Small cars in winter query.....

OddballJamie

Iceweasel I don't understand why more people don't switch tyres/wheels for the winter. As long as they are keeping the same car for a few years, it can actually be a money saving exercise. As my winter wheels are an inch smaller than my summer ones the tyres are almost half the price.

So my pricey summer tyres will last more than twice as long and not be worn down slipping about in cold weather.

Iceweasel

OddballJamie wrote: »

Iceweasel I don't understand why more people don't switch tyres/wheels for the winter. As long as they are keeping the same car for a few years, it can actually be a money saving exercise. As my winter wheels are an inch smaller than my summer ones the tyres are almost half the price.

So my pricey summer tyres will last more than twice as long and not be worn down slipping about in cold weather.

That message is slowly getting through to the British public - but there is still the misconception that they are only of benefit in snow, so why buy them for only a few days of snow.

These tyres give greatly increased safety when the temperature is 7 degrees C or below.

For me in Scotland that's half the year. :rotfl:

I change my wheels over when the clocks change.

Lum

womble12345 wrote: »

I like the idea of winter tyres but cant run to the cost of 4 of them, would having winter tyres on the front (the car is a front wheel drive clio) and leaving the normal tyres on the back be a stupid idea? I realise in an ideal world you would have 4 winter tyres but would I get any benefit by just changing the fronts?

Buy them now, in August, they will be dirt cheap. By the time the first snow hits expect them to double in price.

For me winter tyres actually save me money, here's the figures.

I have a set of 16x7.5J wheels on in the summer, these run Goodyear Eagle F1-GSD3 225/50/16 which cost me £125 a corner

For the winter I run a set of 16x7J wheels from a Nissan Primera these run Nokian WR-G2 205/55/16 (from memory) which cost me £68 a corner.

Stock wheel size for this car is actually 205/60/15, but I can't use that any more as I have bigger brakes. Insurance are aware that I'm running a non-standard wheel size.

The Primera wheels cost me £20 from ebay.

The Nokians come out in November or so and go away in March, based on monitoring the weather forecast. They're a better tyre once you get below around 7 degrees.

During the time that the Nokians are on, I am keeping the wear and tear off my more expensive Goodyears, which will therefore last longer before I have to shell out £500 for a new set of summers.

The Nokians will be on their third winter this year.

I realise cash flow is always an issue, but if you can handle the cash flow, don't say you can't afford winters as they actually save you money.

...and that's before we get into the safety aspects. See my thread from a couple of years ago for the difference they make.

vaio

Lum wrote: »

Buy them now, in August, they will be dirt cheap. By the time the first snow hits expect them to double in price.

For me winter tyres actually save me money, here's the figures.

I have a set of 16x7.5J wheels on in the summer, these run Goodyear Eagle F1-GSD3 225/50/16 which cost me £125 a corner

For the winter I run a set of 16x7J wheels from a Nissan Primera these run Nokian WR-G2 205/55/16 (from memory) which cost me £68 a corner.

Stock wheel size for this car is actually 205/60/15, but I can't use that any more as I have bigger brakes. Insurance are aware that I'm running a non-standard wheel size.

The Primera wheels cost me £20 from ebay.

The Nokians come out in November or so and go away in March, based on monitoring the weather forecast. They're a better tyre once you get below around 7 degrees.

During the time that the Nokians are on, I am keeping the wear and tear off my more expensive Goodyears, which will therefore last longer before I have to shell out £500 for a new set of summers.

The Nokians will be on their third winter this year.

I realise cash flow is always an issue, but if you can handle the cash flow, don't say you can't afford winters as they actually save you money.

...and that's before we get into the safety aspects. See my thread from a couple of years ago for the difference they make.

Are those wheels the ones I pointed you towards a few years ago?

Back on topic.......I do exactly the same as you do, even down to the GSD3s (although mine are 17s). Keeps you safe and mobile and minimises tyre costs once you get over the initial cash flow hump

Lum

vaio wrote: »

Are those wheels the ones I pointed you towards a few years ago?

The ones you pointed me at went on my GF's car, for exactly the same purpose. She has a 200SX that runs 17s during the summer.

I got a set that was identical, only not sprayed black, for my own car the following summer.


Other advantage of this arrangement. GSD3s aren't made any more and their replacement is crap

ShandyAndy_2

Small light cars with narrow tyres are better in snow. Our Meriva with 205/50 R16 tyres is shocking in the snow. Our Citroen C2 with 175/65 R14 tyres is quite a bit better but not great!. I am currently online now shopping for a pair of all season tyres to replace the worn fronts and when the rears have worn down I will do the same again. As for the Meriva I will have to slip and slide and get stuck as it has 4 reasonably new ditchfinders which were on when I bought it in February, when they wear out I will more than likely get all seasons again. I live on a hill in rural Derbyshire and its a pain when it snows, although it looks lovely and its great going for a walk in it!.

westwood68

2CV's are ace in the snow, even without winter tyres.

Good luck finding a gap big enough in the traffic to pull out though

bestpud

My Ford KA with summer tyres manages just fine - rural area.

I drove past at least 20 cars on a hilly drive with fresh and unexpected snowfall a couple of years back. Not saying I didn't need brown pants mind you, but it was other idiots sliding around all over the place that frightened me, not my car!

9 times out of 10 it is a bigger car that will be stuck by the roadside, and here at least, 7 of those will be BMWs.

My OH has another theory about that but I don't want to upset any BMW drivers on here! :rotfl:

alastairq

2CV's are ace in the snow, even without winter tyres.

The same attributes were identified by SAAB 65 years ago.

Smooth undersides [no built-in snow ploughs]....very narrow tyres, tall wheel diameters [15 inch, for Citroen..and SAAB 95/96]....not really enough power to create embarrassment......and loadsa ground clearance [look at how many fat tyred, overweight modern cars have trouble with speed humps?]...

Want a good car in snow?

Find a decent SAAB 95/96 with the V4 engine, and fit some real snow tyres [Vredestein do a good narrow set].....get used to column gear change....and that weird free-wheel device....and that lovely shape?

!65/80x15 tyres are hard to get, however, these days....

bestpud

ShandyAndy wrote: »

Small light cars with narrow tyres are better in snow.

That's the crux of it - the narrower the tyres the better the car will manage in snow.