Winter Tyres 2013/2014 Thread

ventureuk

A thread for reviews, real world experience, best prices and reliable suppliers. Although many awesome individuals who've never needed them in years and driven up Everest on slicks will appear and scoff whilst panicking about insurance, the remainder who live in the actual UK where there are hills, dales, valleys and munroes, snow, ice, slush & damp, value their safety and ncd may want to add their two penneth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRa-Jax-EN0

After driving in Northern Europe and Germany during the winter months on winter tyres and then understanding why the UK came to a halt whilst disregarding safety, I'd never not have them fitted from now on.

I have Marangoni Meteos fitted to one car and Vredestein Wintrac Xtreme to the other, both newish petrol turbos with tyres swapped over, no steelies. I fitted Barum Polaris 3 to an ageing RX300 4x4, they are left on all year.

The Marangoni were a Kwik Fit bargain 3yrs ago, four fitted for less than £300, although they are XL they soften the ride, are quieter than the summer Cont'is & Barums, far far grippier from Oct - Mar, have driven through deep fresh, compacted and slushy snow and ice never getting stuck once. Wear over three winters has been small, rears have lost 2mm, fronts 3mm, they are purely a winter tyre however, when the temp warms up stopping distances extend and they get a bit wooly.

The Vredestein however are a very different and pricier beast, whilst providing outstanding winter snow/ice/slush/rain performance they are a stiffer sportier tyre which seem unaffected by higher temps, inspire spirited cornering and seem to be a perfect year round tyre if you don't want to swap and store when the seasons change. Wear rate is very low, but they are a pricey tyre.

The Barum Polaris 3 offer very similar characteristics to the Marangonis but are less effected by summer temps, they also don't appear to be wearing despite 20000 miles in the last couple of year, with these fitted the RX300 goes anywhere, anytime despite being a 'softroader'.

A friend asked for advice for winter tyres for his Golf 1.4 tsi, I think best vfm currently are the Falken 439 and 449, they seem to offer the best price v performance ratio without getting into Bridgestone, Conti & Dunlop silly money.

Finally, my suggestions for suppliers are.

https://www.oponeo.co.uk & https://www.tyres-pneus-online.co.uk for new tyres
and the Ebay seller euro.tyres.limited for remarkably unworn partworn tyres imported from Europe.

One last thing, the cost of winter tyres is minimal compared to paying an excess, risking your ncd and being without a car for a few days whilst it is repaired.....that and safety of course.

OddballJamie

I can vouch for www.tyres-pneus-online.co.uk too, had a set of 205/55/16 Cooper SA2 from there delivered for £200. Hopefully going on next week.

Unfortunately the prices have gone up slightly this month, for the same size I'd say the Falken HS449 are the best value at £60 a corner currently.

sinizterguy

BMW 530D with Michelin Pilot Alpins on 18" alloys.

During the snows last year, I went out in upto 6 inches of snow and tried to get my car stuck. I didn't manage to.

I was driving up ungritted uphill roads, on which even 4WDs were crabbing while going up, as if there was no snow/ice.

Inspired absolute confidence and I was pretty much driving around as if I was driving on a very wet road, without any bother with snow/ice.

Personally, I will never be without winter tyres ever again - whether my car is rear wheel drive, front wheel drive or all wheel drive.

AdrianC

A few winters back, I was commuting across the back lanes of the Chilterns, when we had a very early sharp icy morning in October. Coming up to a junction, I braked from walking pace, and I swear the car actually sped up as the wheels locked instantly on the slight slope. One very close miss with the nose of a new 5-series later, I bounced harmlessly off the grass the other side of the junction.

Four decent brand winters on scruffy rims worked out to be the same price as my excess, so it was a no-brainer experiment.

Let's just say that I am thoroughly converted. I was the only 2wd climbing the ungritted hill I lived on, which a lot of 4wds couldn't get up. I was the only 2wd getting across the lanes, avoiding the very heavily choked long-way-round main road route.

Those were Vredestein SnowTracs. They did me sterling service across three winters.

We've since moved, way out into the sticks up a big steep quiet narrow hill. As well as buying a big ol' 4x4, I've just ordered a set of Uniroyal MSPlus for the other car. Both these Uniroyals and the Vredes were from Camskill, easily the best range of winters in the UK. Most local tyre places will fit for you, for a tenner a corner. Used standard rims are usually dirt cheap from a scrappy or eBay.

If you've got space to stack four wheels in a corner of your garage, you're daft not to. The difference is noticable from around +5degC, even on dry tarmac.

Iceweasel

Refurbished alloys from Atomic Wheels at £300 inc. postage.

Winter tyres from Camskill - Continental TS850P at £114 each.

Fitting and balancing at local indy - £40.

I had a part-worn mis-matched set on scruffy old wheels last winter as a trial, and as a result I have now bought the above wheels and tyres, sold my Freelander and can use my BMW all year.

A big saving as I no longer need to have 2 vehicles.

I did think (for about a minute - no more) about only getting the tyres and swapping them over on my original wheels. But that is a no-brainer, as it would cost me £10 a wheel twice a year.

£40 x 2 = £80 x 4 years life expectancy = £320 - which is more than I paid for the wheels which I can sell on if/when I change the car.

Just wait for the first decent fall of snow and the TV crews will be out as usual looking for M-Benzs, Audis and BMWs stuck because they still have summer tyres on.

This just perpetuates the myth than rear wheel drive big cars are no good in the snow.

Of course we will get folks who say they are not needed in the UK and they have managed fine for years with no bother at all.

They don't live 2 miles from the nearest gritted road in rural Aberdeenshire though.

WTFH

Hankook I*cept Winter EVOs on my Alfa. (225/45/17s) and I think it was Hankooks on the CRV as well (now sold).

The Tiguan has Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3 at the minute, have asked about winter tyres for it but go no prices back yet.

Gloomendoom

WTFH wrote: »

The Tiguan has Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3 at the minute, have asked about winter tyres for it but go no prices back yet.

I run all season Eagle RS-A on my car year round. They have so far proved excellent over three snowy winters here and in the Pyrenees.

bigjl

I found the GoodYear UltraGrip 8 to be an excellent tyre.

But living on the outskirts of London i don't think they were strictly needed.

I had a comoany vehicle during summer 2012 so left them on and was skint summer 2013 so left them on again.

They did 40k and apart from some tread damage caused by some enthusiastic roundabout driving they wore well, one did wesr unevenly and was ripe for renewal very soon.

The nearsides wore quicker than the offsides. The offsides were still on 5mm. The nearside were both below 4mm, one was about 2mm in places with uneven wear.

I was happy with the wear though.

I would recommend them to anybody wishing to buy winters but in 205/55/16 they cost over £500 for a set so not cheap.

They also made the car feel slightly loose and squidgy which i didn't like but they were quiet.

One thing of note, they were exceptionally good in the wet weather and even when hitting standing water at speed they tracked straight and true.

Even when hitting water at the side of a country road.

No buttock clenching tug on the wheel, very stable.

I would consider them again but not to help in the snow, as i don't think they really helped that much, but purely due to the improvement in wet weather as i have mentioned above.

fivetide

I had Nokian WR (mud/snow) on my Impreza. Cracking tyres any weather even when it warmed up and long lasting too.

marlot

I too am a convert. I have a set of GoodYear UltraGrip 8 on Honda Jazz steel wheels in the garage which won't fit the new car. I'll put them on eBay when it gets a little colder!

Ultrasonic

Lots of good test results summarised at https://www.tyrereviews.co.uk, including this simple one.

The best rated of all seem to be Continental WinterContact TS 850 tyres, but they aren't cheap:

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Continental/WinterContact-TS-850.htm