What happens when the UK gets a couple of inches of snow? Rob & Bobby head out into the Peak District and find abandoned lorries, cars in ditches, police road blocks and LOTS of Suzuki Jimny's.
Driving on snow with a car that has plenty of torque and snow tires is the best feeling. People make the economy of buying them but they are more effective than summer tires when temperature drops below 7°C.
Years ago I put proper winter snow tires on my 4x4 Audi estate. They were the best tires I’ve had. Left them on all year. I only used them on the road so not sure what they would be like in muddier conditions. That’s my main worry.
@@robertpearson1781 If you leave them on year long they will wear very quickly during the summer. I have a front wheel drive car and have a set of Kleber tires for winter, they are the best i've had (better than Michelin and Vredestein) and perform pretty well in mud/gravel. Mud tires on a 4x4 like you have usually do well on snow anyway
Enjoyed very much. I always go out in the snow no matter how much is on the ground. Over here in southeast Pennsylvania US, the winters are also getting warmer and we do not get as much snow as we used too.
I think that weather patterns are changing everywhere. In recent years we've not had much snow at all and the summers are starting much earlier. This year it worked out well though, April turned out to be the best month of the year and it was our 1st lock down month so it was great!😂
Cheers Thomas. Glad you liked it. I’ve not done many videos but I’ll do some more. I’ve just got an old 90 which I’m going to make into a adventure truck so hold on for more!
Took my friend's pathfinder with winter tyres down a road like this a few days ago in Finland... full send and hitting 80kmh XD (road was checked to be clear ahead)
You guys must laugh at us in the UK. If we get an inch of snow the roads come to a stand still! But, that makes for more fun rescuing the less well prepared. Have fun and stay safe!
Thanks Lee. Fingers crossed for some winter weather this year so I can get out. It’s been a strange year with almost no proper outings so far. I think the 110 double cab is the best looking Defender out there. Accommodation for 5 and the work ethic of a pick-up all wrapped in Defender good looks. What’s not to like. Hope you’re putting it to good use?
Good vid 👍 love seeing snow drives in the uk... where abouts was that snowy road in the second half? We get around the cat and fiddle regular but aren't familiar with that one 🤔
I remember once going from SK12 Buxton cheese place, Bradburys A515 to Ashbourne to go A52 .. very many cars out in ditches as no snow tyres. Maybe 10cm snow. My lorry heavy loaded so had grip and managed slowly..but many was stranded as emty trailers. Managed to get there before snow
Hi Anthony. That’s why I took Bobby with me in his 110. That way, whoever breaks down has a doner vehicle to strip for parts so they can get home😜. Anyway, this being England, there’s a Land Rover mechanic on every corner so we normally get by OK. Love the Landcrusier but there aren’t very many here. They are a beast!
Have you seen the guys with that white base model in the USA? Engine light came in and it needs a new engine. JLR found a blue one and cut the wiring loom fitting the winch. They haven’t seen the white one for 3 weeks. JLR looking for a third unit :o
@@teamidris yep, I’ve been following them for a few years now and watched the new defender videos...It’s simple if you ask me, fill a vehicle up with 83 ECUs, cameras and modules and miles and miles of wiring looms with connector blocks all over the place and sooner or later it will become a problem, I must admit I was hoping it would last a little longer than 150 miles! Land Rover have completely turned their backs on the customers who made them what they are today, this new vehicle might have the Defender badge on the bonnet but it’s far from a true defender...rugged, simple to work on and if it gets bashed about it’s not a problem! I never thought I’d say it in my 35 years of being a Land Rover man, but theres nothing in the Land Rover range which I have any interest in, what a shame!
Thanks Tyler. Naturally I agree with the Defender love. There’s a big following for the old style here in the UK. I live in the midlands, the spiritual home of the original Defender but now that the new Defender is made in Slovakia. I think Phil is right, the reliability of any vehicle in inversely proportional to the amount of electrics in it, so the new Defender doesn’t stand a chance. Having said that, I’d like the new Defender to be big hit but it’s going to have an up hill struggle with reliability. I don’t have any plans to get one, in fact, I’ve just got a old 90 pick up which I need to get an engine into. That will keep me busy this winter.
Interesting, thats not enough snow to stop a Honda Civic around here. Growing up with feet of snow and rear wheel drive, it's always odd to see how people in other areas handle snow. I would have thought you get much more snow there.
You absolutely right. The UK is TERRIBLE at coping with even a inch of snow. No one is prepared, roads grind to a halt and work stops. The main reason is that we get so little snow, people can’t be bothered to prepare and winter tires seem like a expensive luxury. Secondly, all our local councils are so short of funds that they have sold all their snow ploughs and gritting trucks or can’t afford to run them so on the few days that we do get snow, the roads turn to ice!
The amount of money it would cost for everyone to be prepared for snow in England when it comes sometimes only once a year and only for a few weeks lower than the hill tops is simply not worth it. 2010 England had snow that stayed for weeks and all the authorities invested millions in new equipment so that we would cope better the next time. 8 years passed before we had anything like it again. With the pandemic change to home working I highly doubt people will be struggling to get to the office in quite the same numbers as before. But we will find out in 2028 (har har) when it next comes I suppose!
@@simmer484 I get what you mean in many ways, however winter tyres are still very useful in ordinary UK winters. I use them in the winter and they make a huge, noticeable difference, even just driving in cold wet conditions. After all, they're designed for use when temperatures are ~7 degrees or less. On the odd occasion it does snow, then they reeeally come into their own. But, they are 'winter' tyres rather than 'snow' tyres, as people often call them. Here's hoping for a good winter with lots of snow! :D
This winter will b first one i have a 4x4 its a suzuki sx4 hybrid all grip now its got a very good write up but not in your leauge but ive seen em go in a foot of snow Suzuki have done real well with their 4x4 over the years at £27,000 not cheap but as you say lead wellies on Take care folks god bless you all
You're right, it's not in the same league, it's probably a few leagues higher than the old defender. In all honesty I suspect you'd get further than me in the snow. Hope you stay safe and have fun. The main thing it to get out and enjoy it.
Here in the uk people don't use winter tyres at all. I don't think even most 4x4s come with all weather tyres. But depending on where you are, you may not need them. I've been living in London for 20 years and can probably recall less than 10 situations when the conditions required winters in the city. And if weather gets this bad, there's no point even trying to drive as all the roads will be blocked by cars not able to move, jack knifed lorries etc. Better go for a walk and survey the chaos :-)
I certainly agree. In Jan/Feb next year I’ve got 30+ hilltop sites to visit in the far north of Scotland. Reckon a set of decent snow tires might be worth while this year!!
Good spot. Yes it is Carbon fibre. The main reason is for strength. I use the bonnet to climb onto the roof. In the warmer months I have a roof tent so the kids and I are always up and down.
To be honest, we have to make the best from what we get in England. Our winters are getting less and less cold so as soon as we get any snow we like to get out in. When the Beast from the East storm came in 2018 we almost ground to a halt, but it was good fun.
Hi Sam, my headlights are Speaker LED’s. There the 2nd generation so they might have new ones out now as these must be 3 or 4 years old. They are great and would go back to the standard fit “candles”. But the real light comes from 4, big Speaker spots mounted on the roof rack. Probably a bit much for most people in the UK but handy once every year!
Hi Dieter, I’m using Cooper STT Pro’s. They’re more of an aggressive mud tire but I’ve been using them as my daily all round tire and love them. I’ve done a few 2000Km trips across France and they’re great on the motorway. Out of interest, the wheels are 16inch Hutchinson Bead Locks.
Some do, most don’t, we rarely get snow so winter tyres aren’t worth the money, majority of tyres are good for displacement of water, some use all season tyres
It's not just about snow though. Winter tyres work better than normal tyres when the temperature drop below +7 degrees centigrade. The compound in a Winter tyre doesn't harden like a normal tyre compound. Lots of people in Scotland run all weather tyres year round or switch to winters between late November and late March/early April.
@@scotsnow8543 I’m aware of them being better below 7c but to be honest, Scotland get many more colder days and nights than we get in the Midlands, I suppose the same argument applies to people that buy hot hatches and then put a shitty brand tyre on because they can’t afford a decent brand
Hi Eddie, I had a se to proper winter tires on an Audi I had a few years ago and they were the best tires I’ve had. But like Paul says, we get so little harsh winter weather in England that 99% of people would rather struggle for a couple of days a year than spend their hard earned. Having said all this, I’ve got a big job on in North Scotland over Jan & Feb and those guys do get decent winter weather. All the sites are on exposed hill tops so I’ll be putting something more suitable on my truck than the Cooper STT Pros that are on at the moment. They are a great mud tire but have almost no sipes (those little cuts for snow to catch in) and really quite poor in the snow. A decent set of All Terrains would be better.
Hi Asitha, They do but due to years of under funding of local councils, many of them have either sold their gritting trucks or simply can’t afford to run them!. So preventative gritting seems to be a thing of past now. What’s the situation with the roads in your country?
Yes, we have gritters in the UK, but they tend to do the main A roads and motorways with a few of the heavier use B roads too. These guys appeared to be mainly on the hills and un-metalled roads, where the councils don’t bother gritting.
I know, it;s a bit of weird one to have on a 110. It’s not a weight saving move. During the late spring, summer and autumn I have a roof tent on and the easiest way up is climb up the bonnet. So the carbon fibre bonnet just means you can have a 16 stone bloke jump on it without any worries! The fact it’s lighter cant do any harm but it’s just a useful side effect of the extra strength.
@@teamidris I know this is the UK and they have different words for these trucks Like Larry it's the same as semi but a wagon is a totally different type of vehicle
@@thediscussionclub1675 Lurry, to lug about 17th century.(derivation of the word Lorry). So not derived from carriage like car. :o) There was also charabang, which was an open top motor bus from the open top horse drawn wagon with rows of seats. Truck is sort of any wheeled carrying thing. (Sack truck) Skid can be wheeled or sledge. Semi is semi-articulated. This one is very interesting because America took the ‘semi’ and the U.K. took ‘artic’. As in, “I drove the artic back from Birmingham”. “I hitched a lift with a semi out of Baltimore” Hope that helps ^-^
@@thediscussionclub1675 My mate Steve had a job on the railway which was to go through a technical manual and make sure the same words were used all the way through. Basically, to make it a boring read :D
Lived all my 58 years around Buxton and have had a series 3 for over 20 years , these conditions were nothing I’m afraid , if a defender struggled with this somethings very wrong . Winter 2010/11 , 2012/13 it was 12-14 feet deep around Buxton at sides of roads , the only vehicle of any use was a helicopter . Oh , and mud tyres will kill you in the conditions you were in , useless .
sadly yes, we have such a shit climate that sun for more than a day or a little bit of snow finishes us off, airports schools shops etc all shut and everyone runs around screaming
Bet felt like gods in them defenders against them other cars on about them all being stuck as drive past like its nothing and pull a few people out lol
The copper was very jealous. He was telling us that due to lack of funding, the had lost all their 4x4’s and this in in the Peak District Mountain area!! The had been replaced with 2 wheel drive Fords on summer tires. Makes no sense at all!
@@robertpearson1781 Selling gritters and Cops with No 4x4's.. Seems things are better up here in Scotland then. Ours are all 20 plate gritters and plenty X5's with All seasons on.
Hi Robert. Appreciate your comments. Good to get a balanced view rather than being shouted down by people who don't see the other side of the coin. I'm all for having fun and, I strongly believe 4x4 users have a valuable role to play and which would improve the image of users of, what many see as, unnecessary gas guzzling Chelsea tractors. Back in 85, after the large snowfalls of 81/82, I helped coordinated a lot of farmers etc to get 4x4s out doing good deeds. I joined in with my 75 Landcruiser FJ55 shoving a snowplough around the lanes and getting ploughs purchased for local farmers to assist. I think that year we had a weird dump of snow in late April..12", that lasted just over 48 hours. Cars today struggle in our wet British snow because of wide tyres and poor ground clearance. Back in 81/2 most smaller cars were on 145 - 175 tyres and got through 4 - 6 inches of snow without much trouble. Roads weren't blocked up by public cars and gritting/ploughing was predictable. Tyre tread patterns were more open and gripped better than the very 'Performance' tyres of today. Now, you rarely see a car with less than 185 section tyres, even small/mini cars. Often its 215, 245+ and with circumferal grooving, no snow grip. If fitting winter tyres were compulsory it would be so much easier. Anyway, I learnt a lot as a highway engineer and using 4x4s for work. For most situations, we use too - wide tyres. I run 235/255 but so often you see 285, 315, 12.5" etc. A big Unimog only wears 395- 465 and they have 7- 12 tons to push the tyres down to something more solid. I've watched 4x4s with 7.50 x 16, 215/85 tyres sail past the monster mudder trucks. Unless you need flotation, narrow tyres are better, especially in UK snow. We proved it on a test rig, with strain gauges and Landrovers pulling gritter trucks through snow. 750x16 or 8.25x16 XCL or Extra Grip GY beat the 33/12.50 BFG mud and AT tyres every time. Convincingly.
Thanks for the details Nigel. Really appreciate you comments on tire width from someone who obviously knows what they are talking about. More importantly someone who’s got real world experience. Your timing is very useful as I have 30+ hill top sites to visit in North Scotland during Jan and Feb and I suspect they will have a bit of weather !! Currently you would profile me as a wide “tire offender” . I’ve to Cooper STT Pros which are really a mud based tire with little or no sipes and really are not good in snow. Add to that they are 265’s on 16’s. What would you suggest for winter in Scotland? For the rest of the year they will get fairly normal all round use, running the kids to school, working on site and then picking the kids up again. Got say I’ve used and like the BF AT’s. Would a narrow set do the job?
Hi Robert. 265 aren't as wide as many. It depends on your truck really, its weight. My Disco 1 has a kerb weight of 2540kg, due to mods. I run 255/85 16 KM03 which are good in deep snow, not necessarily so on packed snow where something like Vredestine Extreme winter tyres would be better. Lots of sipes, cutting edges, micro texture versus the heavy mud pattern. I personally won't go wider on my weight of truck, but, if I was predominantly on peat/heather (where there is no hard ground underneath) I'd want flotation and probably go 315 or wider. Doesn't help you much.. Your Coopers are a great tyre. What is your truck, loading, main surface (snow or ice or peat or mud or rock)?
When driving through deep snow, onto s hard base a narrow tyre takes less force to push forwards and, cuts down more easily to hard stuff below. A 235 section with a chunky tread is ideal. A 215/100 r16 even better. Aired down you also get a longer footprint, increasing traction with little widening of the tyre. A wide tyre, say 285. 305, has a lot of snow to push through and needs a lot of weights to push down to hard ground. A little Def 90 weighing what, 1700kg needs v different tyres to a heavy lump of tricked up Def 130 or Landcruiser weighing close to 3000kg. Some Michelin 750 16 XZL or 235/85 are great. A heavy truck would be better on 255/85, 255/100 or maybe 265 but no wider than 285..in my opinion on typical UK wet heavy snow. If you're prepared to stick chains on, then ATs are fine.
@@Predator27007 Funnily enough I was at a quarry the other day and went over the weigh bridge so know that my 110 weighs 2520, after I got out! Similar to yours. Just had a look at the KM03’s. They look great but like you say, more of a mud tire and not dissimilar to my Cooper STT Pros I’m running. I’ll take a look at the Vredestine Extreme Winter Tires but suspect that more year round solution. Wondered about the KO2’s in something like a 235.
@@Predator27007 Looks like we’re on the same track here. I’ll have a look over the next couple of weeks in the 235 region. Normally snow’s not a big factor for me but the fact that I’ll be in areas where snows almost guaranteed for the next few months make it real concern. If I don’t get to the sites I wont get paid so the right tires are important and will pay for themselves within a couple of sites. Thanks again for your advice. Much appreciated. I’ll see if I can take some footage while I’m up there. Could make a good video.
Now now Ron! That’s why we always take a pair of 110’s on any trip so that when one breaks down we can strip it for parts 😮 and get home. Also remember that this is the UK so there’s a Land Rover mechanic on every corner!
Drama? Had more drama driving 4x4's in the flat old fens! Why do people use hazard lights when they are towing another vehicle, or being towed? They are no more a hazard than if they were towing a trailer......and you'd not have hazards on for that. It's pointless, annoying and unhelpful, and should not be used, according to the highway code, unless you are doing so very slowly on a motorway or dual carriageway.
@@thediscussionclub1675 because everyone in the car community always jokes about which side of driving is the "true" driving side Plus what does being American have to do with this?,like there are way more countries in the world who are right and drive and all of a sudden you assume the other commenter is an American
Why would you add traffic and risk to the roads driving to show off , and Bobby drives like a 17 year old.you should only go out in snow if you have to 🤨
That's quite funny Mason f...get a grip..snow, traction, grip. I agree with Richard Smith as you know. Richard Smith, well said. They could be out doing good deeds, rescuing people from snow drifts, taking food to stranded drivers. No evidence of that in the video however. Perhaps Robert Pearson will reply as to whether his journey was absolutely essential. It looks like it was just going to play on public roads, along with numerous others in their tough trucks. They could have checked on the welfare of the drivers of the numerous stranded trucks that they drive past??!! I work in Europe a lot. Many 4x4 users out there. If you don't have snowflake marked winter tyres fitted and snowchains in the car you are fined, cos they won't tolerate fools messing up their highways. They also fine if the journey can't be proved to be essential Britain needs the same, to prevent drivers blocking up roads when they should at home playing on Facebook, nice and warm.
@@Predator27007 hope you feel better after that, maybe they did do all those things you said, but rather than have a movie then video, they just showed clips instead.
Hello red110tdi. I don't make comments to 'feel better'. I do think that IF they had gone out to do good deeds, it would have been good 'PR' to have shown at least some of that and, worthy of applause. Instead, all we saw were 4x4 drivers out in large numbers, driving roads, apparently to see how bad the snow was. In my comment you'll notice I put in "perhaps..." "it looks like....". Just put in some good deeds and show how helpful 4x4s can be.
@@Predator27007 what's the big deal, they went out and had fun. For some people that's essential enough. Every time it snows ill go out for drive, for fun. But also if I'm ever caught out, if it suddenly belts it down with that dangerous 2inches of snow at least ill have some experience of driving in the snow...
The title was misleading. There's nothing dramatic about the drive. I Like defenders and off road adventures. Perhaps it's just the disappointing content. Hope RU-vid future AIgorithm can suggest better video, not just based on the title.
You’re probably right, a friend from Germany came over in his rear drive Audi with winter tires and sailed past everyone when he was here in the snow a few years ago. But, my truck happens to be a 4x4 and we just don’t get much snow in the Midlands of England so we have to take what we are given. This is about as Dramatic as it gets. I guess these things are all relative!
"Only go out if your journey is ABSOLUTELY necessary". Was your journey and those of all the other tricked-up 4x4 drivers ABSOLUTELY necessary? Were you just out to have a look at how bad it was? I'm sorry to be a spoilsport, but I don't care what people are driving...stay at home! I used to be a winter maintenance contractor and coordinator. At least 70% of failures were roads blocked by people who didn't need to be out. Dads taking wife n kids out to look at the snow, jokers taking their mountain bikes to snowy area to play, trucks that should have winter tyres/chains. Once a road is blocked by stuck vehicles, gritters and ploughs can't get through, so Hugo and his mates dicking around in their Wange Wover on summer tyres deserve to get their pride and joy shoved in a ditch by a big loading shovel (this happened, clearing drifts...buried Metro ended up in the bucket of our Cat loading shovel. It's just not clever.
@@marc9709 Hello @Mason f. I can be fun. I have a tricked up 4x4 and use it to the full.. I just believe in not adding to the task of emergency workers or road maintenance teams who then get criticised when they don't clear highways blocked by day trippers going out, when they been warned to stay at home. The same goes watersports types out when the red flag is flying and nearly drown, or weekend warriors out on the mountain when weather is closing in. I suppose when you've been on the dirty end of the stick, you view things differently. If that makes me boring, then that's good. Go play off road where we don't cause problems for working people or, register as a winter maintenance contractor and go out 'for real' dealing with Hugo and his Wange Wover mates, hahaha So many complain that UK fails at the first snowflake. Winter tyres and carrying chains is compulsory in Europe, regardless of government efforts. No such rules in UK, so we all slither around blaming everyone else.
We're all entitled to a view. I'm not against having fun but I was helping to rescue flood victims in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire in July '07. 2am, Army and air sea rescue choppers winching people out of their bedroom windows as the river crept up the stairs!! The only vehicles going along the A38 were fire pumps, slowly but...4x4s charging through, with bow waves over their roofs. BIG tyres, BiG winches, BIG waves. Fun...but not for frontage houses that had their sandbags breached and houses flooded. Such stuff makes me feel a bit jaded, that's all
Interesting perspective. Over here in the northern US, that amount of snow is considered very little, and everyone goes about their business as usual. I think it has to do with experience; in areas that see a lot of snow, drivers are experienced even in small front wheel drive cars. Snow tires are important for this type of driving, and most people around here have them installed on their cars each year in November and remove them at the end of April or early May.
