Too soon for winter tyres...?

Jinx

Raises hand - my name is Jinx and I get VERY stressed driving in the snow...... So yes, my lovely hubby bought me winter tyres this year for the first time and they were put on my car a couple of weeks ago. We do live miles out and work is miles away for me. I love snow when I dont have to go to work

mikey72

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.

What do you use in summer?
Decent premium summer tyres, or cheap linglongs, and adjust your driving accordingly?
Exactly the same scenario in winter.
Decent branded winter tyres, or poorer performers, and adjust your driving accordingly?

jase1

I now have my winter boots on. (Reasonable mid-range efforts, made by Marangoni, bought specifically because they have good wet characteristics as well as in the snow).

I have to say that they are outperforming the Toyo T1-Rs that were on the car previously at the 5-10 degrees we're getting at the moment. So no negatives that I can see.

As for snow performance... well it's difficult to be worse than the Pirelli P7s that were on last winter!!!

vaio

Is part of the issue between now and the '70s that tyres have got more specialised?

Maybe back then all tyres were the equivalent of today's "all season" type?

Don't think it's a tyre width issue, from memory back then 175 or 185 on my GT Cortina was considered wide, these days 225 or bigger is getting normal but then again the weight of the cars has doubled too so contact pressure (and grip?) is much the same

Just musing.....

mikey72

The 215's on the back of my 70's car were excellent when I had BF Goodrich General Grabbers on.
Same car, now back on the road again, was appalling with the same size tyres, but well worn ex transit tyres (ironically from someone that was selling them as he'd put winter tyres on his van) that I put on for the MOT last winter.

cyclonebri1

vaio wrote: »

Is part of the issue between now and the '70s that tyres have got more specialised?

Maybe back then all tyres were the equivalent of today's "all season" type?

Don't think it's a tyre width issue, from memory back then 175 or 185 on my GT Cortina was considered wide, these days 225 or bigger is getting normal but then again the weight of the cars has doubled too so contact pressure (and grip?) is much the same

Just musing.....

It's as you suggest mainly, they are much wider. The tyres fitted to a bog standard Renny megane 205's are the same width as those fitted to performance cars of the 70's, typically Jag Xj6/12 etc.

Trouble is they are roller skates under accelating and braking, rather than ice skates.

Oh Mikey, I'm not a soft southener;);), darkest Derbyshire for me;)

But it's still too early for winter tyres but too late to buy them cheaply

mikey72

Well if you are, you know the cat and fiddle, winnets, and snake pass.
One bad winter from the start of the nineties?
I've quite often been over them when they were offically closed, in a front wheel drive, and a rear wheel drive, I've come off the bottom of winnets at 60mph+ a few times as you could barely touch the brakes going down on the sheet ice, and I'd much rather do it now with decent tyres.

k9387

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

But it's still too early for winter tyres but too late to buy them cheaply

Yeah, the winter tyres I bought 4 weeks ago are £150 more (for a set of 4) now...

cyclonebri1

mikey72 wrote: »

Well if you are, you know the cat and fiddle, winnets, and snake pass.
One bad winter from the start of the nineties?
I've quite often been over them when they were offically closed, in a front wheel drive, and a rear wheel drive, I've come off the bottom of winnets at 60mph+ a few times as you could barely touch the brakes going down on the sheet ice, and I'd much rather do it now with decent tyres.

I'll save the Cat and the Congleton return of the triangle untill summer;), my thrash and dash roads but not one's where I would want to traverse in winter proper.

The South Pennines have really escaped the bad weather over recent years with the exception of last year. That's strange as we usually get some of the worst.

Point of interest, what is the legal side of fitting just 2 winter tyres to the drive axles, assuming proper rolling radius but simply much narrower tyres??

mikey72

My car uses the same size winter as summer tyres on steel wheels, so I just put two on the front. As to changing the size, I couldn't answer that. Alloys on my car as an option are wider, but the book recommends the smaller steels, but doesn't state you have to change all four.
I remember the first car I took over the cat and fiddle, many years ago, I used to put Avon town and countries on at the back only, and went wider than the standard fronts.
I really haven't noticed width making any difference.
Once you roll a ton of car over loose snow, it's compacted ice anyway, I doubt a tyre a few mm narrower will cut through to the ice below, it'll just compact the snow down as well.