(Boring) Another tyre thread -- which winter tyres?

Flying-High_2

jase1 wrote: »

It's more an insurance thing in all honesty -- I *think* T is fine but I'd need to be sure.

And yes you can have them when they hit 3mm

Not thought of that TBH...

Cheers;)

jase1

mikey72, what are the Chinese M&S tyres you have on the back?

Just so as I can get an idea of how dodgy they are and form a baseline if I do decide to buy different tyres front and rear. I must admit that the idea of something like Nokians or BFGs on the front, and "adequate" tyres on the back (inexpensive, remoulds or -- gasp -- part-worns if cheap enough on the back) has its attractions, given that I am nothing but a tight Northern git at the end of the day lol.

andy8442

I fitted cheap and cheerful Sunny's to my Vito this winter. £52 each from MYtyres. They are van rated as well so the car versions should be cheaper.

In the snow they were incredible (went past a stuck Range Rover in deep snow, with the biggest smile on my face!),in heavy rain excellent, in the dry good, but in a middle damp area not so good. But don't drive like and idiot and you'll be fine.

What I'm trying to say is, they'll only be on for a few months, in theworst of the years weather, so don't spend a fortune and drive accordingly.

Oh and buy FOUR!

Lum

The Nokian WR-G2 is their winter tyre aimed at the less extreme climates, their snow tyres for northern Europe are called Hakkepelita, or something like that.

I had them on my car until two weeks ago when I swapped them back for my Goodyears now that it's spring. I posted a thread with a review and comparison: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2913430

In short though. Even on dry roads they offered an improvement over the Eagle F1s once the temperature was low. On ice and snow there was simply no comparison.

jase1

Thanks andy. This does seem to be a recurring theme with these tyres -- even the cheapest ones transform the car in winter. Which is why I'm wondering if the key to this is to buy better tyres at the front, as the difference between the best and the cheaper tyres seems to be in handling rather than grip -- the reverse of what you'd expect with summer tyres.

Yes, I will be buying four.

The only problem with some of the very cheap tyres is what happens when the weather is just damp -- some ADAC reviews of the Goodride/Westlake tyres for example are horrifying -- much, much worse than summer budgets. Whether these are just particularly bad tyres or indicative of winter budgets in general I'm not sure, but I don't think I'd be buying them.

Lum

Just get the Nokians. One of the features of those is that (in theory) you can use them all year round. Provided you don't wait until November to buy them, they're pretty cheap too.

jase1

Lum -- impressive, liked the pictures as well of the thick snow -- similar to what we had in the rural north east of England as well in November.

Nice car by the way

jase1

Lum wrote: »

Just get the Nokians. One of the features of those is that (in theory) you can use them all year round. Provided you don't wait until November to buy them, they're pretty cheap too.

So do you think I should hold off for another few months before I buy then? They're £80 at the moment -- £20 more than you paid.

The wheels are sat in the shed. I have 6 months at least before I need them so whenever is cheapest. Does anyone have an idea when they are at their cheapest? Presumably when no-one is buying them, so July perhaps?

At £57 a corner I'd buy all four Nokians. At £80 I'm a little more hesitant.

Lum

You probably need a different size to me, hence the change in price. I have no idea if they're likely to come down any more. You have plenty of time though so maybe wait until summer?

Most people buy them within the first 10 days after the first snowfall. That's when the price shoots up.

jase1

Lum wrote: »

You probably need a different size to me, hence the change in price.

Nope, 205/55/16 just like you