NEWS: Prodrive Winter Driving Course

Rally and race Gods, Prodrive are running a great value Winter driving course – aimed at teaching you how to control your car on snow and ice and give you more confidence this Winter.

The course takes place at their own private proving ground in Warwickshire (where legendary Prodrive rally, race & road cars cars are tested), which has specially designed low friction surfaces to simulate driving on snow or ice. Prodrive say: "Many courses use a skid car, which simply raises or lowers a car on casters. Using low friction surfaces not only replicates snow and ice more accurately, but allows you to use your own car for the course. This means that you can learn how your car responds in these conditions – after all this is what you will be driving this Winter."
The course includes:
1. Briefing: including a theoretical overview of driving in snow (15min)
2. Demonstrations: our instructors will demonstrate what happens on our skid pans. (15min)
3. In-car tuition: (90 mins session)
They add: "You get behind the wheel to get a feel for driving on snow and ice and receive expert tuition in firstly, how to avoid getting into the situation where you lose control and then how to regain control should you need to. There are 2/3 people per instructor and you will get a total of 30 minutes at the wheel during the session, split into two 15 minute periods. For the remaining time you may ride in the cars to continue your learning."
The day ends with a de-brief; to review what you have learnt in theory and practice and how to prepare your car for Winter, including using Winter tyres (20min).
By the end of the Prodrive session you should have a clear understanding of what to do should you ever find yourself in driving in snow and ice this Winter.
The course can be undertaken in either your own car or a Prodrive car (sadly, not the Group N STi Impreza you see pictured, as tested by us here: http://issuu.com/roadonlinemagazine/docs/road_3). 

Prodrive say: "We recommend using your own car as your experience will be more faithful to that you may experience on the road. Due to the speeds and nature of the driving, there should be little, if any, wear and tear on the vehicle."
Prices are £125 per person in own vehicle or £150 per person in a Prodrive vehicle (all prices are inclusive of VAT).
To book a Winter driving course session, phone the Prodrive Performance Centre on 01676 536006, or click here to send an email.

NEWS: New Falken Winter Tyre

So, the leaves are starting to fall, along with the heavy rain... and soon it will be ice and snow. Time to consider some Winter boots for your motor? If you have never tried these, you really should. The difference in grip in ice, snow and cold, wet conditions is staggering. And here is a brand new Winter tyre from Falken, the Eurowinter HS449 winter tyre, with "an innovative tread pattern and compound delivering improved control and grip." The tyre is available in 57 initial sizes, with a further 32 being added in January 2013. Falken say: "A comprehensive set of ten product improvements has led to the creation of Falken’s new Eurowinter HS449 winter tyre. The HS449 incorporates tread, compound and construction changes to improve wet braking, stability and noise – following a rigorous testing programme in Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost island. Cold weather tyre compounds typically contain silica helping the tyre to be more flexible at low temperatures (below 7˚C). For the Eurowinter HS449, Falken’s engineers have increased the proportion of silica to improve braking on wet surfaces by 11 percent (compared to the predecessor model HS439). A higher concentration of polymer in the tread compound enhances stability, delivering an increase of 13 percent over the HS439.
Whilst relevant for all cold weather scenarios, Falken has made strides to ensure braking is particularly improved on snow. In such conditions, the 45 percent increase in tread coverage is designed to improve stopping distances. The novel three-dimensional zig-zag lamellar structure was chosen to boost grip on snow and ice, whilst three dimensional fins optimise even wear of the tyre. Though not a prime consideration for many customers, Falken has lowered tyre noise by incorporating five-phase shifted tread bars. The Eurowinter HS449, the fifth new tyre introduced by Falken to the UK market this year, is available now from a wide range of dealers.