Winter driving in Scottish Highlands

CRH · Jul 29, 2024

I have to drive every Winter in the Highlands for work (& pleasure).
Last time I was in my Freelander 2 with General Grabbers and the snow came in pretty hard when going over the Lecht and the vehicle was faultless in the snow setting, no wheel spin or skidding on any steep hills and sharp bends.
HDC used on really steep and sharp bends. Other SUV's with who knows what drive train or tyres were struggling.
Can anyone advise on how to use a proper 4x4 in the winter conditions for the area.

Baron von Teuchter · Jul 29, 2024

You hit the nail on the head, tyres are key.

I keep a separate set of proper winter tyres and wheels and use those from October to April ish. I live half an hour from the top of the Lecht so I know what it can be like.

Interesting you mention grabbers, I have used GG AT2 and they were pretty good. BFG AT I don’t like at all. Fine in fresh snow but not great on ice or hard packed snow. Very glassy feel to them, no confidence.

It’s a shame there are no tyres that have a proper winter compound and lots of wipes on a mud type pattern. Winters are amazing in light snow and ice, MT’s are great in deep snow. I’ve got a Defender stuck on winter tyres in a wet field

They’re not great “offroad”. Goodyear used to make a tyre (maybe a duratrac?) that had proper sipes on an aggressive AT that was meant to be excellent.

With regard to driving style, smoothness is absolutely key.

CRH · Jul 30, 2024

Baron von Teuchter said:
You hit the nail on the head, tyres are key.

I keep a separate set of proper winter tyres and wheels and use those from October to April ish. I live half an hour from the top of the Lecht so I know what it can be like.

Interesting you mention grabbers, I have used GG AT2 and they were pretty good. BFG AT I don’t like at all. Fine in fresh snow but not great on ice or hard packed snow. Very glassy feel to them, no confidence.

It’s a shame there are no tyres that have a proper winter compound and lots of wipes on a mud type pattern. Winters are amazing in light snow and ice, MT’s are great in deep snow. I’ve got a Defender stuck on winter tyres in a wet field They’re not great “offroad”. Goodyear used to make a tyre (maybe a duratrac?) that had proper sipes on an aggressive AT that was meant to be excellent.

With regard to driving style, smoothness is absolutely key.

It was the AT2's that I had, just couldn't remember at time of typing. I recommend winter tyres to anyone who worries about the bits if snow we get in England and think they need an suv with a 4 wheel drive system. I point them to YouTube where someone did a test with 2 Skoda Yeti's, one 2 wheel drive on winter tyres the other 4 wheel drive on the standard tyres.
One test was in an indoor ski slope, 4 wheel barely moved, wheel drive went quite far. Then there is footage of acceleration and braking on winter roads and same results for winter tyres.
Would the Bridgestone that are on the vehicles without the front and rear lockers be any better?

Baron von Teuchter · Jul 30, 2024

The Bridgestones do look a better pattern for snow/ice (I have a set that came on my spare wheels) but I’ve never used them so can’t comment I’m afraid.

CRH · Jul 30, 2024

Baron von Teuchter said:
The Bridgestones do look a better pattern for snow/ice (I have a set that came on my spare wheels) but I’ve never used them so can’t comment I’m afraid.

I did think the same when I started looking at the vehicles, although i do have the F&R lockers and do some green lanes in England I did wonder if they would have been a better option for me rather than the KO2's I have
since the earlier post I was reading a tyre web site that did rate the KO2 above some other 4x4 winter tyres so they may be ok for me. I did try them on a snow covered area in the Cairngorms earlier in the year but it wasn't a road so didn't give a true feel but they did seem to stop ok?

G-Man · Jul 30, 2024

I've been looking for a set of steel wheels for winter tyres that don't break the bank, but not many options out there other than S/H from private sellers at the moment

Baron von Teuchter · Jul 30, 2024

I believe you can you get steel wheels from Merc sprinter that have the correct bolt pattern.

I got lucky and got a set of four Ineos steel ones on eBay for £400 (with new tyres!) I’d still like a fifth one but hard to come by and I seem to recall they are crazy money from Ineos.

CRH · Jul 30, 2024

Baron von Teuchter said:
I believe you can you get steel wheels from Merc sprinter that have the correct bolt pattern.

I got lucky and got a set of four Ineos steel ones on eBay for £400 (with new tyres!) I’d still like a fifth one but hard to come by and I seem to recall they are crazy money from Ineos.

good to know, there are some 17" grenadier alloys on Ebay with both tyre options but a bit too much for what I really need, & I think I am now at that stage where changing over 4 wheels twice a year is getting a bit too difficult.
We have a set of 19" wheels in the loft off of one of my wife's cars and I have no idea how we are going to get them out

G-Man · Jul 30, 2024

Baron von Teuchter said:
I believe you can you get steel wheels from Merc sprinter that have the correct bolt pattern.

I got lucky and got a set of four Ineos steel ones on eBay for £400 (with new tyres!) I’d still like a fifth one but hard to come by and I seem to recall they are crazy money from Ineos.

That was an absolute steal!

There are 4 x 18" steel wheels for sale on this forum without tyres for £600 here but I though that was a bit steep

G-Man · Jul 30, 2024

Baron von Teuchter said:
I believe you can you get steel wheels from Merc sprinter that have the correct bolt pattern.

I got lucky and got a set of four Ineos steel ones on eBay for £400 (with new tyres!) I’d still like a fifth one but hard to come by and I seem to recall they are crazy money from Ineos.

Forgot to say I think the Merc wheels have the wrong offset

BigJock2024 · Aug 1, 2024

Chipping in with I've had AT grabbers on more than one Range Rover and a Defender. Not only are they great in extreme cold and snow, but they simply refuse to aquaplane. You could plough through the North Sea and stay straight. I run them all year round as the road noise is (in my view) negligible. I think the AT2 is discontinued and sold from stock, you'll find the AT3 much more common.

Is there any reason you are looking for steels in particular? The weight difference is negligible and the only practical reason for steels when off-roading is that they will bend rather than crack, so can usually be bent back into shape in the field. So unless your doing particularly rough terrain you might as well get alloys if there's a bargain to be had.

I love driving in the snow. It's a bit scary, but with the right tyres and careful driving, you're generally ok. When I was in Scotland I ALWAYS had the gas stove and cans of soup in the back. A total cliche I know, but I am sure it's saved someone somewhere once...

CRH · Aug 1, 2024

BigJock2024 said:
Chipping in with I've had AT grabbers on more than one Range Rover and a Defender. Not only are they great in extreme cold and snow, but they simply refuse to aquaplane. You could plough through the North Sea and stay straight. I run them all year round as the road noise is (in my view) negligible. I think the AT2 is discontinued and sold from stock, you'll find the AT3 much more common.

Is there any reason you are looking for steels in particular? The weight difference is negligible and the only practical reason for steels when off-roading is that they will bend rather than crack, so can usually be bent back into shape in the field. So unless your doing particularly rough terrain you might as well get alloys if there's a bargain to be had.

I love driving in the snow. It's a bit scary, but with the right tyres and careful driving, you're generally ok. When I was in Scotland I ALWAYS had the gas stove and cans of soup in the back. A total cliche I know, but I am sure it's saved someone somewhere once...

This is what I used to have o Freelander
Would you ever need to use the centre lock diff in high or even with in low?

BigJock2024 · Aug 1, 2024

CRH said:
This is what I used to have o Freelander
Would you ever need to use the centre lock diff in high or even with in low?

I never needed to use the diff locks (despite insisting on them for my Grenny as I live in hope) on any of my Land Rovers. They are so capable, everything I ever drove I got through.

Off-roading I have done plenty of bomb craters and mud baths. Never got stuck once, pulled plenty of people out, but on those extremes I ran Insa Turbos on modular steels. I've run Insa Turbos on the road quite a bit, they do make a slight "groan" but they look the absolute nuts, and again, just never slip or plane.

Baron von Teuchter · Aug 1, 2024

Yep, I’ve had AT2’s on a few Defenders and a Shogun I think, superb tyres. The pattern looks quite like the BFG AT but they perform significantly better in snow and ice I found.

Not tried the AT3, I might.

BigJock2024 · Aug 9, 2024

G-Man said:
I've been looking for a set of steel wheels for winter tyres that don't break the bank, but not many options out there other than S/H from private sellers at the moment

You've seen this in the classifieds?
In Scotland too.

18” Steel Wheels

I have four 18” steel wheels for sale.

www.theineosforum.com

Search

Search

Winter driving in Scottish Highlands

Navigation

About

Share this group

CRH

Baron von Teuchter

CRH

Baron von Teuchter

CRH

G-Man

Baron von Teuchter

CRH

G-Man

G-Man

BigJock2024

CRH

Attachments

BigJock2024

Baron von Teuchter

BigJock2024

18” Steel Wheels