Winter Tyre Test Video

Jamie_Carter

kirkofski wrote: »

Its sometimes cheaper to pick up a set of alloys on Ebay/Gumtree than it is to buy steelies. I found that as Vauxhall charge a fortune for a spare wheel on their new cars, its pushed up the price of second hand steel wheels/tyres.

I bought a set of 15" Corsa SXi alloys(same as what's on my 2005 Corsa) on ebay for £85, all with good tyres. I sold 2 wheels for £25 each and was left with the best two wheels/tyres with 7mm tread left and it only cost me £35.

I bought 2 x Uniroyal MS66's(£105 delivered) from http://www.camskill.co.uk/ and will be swapping the tyres over in December.

As someone else said, I'm actually quite looking forward to the winter to see how they perform in the snow.

I don't know about cheaper than steel wheels: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VAUXHALL-CORSA-2007-07-MK-D-STEEL-WHEELS-14-INCH-4-STUD-/221261040325?pt=UK_CarParts_Acc_Wheels_tyres_Rims_Car_Wheels_ET&hash=item33842f8ac5

vaio

Ultrasonic wrote: »

Are you able to provide any evidence of winter tyres outperforming summer tyres at summer temperatures? What you say might be true.............

It's not true, winter tyres don't work anywhere near as well as summer tyres at summer temperatures.

vaio

Jamie_Carter wrote: »

It would be interesting to find out. But I should think that as long as they come within the recommended range for the particular vehicle, then there should be no reason to inform them. But that's just my opinion.

There is an ABI document on the web that lists various insurers and whether they want to be notified. From memory, most don't.

Jamie_Carter

vaio wrote: »

It's not true, winter tyres don't work anywhere near as well as summer tyres at summer temperatures.

Not on dry roads, or those with lesser amounts of surface water. But in torrential rain they will disperse more water, so you are less likely to aquaplane.

kirkofski

Jamie_Carter wrote: »

I don't know about cheaper than steel wheels: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VAUXHALL-CORSA-2007-07-MK-D-STEEL-WHEELS-14-INCH-4-STUD-/221261040325?pt=UK_CarParts_Acc_Wheels_tyres_Rims_Car_Wheels_ET&hash=item33842f8ac5

That's not really a like for like comparison is it, I've no doubt 13" are cheaper still. I was looking for the same size wheel/tyre to keep the insurance happy.

there's two on there in my size, £50 or £75 each;

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_ipg=200&_sop=15&_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=185%2F55%2F15+vauxhall+wheel+steel&rt=nc

neilmcl

vaio wrote: »

There is an ABI document on the web that lists various insurers and whether they want to be notified. From memory, most don't.

That just applies to winter tyres but if you're changing to a different wheel configuration or non oem wheels then it's definitely advisable to let your insurer know.

Ultrasonic

Jamie_Carter wrote: »

Not on dry roads, or those with lesser amounts of surface water. But in torrential rain they will disperse more water, so you are less likely to aquaplane.

Again, this might be true but I'd want to see some evidence to be convinced. We'd also have to be talking EXTREMELY heavy rain before you have enough standing water for this to become a possibility. Standard wet braking tests aren't carried out on a mildly damp track.

Edit: Torrential rain is also one of the few occasions where the majority of UK drivers have an outbreak of common sense and slow down accordingly, reducing the chances of aquaplaning further.

neilmcl

I have my doubts as well. Summer tyres (I hate that name btw) are designed for both dry AND wet conditions. The extra "channels" JC mentioned, also known as sipes are not designed to disperse water they're specifically designed to allow lateral grip on snow, ice and slush.

Jamie_Carter

Ultrasonic wrote: »

Again, this might be true but I'd want to see some evidence to be convinced. We'd also have to be talking EXTREMELY heavy rain before you have enough standing water for this to become a possibility. Standard wet braking tests aren't carried out on a mildly damp track.

Edit: Torrential rain is also one of the few occasions where the majority of UK drivers have an outbreak of common sense and slow down accordingly, reducing the chances of aquaplaning further.

Unfortunately too many don't realise how much they have to slow down when there is a large amount of standing water.

Aquaplaning is caused when the tyre can't disperse the water quick enough. And the tyres are then floating on the water rather than being in contact with the road. Good winter tyres do have more grooves, and do disperse more water.

Jamie_Carter

neilmcl wrote: »

I have my doubts as well. Summer tyres (I hate that name btw) are designed for both dry AND wet conditions. The extra "channels" JC mentioned, also known as sipe are not designed to disperse water they're specifically designed to allow lateral grip on snow, ice and slush.

They are also designed to allow more contact with the road surface. It's like trying to swim while pushing against the water with your fingers spread as opposed to your fingers being together. There is far less resistance to the smaller area with your fingers spread. This is the same as the smaller tread blocks on winter tyres being able to push through the water easier.