Brings back the days !! Not a Jaguar at the time. Wanted one. Not in my pay grade. New or used!!! Circa 1954. I was stationed at Todendorf on Germany's North sea. My new wife wintering with parents in Worms. Leave ended just after Christmas. Had to go back. Our car was a used 50 Chevrolet. In need of tires, but not yet in my Lieutenant's budget.


Off I went. Somewhere just north of Hannover, I think, on the Autobahn was a hill I could not crest. Tried several times, each with a longer running start. No go. So, "gingerly" I chose an off ramp into town. Ooops, too tight a curve to hold. I didn't even try to brake, I knew better. Tapped the guard rail. Gently!! The bumper was too cold and brittle to bend, it busted.


I found a small shop. I bought a set of chains. Cut to fit. They had a definite GI look!!! Price quite decent. I tossed in a couple of packs of smokes. Appreciated.


Back to the autobahn. Took that hill in stride, but easy on the gas....


Although, the road got better, I left the chains on til I got back to base. late, dark, pooped, I poured myself a cognac and went to sleep.


Next pay day, two tires. Another pay day another two. Much better.
Black car, WSW's looked durn good. Our mess Sargent thought it looked so good, he went into Bremen and found a similar Chevvy!!


Carl

 

I opted for snow tires instead of a winter car, and they really do make a difference. I feel confident in the snow now. Ice is still a pain in the ***, but snow can be conquered.

 

First snow test with new all season tires. Stopping works great. Accelerating from zero and the rear end starts dancing. Tight turns and we are going sideways. Looks like snow days will be Saturn days.

 

Put a couple of 60# bags of sand in the boot, and it will do so much better....


Carl

 

i have driven mine on snow/hard pack. it is downright scary. of course it did not have a real winter tire more of a summer/all season tire. but yeah it wouldn't go it wouldn't stop it wouldn't turn anywhere near what i would consider acceptable for winter driving. it stays parked in the winter except for the rare day that the roads are completely dry and clear of any snow or hard packed snow/ice.

 

The first winter I had mine there was a big snow. The car was handling simply awful. I bought a set of winter tires and it made a world of difference.

A couple of weeks later, I was leaving work after a big snow 8") I saw a Dodge Dakota 4x4 stuck in the parking lot, wheels spinning. I thought, O s--t, but I was able to pull out with no trouble.

Studies have shown that a two wheel drive car with winter tires will out perform a 4X4 or AWD with all season tire.s

 

Quick update. Snow performance with new Michelin tires in fresh unsalted snow is very reasonable, even uphill. All main roads are bone dry again thanks to 150 snow plows.

Cold performance at 17 degrees Fahrenheit (-8 degrees Celsius) is also great. Once warmed up she runs like it is a warm summer day. Just the desperately needed car wash froze the door locks (WD40 helps) and the driver's window needs help closing at these temperatures, so no more drive-through. Lets see what she will do next week at -9 degrees Fahrenheit (-23 degrees Celsius).

Minnesota: We put the 'F' in cold.

 

Are you using new tyres on the normal wheels, or did you buy a new set of wheels for the snow tyres? Do you find that the car being fairly low means that the front spoiler/air dam acts as a sort of snow plough?

 

So far I am using regular new Michelin tires on stock starfish wheels. This week I will try almost new snow tires on 16 inch wheels. Might get a little tight. We only have 4 inches (10 cm) of snow so far, so the spoiler does not reach it. If we had more than six inches (15 cm) I would wait until the first snowplow came through. Here in the Minneapolis / Saint Paul metro area we have over 150 snowplows that do a great job.

 

Are those 16 inch wheels stock XJS ones, or after-market?

Over here the snow ploughs only bother with the main roads, at least those that don't have their own snow-melting system. Smaller roads that don't have snow melters get "ploughed" by cars going along them. When I had my MR2 turbo, in the worst of the snow I stuck chains on the rear wheels and it would go through anything, like the proverbial hot knife through butter, but, as I found out, it was low enough that the snow would tear the plastic underbody sheathing away. While the XJS air dam is fixed on pretty firmly, and isn't plastic, I'm still a little concerned about what would happen if I encountered a non-ploughed road.

At any rate, it's still academic, as proper winter weather doesn't usually set in here until January....

 

The 16" wheels are Borbet 7.5" ET20. Just a little tight when turning for my taste. But I will put them on and see what happens.

 

Thanks. Having heard (read) it's pretty hard to find aftermarket wheels that will fit, due to the slightly unusual nut spacing and the wider than normal axle shaft or whatever it is, I was curious about what you chose.

 

The bolt pattern is a standard GM pattern (5x 4.75"), but the hub hole diameter is larger than the GM applications, so the wheels would have to have this hole machined larger.

 

Thanks. GM's probably not too common over this side of the Pacific. There are plenty of aftermarket wheels of course. I'll do some hunting for exact dimensions and convert them to metric and see what can be found....

 

I have yet to try my XJ-S in snow and will most certainly do so... I find my XJ8 rather boring in snow. We had about 10 cm (for you Muricans that is about 4 inches) which is quite a lot for my area. Anyhow, the XJ8 with automatic and no diff lock would go sideways bur only if you really hammered it. Even though it is law to have winter tires on in certain weather, I have my standard summer tires on. I had no traction or braking problems what so ever. The car weighs about the same. Has the basic same steering geometry and the same weight distribution (well nearly).

 

My experience in Alaska and Denver, Co showed me the wisdom in
"All 4-wheel drive does is let you get stuck in more inaccessible places than 2-wheel drive!".

I also learned that to stop on icy roads just put the car in neutral or push in the clutch
and coast to a stop. Stopping while going down an icy hill? What were you thinking?
Human Stupidity has no limitations according to Einstein.

With automatic trannys keep it in neutral to keep the drive tires from
spinning while waiting on the light.

When trying to get out of the snow banks, keep the wheels straight.
A turned wheel will act like a plow.
Also keep a small shovel in the trunk to level the snow in front of the wheels.

Also, move to a place with no snow.

That is pretty much my list of things to do with a car in the snow.

Regards,
Bob - POR - Press On Regardless

 

That's on my list for retirement: No snow, no state income tax. For now the job market in Minnesota is just too good to leave.

 

Apparently all questions regarding Jaguar XJ-S snow performance will be answered in this week’s episode of The Grand Tour.

My F250 slipped off a hill plowing and got stuck, so I’ve been driving the ‘95 XJS this week. Fish tailing is fun!

 

I have been driving my XJS for weeks now. All you need is good tires and a raw egg strapped to the gas pedal. :-)

 

I got mine out of the garage so I could use the lift jumped on it and went right around was fun did it again and figured that was it for the snow