Nero / Nero MCV.

[mondie]

Love to Dem but I live 4-500 miles north of you good lot.

 

[hodroyd]

Mondie,
We are going to try and organise a meet somewhere either in the Midlands, or north maybe around Yorkshire area, would you be up for that..??
Cheers
R

 

[mondie]

Possibly mate, its still going be a 5 hr trek for me. It will depend I guess on the time of year and other home & work commitments (the usual)

 

[bigbob]

Mondie, looking at that you can really see that Maserati has not replaced the GS. Real market mistake for them. Looks stunning - enjoy.

PS We had snow showers earlier. My GTS was still going great on summer tyres and in sport mode just a tad before despite it being 4-6c.

 

[hodroyd]

Bob,
Crikey you've got snow already..?? Take care mate on the white stuff, we don't want any bumped bodywork to cry over..!!

Mondie,
We will have to see what we can come up with, I realise a 5 hour trek is quite a drive, even for a Maser at full throttle. It will probably be in the New Year anyway, not fair in the bad weather for any of us.

Cheers
R

 

[bigbob]

Only flurries, stopped now and no evidence of it. You probably have the same on the high roads of West Yorks/the Peak District (?).

 

[DaveT]

Bit more up near Aviemore I hear Bob.

 

[mondie]

Had a reasonable amount of snow here today. Put the new winter tyres and rims on the M5 and gave them a good workout tonight. Amazing how much extra grip they give in the wet, I could get to half throttle before the rear stepped out. Thats a pass

 

[bigbob]

Winter tyres - love them. Have them for three of the cars. Trouble is none of them are on yet.

 

[mondie]

Yeah we nearly got caught out as the weather has been so mild, it sure turned quickly although we really didn't need them for today. But the temps look like not exceeding 7c for the next week so I thought its the right time to do the swap.

 

[bigbob]

Need to get mine on but all the cars other than the Maser are 4WD so I know that I can cope in the snow. My Maser winter tyres are at the tyre shop but he is 'snowed under'.

 

[DaveT]

Need to get mine on but all the cars other than the Maser are 4WD so I know that I can cope in the snow. My Maser winter tyres are at the tyre shop but he is 'snowed under'.

I see what you did there Bob!

Very good.

 

[bigbob]

I'd buy some extra rims but it's loads more ££.

 

[bigbob]

I see what you did there Bob!

Very good.

Cheered me up!

 

[mondie]

4WD helps to get you moving but adds nothing when its time to stop! Although I would say the % of AWD/4WD cars around here is little different to what I am used to seeing in Oz or the south of England. No wonder everyone drives like they are blind or infirm as soon as there is a scattering of the white stuff no matter how slight. Time to thaw out your tyre guy and get the winters fitted up, the GTS is even heavier than the GS so I can imagine winter tyres would be pretty useful on bad days.

 

[hodroyd]

I tried snow in the AC in France, it was like driving on slicks. I think if we get the white stuff, or ice, the Masers will be staying indoors and we will revert to the Jeep. Even though the 4200 has an Ice setting, we don't have tyres I would trust that well in snow.

 

[dem maser]

A 4x4 is a must for the 2 weeks a year we get snow....

A friend hires one out a week prior to snow (through forecast) and gives back after

£400 over 2 weeks aint that bad if you dont need it all year....

 

[hodroyd]

Sounds like a reasonable idea, but up north mate it can last a bit longer than that..!!

 

[mjheathcote]

I have always managed in my rear wheel drive BMW. Secret is ballast in the boot!
When the weather is looking not too good, I fill the boot with 3 bags of rock salt and a shovel.
So far the extra weight over the rear has made the difference between walking the last few miles home, or driving. With the fall back position of gritting yourself out if stuck on ice.
As said earlier, 4wd does not help you stop!
Two friends have found out the hard way, both having VW Tiguana's thinking they where unstoppable sliding down hills into walls!...I'm going slow so that I stop...not because I can't go!

 

[hodroyd]

I think the majority of the problem in snow is the driving style, too many people just do not know how to handle that kind of weather. 4x4's are better if driven correctly and gearing is used instead of relying on the brakes, braking hard in snow and on ice is a no-no in anything, use the gears and you have something of a chance. I have driven just about every combination in snow and ice over the years and you can manage to get around without incident, if you drive to the conditions.
The problem we had in France in the AC, was that we were on fat rear summer tyres in a sudden snow storm, handling was to say the least risky, but we all managed to get through it by careful driving.