Hey sent a pm, I've got a set of 19" oem vantage rims if you're interested. I'm just north of Toronto

 

Maybe.....the 2 years every 25 in the UK when they get North American levels of snow and unexpectedly have to try and drive home from the pub! BTW the whole country seems to grind to a halt when it ever does snow like that!

Seriously though, living in Michigan and traveling back to the UK regularly, there has really only been one time over the last few years where I've consciously even needed a winter coat in the UK.....the whole weather thing is certainly weird these days.

 

Sorry Patrick, need to check yourself on that one.......

FF

 

Nope, I'll stand by it. All-season tires are ****e. No ands, ifs, or buts about it. And while I'll admit to having them on my RR (and on my wife's X6), there is very, very, little that RR (or ANY AWD/4x4) can do when it comes to stopping power (via software or hardware based traction control systems).

I'll agree that the RR is obviously better in deep snow (where I wouldn't be driving my V8V anyway), and that my RR will pull away from a stop better in snowy or icy conditions. But 4WD / AWD doesn't mean diddly-squat when it comes to stopping (and precious little when it comes to turning).

Assuming ground-clearance isn't an issue, ANY car with REAL snow tires on it will handle winter snow and ice at least as well as ANY SUV running on all-seasons.

Despite me having one (I've always loved RR), the notion that one needs a big, stonking AWD SUV to handle a North American winter is laughable at best. This is a product segment that largely didn't exist until 20 years ago (barring Jeep, Land Rover and a few others). And all of those years I survived on V8 powered, RWD sedans and coupes with nothing more special than winter tires (and no traction control or ABS!).

We have lost the ability to drive based on common sense and skill in this country (and many others).



Patrick

 

All about the inputs. I'm taking a winter driving course this year (Toronto motorsport track does courses every weekend for like 2 bills including track time) once I get the winters on. Mind you I may look a bit out of place in an AM but heck, least I'm being proactive.

 

I have these tires on my V8V. I don't drive it in the snow, but they make it a 3 1/2 season car. I love the tires--you lose only a bit of the sharp handling edge vs. the stock summer tires, but they still handle and ride well.

As for the issue of driving in the snow, I have always found it strange that very few use their Astons for that. No one would think twice about putting snow tires on their BMW or Mercedes rwd car, so why not? It's not like it's going to disintegrate in the snow.

 

It's the salt. Have you ever had a good look at the undercarriage, wheel wells, engine bay etc. of a winter driven car? Corrosion protection is pretty good these days, miles ahead of the rust buckets of 20 years ago, but anything will succumb to salt given enough exposure.

 

Yeah just be careful about rustproofing an Aston. People claim it's unneeded as they're "composite and aluminum" however the back panels are in fact steel so there is some value in doing so.

I had a place rustproof the car when I first got it, and they actually rustproofed the front fenders (which they deny, and advised me I "forced them" to rustproof the car which is a total lie.) Long story short, with the heat the chemicals bled thru and started bubbling the paint. Sanded it down, and the panels where there were hotspots are friggin translucent, brittle and useless. I now need to take these guys to court to pay for the replacements. Thankfully the panels are only $1700 each, they're even cheaper ordered from the UK dealers directly like HWM.

Lesson is make sure the people you entrust your car with know exactly what they're doing.

Frequent washing and don't skimp out on the undercarriage spray, and I suspect all shall be well.