Rob

no not use chains on clear or mixed roads - u will gamage the chains and then when they snap u will trash the car. chains are for use on hard compacted snow.

they are very rough to drive with also. chains can easily dmage alloys - thats why a lot have moulded rim protectors.

the only place that people would actually need to use chains is the farmers living up in scotland

if it is cast onto the hub its the hub, if its something bolted on then its an arm.

u need to have winter tyres front and back, if you dont ........then dont bother at all.

go for 16" steel rims, if u cant get those get the 16" alloys from the base IS model - they are on eBay all the time.

i drive around all winter and into the mountains and dont have any issues. make sure to get a good rand, dunlop,michellin nokian etc. dont bother with cheap winter tyres as most are complete shi.....

if adding weight in the boot use bags of grit as then if u need to you can scatter this on the road to get moving.

over here they dont use grit or rock salt, they use a fine chemical based "salt" that works, we buy it for the driveway and the second you put it on the snow or ice you can hear it melting. The drive is clear in about 25-30 mins.

i noticed in the UK that the spreader was going along but dumping handfulls of grit/rock salt in the middle of the road so it was a useless act as nothing would happen.... well done!

and make sure they are well over 4mm as below 4mm winer tyres become fairly useless

u need to confirm 100% what is damaged - it is the actual hub or just an arm?

were there 30mph signs on each side of the road and were they illuminated? if not.......

"Providing the street lighting is spaced at 200 yards or less between lights then the speed limit is automatically 30mph unless the speed limit is designated at a higher limit indicated by signage"

You need to revisit the road and check the street lighting and signage.

you admit you were over the limit and i accept that but in these days of councils, police , scamera partnerships focusing on the motorist more and more , then its only fair that all rules are actually enforceable, follow my earlier suggestion and then see what feedback you get. ( you will only get factual info on pepipoo and not personal opinions)

nearly skidded out and crashed again last night on the way home from work!! Starting to wonder whether I should just trade the car in

of course you will, you have summer tyres and trying to drive in winter conditions...

me of course, but i dont live in the UK, but even if i did i would still have them.

norml tyres sold in the uk are "summer" tyres, these start to go hard at around 7C and as such also loose grip. Winter tyres are made of a soft rubber compound so still have grip in the cold colditions, there is apopular but false belief that winter tyres are only for snow and ice... they are not!

For good brands look at dunlop, michelin, nokian etc AVOID toyo winter tyres, they are crap! also look at getting 16" tyres if possible on a set of old 16" rims - it will be easier to drive with those.

why dont people have them....... unaware of them, believing they are for snow only, no UK law requiring the use of them during winter months... list goes on.

post over on pepipoo.com and go from there, fill in the NIP wizard and wait for the assistance from some of the posters.

the police do not need to inform anyone that they are doing speed checks.....

if the screen wash is freezing then you either have a plain scented wash or if using proper screen wash the mixture isnt strong enough.

i was actually refering to americans but never mind......

check all the connectors are tight on the back of the controller panel.

and dont forget the Battery on the Rx400h dies very often, sometimes even after just 1 week so you can not even start the car. Some members have resorted to carrying a power pack booster !

typical merkin activity

Mine is rubbish in snow and ice. The Snow ETC button does nothing much but light up the dash with a "snow" light, which helps remember that I am on snow

Got stuck so many times it's embarrassing. Went to turn car around on snow melted street and got stuck straight across the street mid turn. Took ages just to get it back into original spot and then go out in Toyota Estima instead.

Haven't found a way to make the blighter stick to the road. Have a bag of sand/salt and some sticks of wood in boot in case I get stuck again. Took two hours to get it out of a car park before Xmas.

your wide summer tyres just might have something to do with it.

clicking ang humming is normal from the throttle body as it has a servo motor.

ok, give the contact a good clean then use a water blocker- u get the stuff in car shops to seal ignition systems, spray that around and see what happens.

also check as mat said that the sunroof is draining pour a bit of water in the drain channel of the sunroof( open roof for this) and see that water appears near the rear wheels after a minute or so

windscreen normally needs to come out and be resealed - new screen in other words!

mmm drivers is sticking out far more than the other and it doesnt look like a camber issue - did you have any problems before putting the new wheels on?

worst case the car has hit something and knocked the suspension arms. swap the wheels over as suggested and report back

it does appear to be sticking out far more in both situations. do you have any pics of a front on view as a top view doesnt give a great idea of whats happening.

initial thoughts are the camber is waaaayyy out on the drivers side, but then looking at the 3rd pic could it be possible that you have 1 wheel with a different offset???? hence the reuest for front on pics.

it was round draft excluder - cant remember where he put it exactly but there was a vid link, you will have to search for it

u need a hydraulic press, something most people dont have at home, so not so easy for the home diy guy, but its easy enough to change he bearing if u have access to 1 somewhere.

i wouldnt put silicone grease on to try to stop wind noise, i put a bit on to help stop them sticking during winter times.

there was a link a while back on is.net about a guy who used round draft excluder and put it into the door seal so it provided a tigher seal and that seemed to work