Technical Winterising

[duplo]

I live out in the sticks, wayyyy out. As we have found the Doblo such a great car we have decided to keep it rather than trade in for a 4x4 as winter approached (I had my eye on the kangoo trekka 4x4). So this will be our first winter here without a 4x4 and without some increased traction we will be housebound at some point.

Only real change I can make is dedicated snow tyres, does anyone have any recommendations? apart from decent servicing, antifreeze etc. is there anything else I can do apart from changing the tyres? I don't fancy the faff of messing about with snow chains as we are a mile from a road that will be gritted, but it's a hell of a mile!

 

[sludgeguts]

Tyre socks are a much better alternative to chains. I've had mine 3 years now and every year they prove invaluable. Fairly easy to fit and you can keep them on up to 30mph.
Alternatively, before I heard of the socks, I used to use cable ties (as I had access to an ample supply), half a dozen tightly strapped to each tyre gave adequate grip & wore off after a while on tarmac.
And prior to having access to cable ties, I simply bought a set of rims from the scrappy and had them install some town and country remoulds.

 

[duplo]

Ended up getting chains and putting winter tyres on, the damn thing performs like a star, I am really, really impressed. (And I've owned a lot of 4x4's and know how to drive in this stuff) Great ground/tyre clearance helps but for a 2wd it does the business, only problem I had was on a really steep icy hill when the engine braking overcame the tyre grip so the damn thing started sliding, only way out was to accelerate - risky but it worked.

 

[Andyw79]

I too live out in the sticks and have found my Doblo to be great in the snow. It has 185 Toyo Proxes CF1 's on it all round which are nearly new and its great in snow and slush even without snow socks or chains. Think its all about being able to drive in the stuff though to be fair, something i know how to do. Plus i let some air out of the tyres in snow and it grips better.

 

[hcampian]

I use my Doblo quite often on snow and ice and I don't find it such a good winter car. The problem I think is the 1.3 MJ engine which is quite small and does not apply a great pressure on the front wheels. On steep slopes on snow, it looses grip faster then other cars, since the weight in the front is not so big. I think however that the 1.9 MJ, with a greater engine weight, would perform better. However, the huge ground clearance, greater then on most SUV, helps a lot.

As for the winter tires, I used Dunlop SP Wintersport M3 and this year I bought some Continental Wintersport TS830 which are supposed do be better in snow and ice. I hope it will improve the behaviour.

For all you dobbie lovers, have a nice and fluffy winter!

 

[TwyRob]

...Plus i let some air out of the tyres in snow and it grips better.

Hmm... but the AA say:

Tyres
•Check all tyres for condition, pressure and tread depth. At least 3mm of tread is recommended for winter motoring, and certainly no less than 2mm.
•Don't reduce tyre pressures to get more grip – it doesn't work, and reduces stability....

Who's right?