J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by ellistine

You just need to take up an equally exciting summer activity! I only started dinghy sailing because I was becoming completely obsessed with skiing.

It worked! I'm off to Schladming on Saturday and I've only just started to get excited. Once I'm back I'll only have to wait a few more weeks before the dinghy racing starts again.

Splendid!

AllyG wrote:We have diesel engines in our tractors, and what we do to start them in very cold weather is warm the engine up first, with an electric heater/light bulb etc. or failing that something like a hot water bottle (just parking them in the shed and out of the wind makes a big difference). The extra heat will also help the battery. And we also use aerostart spray to help them start, in the air intake manifold (not much though because it's not good for the engine).

And I think our oil supplier automatically puts the additive in our diesel, when we buy it in for our bulk tank. We've certainly never had it freeze anyway.

Strangely enough, the tractor isn't much better on our snowy, hilly roads than my Sirion. It's very useful for towing cars stuck on the flat, but not on the hills. A 4X4 seems to be much better. And the ATV's are amazingly good in the snow - they just sort of float on it.

Ally

Farmers seem to get all the best toys :mrgreen:

I remember listening to BBC Radio Berkshire when I was stuck in the snow (god they've got some awful DJ's). A few people were calling in and complaining about their diesel turbos. They were able to pull away ok but then the turbo would kick in and they'd lose traction again.

Me I just couldn't get going in the first place.

AllyG wrote:Maybe Admin could persuade an autosock manufacturer to donate some samples to J2ski, before the snow disappears from the U.K. and we could all take turns to test them. I wouldn't have minded giving them a test run this last week, they would have helped a bit, I'm sure.

My old mini van used to be very good in the snow. If I couldn't get up the snowy hills in it, then no-one would be able to get up there, unless they had a 4X4. And my new car seems pretty good - a Daihatsu Sirion. The only problem I had with it today, is that I think it has a narrower wheel base than most of the other cars which had been up our road, and I was having to slide about a bit in some of the slush in the middle of the road. But I managed okay.

Rear wheel drives are absolutely awful in the snow. I had to push a VW camper van up a hill the other day (it was blocking our road) and the rear was swinging about from side to side something chronic. In fact it was quite difficult to push because of the danger of falling over and then getting run over by it.

Or we could ask Top Gear to test the autosocks for us?

Ally

Might have to wait for next winter. I think the UK supplier (roofbox.co.uk) is having issues with keeping up with demand :shock:

Pablo Escobar wrote:I liked how you covered your back there by stating it was OHs 307cc, Ellistine, take note :twisted:

I wangled us a three day test drive in the Tigra as a bit of a jolly on her birthday a few years ago (wasn't she lucky!). The trouble is it was me that ended up wanting it.

I'm not sure I've ever owned a 'masculine' car. I've had a succession of Minis, a Smart Car, a Citroen Berlingo (now that was a practical car) and then the Tigra.

The FD at work has a 3.0 Diesel Audi A4 estate as his company car at the moment. I've half got my eye on it when he's ready to change.

freezywater wrote:
Keith, have the same prob with the wife's 307cc, i found rubbing vaseline(other petroleum jellies are available :wink: ) around the top and bottom seals stops this

That makes sense, I might give that a go.

I had more trouble the other day when the button that raises the boot froze solid. The wife ended up with two huge bags of sailing gear on her lap. That's a Tigra pretty much filled to the brim.

ise wrote:
Hairdresser jokes aside, I'd have thought your car wasn't too unreasonable in the snow, front wheel drive, fairly sensible size wheels and so on, the additional traction you might need at times is going to be a lot less than some other cars.

You would think but like a lot of modern cars it suffers with overly wide and overly low profile tires.

At one point on some obscure 'A' road near Basingstoke I was left for dead by a standard little Corsa. It's the same bloody car but with sensible wheels! Sensible lots of other things I expect too. I bet his doors don't freeze shut either because his windows don't have to go down to clear the door seal!

KevinC wrote:Hm...for all their boasts then they still don't seem to be something you could rely on in the alps.

I'm left in a dilemma every year as to what to do. Don't like the thought of paying 60 euros every time I hire a car in Europe and I don't know if I'd be able to fit them - I can't practice because I'm never going to drive from England so don't own any. Yet if my flight had gone out on Saturday it seems it's highly likely something would have been required.

Helicopter transfer next year!

If you're hiring cars then it's a no brainer - don't buy anything. Most chains, and even these Autosocks, are a bit wheel size specific. You're guaranteed to order 'something like a Golf' and up with a free upgrade to a Merc and they won't fit anyway )

Let us know how you get on with the helicopter transfer :D

The ironic thing is we're heading to Schladming in a couple of weeks and the valley looks greener than it does here.

Just home from my first ski trip.......how do i cope now? Started by User in Ski Chatter, 20 Replies
You just need to take up an equally exciting summer activity! I only started dinghy sailing because I was becoming completely obsessed with skiing. It worked! I'm off to Schladming on Saturday and I've only just started to get excited. Once I'm back I'll only have to wait a few more weeks before the dinghy racing starts again. Splendid!

AutoSocks Started by User in Ski Hardware, 55 Replies
I remember listening to BBC Radio Berkshire when I was stuck in the snow (god they've got some awful DJ's). A few people were calling in and complaining about their diesel turbos. They were able to pull away ok but then the turbo would kick in and they'd lose traction again. Me I just couldn't get going in the first place.

Messages posted by : ellistine