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[DC]

What most people don't know is that winter tyres perform better as soon as temperature drops below 7C, even on dry road.

[Turk]

Gonna try dropping to 20psi for tomorrows trip to work. (4psi ) . Snow chains are a fair bit more expensive than the 20p for air at the Tesco garage.  
Although in all fairness to the old tractor I travelled the 8 miles to work in 20 mins, got within 1 mile before having the only problem with one hill, and that was due to having to stop half way up as a chap in a Fiesta was having some difficulty. I waited at the bottom until he got moving so I could have a decent run at it and then as I get half way up, the numpty stopped again. Spent the next hour inching the car up.  

[Turk]

Full tank of fuel, Drop tyre pressures to 24/26 psi (carry 12v inflater in the boot)  If stranded in deep snow maybe lower the pressure again.

If winters start getting as bad as the 70's then I will buy snow chains.

If I did a lot of driving I would try and get some M&S tyres that were ok with road use and put them on my spare 15" rims

Also carry a plastic or fold up spade and some old woven sacks to put under the wheels.

Marks & Spencer sell tyres ?    

[Kevin Wood]

Well, given that you can only vote for one item I've gone for weight in the boot. There's nothing worse than a front-heavy rear wheel drive car IMHO. Chains and low pressures are OK to get you out of the really bad problem areas but can't be applied once you get onto decent roads, as said.

Yesterday, for example, my driving ranged from sub-20 MPH on packed down snow to legal limit cruising <cough> on a totally clear motorway. Not something to try on chains or flat tyres.

I don't find snow mode that useful, tbh. All it does is guarantee that you can't get any power if you find you've got more traction than you thought or need to get out of someone's way. The throttle control is quite progressive on my 3.2, I find, and it's no problem to pull away under control on the most slippery surfaces. Doesn't boil your ATF in first gear either!

Kevin

[Ian_D]

I dont use Ice mode, I cant see it doing the gearbox any good, and also it must use more fuel.

As for TC, I dont like the noises it makes! So I turn it off and just drive carefully (Untill I get to a quiet corner then I may press the 'sideways' pedal down a bit  )

Haven't had any problems yet driving on the road, however I did have a fair bit of bother doing a turn in the road outside my work (The road was up hill, no grit, very icy, and a lot of camber! Once I got the car sideways on the road, I couldn't get it to turn any further, it just started to slide down sideways  )