Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

I had winter tyres for my van, purely because they were a legal requirement when driving in Germany (which I did a lot). They were expensive and I can't say I noticed a huge difference! I guess if you're driving a fully loaded van on ungritted, icy roads you're fucked anyway.

I find that moving from Pirelli P-Zero to Pirelli Sottozero tyres at this time of year significantly reduces the ABS triggering when coming to a stop.

I thought all resorts shut till Feb?

In southern England? Not stamping on the brakes at the last second also solves that.

Tbf, the E63 weighs about 2 and a half tons, that’s a lot of car to have to stop.

I’d say the 996 did that. (Or the 986). For me it was the point at which Porsche gave up on the still-futuristic 928 and accepted that they had become typecast and had to finally do a proper new, but very evolutionary, 911.

Although the 987 did return to round headlamps, which was them finally giving in.

What you are looking for is the missing "r" from the beginning of "evolutionary".

The 996 was a clean sheet design that marked a break from the 993, which was a reworked 964, which was a reworked G-series, which was a reworked long-nose. There's a reason you can exchange body panels between everything that came before the 996, but can't exchange them between (say) 993 and 996.

The 996 was also water cooled, showcased an evolution of the Panamerica styling concept, and using subtle surfacing and combining the shut lines with the all in one light clusters referenced the evolution of the G/964/993 but did something wholly new with it.

Then there was uproar - generally not what you get in response to an evolutionary change.

The 996.2 was the beginning of the surrender, Porsche design being brow-beaten by consumer and journalist reaction into spoiling the clean lines and clever shut-line detail, and then the 997 marked full blown retreat from a design led approach into pastiche, the 911 having briefly looked to the future with the 996 it then burrowed back into "live laugh love" style retro.

In southern England? Not stamping on the brakes at the last second also solves that.

I wasn't aware that you were sitting in the back all those times.

Tbf, the E63 weighs about 2 and a half tons, that’s a lot of car to have to stop.

Was thinking the same thing this morning... first winter with a nice car... is this the done thing? To own a full set of wheels with winter tyres?

I had a spare set of wheels with winter tyres when I had the Subaru - proper winter tyres (Nokian A4s) not all-season tyres. When it snowed properly - UK, properly, that is, so more than an inch - they were most excellent. 4WD and proper snow tyres meant I had the snow-covered outside lane of dual carriageways to myself while everyone else slithered around on the slush-covered inside lane. Winter tyres also give more grip in cold conditions, as the rubber compound is optimised for colder temperatures.

But in the UK the benefits are marginal, and there will probably be one or two days every 3 or 4 years where they make a real difference. When I had the Subaru I picked up the spare set of wheels for buttons, and because the tyres were relatively dainty the tyres were relatively cheap. For the RS6 the costs of getting a spare set of wheels with winter tyres would be exponentially greater, so I haven't bothered.

Bottom line- not really necessary for the UK.

I paid £1,100 for:

2 X 9 x 19 ET 37, fitted with Pirelli Sottozero 255 x 35 x 19 winter tyres.

2 X 10 x 19 ET 47, fitted with Pirelli Sottozero 285 x 30 x 19 winter tyres.

All four fitted with MB tyre pressure monitoring sensors.

The summer tyres are the same sizes, but the OEM spec tyre is a P-Zero.

Very affordable... where from?

eBay, at a guess from someone who sold/part-ex'd their E63 and kept the winter wheels back to make a little more money on.

I included both sets of wheels in the sale of my C55, and will be stacking the summers in the boot for the new owner.

It depends where you live and whether you're rwd in the UK re winter tyres. I think that a bit of experience driving on snow helps too. Using a high gear to get traction, having a non-binary relationship to throttle inputs, and being very delicate on the brakes.

First time owning a rwd, any tips for winter driving?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eb01BM5Nj7o&ab_channel=FordHeritage

Or Scandinavia

Ultimately if the question is do you need winter tyres in England then the answer is no, do they make the car more secure in winter conditions then the answer is yes, so they're a positive thing to fit, is my view.

As @hurricane_run suggested, plenty of this is the order of the day
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoGdC4NpnsU

And @hurricane_run - I'm not sure the wife would love that on the drive up North.

Still, will have to give it a bit of a go!

Just find quiet roads with a bit of space. Northumberland is perfect for this.

Empty car park.. No kerbs

Easy diversion when driving North to Edinburgh for Christmas!

Or stupidly wide tyres.

How many people go out and get skid pan training nower days?

Many have stopped doing that and put raised kerbs for water flow and stop people doing that.

Reminds me of leaving a ski resort a few years back after 'one last run' too many. But in a packed S-max with the family.