O/T Winter Tyres

[RedditchJay]

Has anyone had any joy with winter compound tyres ?

Whilst I have the 110 defender to plough through the ice and snow and general winter conditions i need some grip for the front of the my VW Golf...

I see some cheap ones on ebay but i gather its best to stick with good named brands.... anyone any advice

size is 195 / 65 / R15

cheers

[Mark (smokey mow)]

Will be watching this one with interest, I was planning to post up a similar question on here as I was having the same thought about fitting a set to my golf for the winter so I'm not stuck at home again.

[tex]

if you buy this weeks auto express theres a big 8 page write up comparison of winter tyres.. good stuff

[blankczechbook]

we swop all our cars to winter tyres - the cheapies do work fairly well, but worn winter tyres are NBG to anyone.

note - they still don't grip on ice - only chains will help you then.

if you just use front winters then beware of the back overtaking you on bends :-)

ps i have winter tyres on my disco - they roll much better than the MT tyres that i had for playtimes - loads better MPG.

i have a tyre/car/truck service depot in southern czech - we do cars to combines, everything inbetween. all ages.

go midrange quality i'd say. they wear out quick in hotter conditions - and in snow you're more likely to hit potholes - so it makes you cry to ditch an expensive tyre once it's been kerbed/potholed.

don't go for any wider tyres on the snow - better the thinner original sizes on std rims to give decent grip. wide tyres slide.

[Davep1]

Blankczechbook's advice is spot on - likewise I use AT's (All terrains) on the 4x4 for working on forest roads, but I have just got a set of Kumho winter tyres for the everyday focus diesel at around £40 each plus P&P

unfitted .

These are great - mid range all weather type tyres (we also use Kumho's on the rally car)- great when new for the slippy stuff, but after winter I just leave them on and wear them out over the better months.

Not as agressive as some others, but good in 'normal' snow conditions.

Anything with a snowflake symbol on is approved for winter use abroad (legal reqt in some countries in winter).

Dont buy part worn winter tyres - false economy!!

Cheers,

Dave.

[dombanks]

how are winter tyres different to just a normal perelli p800 or whatever it is i have have fitted?

i kind of think its a bit of dangler saying we need winter tyres in this country (im open to change my mind tho) as for the majority of the winter we just have crappy rain so surely a decent rain orientated tyre would be better. ok last year we had a snow but around my way once you got off your drive and onto a mainish road it was well gritted. there was the farcical dangler up where we had no grit etc but if that didnt happen would winter tyres really be any help when you are trying to get through snow/ice?

are winter tyres prone to wearing out quckly if you just drive on a gritted dry road at about 4C or if they get too hot (a bit like the inter's in F1 where they keep going on wet bits not dry?)

on a different scale it is something both me and swmbo has thought about. we dont have a 4x4 anymore and without it getting down the lane to the nags would have been impossible lst year so i was thinking of some chains for either of our cars, would these enable us to get throug the snow/ice/compacted snow? do they damage/scratch the wheels at all how do you fit them?

[steve_m]

I use Nokian WR G2s on my Volvo in the winter.  As suggested above they're not specifically a snow tyre but a cold weather/winter tyre better able to cope with low temperature without going hard and has a deeper/different dread pattern.  Reasonably cheap if you buy them in the summer and they're still fine on dry/warm roads.  Makes a huge difference, I kept moving in snow last winter in fwd Volvo where the Range Rovers with low profile summer tyres had got stuck.

[RedditchJay]

dombanks in Europe they have ..wait for it... tyre hotels where they store your winter tyres during April to November as its a legal requirement to change tyres.

ATS in the UK are now doing the same.

My plan is this...

I have purchased x4 brand new standard steel Golf MK5 wheels off ebay for £10.00. Went and collected them so no postage {only on Northampton}.

I will fit x4 winter tyres at no more that £220 fitted then hopefully be able to use the Golf upto extreme conditions then take the Defender off the wife and car share. Change the wheels myslef start of December and swap back at Easter.....

The defender only has mild off road tyres but with 4x4 plus diff lockers should get around most conditions within reason.

[dombanks]

i assumed you'd retain two sets of wheels i guess bluntly what i was getting at is do we really need "winter" tyres in this country?

from my point of view it was only a little amount of time last year that i can rememmber in the last 10 where it was warranted over just a set of decent condition tyres?

im not critisising, you need to feel safe in what you do. i can understand it in a country where there is snow etc from dec-->march  just here we just get a load of rain.

i find the whole winter tyre thing amusing cos i have a friend who keeps going on about them. he drives an old zantia and mostly drives on motorways and in liverpool. as soon as it turnes autum and got a little cold/damp he pretty much every year comments to the effect of ... "oh she feels loose on the road but its due to me only having summer tyres on not winter tyres"

its proabably more likely to be 1 its a zantia and 2 he was using part worns so had low tread levels

[RedditchJay]

i know what you mean.... I only started thinking about them as my VW got stuck last year several times on a hill just a mile from home BUT my neighbour in a small Peugeot 206 with winter tyres on breezed past me {well, gave me a lift} several days on the trot....... its expence but they should last for several winters if only put on when required and removed as soon as gritters have done their job

[blankczechbook]

work on seven degrees temp as a turning point, below that and the softer compound winter tyres with extra cuts in the tread do grip well.

in snow theres no contest.

we tend to get two seasons from our tyres, old winter tyres use by driving into spring to wear them out.. don't save them till next winter or they'll be do use and we'll laugh at you for getting stuck with them when you tell us :-D

ps a 4x4 driven at speed in the snow is a big heavy thing that doesn't like turning or stopping :-)  

- freelanders with winter tyres can out perform older discos/defenders easy on slippery hills.

- centre diff lock helps, but the frl has a better combination of weight and traction control system.

high grip does tend to equal higher wear at any time of year ;-)

oh - and don't drive a bmw with summer tyres in snow - leave it parked before you crash it.

[Martyn_N]

oh - and don't drive a bmw with summer tyres in snow - leave it parked before you crash it.

It does not have to snow for beemer drivers to park there cars on the roundabout over the A46 near my house.  First sign of rain after a dry period and they are all pointing the wrong way.  That is the problem when you have no idea what end is driving your car and you are only interested what badge it has!!

[RedditchJay]

hahaha tooo true...... will shop online at the weekend ref winter tyres... looking at Michelin pilot alpin or avon CR85's ?

[blankczechbook]

you tried the defender in snow yet?

- you say diff locks? so what you got?

have been in deep stuff and stuck in the disco1 with bigger tyres.. also fun doing handbrake turns on ice in it.

- have just got an early 110 (1985) recently - with only 43k miles on it, and am looking forward to having that to go the ski slope full of mates :-)  - can drive up to the queue almost with it :-D

[Mark (smokey mow)]

On the earlier advice I popped out and picked up a copy of Auto Express and their tyre tests make for some imformative reading (worth the £2 for a read)...

When breaking on snow the summer tyres would require 43.14 metres to slow the car from 40kph (25mph) down to 20kph (12mph) the best winter tyre took less than half that, only 19.5 metres.

In traction testing the summer tyre had only 1/3rd of the grip of the winter tyres.

Finally for handling on a 500m test track the winter tyre could lap in 100seconds whereas the summer tyre was almost a minute slower.

Best on test were the GoodyearUltragrip 7+ and Continental ContiWinterContact TS830.  The test tyres were 205/55R15 H and fitted to a Mk6 Golf.