240 General: New (to me) 1980 Volvo 244

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

I hope you're right about spring being finally here Alan!

Had a snowstorm yesterday followed an hour or so later with a hailstorm which i was out in with the hound. Walkies was abruptly cut short!

Good news on getting another season out of your snow tyres, they're about half way worn at the moment so in theory you have as many seasons again as you've already done with them.

That said, when the tread gets lower, they won't be so effective at dispersing snow and slush so in practice maybe just one more season..................

We had a hailstorm yesterday also Dave, but the temperatures are steadily climbing, so I don't think I need the M&S tyres any more this year.

The recommended wear limit for snow tyres is 4mm - they are still perfectly legal right down to 1.6mm, but as you say, they become less effective in cold weather. What some people do is run them on as summer tyres when they get below 4mm, which works fine. I may do that next year - just run them on into the spring and summer, they will wear a bit quickly in the warm weather, but so what.

I checked the date code on the Yokohama tyres this morn, they are 8 years old (since manufacture - they may well have sat on a shelf for 3 or 4 years) so I think one more season out of them would be reasonable. I only did about 3,000 miles during the winter).

I've found some products by Smartseal to renovate my drive. One which is a biological agent that claims to break down oil deposits (I have quite a few from all the times I've changed engine and gearbox oils intending to be tidy but have always spilled a little). The other product is a re-sealer that rolls on to make it all black like new again. I've just started the preparation today by brushing on a bleach solution to kill all the moss and lichen, it is a big drive though (130m^2) so it takes a while. I'll get it pressure washed off over the next couple of days then try the two Smartseal products, then report back on how effective they are.

:-)