172 not confidence inspiring in the snow

[montana]

First bit of snow was on the ground yesterday and to be honest i am not inspired with confidence the way it drives it the snow, i understand no car is going to be great but the little clio spins up at the slightest chance - my OH Alfa 147 is much more planted.

Is this becasue of the lack of weight & extra power in the clio?

Would winter tyres make a massive improvement ? (i realise its not going to be night/day difference becase we have snow involved here)

I was spoilt the year before last as i had a scooby so that used to power through the snow!

 

[Lagerlout]

Relatively wide wheels and light weight. It's never going to be brilliant. That said, I've never found it too bad - It's not like there's a big dollop of torque at low revs.

 

[Cookie]

Winter tyres

 

[_Tom]

Yeah some winter tyres and they could climb Everest..lol

 

[fletch8]

i had a 106 gti a few years back, so a similar weight/power scenario, and that was alright. not had the snow to find out what the clio is like

only way of improving id imagine is snow tyres

 

[Laura]

i bought a 182 for the winter this year, the z4 doesnt go anywhere so im miles better in the clio

 

[Sam@NP]

Winter tyres are night and day better in cold and snowy conditions when compared to summer tyres.

 

[RDH]

Not tried the 182 but my 1.2 wasn't really too bad. Your only option for improvement is obviously winter tyres.

 

[roland rat]

Also arent the cups without esp?Sadly its just a case of taking you time and gentle accelaration i guess

 

[MartinR]

Also arent the cups without esp?Sadly its just a case of taking you time and gentle accelaration i guess

i found esp caused me more problems last year especialy going up hills so whilst we had the snow i turned it off and took it steady and was fine.

cups are with out abs so you just slide when you brake, plus try to use the gears more than the brakes

 

[Clio RS 172]

get winter tyres and extra balast in the back maybe... I waiting for snow to see how it handles:race:

 

[BoatNonce]

Winter tyres, and maybe see also: http://www.drivingfast.net/techniques/winter-driving-techniques.htm#axzz1gzbfvuSv. Great site.

 

[Munson]

Would winter tyres make a massive improvement? (i realise its not going to be night/day difference becase we have snow involved here)

Yes, and yes, the difference in snow is night and day.

 

[montana]

Thanks for all the input

 

[The Fatty]

I also havent tried the 182 in snow yet, but my 1.2 has Toyo T1R's on them and it used to be brilliant in the snow! Used to see other cars geting stuck half way up a hill and my clio would go up it fine. You do need to be gentle on the power thought (obviously).

 

[jimjim150]

My parents 1.2 Clio that I was using in the snow last winter was much better than the 182, I put it down to tyre width.

 

[chris1984]

My cup just locks up in the snow even with just minimal braking, its pretty dangerous tbh with all the hills on my way to work!! My saxo was definatly easyer to drive in bad weather. Snow tyres WILL make it much better, (thats what there for afterall!!)

 

[Chip-mk1]

Narrow winter tyres are the way to sort it.

 

[jimjim150]

Narrow winter tyres are the way to sort it.

+1

 

[Dan D]

I've got uniroyal rainsport 2 tyres on my 182. Last year in the snow it was actually really good, I managed to climb a pretty steep hill to go snowboarding where most other cars couldn't. This year I've bought some snow socks as these have really good reviews and aren't half as expensive as snow tyres. No snow yet though

 

[Chip-mk1]

rainsports are better than most normal road tyres as the dispersion grooves run right to the outside which really helps, where as on something like say a t1r which at first glance is a similar pattern you'll notice that the groves get much narrower towards the outside, this is to prolong tyre life at the shoulders when cornering, but it greatly effects their performance compared to the rs2 in poor conditions.

 

[The Fatty]

if only they didnt stop making the t1s's! They were much better all round imo!

 

[Dan-]

My saxo was definatly easyer to drive in bad weather.

That's worrying I've just come out of a Saxo and that was awful last year. Wheel spinning in 4th gear at 40mph

 

[dmallett]

Pretty sure my car wont get off my drive if it snows, i have about 5mm of clearance between my bumper and the road now, with out snow on it :/

 

[Chip-mk1]

That's worrying I've just come out of a Saxo and that was awful last year. Wheel spinning in 4th gear at 40mph

What size tyres were on your saxo?

 

[mark smith87]

I've had Toyo T1-R's on my 172 and they are superb in all weather conditions. I've just put winter tyres on the car and they are really good. They're quite big tyres though, 205/40x17. I've got a set of Toyo R1-R's now for summer use and track days on 15" OZ rims but they're a bit tricky for this time of year with snow, ice and standing water.
It definitely makes a difference what sort of tyres are on the car this time of year if driving on ice and snow. But really you need to take it easy if its freezing. I've had the taxi sliding a few times on black ice and thats got Continental 8 ply van tyres on it.
If the steering feels as if its going light then lift off gently and don't brake, just steer the car into the skid if it starts to slide. also known as opposite lock. Usually that will stop the skid from getting any worse.

 

[Dan519]

I ran T1R's all last winter in the snow on my coilovered mk1. probably the least traction issues from any car I've driven in the snow. Being light was a huge advantage, I'n not looking forward to the 850 in the snow at all

 

[The Fatty]

just found this... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IM0ec40VHWs&feature=related

bring on the snow!

 

[warwickstingray]

Peugeot 106 diesel on skinny budget tires. No power, torque, rubbish brakes and shopping car suspension setup. Works brilliantly in the snow. The clio is the total opposite and so needs a lot of care to make decent progress on loose or slippery surfaces. Winter tyres do exactly what they say on the tin but are expensive if you don't get any snow one year.

Or you could enjoy the lack of traction and go nuts. That's what i did in my works van last year. I didn't do a three point turn for almost 6 weeks

Just watched that video. I wished i'd filmed my works van! An HDI berlingo can be fun!!