Driving and Winter Ways: 4x4s, modern wimp-mobiles and Snow Chains

In the run up to Christmas 2009 we had snow and a bit more after. That convinced me that climate change, however caused, could not be relied on to deliver mild winters or warm dry summers. Having experienced the wettest and coldest ‘barbecue summer’ one would not have expected, the wettest November for many a year and now a failed predicted ‘mild winter’, my purchase of snow chains last January now seems a good decision. Unfortunately the hope that my snow chains would act as a talisman to ward off the ‘Spirit of the Heavy Snows’ has not worked, but they got us all home late on the Wednesday before Christmas. On our outing to Hay last Wednesday I regretted not fitting them before the climb home and unlike half a dozen cars travelling later in the afternoon, we made it: just!

This has got be thinking about the way we cope with winter up here. A large number of our neighbours have 4x4 vehicles which are brilliant when the snows come, especially when the grit lorries don’t. Last Wednesday ( January 30th) we had a snow plough come along our lane but we never see a gritter. What’s more, while the snow plough clears the surface, it also blocks up our exit so the snow shovels has to come out. These are plastic and very efficient since the snow flies off, whilst old steel ones get clogged up and get very heavy. Chances are however that the remaining snow will have become compacted and frozen, or worse still, will have become slush and then frozen. Compacted snow is good for snow chains whilst tarmac with patches of ice will eventually damage the chains. The silly thing is that the third of a mile to the bigger road is usually the main problem since it is there that the grit lorry will have passed through.

For ordinary cars the presence of snow on the road up from the valley is proving a major obstacle. Why cars get stuck is probably a combination of factors. My two favourite theories explain some of it. Firstly, since we have had so little snow for the past 20 years some of us are not used to snow driving while the new generations of drivers have never had to cope with it. Keeping in a high a gear (usually second or third) for as long as possible is one of the techniques.

The aim is to keep moving without wheel spin or stalling the engine. Go into a lower gear and you will be very lucky if you retain traction. Last week I both stalled the engine and had wheel spin but somehow my luck held and I got up the final steep pitch by going up a gear. The round of applause from my four passengers was much appreciated as a came to a halt on our entrance slope. I was also pleased by the fact of how few expletives were necessary to achieve the ascent. Fitting the chains when I should have would have made things a lot easier but I hadn’t appreciated how different the snow covering would be after only a 100 foot climb.

My other lucky break was that I was not impeded by other stuck vehicles which could have meant a loss of revs or a tricky avoidance manoeuvre. Of course, twenty years back there weren’t so many cars making commuting journeys so the chances of meeting an obstruction were much lower.

This brings me to my other theory. I think that some modern cars without 4x4 are fair weather friends. Our car gets stuck on heavy dewed grass given half the chance. I always thought that front wheel drive was a good idea because the weight of the engine improved traction. That doesn’t seem to be the case now when aluminium engine blocks are involved. Could it also been that modern tyre widths mean that tyres don’t dig in as much? Whatever the reason our old Morris Minor took us through a blizzard over the Plynlimon section of the A44 back in the late sixties: a foolish enterprise we put down to the inexperience of youth. I doubt whether our present car would have made it to Builth Wells. Also, our old Vauxhall Viva seemed to do very well on snow, especially with 50 k of bagged coal in the boot!

So if climate change is now going to bring more snow in winter we will be perfecting our chain fitting skills and try to improve our judgement as to when to stop and fit them. In the meantime I will be investigating others cars to see whether there are better options when the time comes to change our vehicle. There seems little point however in having four wheel drive for just a few icy days each winter, not to mention the loss of fuel economy and increased road tax and insurance. If, as I suspect, a 4x4 is not a realistic option I will ‘get a grip’ on chain techniques and possibly upgrade to a tougher variety if need be. At between £50 to a £100 its a lot cheaper than a Chelsea tractor.

Dacier