Getting ready for snow this year? Tyres....

vikingaero

Strider590 wrote: »

The trouble is, until word gets around everyone will keep on saying that winter tyre's are not worth it. Us brits are too lazy and too tight to try them.
We'd happily ride around on rock hard tyre's with zero grip, if they cost £25 and lasted 2 million miles.

Brits have always been chavs went it comes to spending money on safety. A Brit would rather have 20" bling bling wheels for £1,500 so that the neighbours can see them; whereas a European would pay £1,500 for quality leather seats (and standard wheels) on the basis that that's what they see all the time they are in the car.

Same with Hand Free Kits. People willingly fork out £20k for a car and won't pay £100 for a Bluetooth Hands Free kit.

iNath

I fitted my winter tyres on steel wheels last weekend.
Continental WinterContact TS800.
195/50/15, hate to say it but best price is from Kwik Fit! (£253 for 4)

mikey72

Strider590 wrote: »

The trouble is, until word gets around everyone will keep on saying that winter tyre's are not worth it. Us brits are too lazy and too tight to try them.
We'd happily ride around on rock hard tyre's with zero grip, if they cost £25 and lasted 2 million miles.

I tried to get a set and basically because there's very little demand, nobody could make a profit in selling them to me and therefore didn't want to know. Tyre retailers buy in bulk, buying in small quantities just doesn't make them any money.

No problem getting mine, either mytryes or camskills do a good range.

mikey72

pigeonpie wrote: »

we were talked out of buying and fitting winter tyres by a mate who has worked in the car trade all his working life, as in the UK we don't drive in snow all winter long, unlike in Scandinavia where they are fitted and taken off and changed in the spring. They don't last as long as general use tyres. We were just told to fit a new front pair of a decent quality which should be perfectly safe if carefully driven in wintry conditions. I suppose it depends on where you live and how much snow there's likely to be.

I may get 20,000 from a front set of summer tyres, at about £140.
If I get 15,000 from a winter set, for the same price, that means it'll have cost about £185 compared to the summer tyres for the same 20,000 miles. So overall the extra cost is then less than one tank of petrol every two years for a decent set of winter tyres.

pstuart

Lum wrote: »

If you're using chains while driving on a surface where the snow is so thin that the chains are hitting the road surface, you are doing it wrong.

Quite so, what you do ( in certain countries where they are allowed in Europe) is look outside and if the snow is thick you put your chains on!

When there is little snow or ice you take them off!

What is the point of this thread on chains?

leosayer

Mytyres sell steel wheels with winter tyres fitted http://www.mytyres.co.uk/Steel_wheels.html

only_mee

pigeonpie wrote: »

we were talked out of buying and fitting winter tyres by a mate who has worked in the car trade all his working life, as in the UK we don't drive in snow all winter long

Nice friend lol

It doesn't just have to be snow it's the temperature aswel.

Rolandtheroadie

What sort of snow are we talking here? If it's that light powdery stuff that brings the south to a standstill, as long as i'd about 2mm on a hard compound tyre I'd be ok.
As long as theres no wind or drifting off the fields but a heavy fall, perhaps snow tyres.
For what brings round here to a near standstill, I'd go with a 4x4.

pigeonpie

only_mee wrote: »

Nice friend lol

It doesn't just have to be snow it's the temperature aswel.

He's an ex professional rally man. He says winter tyres can't be justified in southern Britain or in most parts of France and they don't last but wear out very quickly. We were driving 12 hours last January when it was v cold, down to the Spanish border, and were advised to fit new high quality tyres to the front wheels instead - ie good tread. Most of the driving was on motorways though, although we had no trouble doing slowly and carefully on the little country roads.

I see my Oslo friends changing their tyres every October and change back in about May! But they have -20 to contend with.
I think it's different if you live in the north where you guys have real snow and ice?

leo~saphira

iNath wrote: »

I fitted my winter tyres on steel wheels last weekend.
Continental WinterContact TS800.
195/50/15, hate to say it but best price is from Kwik Fit! (£253 for 4)

Nath - thanks for this, I can't beat this anywhere... okay mine is 185/55/15 but drop the sizes on the calc and seems I only have a very small loss on the % of the wheel so I will be going for these now I will save myself over £100 just by doing this

order has gone through so by Friday evening I will be ready for winter

Did you get a bag for your wheels as they mentioned on the KwikFit site?

Another £250 out of the bank but far as I feel - safety comes first and bit of rubber is the only thing stopping me going through a hedge.


Thank you!!