Summer tyres for winter?

jimjames

Edwood_Woodwood wrote: »

Trouble with this is that if there were any real benefits of doing this then it would be law, surely?

Or at least insurers would insist on it.

It is law. Not in the UK but many countries in Europe where winter is colder do require winter tyres.

JustinR1979 wrote: »

Get a cheap set of wheels, fit winter tyres. Sell when finished with them.
As said (more than once) your summer tyres aren't being worn, so outlay isn't as bad as first appears.

I did think of selling the winter tyres that came with my car but in the end decided it made more sense to keep them for the small amount I'd have got back for them and the benefit of reduced wear on the main tyres.

force_ten

mjoneseyjones wrote: »

What about folk who live in cities where snow rarely falls or stays on the roads long, where people don't have garages to store spare wheels /tyres?

Should they be forced to use winter tyres despite the fact they rarely, if ever, need them and have managed just fine without so far?

it is not all about snow, the clue is in the name

Winter tyres they are designed for use during the winter not just in snow

once the temperature falls below 7 degs c the rubber in a summer tyre becomes hard due to the cold and as a result grip and performance of the tyre drops off

the winter tyre has a more aggressive tread pattern the tread is covered in sipes and the rubber compound does not go hard due to the cold so it performs better in the wet and cold conditions that britain is famous for in the winter months

mjoneseyjones

force_ten wrote: »

it is not all about snow, the clue is in the name

Winter tyres they are designed for use during the winter not just in snow

once the temperature falls below 7 degs c the rubber in a summer tyre becomes hard due to the cold and as a result grip and performance of the tyre drops off

the winter tyre has a more aggressive tread pattern the tread is covered in sipes and the rubber compound does not go hard due to the cold so it performs better in the wet and cold conditions that britain is famous for in the winter months

That doesn't change anything in my post.

Millions of people in this country live in cities and large towns where the effect of inclement weather on the kind of driving they do is negligible to non existent. These people often have nowhere to store spare wheels/tyres either.

Should they be made to swap to winter tyres despite the fact they've never needed them, have nowhere to store them, and are likely never to need them in the future?

force_ten

mjoneseyjones wrote: »

That doesn't change anything in my post.

Millions of people in this country live in cities and large towns where the effect of inclement weather on the kind of driving they do is negligible to non existent. These people often have nowhere to store spare wheels/tyres either.

Should they be made to swap to winter tyres despite the fact they've never needed them, have nowhere to store them, and are likely never to need them in the future?

the point you picked up on was talk of making winter tyres compulsory and i wouldn't worry about that because it is not going to happen any time soon, and in some countries in europe that have worse winters than we do use of winter tyres is advised but not compulsory

as for the storage problem it is also something that they have covered Kwik fit run what they call tyre hotels so they store your second set of tyres or wheels and tyres for you, i bought my winter tyres from a small independant retailer and even they offered to store the tyres and wheels for me and then charge a small fee to swap the wheels twice a year

if you live in a city and most of your driving is in and around the city then all well and good and if the weather turns bad and you are prepared to leave your car where it is until the snow clears then all well and good

from the other side of the coin look at the TV and when about one inch of snow falls the country comes to a standstill and all the stuck drivers go on tv complaining about the highways agency and the local authority for nt gritting the road and not ploughing the road, they are expecting other people to do their part but refuse to help themselves by being on the wrong tyres for the conditions

Inner_Zone

mjoneseyjones wrote: »

What about folk who live in cities where snow rarely falls or stays on the roads long, where people don't have garages to store spare wheels /tyres?

Should they be forced to use winter tyres despite the fact they rarely, if ever, need them and have managed just fine without so far?

I never suggested they should be compulsory I said people should make up their own minds, not rely on being told to or forced to.

As for storage there are tyre hotels, or do as I do store them in my flat under a cover to disguise them a bit.

JustinR1979

mjoneseyjones wrote: »

That doesn't change anything in my post.

Millions of people in this country live in cities and large towns where the effect of inclement weather on the kind of driving they do is negligible to non existent. These people often have nowhere to store spare wheels/tyres either.

Should they be made to swap to winter tyres despite the fact they've never needed them, have nowhere to store them, and are likely never to need them in the future?

Cities and large towns get no rain or cold weather?
Fcuk me I'm moving house!


I believe it's law in Germany to use winter tyres for X months a year.
Expect they get on better than us where the whole country grinds to a halt with half a micron of snowfall.

mjoneseyjones

JustinR1979 wrote: »

Cities and large towns get no rain or cold weather?
Fcuk me I'm moving house!

Where did I, or anyone else say that?

I believe it's law in Germany to use winter tyres for X months a year.
Expect they get on better than us where the whole country grinds to a halt with half a micron of snowfall.

The vast majority of the UK doesnt grind to a halt when there is snow, be it half a micron or otherwise.

JustinR1979

mjoneseyjones wrote: »

Where did I, or anyone else say that?

The vast majority of the UK doesnt grind to a halt when there is snow, be it half a micron or otherwise.

Winter tyres are designed for cold and rain as well, which we would all benefit from - well not big towns or cities...


From my experience of driving all over the south every year for work, many roads get closed each year due to snow or abandoned cars.
Can often battle through in the early hours, then you get to school/work time and it all goes tits up with crashes etc.

force_ten

The winter of 2009–2010 was the year I became a winter tyre convert we had about six weeks of sub zero temperatures and there was snow on the roads around here for a good bit of that time

with temperatures going down to minus 20 the snow and ice wasn't going anywhere fast, we had 14 inches of snow and that was going to stop anything in its tracks and even a car fitted with the best winter tyres in the world wont move far in snow that deep

if there is snow on the ground my car is staying on the drive unless it is a real emergency and even then if i could use public transport then i would, but my car is still equipped with winter tyres and I have a winter driving kit in the boot

Horace

I have never put winter tyres on my car, these days I do not drive in the snow except in an emergency (I always carry an emergency kit in the car which contains a blanket, a torch, spare fuses and in the winter some soup and a couple of Mars bars).

If I lived in a country like Sweden where having winter tyres is compulsory then I would get them but I do not think they are necessary for driving in the UK.