2 or 4 Winter Tyres

purplephoenix

Apologies if this has been raised before.
Living in North Yorks, the weather is making driving entertaining to say the least. To avoid missing any more days in the office, I'm thinking of getting winter tyres put on my Peugeot 206 (HDi, 2.0l). My garage has quoted me £375 for 4, and £185 for 2, saying alot of people just put them on their front wheels, for front wheel drive. The cost of this is tempting - ie. half the price. But I'm concerned this isn't a safe option.

Any thoughts / experiences?

thanks

derrick

purplephoenix wrote: »

Apologies if this has been raised before.
Living in North Yorks, the weather is making driving entertaining to say the least. To avoid missing any more days in the office, I'm thinking of getting winter tyres put on my Peugeot 206 (HDi, 2.0l). My garage has quoted me £375 for 4, and £185 for 2, saying alot of people just put them on their front wheels, for front wheel drive. The cost of this is tempting - ie. half the price. But I'm concerned this isn't a safe option.

Any thoughts / experiences?

thanks

Only "needed" for driving wheels.

Don't forget to inform you insurance as you are "modernising/changing" vehicle spec.


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purplephoenix

derrick wrote: »

Only "needed" for driving wheels.

Don't forget to inform you insurance as you are "modernising/changing" vehicle spec.


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Hi Derrick - why the 'needed' in inverted commas? bit confused. Have spoken to my insurers and they say it makes no difference.
thanks

derrick

purplephoenix wrote: »

Hi Derrick - why the 'needed' in inverted commas? bit confused. Have spoken to my insurers and they say it makes no difference.
thanks

Because IMO they are not needed if you drive to the conditions, and am not sure if they actually work, although never tried them. There was an article on a TV prog last week, (can't remember now), but I gleaned that they are an expensive "not required" in this country due to the small amount of bad weather needed for them, (you can't legally use them in summer), and that some insurers classed them as modification, I would get it in writing from yours if you do go down that route.



There is a thread running HERE on winter tyres.

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bryanb

purplephoenix wrote: »

My garage has quoted me £375 for 4, and £185 for 2,

2x £185 = £370

Inactive

derrick wrote: »

There is a thread running HERE on winter tyres.

.

Amongst about 10 others, how many more winter tyre threads do we need?

purplephoenix

derrick wrote: »

Because IMO they are not needed if you drive to the conditions, and am not sure if they actually work, although never tried them. There was an article on a TV prog last week, (can't remember now), but I gleaned that they are an expensive "not required" in this country due to the small amount of bad weather needed for them, (you can't legally use them in summer), and that some insurers classed them as modification, I would get it in writing from yours if you do go down that route.


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By all accounts they do work - they're a legal requirement in Europe, and people who have used them here say they make a huge difference to grip and safety (altho' obviously they don't mean you can drive like a maniac - it just makes things safer). No matter how carefully you drive, if you lose grip, there's not much you can do. They make braking safer too. They haven't been publicised much in this country due to previously mild winters - the recent increase in cold weather and severity of the winter has increased interest again. Its not illegal to use them in the summer - they just don't work as well as normal tyres, and will wear down quicker as they're softer rubber. And the ABI have said they shouldn't effect insurance premiums.

Anyway, I digress, its the safety of 2 on the drive wheels versus a full set that I'm wanting opinions on really. Hence why I started a new thread, as the others didn't seem to cover this.

cheers

Strider590

purplephoenix wrote: »

My garage has quoted me £375 for 4, and £185 for 2, saying alot of people just put them on their front wheels, for front wheel drive. The cost of this is tempting - ie. half the price. But I'm concerned this isn't a safe option.

They're idiots for even suggesting it.......

mikey72

derrick wrote: »

There is a thread running HERE on winter tyres.

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About page 5 onwards we had the 2 or 4 debate.

purplephoenix

mikey72 wrote: »

About page 5 onwards we had the 2 or 4 debate.

Thanks Mikey - I did do a search, but couldn't find anything. I'll check it out.

maxheadroom

Go for four if you can afford it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdtAm7RsTmE&feature=related

From about 1:30 onwards