Too soon for winter tyres...?

mikey72

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

Jueeeesss, 1 bad winter and you guys are falling all over yourselves to spend mega bucks on winter tyres that may just get used once or twice this/next year:rotfl:

And guess what?, there's still a couple of months of Autumn left yet.

It is too early, they'll be worn out by Christmas if you drive Summer fashion ;)

OK slightly tongue in cheek, but pretty true.

Mine went on from November to March last year, and they're on again now. Barely worn, but I assume you've never used them?

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

Nothing could be further from the truth, town and counrty tyres (winter tread), were very common back in the 60/70's and available in all sizes. Remember this was a time when the only off roader actually was a land/range rover, ;)

I used them on the back of my Hillman Hunter in the 70/80's as well, in deep snow.

cyclonebri1

mikey72 wrote: »

Mine went on from November to March last year, and they're on again now. Barely worn, but I assume you've never used them?



I used them on the back of my Hillman Hunter in the 70/80's as well, in deep snow.

No I've never used your tyres. Guess that's why they are still alive.
But seriously you seem to be of the same generation as me, we drove 70's cars in 70's winters.

My VX HC viva was total wreck but only beetles left me in the snow.

You Mikey know the problem, but would rather have a pop than spit it out??

Bottom line;

FWD cars, on vvveeery wide tyres, with new/slash recent non winterised drivers at the helm ??


Lets face it anyone that's only been driving throught the late 90's to the present has only seen 1 bad winter.

And again Mikey, the problem with winter tyres isn't really how long they last, it's how poorly they perform on mormal autumn/winter days,

mikey72

I've driven in bad winters since the 70's. I've driven in the highlands, derbyshire peak district, yorkshire, motorways, I've been in blizzards where the road has been long gone.
I've driven delivery trucks every day for a part time job in uni, all year round, many years ago, and I remember bad winters.
I remember a lot of bad weather in the 90's too, maybe you must live down south with well gritted city roads.

I've seen good, and bad new drivers too. I've seen drivers of my age that are appalling on snow and ice.

I also rate the winter tyres I'm using now as worth having now.
They stop well, in the wet, at temperatures up to the 16C I've seen on the dashboard, they stop well at the -1.5C I saw on Sunday night.
But above all, I don't need to dig the car out, or shuffle it back and forth to try to get moving when the road is white. I just put it in gear and let the clutch up.
And to stop, I can press the brake pedal, instead of playing a lottery with the gears, and whatever black bits of tarmac I can find.

But the best bit is I can get the car home, and actually get up the hill to my house.

(And last year, the Nokians were cheaper than the Michelins I use in summer, so money saving, even with the £5 a rim it cost me on ebay)

k9387

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

Jueeeesss, 1 bad winter and you guys are falling all over yourselves to spend mega bucks on winter tyres that may just get used once or twice this/next year:rotfl:

And guess what?, there's still a couple of months of Autumn left yet.

It is too early, they'll be worn out by Christmas if you drive Summer fashion ;)

OK slightly tongue in cheek, but pretty true.

Wrong, as I mentioned above it has been cold enough on average November to March every year since measurements were first recorded (with a few exceptions), check out the Central England Temperature at:

http://www.climate-uk.com/provisional.htm

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

Bottom line;

FWD cars, on vvveeery wide tyres, with new/slash recent non winterised drivers at the helm ??


Lets face it anyone that's only been driving throught the late 90's to the present has only seen 1 bad winter.

And again Mikey, the problem with winter tyres isn't really how long they last, it's how poorly they perform on mormal autumn/winter days,

Very wide tyres are bad, although you may think more tyre = more grip this isn't actually true. When driving on snow you need a balance of tyre grip (wide) and the ability to cut into the snow (thin). With a very wide tyre you just have a snow plough.

And winter tyres in the summer aren't as bad as you may think. The difference isn't nearly as big as it is driving summer tyres in the winter:

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/Summer-VS-Winter-tyres-Warm-weather-performance.htm

k9387

Winter tyres should really just be called cold weather tyres. The misinformed masses just seem to think that winter has to mean a foot of snow and below zero.

Probably why the majority think they are totally unnecessary...

Daz2009

My take on winter tyres.....Why the need?

Unless you live out in the sticks and don't drive a 4 wheel drive of some kind,I just can't see the need.
For starters our winters are pretty mild,certainly compared to the Scandinavian countries where winter tyres are common (and necessary) .
I've been driving since 1981 and only once did I put winter tyres on (M and S tyres actually) and that was on a MK1 Capri 3-litre during a particularly bad spell.

I drive powerful rwd cars are rarely get stuck or find myself losing control but then again I take the conditions into account and alter my driving style accordingly.
Most people can't drive properly,you'd be better off putting the money towards a winter driving course.

Lum

4WD is irrelevant. (Almost) all cars have 4 wheel stopping which is the most important thing.

The only people who say "just drive to the conditions" are those who haven't tried winter tyres (M+S don't count). I prefer to alter the conditions to my favour by fitting the correct rubber, just the same as people with big powerful RWD cars like to improve the conditions for the other 3 seasons by fitting wider tyres, better makes of tyre, bigger brakes etc. etc.

Then again, I do travel out into the sticks and have previously been stuck in my 4WD saloon car with 3 wheels spinning and the other not moving while attempting to do a 3 point turn as a smashed up Renault Clio, complete with deployed airbags, had been abandoned in my preferred turning around spot.

mikey72

Daz2009 wrote: »

My take on winter tyres.....Why the need?......................I drive powerful rwd cars are rarely get stuck or find myself losing control but then again I take the conditions into account and alter my driving style accordingly.
Most people can't drive properly,you'd be better off putting the money towards a winter driving course.

I drive a fwd, never get stuck, don't find myself losing control, and don't need to take conditions into account as much, and don't need to suddenly alter my driving style.
First rule of any course.
Use the right equipment.

Trebor16

Knackered wrote: »

I'm going to invest in a set for this winter but unless I buy new wheels too then I'll have to get budget tyres to fit - decent ones are extortionate.



You reckon 99.9% of people wouldn't know that winter tyres are tyres for winter?

I just got a set of complete wheels and tyres for my Golf from www.mytyre.co.uk for £416 including delivery. The tyres
are Continental TS830's so a premium brand and the best price I had seen for just the tyres was £300 including fitting and balancing. The wheels have effectively worked out at £116 for all four and they are a decent brand of rims (DKZ I think) which I have seen on the internet elsewhere for £172 for a set (including delivery)

k9387

Daz2009 wrote: »

My take on winter tyres.....Why the need?

Unless you live out in the sticks and don't drive a 4 wheel drive of some kind,I just can't see the need.
For starters our winters are pretty mild,certainly compared to the Scandinavian countries where winter tyres are common (and necessary) .
I've been driving since 1981 and only once did I put winter tyres on (M and S tyres actually) and that was on a MK1 Capri 3-litre during a particularly bad spell.

I drive powerful rwd cars are rarely get stuck or find myself losing control but then again I take the conditions into account and alter my driving style accordingly.
Most people can't drive properly,you'd be better off putting the money towards a winter driving course.

Read above reference temperatures - it is really very simple...

And M+S tyres are NOT proper winter tyres (the term mud and snow is a little deceiving). Athough winter tyres ARE M+S too, and will be mrked with the snowflake mountain symbol and M+S.

I agree about driving style though, but with winter tyres you can had a much better driving experience in the cold or snow.