Recommendations for tyres?

Mr_Forgetful

Right it's time to buy the tyres but it looks like I may be made redundant soon so I need even more of a bargain solution.

How about 2 new winter tyres which go on the front and then in March/April switch those 2 wheels to the back? I don't have the cash to buy a full set of winters and 2 new summers or do I still stick with 2 all seasons and hope the snow doesn't get as bad as last year?

Thanks again.

sunshinetours

In your circumstance I would go with all seasons. If the rears are currently OK and decent enough tyres then consider whether you could sell them on ebay to get all 4 same

Whatever you do do it soon as winter and all season prices will only be going one way in price as soon as winter hits

gilbert_and_sullivan

C3 size you probably won't get Rainsports, but you should be able to find Uniroyal Rain Experts easily, usually cheapest at Camskills, these are not winter spec but probably the best wet weather tyre you will find, and will cope better than nearly any other normal tyre in the winter...cheaper than it has a right to be.

mikey72

gilbert_and_sullivan wrote: »

C3 size you probably won't get Rainsports, but you should be able to find Uniroyal Rain Experts easily, usually cheapest at Camskills, these are not winter spec but probably the best wet weather tyre you will find, and will cope better than nearly any other normal tyre in the winter...cheaper than it has a right to be.

Rain Experts get a really poor rating for snow

http://www.tyretest.com/summercar_tyres/uniroyal/rainexpert/index.html

Rainsports don't fair much better


Must admit I've never used them myself though.

Road_Hog

Mr_Forgetful wrote: »

Right it's time to buy the tyres but it looks like I may be made redundant soon so I need even more of a bargain solution.

How about 2 new winter tyres which go on the front and then in March/April switch those 2 wheels to the back? I don't have the cash to buy a full set of winters and 2 new summers or do I still stick with 2 all seasons and hope the snow doesn't get as bad as last year?

Thanks again.

Take a look at a secondhand tyre place/breakers and see what they've got. They often have decent tyres in for a good price. Always used to steer clear of them, butt then a mate ran one for a few years and I got some decent tyres from there. TBH, unless you're in a bad area, we don't much heavy snow in Britain anymore. I find it's driving ability that is the key in snow/compacted snow and unfortunately the quality of driving is not what it used to be.

mikey72

Road_Hog wrote: »

Take a look at a secondhand tyre place/breakers and see what they've got. They often have decent tyres in for a good price. Always used to steer clear of them, butt then a mate ran one for a few years and I got some decent tyres from there. TBH, unless you're in a bad area, we don't much heavy snow in Britain anymore. I find it's driving ability that is the key in snow/compacted snow and unfortunately the quality of driving is not what it used to be.

Guess you've never been off a gritted road then.

But I agree about secondhand tyres. You can get some good bargains.

k9387

Unfortunatly tyres grip best in their first few mm, later on (when they are sold second hand) they are still legal but not nearly as effective, this is even more important for winter tyres.

As for the argument that we don't get much snow - it does not matter - anything under 7 degrees celcius and winter tyres are much more effective.

I would buy quick though, the prices for winter tyres is increasing...

Road_Hog

mikey72 wrote: »

Guess you've never been off a gritted road then.

I've been on many ungritted roads, I've covered the whole country in a previous job. I live in a rural area and most of the roads around me aren't gritted, including the single track (tarmacked) road that goes up a steep hill right by me. And if you're unlucky enough to meet something coming the other way, you sometime have to stop to let them pass and then have to go from a standing start.

It's tricky in the snow on normal tyres in a two wheel drive, but with the right use of the gears and turning the steering wheel from side to side, you do eventually get traction. But then I've also almost got a four drive stuck in deep snow in northern Ontario, Canada.

Anyway, if you want to see real ungritted roads, then you want to try the Icefield Parkway in Alberta, Canada. It's a 135 miles long about 5,000 feet up and in the winter they get some snow. It takes 3 - 4 hours depending how bad the weather is in the winter and often gets shut.

Weather good,



30 minutes into the journey, weather not so good.

mikey72

Road_Hog wrote: »

I've been on many ungritted roads, I've covered the whole country in a previous job. I live in a rural area and most of the roads around me aren't gritted, including the single track (tarmacked) road that goes up a steep hill right by me. And if you're unlucky enough to meet something coming the other way, you sometime have to stop to let them pass and then have to go from a standing start.

It's tricky in the snow on normal tyres in a two wheel drive, but with the right use of the gears and turning the steering wheel from side to side, you do eventually get traction. But then I've also almost got a four drive stuck in deep snow in northern Ontario, Canada.

Anyway, if you want to see real ungritted roads, then you want to try the Icefield Parkway in Alberta, Canada. It's a 135 miles long about 5,000 feet up and in the winter they get some snow. It takes 3 - 4 hours depending how bad the weather is in the winter and often gets shut.

Weather good,



30 minutes into the journey, weather not so good.

Don't think the canadians would be saying to do that road in a C3 on summer tyres somehow.
And if you get decent winter tyres, you won't need to spend the 20 minutes rocking the car forwards and backwards, turning the wheel from side to side every time you need to pull off on a slope.

sunshinetours

Road_Hog wrote: »

Take a look at a secondhand tyre place/breakers and see what they've got. They often have decent tyres in for a good price. Always used to steer clear of them, butt then a mate ran one for a few years and I got some decent tyres from there. TBH, unless you're in a bad area, we don't much heavy snow in Britain anymore. I find it's driving ability that is the key in snow/compacted snow and unfortunately the quality of driving is not what it used to be.

Indeed so you are agreeing winter tyres are a good idea then for people who aren't used to regualrly driving on snow or icey roads, or in fact simply cold conditions where winter tyres excel on grip