How do people afford BMWs?

Nothing like having a good pointless chat on STW I feel… 🙂

In the snow you shouldn’t be using anything like 240hp more like 20. Fair enough if your a rally driving god, and the roads are empty then you probably would make good progress using 240hp but you would have to be good. Is that OK?

Nothing like having a good pointless chat on STW I feel…

…. Is that OK?

Says it all really. *drinks tea, goes back to work*

Nothing like having a good pointless chat on STW I feel…

In the snow you shouldn’t be using anything like 240hp more like 20. Fair enough if your a rally driving god, and the roads are empty then you probably would make good progress using 240hp but you would have to be good. Is that OK?

Pointless chat continued…

I reckon you’d need more than 20hp to shift that snow-mobile thing in alfbus’s post though, and them gritting lorries that go out they’ve got to be packing some power (albeit in a low performance diesel!).

Sorry, did someone mention context??!!

Actually our XF went like a dream in the snows last year, and thats circa 240 HP RWD … once fitted with winter tyres, and i certainly am not any form of driving god.

The wifes mini on the other hand with all of its 70 HP just sat there being grumpy.

Mighty, yep I am sure your XF was fine in the snow, as was an MX5 I used to have, but I assume you were not using all 240 horses in the snow?

Cars are only as powerful as how much you press the accelerator and Kryton obviously doesnt think his wife can gently press the accelrator (which has to be said is quite a common problem with BM drivers in the snow…)

FunkyDunc – Member
….Kryton obviously doesnt think his wife can gently press the accelrator (which has to be said is quite a common problem with BM drivers in the snow…)

*yawn*

Edit: Lol at the moderation….

It’s more of a case of powerful torquey engine + RWD + (wide) summer tyres being the perfect storm when it snows. A car with a weedy engine, FWD and skinny tyres is the opposite.

It’s more of a case of powerful torquey engine + RWD + (wide) summer tyres being the perfect storm when it snows. A car with a weedy engine, FWD and skinny tyres is the opposite.

I’d say its more a matter of right tool (tyre) for the job, even with 240HP and 245 tyres, ours got around without a hitch, doubly so by selecting the snow setting which utilises 2nd gear start offs and deadens the acceleration curve.

Same reason I don’t ride all winter on my continental speed kings.

The wifes weedy Mini with the skinny run flats powering through front wheel drive wasn’t going anywhere, hence she stole mine …

Lucky she didn’t die or something.

fwd vs rwd makes surprisingly little difference from a weight perspective. a fwd car typically has 55:45 weight distribution (taking the audi a4 as an example), a bimmer has 50:50. in a 1500kg car this would lead to 75kg (ie the weight of a bloke) extra over the driven wheels.

fwd does lead to torque vectoring, which makes driving in the snow easier, and as mentioned above, big sporty saloons often have wide summer tyres on them not helping things out

A mate of mine puked up on a BMW bonnet after a particularly heavy night some years ago.

Some days later he chanced upon the same car, with a distinct discoloured patch where the acidic vomit had eaten away at the car’s paintwork. 😯

I thought it was quite funny, personally. Which is all that matters really.

255 summer tyres, rwd and snow. The car stayed on the drive in the snow. I worked from home and it was 2.1inch and 8sp Alfine for me 😀 happy memories.

It’s more of a case of powerful torquey engine + RWD + (wide) summer tyres being the perfect storm when it snows. A car with a weedy engine, FWD and skinny tyres is the opposite.

Yep the humble 2CV is awesome in the snow

My BMW will go in the snow as well as any other car. In fact it’s better than most and I’ve used it to pull other cars out when stuck.

Can’t see what the issue is? I can’t think of a car I’d rather have in the snow than my BMW…

I can’t think of a car I’d rather have in the snow than my BMW…

A Land Rover Defender?

A Land Rover Defender?

Yep, that’s what it is, it rolled out of Lode Lane in Solihull under the ownership of BMW before it became Ford 🙂

See, not all BMWs are bad in the snow (or well built for that matter, my (BMW) looks like it was put together by drunk monkeys*)

*This may not be far from the truth, and some BMW feel like new after 100,000 miles, mine leaks water in, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s done that since new so I suppose it counts.