Summer tyres for winter?

darkmatter101

Hello,

I have recently acquired an S line '07 plate A3 from a family member. It has 18 inch wheels with 2 Goodyears and 2 Continentals sport contacts low profile 225/40r/18.

Both tyres are summer/sporty tyres and all have good thread, around 5mm.

Now, as winter is coming up, is it worth spending money on winter tyres or do you think these tyres should be good enough? I will be doing around 160 miles/week. These summer tyres are around £130-150 new but I can buy new budget winter tyres for £50ish each.

Would the budget winter tyres, i.e. Nankang, be superior to the Goodyears and Continentals low profile tyres?

OddballJamie

Buy a second set of smaller rims with cheaper sized tyres, you can then buy some decent winter tyres for similar money.

You can also sell these on when the high miler goes bang.

DoctorFoster

Not sure replacing good summer rubber with cheap winter tyres is the way forward.

Loads manage with one set of tyres all year round. Equally loads find ditches with cheap rubber in the wet.

Smaller steel rims, if the fit over s line brakes ( don't know if theyre updated) and a quality winter tyre would be the way forward.

BeenThroughItAll

I've spent some time in Poland, the Czech Republic and Russia over cold periods, and I've looked at the winter tyres they use - if they're good enough in *proper* winter, they're good enough over here.

The majority of cars seem to get by with low-mid-range winter rubber.

I have a set of Nexen N-Priz 4S all weathers on my car, as they seemed to be a popular choice in Poland when I was there last year. They've proved excellent in the wet and are significantly better than summer tyres on the cold greasy roads we've had recently.

agrinnall

Use the tyres from your M3 .

force_ten

I am a firm believer using winter tyres, I have a second set of alloys fitted with dunlop winter tyres and they will be fitted to the car at the end of the month and will stay on the car until late march 2015

many say you don't need them and things like i have been driving all my life and never been stuck yet but there is a first time for everything

last year i never encountered any snow but i did get caught out a couple of times by very icy roads in the morning and the winter tyres and the acrs ESP coped fine and i never felt the conditions were a problem

I personally like to do everything i can to make the winter months as stress free as possible, I run full winter tyres I have a set of lidl snow chains in the boot cost about £20.00, i also have a set of autosock snow socks that i had prior to buying winter tyres and they are still in the car along with a good quality collapsible snow shovel and other items in my winter driving kit

I personally wouldn't use Nanking tyres on my car and if buying winter tyres I would try to aim a bit higher and go mid range

your biggest problem is the car is on 18 inch wheels and whatever tyre you choose they are going to cost a pretty penny

JustinR1979

Get a Yaris, they have skinny tyres ideal for cutting through snow.

[Deleted User]

Both our cars have a second set of steelies with winter tyres, one is Avon Ice Touring the other is Nokian D3s.


PS had Nankang winters in the past and found nothing wrong with them but with current cars the price diff was so little to something higher up the pecking order...

mgdavid

This is not Sweden! Winter tyres are not required, how did we all manage from 1898 until the last year or two? And yes I know some will say the 'problem' has only come up since new cars have ever-wider rims and tyres, but I would postulate that the £500 or £1000 that a set of wheels & tyres will cost is better spent on some advanced driving lessons. Unless you drive a Beemer in which case you can get the winter tyres and continue to drive like someone who believes they are immortal and infallible ;-)

Gloomendoom

force_ten wrote: »

your biggest problem is the car is on 18 inch wheels and whatever tyre you choose they are going to cost a pretty penny

Keep an eye on eBay. I bought a set of Vredestein 18's for my wife's car very cheaply. The seller had messed up a web order and bought 18's instead of 17's.

I also managed to get a set of Pirelli 20's for my car for £400.

If you do go the eBay route, I would advise asking the seller to give you the tyre manufacturing date code before you buy though, otherwise you could be buying some very old stock.

tberry6686

I think it depends upon where you are in the UK whether you need them or not. I am in NE Scotland and can say with absolute certainty that Cheap winter tyres are better (at the right time of year) than good summer tyres.