4 x 4 / winter tyres or socks ?

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Wed 5 Jan 2011 20:09
4 x 4 / winter tyres or socks ? - youngboo

I've a budget of around £13 - £14,000 and looking to buy something hopefully no older than 3 yrs.

I stay in East Kilbride, reasonably high up in Scotland and struggle badly in snow - have a 56 plate astra with 225/40/18 tyres at moment and when snowing can't get into driveway...that's if i make it into estate. Also, work shifts and find that sometimes coming home late, going out early road conditions not as good as they could be.

Because of a/n, and looking for something reasonably big for my mountain bike, was considering a 4 x 4 - maybe a Rav 4. Would really like an Audi A4 though; how big a difference would there be between the likes of a Rav 4 and the A4 fitted with winter tyres when it came to grip on snow. Have read other forums and could it be that snow socks could be the answer if i bought an A4 ?

First choice would have been a 3 series BMW diesel coupe but think that's a no no because of the rear wheel drive ?

Edited by youngboo on 05/01/2011 at 20:22

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Wed 5 Jan 2011 21:54
4 x 4 / winter tyres or socks ? - gordonbennet

Rav 4 and the like will be perfectly fine on decent quality M&S tyres, though they probably won't be winter marked they will cope pretty well.

If you really do want a 3 series coupe then you will have to source a second set of wheels and invest in some quality winter tyres, or perhaps some all seasons like Vredestein Quatrac 3's or similar for all year round use, unless you get some mighty braked model you should be able to run 205/55 x 16's off an E46, these would be ideal for winter fitments with relatively inexpensive tyres.

My ageing MB is a lot worse for front heavy weight balance that a BMW, yet on it's 225/45 x 17 Nokian winters it will go anywhere without the slightest problem.

Bad winters shouldn't affect your abilty to make progress in a RWD car, but you can't expect them or indeed any vehicle including 4WD's to be any good on the sort of summer slicks you are presently on...see how many X5's and RR Sports on summer slicks are nothing short of useless in the ice and snow.

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Wed 5 Jan 2011 22:23
4 x 4 / winter tyres or socks ? - oldtoffee

Socks are good for a temporary solution but proper winter tyres (not all season) for November through March tyres on a 2wd car such as the Audi will give you bags of extra grip on snow. They'll also perform better every day at temperatures below 7 degrees C. A 4wd drive car with winter tyres will do it better and if you get snow for more than a few days a year that type of vehicle might be a better bet. If its only 5 or 10 days a year of snow covered roads you might be happier with a car that suits you better for the other 360 days. Best to change the tyres to summer in March rather than run on winter tyres unless you go for all weathers that wear well and are good in snow eg Vredestein Quatrac 3 or Nokian WRG2 . Plenty of people like gordonbennet and other Merc and BMW drivers on other forums are absolutely delighted with their winter tyres and the transformation to their 2wd car.

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Mon 10 Jan 2011 10:51
4 x 4 / winter tyres or socks ? - PatrickO

An audi A4 quatro would be good in the snow, anything with 4 wheel drive. Does the rav4 even have 4-wheel drive as standard? Snow socks are a temporary solution in very heavy snow. Good winter tyres are a must living in Scotland I would say.

Edited by PatrickO on 10/01/2011 at 10:53

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Wed 12 Jan 2011 00:07
4 x 4 / winter tyres or socks ? - Steven Quas

Given where you live a 4x4 with an extra set of winter tyres sounds a good idea to me. The Rav4 would be fine with the right tyres. Winter tyres are compulsory over here in the conditions that you drive in.

Steven Quas , Hamburg

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Cold-snap snow-how: Advice on coping with the freezing weather, including videos, facts and winter driving advice.

Honest John's Guide To Winter Tyres