To anyone considering venturing out in the snow...

[Jonny87]

Sheffield, but pretty close to the Derbyshire border. I work at a school in Pennines and to add insult to injury we've been closed all week! >_<

How is the snow affecting businesses in the peaks? Is it more or less a no go area? Any idea what it's like in Matlock atm?

[MarkyR]

Winter tyres are the best option for the UK. Snow chains as far as I know will void your insurance as none of them will cover them. Other country's you require them by law......

Not sure on snow socks?

Vid from another forum for ya:

[JohnP]

snow/winter tyres are the way forward as MarkyR mentions. I've recently got back from Austria and in most regions it is law to have these tyres on, they are mega grippy. the hire car we had took a fair bit of effort to spin the wheels and it was only a SEAT Leon FWD. My girlfriends dad took his audi 4X4 over there with winter tyres and it was pretty much impossible to get the wheels spinning in the conditions on the ski resorts. it did help that the roads are cleared much more efficiently than over here but you could still notice the difference.

oh, and on the subject of snow chains, i saw a pillock in my village putting them on during that lightish snowfall before christmas. my fiesta was handling the roads fine and i can't think of any major routes with 10/15 miles that would possibly require them (and thats only if conditions are like the are now. or worse).

[Jonny87]

as far as i am aware there is nothing on the statute books specifically banning snow chains. However there are laws about causing willful damage to the carriageway

[Hook]

How is the snow affecting businesses in the peaks? Is it more or less a no go area? Any idea what it's like in Matlock atm?

They've been slowly clearing the main roads, but the snake pass is still closed. However the winds have apparently picked up tonight and the snow is beginning to drift making the roads across the to Matlock from Sheffield impassable. The minor roads that are high up have been impassable for a week or so.

My first teaching placement was in Matlock. Love the place, I also bought my car from Matlock Ford!

[Jonny87]

They've been slowly clearing the main roads, but the snake pass is still closed. However the winds have apparently picked up tonight and the snow is beginning to drift making the roads across the to Matlock from Sheffield impassable. The minor roads that are high up have been impassable for a week or so.

My first teaching placement was in Matlock. Love the place, I also bought my car from Matlock Ford!

Excellent :)

so do you reckon that most people who work in Matlock will have been off work over the last week?

[FMC]

Supplies of grit may be running low across the country but i stocked up using my trusty old bucket earlier from a council wagon parked down the street with a load of grit on the back - it even had a shovel and a wheelbarrow in there! I was tempted, but i just took a bucket full so i can keep the side access lane clear to be able to get the car in and out of the garage. I'm sure my neighbours all appreciate my efforts too :D

[irononreverse]

It's because I have to reverse, if I'm facing forward third nearly always gets the car going if I'm struggling.

I reverse at a snail's pace anyway so I've not had any issues with spinning! The anti lock brakes feel horrible, really gritty sounding. I did end up about half a car's length past some red lights the other night. The roads were empty, thank goodness.

[AndrewL]

The video MarkyR posted was really informative, I didn't realise before that winter tyres were so much more effective in these conditions, especially in the case of going around the corner on the ice.

I don't think that driving ability is a particularly prominent factor in my troubles with getting grip on the compacted snow that I've had recently. Today I was on a slight incline and had to stop to allow another car to go past. When I tried to pull away afterwards no matter how gently I tried to pull away in any gear the Fez wasn't having any of it whilst other cars sailed past. Even just lifting up the clutch with no throttle as gentle as you like the wheels just spinned at idle without me touching any of the pedals!

I think it may be the tyres on my 17's that are the problem. Does anyone have any knowledge/experience of what Bridgestone Potenza's are like in the snow?

[FMC]

Does anyone have any knowledge/experience of what Bridgestone Potenza's are like in the snow?

Nope, but i share your experiences.

What i will say is that the Bridgestones are probably not designed for these conditions whatsoever, being a Japanese brand, fitted predominantly to Japanese sporty cars (OE on Civic Type R for example). They are a !Removed! hot tyre in summer months though (as i can vouch from having them on my old CTR!)