[lovemybmw]

Hey all,

Having just had my nokian winter tyres fitted thought I'd create a thread to update how they go this winter but also to share any other winter/snow/weather experiences I have in my BMW.

For those of you who have read my other thread you'll know that I have a pretty poor experience in my BMW last year in the snow, from getting stuck on the m62 to not being able to get off my drive and leaving the car parked up for two weeks and getting the bus.

This year I decided to ensure that I did my best to be prepared and have so far done the following:

Mot completed before the bad weather
New brakes and discs
Oil changed
Fitted new winter tyres (nokian wrg2)
Washed and vacuumed the car
Added rain x
Changed headlamps to Phillips extreme vision
Checked and cleaned wipers
Added sand bag and shovel into boot in case get stuck
Prepared emergency bag to keep in the boot (fits nicely cubby hole where spare tyre would normally go) and this contains, torch, spare phone/battery/sim fully charged, gloves, cans ok coke, bottles of water, biscuits and crisps, baby food and milk, high vis jacket, aluminum throw over.


So far so good, the tyres and brakes feel a bit spongy although another 250miles should sort that.

Let's see how this year goes.

What have you all done to prepare yourselves and your cars for this winter?

Lovemybmw

[dxb335d]

All you need to do now is leave your mobile at home, drive out to the sticks, have a accident and you can use all your gear!

[lovemybmw]

Haha tempting fate there lol

My wife thinks I've gone ott however she it was non stop from her last year re how bad things got and the lack of prep I did do.

[dxb335d]

Main thing is you are well prepared now!

[Cocktails]

Originally Posted by lovemybmw

Hey all,

Having just had my nokian winter tyres fitted thought I'd create a thread to update how they go this winter but also to share any other winter/snow/weather experiences I have in my BMW.

For those of you who have read my other thread you'll know that I have a pretty poor experience in my BMW last year in the snow, from getting stuck on the m62 to not being able to get off my drive and leaving the car parked up for two weeks and getting the bus.

This year I decided to ensure that I did my best to be prepared and have so far done the following:

Mot completed before the bad weather
New brakes and discs
Oil changed
Fitted new winter tyres (nokian wrg2)
Washed and vacuumed the car
Added rain x
Changed headlamps to Phillips extreme vision
Checked and cleaned wipers
Added sand bag and shovel into boot in case get stuck
Prepared emergency bag to keep in the boot (fits nicely cubby hole where spare tyre would normally go) and this contains, torch, spare phone/battery/sim fully charged, gloves, cans ok coke, bottles of water, biscuits and crisps, baby food and milk, high vis jacket, aluminum throw over.


So far so good, the tyres and brakes feel a bit spongy although another 250miles should sort that.

Let's see how this year goes.

What have you all done to prepare yourselves and your cars for this winter?

Lovemybmw

Did you say you live in the Arctic Circle?

Seriously though, nicely prepared. I only work 8 miles from home so worst come to worst I will use my legs!! I have just received my Pirelli winters which are a direct replacement for my 18" RFT's. Last year I used snow socks which were great for shortish journeys but when i came to take them off I wore my knuckles down and ended up cutting them off with a stanley knife!! I will throw a packet of biscuits in the boot but they may get eaten before the snow arrives!

[Billyray911]

The only thing I would add is a pair of wellies or a pair of boots that you can throw into the boot and forget.
If the weather is bad,prepared as you are,you may still get stranded due to others abandoning their cars.
Oh and make sure you have decent screenwash to avoid adding your name to the annual "my headlamp washers have frozen" thread!
It's good to be prepared-bring it on!!!

[Frosticles]

Service and winter wheels & tyres. That's it.

[RAR]

Sods law - now you've done that we'll have the warmest winter on record....

...to that end, I've not done anything to mine!

[lovemybmw]

Daily mail saying it's going to be a Siberian winter, maybe I need to add a coat like the Russians wear into the boot lol, hmm wellies sounds like a good idea if I have to walk home in the snow and leave car someone, although I shan't tell the misses she has 5 pairs and will take forever to decide which ones to put in the boot lol..

My Indy topped up screen wash when it had m.o.t done, I didn't ask what they used but should be ok shouldn't it?

I also have 5 litres of BMW screen wash at home so should be ok I hope.

Bring on the snow!

[Billyray911]

Originally Posted by lovemybmw

Daily mail saying it's going to be a Siberian winter, maybe I need to add a coat like the Russians wear into the boot lol, hmm wellies sounds like a good idea if I have to walk home in the snow and leave car someone, although I shan't tell the misses she has 5 pairs and will take forever to decide which ones to put in the boot lol..

My Indy topped up screen wash when it had m.o.t done, I didn't ask what they used but should be ok shouldn't it?

I also have 5 litres of BMW screen wash at home so should be ok I hope.

Bring on the snow!

I think the issues have been
as a result of using none oem screenwash...
Winter tyres are awesome!

[ALF_E90]

I am a WRG2 user also - you should be pleased with them, I think. A winter tyre that is also well reviewed just in wet conditions (deep water aquaplaning aside - as with all winters but a winter with lots of tread is still going to beat a summer with little). Mine are in the garage at the moment as it is so mild and I am trying to use up the current summers as I'll replace them in spring whatever is left on them.

With the amount of old military/walking gear cluttering up my attic (and rarely used these days!) it would be crazy for me not to throw a fleece, gore-tex, small shovel, and so on in the boot of the car. I also keep a compressor, goo, 1l of oil, and a litre of strong screenwash solution in there, plus a small can of de-icer for locks. In crappy weather I add boots and some water and snacks. Might as well - it does not weigh much and like you say there is this space under the boot floor...

Getting a strong enough solution of screenwash into the car in time is always the issue for me. I don't want to be running 50/50 or neat solutions all winter, but here in the south it can go from very mild to very cold then back to mild quickly... I run Halfords extra-strong stuff and have never had an issue IF I get it at least 50/50 in time for anything seriuously cold!

[lovemybmw]

I tried to delay changing mine over as long as possible, however almost failed m.o.t lol so thought best to change.

I'm going to add some snow chains to the list, how easy are they to attach? And any tips or tricks to doing so, I've heard the stories of not enough room to attach and grazed knuckles lol.

[Cocktails]

Originally Posted by lovemybmw

I tried to delay changing mine over as long as possible, however almost failed m.o.t lol so thought best to change.

I'm going to add some snow chains to the list, how easy are they to attach? And any tips or tricks to doing so, I've heard the stories of not enough room to attach and grazed knuckles lol.

Whoa Whoa Whoa

Snow chains? I think you may be getting a bit extreme now!
Are you an Emergency Organ delivery driver in the Scottish Highlands?
Surely the winters and the rest of the kit are enough for Leeds?

[lovemybmw]

Haha, I'm going for the overkill, nah seriously, the main reason I'm going ott and found last year horrendous is that my lil un she's not always too well and therefore having a vehicle that can get around is a must for me. After my experience last year and I found Leeds quite bad although I guess being unprepared probably made the situation worse.

I guess we all have to plan for our own situations.

[lovemybmw]

Oh and to reduce the ear ache I get from the mrs, she wanted an Audi and is convinced that it would be better in the snow than the BMW and I'd look to prove her wrong this year lol

[spirocheter]

Originally Posted by lovemybmw

Hey all,

Prepared emergency bag to keep in the boot (fits nicely cubby hole where spare tyre would normally go) and this contains, torch, spare phone/battery/sim fully charged, gloves, cans ok coke, bottles of water, biscuits and crisps, baby food and milk, high vis jacket, aluminum throw over.


Let's see how this year goes.

What have you all done to prepare yourselves and your cars for this winter?

Lovemybmw

What's with the baby food, is that in the SAS survival guide, or are you a midwife?

[lovemybmw]

It's in the parents SAS survival guide can't feed my baby the biscuits lol, last thing I want is to be stuck in snow with hungry baby, would you? Lol.. the plan is to feed her then get out and build a snowman lol

[SO8]

Originally Posted by lovemybmw

I tried to delay changing mine over as long as possible, however almost failed m.o.t lol so thought best to change.

I'm going to add some snow chains to the list, how easy are they to attach? And any tips or tricks to doing so, I've heard the stories of not enough room to attach and grazed knuckles lol.

Having got stuck twice last year I bought snow chains - Thule K Summit ... expensive at £280 but fit in about 5 mins for both sides. No grazed knuckles - they fit from the outside of the tyre only and pull themselves on. They were ideal for my 3 series M Sport.

They worked great when used and fit quicker and far easier than Snow socks (which I have also used). They are just expensive ... but not anywhere near as expensive as winter tyres and wheels.

[spirocheter]

Originally Posted by SO8

Having got stuck twice last year I bought snow chains - Thule K Summit ... expensive at £280 but fit in about 5 mins for both sides. No grazed knuckles - they fit from the outside of the tyre only and pull themselves on. They were ideal for my 3 series M Sport.

They worked great when used and fit quicker and far easier than Snow socks (which I have also used). They are just expensive ... but not anywhere near as expensive as winter tyres and wheels.

I love Thule products! They may be expensive but are superbly designed and very durable products. I am considering a set along with the winter tyres already fitted.

[lovemybmw]

280 is expensive, I was in Costco and they were selling michellin branded I believe snow chains for 50 a pair, would these be any good? I'm not planning on getting them however was thinking how good they would be?

[M3-FAST]

Originally Posted by lovemybmw

What have you all done to prepare yourselves and your cars for this winter?

Lovemybmw

You seem to have done a LOT of preperation lol

I chucked the winter wheels and tyres on the M3 yesterday, but that's about it really. If it snows I tend to keep the tank full for a bit of extra weight at the rear but other than that, nothing else. The difference between the Michelin PS2's and the Vred winter tyres is night and day. Lots more grip on cold damp mornings and when it snows the car drives so well, it's unbelievable. The first year I had the M3, it was completely undriveable in the snow so it sat on my drive for a fortnight unused. Last year however, we opted to use it over the missus Passat CC which was OK (ish) but nowhere near a match for my RWD car on winters

[lovemybmw]

Hey thanks for the input to this thread keep it going, it's been interesting to see what you all doing when the winter comes and how all of our cars handles once the snow comes.

An update on my nokians so far, after 500 miles they are now starting to grip and feel excellent on the road, even with temp at 10 degrees they feel good in the wet, slightly spongy on sharp bends but this is getting less with more miles driven.

In addition omg, these tyres which are also run flats are so much quieter than the turanza er300, in addition they hardly trameline. My wife found an immediate different when she drove the car this afternoon.