Winter tyres?

adon30

only_mee wrote: »

Link takes you to the above post.

Thanks, thought I had read about them earlier. Just going mad as I thought it kept taking me to the same page :rotfl:

Ignore above comment the link has been fixed now so wasn't me going mad......

Remember to give them a good few hundred miles to bed in for optimum performance. I also found that if you have 4 new ones then swap the fronts and backs round after 500-1000 miles. I had some on the rear and they never bedded in properly until I put them on the front (drive wheels). This may not apply to RWD and 4WD though.


Also found another AutoExpress review of Winter tyres
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/products/total_tyre_guide/259435/winter_tyre_test.html

and liked their quote "And the summer tyre most of us will be using this winter? It needed 43.14 metres! That’s around six car lengths further than the winning Goodyear. It was still doing close to 20mph when the UltraGrip had stopped. And we only started braking from 25mph!"

Goes to show doesn't it. They do make a difference....... a big difference.

mikey72

adon30 wrote: »

If the use of such tyres was made compulsory then the tyre manufacturers would really need to make a tyre that was suitable for UK conditions. As you say cold, wet and icy are more the norm than snow covered roads. Unfortunately the only equivalent tyres that have a high usage are European spec winter tyres. This leaves us with little option in the UK to use these as an equivalent and then just get one that works best in the wet. I wish there was some sort of happy medium we could use in the UK but the market would just be two much of a niche.


The lower profile tyres and alloy wheels are definitely the norm. Other than those that have more basic cars, not that I’m saying basic cars are worse.
My car has 225/45R17 as standard and the more modern equivalent has 18” wheels. Most family cars now days have 16’s or 17’s so it is something the modern car owner is going to have to deal with.


I think the Michelins will last you a lifetime on the little Yaris. Here's to many more years use.

We're not niche. Winter tyres are better below 7c, they're better in slush, they're better on ice.

sunshinetours

kevanf1 wrote: »

Hi tenuissent

I'm not doubting the effectiveness of the tyres but I do feel that we are being pushed into buying them over here by the likes of Pirelli (who I have heard are lobbying government to have them made compulsory) and Goodyear. Our snow falls tend to last a few days after which we get either ice over the top or layers of partially thawed and refrozen snow (ice again). Snow tyres are only really good in snow where they do excel. If we had blanket covering of snow that lasted for 4 weeks+ then snow tyres would make more sense. We just do not get snow in the same manner as other European countries, ask any skier. We are a much damper country and this promotes the changing of snow into ice much quicker than the places where snow remains snow in the powdery soft substance that we all love

I think a lot of the problems we have in this country in the winter is more down to the low profile, sports style tyres that more and more cars have fitted as standard. That coupled with ever increasingly poorer driving standards. That last is not aimed at readers here by the way.

Exactly - winter tyres make sense for those then yes?

Winter tyres are not only good in snow as previously covered many times. They are also better in stopping a car cold wet/slippy weather than most summer tyres

Driving standards also massively has an effect - just not sure why some cannot accept certain equipment quite clearly helps.

Read up on the Netherlands which is a much flatter and not a colder country than us and how their winter tyre market has changed over the years. It will take time but the change is already starting - I just hope this current government doesn't over heavily legislate the change and gradual education tends to be more effective giving people a choice

bigjl

I think it should be pointed out that true snow tyres would be the studded ones as used in some scandinavian countries, as they really do get a lot of snow for extended periods.

But due to differences in the compound a winter tyre stays more compliant at lower temps which results in better grip.

When it is -1 or so go out and press the tread of your normal tyres with your fingernail, they are rock hard, when in summer they where a bit squishy and your fingernail would easily make an impression.

It is the different tyre compound and the different tread composition along with lots of sipes (?spelling) that enables winter tyres to be a lot better in cooler temps and in the wet, as if a tread pattern is designed to cut through snow and clog up less then it will have no trouble with a bit of water.

The only reason I haven't put winter tyres on this year is entirely fiscal, but I am fitting alloys to my Mondeo this year and the current steels will be getting a set of winter tyres this summer, the Nokians have a good reputation but money know object it would be Michelin Alpins.

If fiscal conditions improve wildly then I will be getting another Subaru Legacy and getting a spare set of wheels for winter duties.

The fact that I owned a Subaru for the previous 4 or 5 mild winters and the first two harsh winters since moving over to a Mondeo diesel hasn't been forgotten, sodding murphy and his laws. I remember the smug look on Subaru owners in years gone by and I want some of that feeling, though if previous winters are anything to go buy it will be mild winters as soon as I buy one, then back to snow as soon as I sell it.

Lum

^^^ Going for one of the new Legacy diesels then? My old Legacy B4 faired better than most in the snow of 2007, even on wide low profile summer tyres.

adon30 wrote: »

Remember to give them a good few hundred miles to bed in for optimum performance. I also found that if you have 4 new ones then swap the fronts and backs round after 500-1000 miles. I had some on the rear and they never bedded in properly until I put them on the front (drive wheels). This may not apply to RWD and 4WD though.

Depends on the car. My old Subaru Legacy used to wear the fronts down quicker as all 4 wheels were driven but the fronts still had to steer.

This car is RWD most of the time with only part time 4WD and the Goodyears I took off all seem to have worn evenly, which is nice.

I still marked them up so I can rotate them in April, as I've not measured the tread depth, just looked at it.

adon30

mikey72 wrote: »

We're not niche. Winter tyres are better below 7c, they're better in slush, they're better on ice.

What I meant was that in the UK we do not see the conditions that central Europe and indeed Scandinavia see. From my use of winter tyres, although they do (in tests) out brake summer tyres at around 7C, I find that they are still a bit soft around those temperatures. At temperatures around zero and into the minus figures they feel a lot better. Let’s remember these tyres work at -20C (or below) which is rarely seen in the UK.
If I was after my ideal UK winter tyre I would want it to work well in the band -10C to +12C as ‘warmer’ winter days are not uncommon in the UK and I would want it still to be able to perform as well as my warm weather tyres up to at least 10C. It would have to have good wet grip with decent snow/slush shedding capability.

I agree the winter tyres that are available are much better on slush and ice than any other warm weather tyres and would not swap them for anything this time of year. It’s just that the ideal is not available for the UK and therefore we would be a niche in that respect.

I hope you understand what I am trying to say about UK conditions being different. Because we would be such a small market in the UK the tyre manufacturers would not consider our needs.

SusieWinwood

Just a word of warning on Winter tyres.

My DH told me a tale only last week that 'someone' had a minor rear end bump, and when they tried to claim on their insurance they declined to pay out as 'the car had been modified' and the owner had not told them. The only modification was the addition of snow tyres! :mad:

(not sure if this tale is true but seeing as it is an insurance company I guess it is!

sunshinetours

Depends if tyres and wheels are to manufacturers specifications. If not then you should notify as you would if you upgraded your alloys and tyres as you should for any non standard modification. Doesn't mean they will charge more it just means they should be told

I would imagine the tale is one that has done the rounds though rather than based on fact. Guess we will see going forward if many of these stories come forward

Lum

Well I just rang Direct Line to ask. Apparently I do need to declare it as a modification, though there is no additional premium, and I need to call them back and declare it again when I take them off.

Also means I get another copy of my insurance certificate and schedule in the post.

Bonkers.

adon30

Does that mean that as my car direct from the manufacturers as was fitted with Pirellis and I have always run with Continentals since then (as the Pirellis were rubbish), this is a modification to the standard? Never had a problem when I claimed three years ago.
Why should this be any different to running a tyre that is designed for winter use. Just seems silly. They are round and black, the same size, on the same wheels.

I think there should be a thread on which insurance companys do/ don't charge for fitting winter tyres. I think most will charge something however due to 'administration costs'.