Bad in Ice

[mike4gtl]

It is now December and winter has arrived in the Fens. I have filled up my clan with anti freeze and given it a thick coat of waste oil underneath and in the sills and box sections.

Driving home from London tonight very late I turned off the A11 onto the Newmarket slip road and my car just glided gently to one side. I didn't panic and it did this on every corner for the next few miles until I was home. Now the roads were not gritted and the frost is very hard but should my 4 slide around like this?

Does yours guys?

If I take a round about in a hurry you can feel it grappeling at the road

 

[malcolm]

Choice of tyres will make a big difference. My R5 came with cheap ones and is a handful at this time of year. The Continentals on the R4 worked well in winter. Otherwise modern winter tyres are fabulous.

Also if you have had the suspension apart is the front and rear tracking OK?

 

[mike4gtl]

Hi Malcolm, I will check the tracking al round. The tyres are wearing evenly so it points more to cheap tyres are you say.

I will go in search of Continentals (via my continental corespondent) And probably fit the F6 size of 145/80R13

 

[mike4gtl]

The french have fitted Hong Kong Fooey Ditch Finders to my car. No Wonder its so bad

 

[malcolm]

Pain aren't they. The tyres on the R5 will let go without warning and then keep sliding. Ought to replace them before it snows. Decent tyres should let go gradually apart from on ice.

 

[snailshed]

Hi Mike, I know its really obvious but have you checked the tyre pressures recently? My 2cv loses a psi or two each week in one rear tyre, and below 20psi the car starts to get noticeably different handling depending on cornering left or right.

They can go soft yet still look quite well inflated so worth checking. Its one of the first things I check after buying another car and frequently find all four tyres are only 12 - 20psi so it's fairly common that most people don't check them regularly...

 

[pepper]

I do find that my 4 slides around a lot on the snow and ice, I just thought it was the lightness of the car.

My kia sedona weighs over twice as much as the 4, that doesn't slide much at all!

 

[mike4gtl]

These should cure my slipping around http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/300665474069?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

 

[pepper]

Nah, you'd want a proper winter tyres with lots of sipes in them,

 

[mike4gtl]

don't they wear out really quick though pepper·

 

[pepper]

Nope, not in my case, been running a set of continental on my kia and they've been done 20,000 miles no problems.

A Renault 4, is also very light so the wear rate should be good too.