From the BBC - Many councils 'waiting for grit' :

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11454665

We have a pretty cool climate, yet the majority of cars in the UK run on summer tyres all year round - which don't function properly below 7 degrees C.

I only realised this after I started regularly driving to Germany and Austria a couple of years ago. There, during winter months, it's the law to drive either winter tyres, or all-weather's with the snowflake symbol. Realising that apart from a potential fine from the police, I was sure my insurer wouldn't pay out if I had an accident ("well, it's the law in Germany...") I started investigating winter tyres.

Ask any tyre dealer in the UK, and you seem to get the response "ah, you want SNOW tyres'. Which is only part of the point - they grip in low temperature conditions, snow, slush, ice. Of course there has to be a flip-side - they don't have wear ratings comparable to summer tyres, with the soft rubber compounds I presume. And they don't work so well in warmer conditions.

The answer seemed to be all-weather tyres. But you need to choose well - a lot of these are aimed at the North American market, where tread wear is king - I have seen reviews of European tyres, where they have been criticised for not lasting more than 30,000 miles.... ! I ended up with Nokian WR-G2's, ordered via MyTyres since they don't have UK distribution. Vredestein make some good all-weather tyres, too.

The difference? In the warm weather, they feel like a good entry level tyre - you wouldn't want to put them on your ST, but for the majority of normal cars they are fine. They really come into there own in adverse weather - presumably as a function of treads to clear snow, they channel water away easily - my car never felt so stable in heavy rain. And what is odd is that as the temperature drops you notice... no difference at all! There's still the laws of physics, but grip in low temperature is far better....

I wonder, with all the coming cutbacks, if the councils are waiting for grit because they just can't afford it! Read more

Im new to this site so looking for a little advice,

I bought my 56 plate Saab in February 2010 with 29k on the clock, all has been fine until a week ago when i noticed a knocking / rattling noise everytime i had my foot on the clutch which then stopped once i had taken my foot off, i've been to my local Saab dealer who has informed me that i need my Flywheel & Clutch replacing at an approximate cost of £1000. Reading various forums, this seems to be a common problem but i haven't seen any that need replacing before they hit 40k miles (currently at 38,800 miles). is this more likely to be a parts fault rather than wear & tear, and what is the likelyhood that Saab might stump up some of the cost if it is a parts fault?... Read more

Hi, NORTH WALES -(LL12) dealership techy for here for assistance, code read diagnostic tool with the very latest 10.4 software just released.

Here to help where i can, apologies if i should not put this post here, just here to help, return the gesture for those who have helped me, great web site, plenty of input. Codeman on f-book... Read more

Hi all,

Am looking at a 4 x 4 (used, budget around £3.5 - £4k) as I prefer the higher driving position and need to travel some pretty dodgy roads in the winter (ahh Scotland in December - lovely!) ... Read more

i have just bought a peugeot 306 hdi meridian and i have noticed the front wipers are parking iraticley every time i try them, i have tryed changing the purple relays above the drivers footwell but this as made no differance, is there another relay and could it be the switch or the motor, the wipers work when thay are on normal speed and the washers are working but the wipers are iratic on that aswell, it is very confusing and i hope you can help me on this matter. thanks. Read more