BBC weather

[z3cade]

Just watching the news today and it seems every video clip of a car being towed shows it being a BMW L-)

Should we all have a set of snow tyres for our bmws...?

 

[GazHyde]

I've been thinking of a set of snow socks for the Z4, but then wasn't expecting snow. That said it's my first BMW to actually get me home in snow so far...

I don't tend to watch the news/weather as it's usually wrong anyway.

 

[peteslag]

I would never take the Z3 out in the snow but got caught out yesterday. A little RWD car with fat tyres in a hilly area is never going to be good in those conditions. It took me 4 hours to do a journey that would normally take 30 minutes, every time I got to a slight incline it just started wheel spinning.

For me, the Z3 will remain parked up until the snow goes away (not that I could move it any way). My wife has a crappy little Japanese car with skinny tyres, not my usual car of choice but needs must!!!!

 

[stevie_a]

But snow socks and chains only work when we get it fitted correctly

 

[DangerousDave]

After overtaking everything on the M1 in my little old FWD Ford Escort van (without the hint of a skid) I think that the slipping and sliding RWD BMWs and Audis should be banned from driving in the snow.

One of them had spun and was facing the wrong way on the hard shoulder. It must have been an entertaining few seconds for the driver .

 

[billz]

The trouble is most folk can not drive correct in the snow, they forget to let the car do the work and instead try and force it, dont forget us old ones were brought up on rear wheel drive cars, i actually find them easier than front wheel drive. I have an Astra and as soon as it snows i think s--t, yet i dont think that in a rear wheel drive car. But saying that i had an xr3i and an xr2 and they were brill in the snow.
bill

 

[EnthuZiaZT]

The trouble is most folk can not drive correct in the snow, they forget to let the car do the work and instead try and force it, dont forget us old ones were brought up on rear wheel drive cars, i actually find them easier than front wheel drive. I have an Astra and as soon as it snows i think s--t, yet i dont think that in a rear wheel drive car. But saying that i had an xr3i and an xr2 and they were brill in the snow.
bill

You're right Bill, I drove my 1.8 Z3 to work every day last winter, 26 miles each way, even during that really bad spell, while those round me were in 4WDs. A Mazda MX5 was struggling to get up a hill on the main road last night.

This year I have decided to try and preserve my 2litre from the salt and notching up the miles and have been using the Landrover instead. Our problem is that the end of our drive is quite a steep gradient and prone to drifting with the snow, making it quite a bit harder for RWDs (including our Merc) to push you up and out, instead of pulling as with FWDs.

 

[peteslag]

I change my cars like my underwear so I'm a veteran of many different cars, FWD and RWD. I've driven most of them in the snow and have always quite enjoyed watching everyone else spin all over the place. Funnily enough, the best car I ever drove in the snow was a 1976 E21 323i, that was RWD. Like Bill says, most folk just don't know how to drive in the snow. The Z3 however, I have never experienced anything quite like it. On any sort of incline with traction control on, the dashboard light was permanantly lit and it just wouldn't move. With it off, the back wheels would just start spinning the instant my foot touched the throttle in any gear!! I've noticed my Bridgstone tyres are terrible in the wet, perhaps that is part of it.

I've heard many good things about Falken 452's, think I might switch to them.