J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by Chap1978

Hi All,

Shall we end all of this i'm right, your wrong rubbish and actually give some usefull advise.

Karen - Get some chains that you mention and check that they fit like I posted previously, ensuring that they do not go anywhere near your brake pipes or body of the car. Put them in the boot and use them if needed. Drive at slow speeds and if someone behind you is driving faster, pull over and let them past. I would not drive any faster than 30mph on chains and most times a lot slower as your in snow and although they help with grip they do not make you invincible. Also only use them when there is snow on the road otherwise you will damage the road, your tyres, the chains (they will snap if driven on tarmac) and then when they do snap they will rip your car bodywork to shreds!!!! If you are NOT confident with them then leave your car in a safe place where you can park and get a lift. Honestly though you will probably not need them but I would never travel to the mountains without them.

Now to end this all, you are all correct in certain aspects. Yes Steel wheels do not disipate heat as well as alloy wheels and heat does cause brake fade. Brake fade is more common with drum brakes (few if any modern cars have drum brakes) but can happen with disc brakes. It is caused when the brakes heat up so much that the properties of the material are changed or your brake fluid boils and reduced braking is the result. This is a lot more noticable in trucks or large heavy vehicles or while carrying heavy loads and when on long downhill decents where the brakes are constantly applied which I must add is bad driving. (if driving downhill and you need to brake, ensure you release the brakes for short periods and then reapply, this I am sure you will have seen before especially in trucks when their brake lights are on and then off for short periods allowing the brakes to cool slightly).

In my opinion I can see no reason as to why steel wheels cannot be used on most vehicles (Bugatti Vayron may be an exception - but I am sure no one on here has one and they have ceramic protection and also turbine cooled brakes) as long as you are aware that if you are using your brakes a lot that you may experience slightly reduced braking ability. There are lots of high performance cars with steel wheels on in the winter and I don't see them all in the bodyshop or ditches as they have lost their brakes. Its all about the driver and being aware of the conditions. Brake fade at highway speeds is highly unlikely as the time and distance it takes to brake from that speed will not cause brake fade. Also if your are going from 80mph to stop, 80mph to stop constantly in a short time period I would say sit down and take a look at your driving style as it isn't doing you or your car any good.

If in doubt have a look at this link which explains brake fade.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brake_fade

Admin - I think that you should have the last say and then lock this tread down as the posts it is recieving now are not relevant....

Chap

Hi all,

Just one point to watch out for is that the chains do not go anywhere near your brake pipes. I brought chains for my bmw x5 and was told that my car can only have chains on the rear. The reason being that if put on the front the chain will catch the brake pipe and most probably rip it off. Result being no brakes!!!

When u get them fit them in daylight and get your head behind the wheel and make sure they can't catch anything otherwise you may have more problems!!!

Ohh and guess what..... They never came out of my boot!!!

Have a great trip

Chap

I have the pov.1 and have just returned from a week in sainte fly. The people with me gave up using their standard dv camera as the pov.1 was far better as you could ski with it on and didn't have to hold it. I used velcro to attatch it to the top of my helmet and the footage was amazing. I will try to upload some on YouTube later so you can see for yourself.

Hi David,

Really sorry to hear about your OH but glad the recovery shouldn't be too long.

I used to be a sailing, kayaking and Power Boat instructor for 3 years and also taught instructors during the winter. Obviously not skiing but all instructors are in the same situations.

In this case I would disagree with Iceghost on finding a good lawyer, however I do agree that the centre should give you a full refund for your OH's sessions and any furure sessions pre booked out of good faith.

As an Instructor you are responsible for the safety of your students but the student also has a responsibility for their own safety. It all comes down to the term "Duty of Care" and whether the centre or instructor did not fullfill this duty. It sounds to me as if they did fullfill this duty to the best they could. Obviously all sports are dangerous at times, and accidents can always happen especially when you introduce items that are not natural to the human body such as ski's (ok they are very natural to many on here but not beginners and myself at times when I head plant!!!). In order to learn everyone has to be taught the basics and unfortunately this is not possible unless you are on a slope and that slope causes risks therefore the instructor has to put the student at slight risk but this does not mean they have not fullfilled their duty of care.

If the instructor had taken the student to the very top and told them to point downhill and hope then I would say "take them to the cleaners" but from what I gather that was not the case. If the slope was not in good order and that caused the accident then the centre would have not fullfilled their duty of care and as you havent mentioned any defects I presume that is not the case. Basically as I said accidents happen and unfortunatelly for your OH it resulted in a broken bone but could that have still happen had she fallen over on your garden path in the ice? Yes! Simply the instructor has to put the student at slight risk as it is impossible to teach without that but they are always assessing the risks and changing the situations to minimise those risks.

In my opinion as I said push for a Refund or at least a compromise but unless you feel that the centre or instructor didn't fullfill their "Duty of Care" then I wouldnt go down the solicitor / Lawyer route as this will probably end in the Centres favour as you as a student also have a Duty of Care and accidents do happen. Its just unlucky.

If you Do feel that they didn't fullfill their duty of care then try to discuss it with the centre first. If they push back and quote that you signed a disclaimer do not let that put you off. I now run events for a large multi national company and come across them the whole time and I can confirm that they are not legally binding. They do however work for the company as people are unaware that they can be challenged and therefore dont bother.

Sorry that was so long but I thought it may help.

Once again I'm sorry that this happened to your OH and hope she has a speedy recovery and also I hope for both of you that she does give it another go. Maybe this time at a centre with actual snow and not a dry slope. :wink:

IceGhost - Obviously this is just our opinions so I hope I havent caused any bad feelings.

Cheers Iceman - sorry should have checked first.

I'm heading off to Sainte Foy on 27/12 for a week. Saw some videos from a couple we are going with that go there every year (twice a year sometimes) and it looks amazing.

Anyone have any recomendations on the place?

If not I'll update when I return.

Chap1978 = Paul Ashby

And yet you still have 4 stars...... :lol:

Perhaps thats the way forward to gain all that Karma.