Winter wonders or hibernation?

[Marwood]

Went out the other morning for a 6am run (one advantage of having a five month old: helps you get up and out before the traffic...) only for the ice warning on the GS to start pinging... Drove around rather gingerly until it showed 4 degrees then pressed on..and a bit harder...

Observations:

1. Strewth this thing grips. I've been reading about summer tyres losing performance below 8 degrees but the car showed no signs of letting go at a fairly brisk rate. Decided the road wasn't the place to experiment so didn't push as hard as in the warm weather but still enough to make fillings ache...

2. Realise, sadly, that early morning blasts are going to be increasingly dark, wet and slippery. So need to decide whether I'm a winter warrior or car polishing wuss...

I know it won't dissolve in the rain (its been drenched plenty in the past), there is fun to be had in the gloom and the nose is already stone chipped, but if I don't have to get it wet and grimy on a work trip, the temptation will be to leave it in the garage and wait for dry days, rather than take it out and then park it for two or three weeks at a time, dripping.

On the other hand, I understand cars that don't get used tend to 'go off' and get gremlins. How often is enough?

M

 

[Steve GS]

You will get gremlins anyway it's Italian

 

[2b1ask1]

I put winters on for the first time last winer and innitially thought them very odd. Appart from the big increase in tyre noise, they 'fall' into corners which is very unnerving, at speed the car feels like it is wandering about! Within c1,000 Miles I'd dialled that out and actually understood that the tyres are digging in with increadable grip. Going back to summers I realised that I had learned so much from the winters and now understand steering feedback better than ever!!!

Go for it, get winters and enjoy the beast all year round.

 

[Chrisbassett]

Marwood, if you're up for some winter tyres I have a set with only a thousand or so miles on them, mostly pottering around a mild london where they were completely pointless. They hardly look used at all. Continental full winters (snow & mountain symbol).

 

[2b1ask1]

Forgot to mention that Chris

 

[Chrisbassett]

Maseratis and snow...still have a set of winter tyres if anyone wants to make an offer!

These came from a Turkish Maserati page on Facebook, looks fun!

 

[Parisien]

It does look like fun indeed.............but no fun up a farmers concrete lane in 4 inches of snow as I found out 4 years ago!



P

 

[Parisien]

If you're going to use over winter when roads are salted, its essential to clean the underneath properly and asap in spring and indeed use waxyol to protect the underside


P

 

[zagatoes30]

Marwood, if you're up for some winter tyres I have a set with only a thousand or so miles on them, mostly pottering around a mild london where they were completely pointless. They hardly look used at all. Continental full winters (snow & mountain symbol).

Now if I was taking the Spyder to Yorkshire this week I would have had these off you but fortunately taking the mud plugger