Clark’s 2018 Volvo V60

[Clark]

Well I'm not going to bother with snow tyres, I live in Birmingham, not Belgrade. We only get snow maybe half a dozen days a year.

 

[nobuffalo]

With good judgment you'll be fine, just gotta watch out for other people.

 

[homeforsummer]

Bracing myself for the possible snow we might have in the coming weeks, anybody had experience of snow in a similar car?

Essentially, just be a bit more cautious.

I went through a particularly snowy winter when I had the MX-5 (2009/2010), and loved every minute of it. Commuted to and from work in it several times, drove from uni to home in it, and deliberately went out to "play" a few times too. Didn't get stuck once.

As long as you drive very smoothly and avoid too many hills, you'll be fine. I can't remember how much E30 325s weigh, but between extra weight and extra torque it may not be as capable as the MX-5 was in snow (extra weight means extra momentum when you're trying to stop and turn, extra torque means you need to be much more gentle when accelerating to avoid spinning your tyres).

What you will enjoy is how nice it is to have a car with 50/50 balance in snow. You never realise how much front-engine front-drive cars understeer in snow until you drive something that wants to turn at both ends. When driving sensibly, it actually makes it much easier to get about.

 

[daan]

I got stuck in the RX8 once, but that was completely my fault. I tried to drive it down a road that had really deep snow in between the tyre tracks of other cars, and it grounded on the snow and got stuck. Apart from that, I never had any issues. As long you drive carefully and, as hfs says, avoid hills, then you should be OK.

 

[Clark]

HFS, it's 1200kg.

And Daan I live on a hill and have to go down that and then another hill to get out of my road .

 

[daan]

Down is fine.

It's the up that's the issue. Last year, when we had snow, I was sitting in a queue of traffic going down a very slight hill, watching the traffic crawling up the hill. Everyone was doing fine until a bus got stuck. Traffic stopped, then moved again as they were able to move out and get past the bus, all except a BMW 120 that decided it wanted to go sideways and backwards instead of forwards, until it ended up next to the kerb at a jaunty angle. If you have to stop on a snowy hill, it can be a bit tricky to get moving again.

 

[homeforsummer]

HFS, it's 1200kg.

And Daan I live on a hill and have to go down that and then another hill to get out of my road .

1200kg isn't too porky then. Certainly not by modern car standards. The Mazda weighed more or less the same as the Fiesta I had previous to it (950kg~), and while it also had wider (and less appropriate) tyres, I found it easier to drive in the snow because of the better balance.

As for hills, daan pretty much covers it. You have to be exceedingly careful going up hill, because FR cars don't tend to have as much traction on snow. The benefit a front-drive car, or even a rear-engined car has in snow, is having a bit more weight on the driven wheels.

What you may find going up hill is that as soon as the wheels start to spin, you're screwed. Spinning wheels means having to back off to regain traction, and doing so loses momentum. Then you're going more slowly... and the wheels start spinning again, so you slow down further, and eventually after doing that a few times you're at a standstill, unable to get up the hill. Or perhaps sliding backwards down it, which is worse.

Of course, if you throw some winter tyres on it, or even get "tyre socks", then that'll solve some of the problems. Since you've already said winter tyres won't be worth the investment, it may just be worth buying some tyre socks, which seem to cost about £30.

The only issue I anticipate with them is that in mixed conditions they'd tear up pretty quickly. Probably fine for completely snowy roads, but you'd need to remove them again on wet tarmac.

 

[Clark]

Well the hill I have to drive up isn't too bad until you get to the top and it gets a bit steeper, but I have a long run up starting from the shallow slope and at 5.30am their wont be any other traffic to slow me down.

Hopefully it doesn't snow, although I would like to try it in the snow. My 1.1 Clio was awesome in the snow, you could go quite fast as the skinny tyres would just dig straight through the top layer of snow, it was just slowing down you had to worry about.

 

[homeforsummer]

Light hills shouldn't really be a problem. I lived in Newcastle and it's fairly hilly there - I just made sure I picked the shallowest ones to drive up when I went anywhere in the snow.

 

[Clark]

About to venture out on to the ice, wish me luck.

 

[Clark]

Gave it a good wash.

 

[Clark]

Still looking and driving as good as ever. Fortnightly wash today inside and out .

 

[Clark]

The E30 has been grounded for a while The right rear wheel arch has a huge hole in and the tyre had destroyed the fuel expansion tank.

But not to fear, new rear aches on both sides, expansion tank and protective plate have been ordered and my mechanic will be fitting them after my holiday.

Just annoyed as my holiday was supposed to be driving to the 'Ring to do some laps, but now were just driving to France in the girlfriend's Yaris. Thankfully I have another week off work in June to be able to go to the ring finally and get to the ring.

 

[Moglet]

Aw, that sucks What happened to cause the damage?

 

[Clark]

Just rust through age and the elements and a badly repaired R/R arch. My trusted local mechanic will do it properly and fit my new arches properly.

The old girl will be back on the road in a week or so, will be taking it in as soon as the parts arrive and I get back from my holiday.

Mechanically the car is fine, so all things going to plan will be taking it to the 'Ring at the end of July.

 

[phillgt2002]

Such a really clean car. I'm waiting for mine to get fixed. The undercarriage got torn up from my friend hitting something. I'm waiting for him to cough up the $4,000 bill.

Also, what is your mileage? Judging from the leather it looks barely driven.

 

[MisterWhiskers]

Wow, it looks brand new like it came from the dealership!

 

[Tornado]

I'm most impressed with the leather. Shocking just how unused it all looks.

 

[Clark]

Such a really clean car. I'm waiting for mine to get fixed. The undercarriage got torn up from my friend hitting something. I'm waiting for him to cough up the $4,000 bill.

Also, what is your mileage? Judging from the leather it looks barely driven.

Yeah the inside is great part from one or two tears.

Believe it or not it has 223k miles on the clock

 

[MatskiMonk]

Well.. however you arrive at Lightweight, the CSL spirit is alive here... less actual metal = less weight, expanded fuel = less dense fuel... what she was trying to do was to make herself faster for her visit to the Green Hell...



Does look good in the pics 👍

Seriously, for all the people in this thread that (rightfully) are admiring Clarks E30... it is one of those cars that you should own, the E30 is a great car, I recommend everyone own one, at least once. I had a 320.. I love 2 litre 6 cylinder engines The E28 and the E30 are the yardsticks by which BMW should be measured, and since the 3 series and 5 series are typically two of the *best* cars in the world at any given moment, I think it's fair to measure any other car against the driving experience of an E28 or E30...

 

[Clark]

I've never heard/driven a 320i but from what I've read it supposed to he a more 'engaging' engine, higher revving and better sounding.

 

[phillgt2002]

Yeah the inside is great part from one or two tears.

Believe it or not it has 223k miles on the clock

You have more miles than I do and your car looks right off the lot. When the car came to the U.S, after a few years people stopped caring for it possibly. The BMW E30 is fairly scoffed at by my younger crowd in the U.S. They don't treat the cars with respect... I guess the same can go for many other older European cars in the U.S. The engine in the E30s are really reliable. Hopefully we won't have to get a swap any time soon. I'm at 213k miles right now.

 

[homeforsummer]

I've never heard/driven a 320i but from what I've read it supposed to he a more 'engaging' engine, higher revving and better sounding.

The other way you can look at it - and the way I've often heard it described - is a slower car with equally poor fuel economy Much as I usually like smaller engines, I think I'd go for the 325 if I had the choice.

Still toying with the idea of an E28 myself. They appear to be reasonably priced at the moment but suspect they won't stay like that for long.

 

[Moglet]

Believe it or not it has 223k miles on the clock

That leather is in better condition than mine and mine's only done 26k.

 

[Crash]

When the car came to the U.S, after a few years people stopped caring for it possibly. The BMW E30 is fairly scoffed at by my younger crowd in the U.S. They don't treat the cars with respect... I guess the same can go for many other older European cars in the U.S.

I've found the opposite to be true instead. I've found a lot of younger car enthusiasts have started getting into E30s, and seem to care and are respectful that you own one. I've started getting the sense that they are starting to be considered to be modern classics.

My fear is for when the current stereotypical Honda guys start getting into E30s en masse.

 

[Clark]

The problem Britain has had with the E30 is that people with no taste modify it and ruin it.

http://www.barryboys.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=20660

 

[SPhilli911]

Yeah, please don't make yours purple.

I can't believe it's so clean and in such good shape at that mileage. What a great car. 👍

 

[Crash]

The problem Britain has had with the E30 is that people with no taste modify it and ruin it.

http://www.barryboys.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=20660

Yeah, we see those around too. But there are also plenty that are either in good condition still, or has been modified tastefully.

Oh, and this:

 

[Clark]

Got it back

 

[Moglet]

The paintwork on it looks awesome, has it been polished recently?