Bongo Fury

After reading this what do you think?

http://www.etyres.co.uk/bad-weather-tyres

Having used winter tyres in the Alps on several hire vehicles, I can say that they make a significant difference on snow. However, they are not so good when it is normal dry/wet conditions as a decent set of normal rubber.

So my opinion for these parts is naarrrp!

Yep, second the above. Something I notice in Germany is people don't rush about in the snow and always brake very early and lightly. If your ABS kicks in, to pushed too hard!

Point is that if we were to ALL use winter tyres, then we wouldnt have all that salt/chemicals on the road every winter when theres the slightest sign that it might freeze. Better to have the correct tyres/wheels for the season and if it snows we drive on the compacted surface. The UK is the worst (1st world?!) country in the world with regards to tyre discipline ie correct tyres, wear, maintaining correct pressure etc.

i pay enough for my 'normal' set of tyres thanks (£700 a set ... )

I agree that we rarely get enough "winter" conditions in the UK at the moment to justify specialist tyres. For Bongos anyway, which have relatively narrow tyres & good traction in any case.

Also agree with lochan2 that we use far too much salt on our roads - even when that chances of it actually freezing locally are minimal. However I doubt if we ever get settled enough conditions in our maritime climate to allow us to drive on hardpacked snow when it does arrive. Even without road salting, it will tend to turn to slush very quickly in the UK. With our climate one of the biggest risks is the sudden change from wet conditions to freezing ones & the formation of black ice, which even the most expensive winter tyres don't do much to counteract! Countries that drive on compacted snow tend (I think?) to use studded tyres - even more expensive.

Worst conditions I've encountered was fresh powder snow over frozen slush on a steep downhill singletrack in Wales. Bye bye traction & the only thing that eventually worked was a set of chains. Oh yes - the experience also put me off ABS for good. At least with conventional systems you can get snow to build up under sliding wheels on the verge

I'll stick to the normal road tyres, people should remember to drive gently on snow - once the wheels are spinning you've lost control. How many realise you can force the van to set off in second gear if you use the Hold button in D?

Indigo wrote:i pay enough for my 'normal' set of tyres thanks (£700 a set ... )

On a Bongo??

scanner wrote:

Indigo wrote:i pay enough for my 'normal' set of tyres thanks (£700 a set ... )

On a Bongo??

aye.. 255/35/20's hehe

Indigo wrote:

scanner wrote:

Indigo wrote:i pay enough for my 'normal' set of tyres thanks (£700 a set ... )

On a Bongo??

aye.. 255/35/20's hehe

I'd never thought of using one as a Steam Roller................

scanner wrote:
I'd never thought of using one as a Steam Roller................

i know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but it suits us just nicely there's no need to be rude

Hi
Quite right Keefy....another moneymaking , or should we be more truthful and say moneygrabbing , scheme. They quote, in the article, the success story of Holland, not thinking that English people have access to that most secret of documents....AN ATLAS....A quick look shows that Holland borders Germany.....where they get snow, and Dutch people travel a lot....for instance, they often hop across the border for cheaper tobacco or petrol, depending on which border they are close to. Germany, on the other hand, has a lot of snow in certain areas, as does Switzerland...I don't know about Germany, as I don't want to go there, but Switzerland will not allow you to travel on the motorways if you don't have snow tyres, and it snows. When we drove there, we got stuck in Switzerland, as 1 metre of snow fell in one night, and there was already 1 foot of snow on the ground....our Swiss friends told us of the road rules, and asked us about our tyres...we had allweather tyres bought in England, and they had plenty of tread...our friends said that they were ideal, and met the requirements.
I tell you this saga, so you won't think that winter tyres are necessary, as good old UK allweather tyres are deemed O.K. for Swiss conditions, and they have just a wee bit more snow than the UK. We were in the Alps near the St. Gottard pass, by the way, and the Bongo managed snow with a caravan on the back.....but only just
If you do want to fall prey to the advertising, I might add that winter tyres are just as useless as summer tyres on ice, as mentioned by Rhod.
As everyone else has said....the one answer is Drive Carefully
Cheers
Helen

Indigo wrote:

scanner wrote:
I'd never thought of using one as a Steam Roller................

i know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but it suits us just nicely there's no need to be rude

Rude?

No you've lost me there................

We get plenty of sub 5c weather here, at that point they become a very valuable asset, winter tyres have a compound that changes dramaticly the co effeicient at sub 6c temps. Which means they grip better. Also more flexible knobbles warm up quicker, allow much more progressive control = predictable. Add in their snow & ice capabilities.....




A set of winter tyres that will last you 4 of 5 years if looked after is an awful lot cheaper than crashing!!! Plus you don't have to drive like a numpty when it snows & get stuck cos you were'nt going fast enough up the hill


As you can tell I rate them very highly, all our cars have a set though the Soarer definitely does'nt come out out in the snow as 500bhp, 1100kg, a twin plate racing clutch & rock hard suspension means its absolutley useless

I stand corrected!
I have to admit that I hadn't appreciated that there was a significant difference in the compound of standard/winter tyres. In 20+ winters of driving in the north however, the only time I've really experienced problems with traction have been on ice, or with light rear wheel drive vehicles, so I'll probably stick with my standard tyres. Then again the main factor in getting 4WD was for those marginal conditions (Yes, I know that it makes little difference once traction is lost & that a 4WD will slide sideways as easily as 2WD, but in practice I feel that I have more control). Given how good traction seems to be on the 2WD Bongo though, maybe a set of winter tyres would have been cheaper than the extra tyre wear plus potential drivetrain expense of the 4WD