2nd hand winter tyres

Wh05apk

Winter tyres are not really about driving in snow, to be honest that happens so rarely they are not worth faffing around with, but they are a different compound which works better in cool/cold conditions, "summer" tyres tend to be hard and slide in cold damp conditions, whereas "winter" tyres grip better in cold damp conditions increasing safety margins all around.

mikey72

Wh05apk wrote: »

Winter tyres are not really about driving in snow, to be honest that happens so rarely they are not worth faffing around with, but they are a different compound which works better in cool/cold conditions, "summer" tyres tend to be hard and slide in cold damp conditions, whereas "winter" tyres grip better in cold damp conditions increasing safety margins all around.

You don't live here then.
Winter tyres grip on snow and ice.

Wh05apk

mikey72 wrote: »

You don't live here then.
Winter tyres grip on snow and ice.

Didn't say they didn't grip in snow and ice, just that people think that is all they are meant for, reality is they are better once temperatures drop below about 8'c

mikey72

To be honest, I didn't notice that much difference.
They came into their own when I tried to move the car across the several weeks of snow we had. The Michelins wouldn't go anywhere the year before.

Jinx

For me having winter tyres is about my safety, so with that in mind I'd rather have new more expensive ones. I am getting my first set this year following stress and tears driving through serious snow last year.

Lum

Just gonna repost this photo from last December



Apart from needing to clear the glass so I could see, I was able to just drive straight out of that, and even do a 3 point turn.

Compare and contrast that to the previous year, same location, same car, different tyres and a lot less snow



Got stuck sideways across the road attempting to turn around and had to complete the turn by getting my partner to push the front end around. Note also the remains of someone else's car in the foreground. There's a steep downhill just behind the camera. Here is that car:



Note that I did not attempt that hill as I knew I would never make it and likely suffer a similar fate. The hills I had taken had been controlled slides on the downhill and needed a runup to get up at all. Fortunately I'd been watching Ice Road Truckers so had some idea of this.

With the winter tyres, hills like that and worse were no problem. I could almost drive them normally and was probably being over cautious.

Those of you living in flat areas where the council actually bother to grit and plough may have different experiences.


Edit: Oh and just to make the point a bit more. Here is a "normal" car being pushed in an almost flat bridge in that same snow that I'd been happily playing around in. I dread to think what happened when they got to the hills.

redped

Jinx wrote: »

For me having winter tyres is about my safety, so with that in mind I'd rather have new more expensive ones. I am getting my first set this year following stress and tears driving through serious snow last year.

Snap - got a spare set of alloys for my wife's car off gumtree months ago, stripped & resprayed them over the last few weeks, and new winter tyres going on next week when local suppliers get them in. At least one of our cars will work in the snow, unlike last year - if the snow's too heavy for my car, I'll work from home

[Deleted User]

Are winter tyres fine to use all year round?

I don't have the space to store tyres all year. My current summer tyres still have 5mm on the front and 6mm on the rear.

Jinx

Deleted_User wrote: »

Are winter tyres fine to use all year round?

I don't have the space to store tyres all year. My current summer tyres still have 5mm on the front and 6mm on the rear.

I was talking about this with my friend at the weekend and she told me that some garages offer a 'tyre hotel'.... ie they keep the ones taken off the car to have the winters put on and vice versa after the winter season. I guess it depends on the garage.

redped

Deleted_User wrote: »

Are winter tyres fine to use all year round?

I don't have the space to store tyres all year. My current summer tyres still have 5mm on the front and 6mm on the rear.

I believe they are, but because of the softer tread they'll wear out much faster than summer tyres when the road temperature rises.

Jinx mentioned a tyre hotel - I think Kwik Fit may offer something like this, although you may have to buy the tyres from them in the first place.