Winter tyres?

mikey72

I'd be interested to see what happened if I had to claim.
I've got exactly the same same size tyres as the summer tyres, same speed rating, on a spare set of rims from the same car, exactly as the handbook says.
So basically a different make, and compound for winter.
According to the book, it doesn't specify a speed rating anyway, and the smmt have agreed winter tyres aren't a mod with the ABI.
So that would suggest even if your size tyre isn't made in the same rating as your summer tyres, say H instead of V, you'll be ok as well.
I haven't told the insurers either.

wuckfit

It's always worth checking with your insurer. I've swapped from 17" Alloys to 16" steels, supplied by the main dealer. My insurer don't view it as a modification, and since I'm actually decreasing the value of the car, and at the same time decreasing the chance of a claim, I don't need to declare it. I'm with Aviva (formerly Norwich Union)

flyingscotno1

adon30 wrote: »

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.

The best tyres to cope with the range of say -5 to 15c has to be a good all-season like the Quatrac, which does well in both tests?

Lum

An all season like that is a compromise to avoid having to run two sets.

Better than running pure summer tyres all year round like many do tough.

mikey72

flyingscotno1 wrote: »

The best tyres to cope with the range of say -5 to 15c has to be a good all-season like the Quatrac, which does well in both tests?

I thought of those initially, but while they still seem good, they appear to be the worse of all worlds, rather than the best as a compromise.

adon30

mikey72 wrote: »

I thought of those initially, but while they still seem good, they appear to be the worse of all worlds, rather than the best as a compromise.

I agree. They are a jack of all trades and master of none. Never found any of them to rate highly. They are used by people in countries where it is compulsary to have winter tyres than don't want to have to swap all the time ie Germany, Canada etc but I think they are a lot worse than having the two sets in the first place. I think (but don't quote me) they are a summer rubber with a winter tread pattern (and probably less sipes).
The Quatrac is one of the best rated and is still not great. But as it's a Vredstein tyre supply might be limited due to their current problems.

I am happy to swap my tyres over. I just would like a bigger usability window for the winter tyres. There are people that use winters all year round but wouldn't suit my car with the amount of drive going through the wheels and the low profile tyres.

iNath

Lum wrote: »

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.

Strage, I rang Direct Line as I had removed alloys to put steel wheels & winter tyes on and was told I didn't need to declare it! He even checked with his supervisor as he wasn't sure.
I just said thanks very much & made a note of name, time & date!

Lum

iNath wrote: »

Strage, I rang Direct Line as I had removed alloys to put steel wheels & winter tyes on and was told I didn't need to declare it! He even checked with his supervisor as he wasn't sure.
I just said thanks very much & made a note of name, time & date!

The guy I spoke to also checked with his supervisor and said I did.

Maybe its because my car is already modified with non standard alloys, brakes and exhaust, but I didn't change the wheels, just had the tyres put onto the existing alloys.

Strider590

Just a thought, but maybe they consider that in the event of a rear end collision the 3rd party insurer could claim the accident was caused by winter tyre's being fitted to the first car while the 2nd car was "as standard".

Mark_Hewitt

Strider590 wrote: »

Just a thought, but maybe they consider that in the event of a rear end collision the 3rd party insurer could claim the accident was caused by winter tyre's being fitted to the first car while the 2nd car was "as standard".

Doubtful, a rear end shunt is always the 2nd drivers fault, unless the first braked deliberately in order to cause a crash.