’s.

Have had diesels fail to start on a cold day … was many years ago so perhaps the “glow plug” tech has moved on

FWIW I’d rather have French electrics than Italian … damned by feint praise I will admit

It’s not just that, the pumps (both engine and tank) are stronger, so can move thicker fuel, most filters have heaters in them (that’s where most of the viscous drag comes from) and the low temp additives are better than they used to be, the injectors are far better as well. Some even have built in heaters.

Still, if someone fills up with summer grade diesel, it’ll struggle to start much below about -5. Very common problem during the start of the winter, or places where you can get to the high mountains from somewhere sunny.

Could be wrong but I’m fairly sure you can get Cross climates in 18″

cross climates

Okay, while the subject is up for discussion…

What (reasonably priced) mud and snow tyres for a Landrover Freelander (old model)?

Although it is used for the daily commute, it also gets taken off-road, and is likely to have to deal with “real” snow (remote village in northern Yorkshire Dales)

Any suggestions welcome

I think the problem you’ll have mightymule is that snow tyres aren’t great in mud and vice versa. I had some great mud a/t tyres on a pickup which were a bit crap in the snow (to the extent that I got it stuck and hit a wall once), the snow tyres ive got on now I’d never take off road but are excellent in snow and ice. As I understand it, snow tyres are designed to pick up snow for their grip where mud tyres are designed to cut down for grip. I might be wrong though. I’d probably decide where you’re going to do the majority of driving and go for the best option for that. Personally I’d go for good winters as you can always stick to the roads unless your daily commute involves crossing muddy fields.

For most of the 80’s and 90’s.

I had about a dozen Citroens during this time. None had any electrical problems, or any other problems come to that. As for french rust, that was consigned to history when the pug 205 came out…

Italian electrics, though, fully deserve their reputation!

Going back to OPs question I can recommend Cooper weather master SA2s. Relatively cheap, wear really well, great in snow and slush – we live in the Pennines and they’ve never struggled.

Well, should have fitted my winter wheels before going up to kinlochleven 😆 Absentmindedly parked in a snowy layby, “yeah, this’ll be fine”, then had to shovel and footmat my way back out. No, that’s totally a tyre failure not a driver error.

Not all mud and snow (m+s) tires are winter tires.

Hence why some are utterly dangerous especially on pick ups.

How ever compared to my old technic Amazon m+s which were lethal my bf Goodrich mud km2s which are m+s and snowflaked are ludicrously good in snow and ice on the landy – which was pretty good in those conditions on toyo open countries.

So based on that I’d throw some propper snow flaked all terrains on for a winter.

And make sure they are narrow . 235/85s here …..the poseur tire of choice for the road going landy is 265-285 wide……..

An interesting comparison[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNuqGUgbcIk[/video]

as an update, I took the plunge and splashed out for two extra steel wheels plus four winter tyres – Vredsteins, as was on already – they seemed to have worked ok if rather fall to pieces due to my excessive three point turns :0)