Winter tyres

Herzlos

It's snowing here today so mine are staying on a bit later. I'll leave them until the temperature is consistently above 8 degrees. I don't have a spare set of wheels so I need to get the local garage to change them so I'm going to leave it a bit later. The fitter told me a lot of people swapped too early last year and had to get them swapped again.

If you've got them on wheels and can change them over yourself, when you do it is less important.

Your winter tyres will still run fine in the summer anyway (at increased wear rate), so you're likely better erring towards leaving them on longer.

redux

Herzlos wrote: »

I don't have a spare set of wheels so I need to get the local garage to change them so I'm going to leave it a bit later.

Try finding a set of old wheels on eBay or Gumtree or similar. I got 4 for £20, with still a bit of tyre life left before changing.

Iceweasel

We have had temperatures below zero in parts of Scotland every night for weeks on end.

Leaving home daily at 06.30 I see a couple of accidents every week - cars in fields and so on.

Of course many of these could/might have been avoided by drivers taking more care - icy patches in shady tree-lined parts catch out the unwary and especially young drivers with only a year or two at the wheel who are likely to have had little experience driving in true winter conditions.

So many people seem to think that winter tyres only give a benefit in snow - so because our UK winters are so variable it's inevitable that many areas, certainly in the south, have little or no snow some years.

But everywhere we have temperatures below zero - and it's on cold, wet, frosty roads that we could all benefit from using tyres appropriate to the conditions.

I have 2 sets of wheels and swap them over when the clocks change - but in recent years that has been too early - a year or so ago we had snow in April.

If you do buy winter tyres I think it's a good idea to have a 2nd set of wheels too. Wheels with tyres take up the same room as tyres alone.

Plus for me 2 sets of wheels is cheaper than just swapping tyres over twice a year.

Tyrefitters mostly charge at least £10 a wheel to refit and balance so that would mean £80 a year over the life of the winter tyres which for me would mean 4 years so a total bill only for swapping them over of £320.

That does not make economic sense as I bought a set of re-furbed alloys on eBay for £350 which I can sell on if I change car and find the sizes don't correspond with the new car, so off-setting the cost. My summer tyres last correspondingly longer too.

There's also an increased risk of damage to the tyres and/or wheels by so many unnecessary changes.

Winter tyres are not compulsory in the UK as they are in some other countries so it's still a personal choice - but I do get annoyed by being held up by those who think they are a needless purchase, when they are slipping and sliding all over the road, making it impossible for those with winter tyres to pass and continue on in perfect safety.

No-one like being told what to do and resist change even when it's obviously for the better.

I see some similarities with the situation when helmets for motorcyclists were introduced.

I've managed for years without.

It'll encourage people to take risks when they should simply be driving/riding more carefully.

Good drivers/riders don't need such things.

I don't drive/ride fast enough to justify it.

They are for wimps.

I can't afford it/them.

We don't need such foreign ideas in the UK.

I only make short journeys so the cost is too much.

I have nowhere to store it/them.

Until winter tyres are compulsory we will have these discussions every year - but every year more and more people are buying them - and we are not all idiots who have fallen for some marketing hype.

Gloomendoom

Herzlos wrote: »

It's snowing here today so mine are staying on a bit later.

I was going to take ours off yesterday but didn't get round to it.

Woke up to a hard frost and then snow showers.

mad_rich

Rule 1: Whatever you do, you probably won't time your winter tyres to perfection, so don't worry about catching it exactly right. There will be cold snap after you take them off and a warm spell after you put them on!

Rule 2: Look at the average weather for where you live (and regularly drive, if different) and choose your dates based on that. (Make adjustments if you tend to drive mostly in the middle of the night or up high, which will extend your winter season.)

Rule 3: As the date approaches, look at the 10-day forecast (anything further out than that is pointless) and if it's still forecast to be cold, keep them on for longer.

Rule 4: See rule 1.

Strider590

Iceweasel wrote: »

Until winter tyres are compulsory we will have these discussions every year - but every year more and more people are buying them - and we are not all idiots who have fallen for some marketing hype.

That's the problem, there is NO marketing hype, if there was then all these doubters would be buying them.

On the other hand there is plenty of marketing hype for 4x4s and crossovers during the winter months and look how many of those get sold on the basis of being better in winter conditions.

It wouldn't surprise me if the car manufacturers have an arrangement with the tyre manufacturers to prevent winter tyre's becoming a common sight on UK roads.

benjus

I think it does make a lot of sense for people in many parts of the UK. My parents live in rural Oxfordshire and their road regularly gets icy in winter. I don't know why they don't bother with winter tyres.

I wouldn't bother myself, as I live in Greater London and don't rely on the car for anything - it's just handy to have to get to the shops and for leisure trips. So if the roads are in a bad way here (which happens very rarely) I can just leave the car at home.

Herzlos

redux wrote: »

Try finding a set of old wheels on eBay or Gumtree or similar. I got 4 for £20, with still a bit of tyre life left before changing.

I looked at that, but I need to get a duplicate set to avoid insurance hikes, and I'm only planning on keeping the car 3 years, so 3 changes over at I'm assuming £20 a pop means I'm only paying £120 over the ownership. Of course if it costs much more to change them over I'll look at refurbed wheels and do it myself in future.

IamNotAllowedToUseMyName

benjus wrote: »

I think it does make a lot of sense for people in many parts of the UK. My parents live in rural Oxfordshire and their road regularly gets icy in winter. I don't know why they don't bother with winter tyres.

I wouldn't bother myself, as I live in Greater London and don't rely on the car for anything - it's just handy to have to get to the shops and for leisure trips. So if the roads are in a bad way here (which happens very rarely) I can just leave the car at home.

Just to say that the silly thing is that if UK tyre suppliers supplied All Season tyres then the whole nation would be on the right tyre all year round, aside from perhaps some of the extreme locations where the extra little bit of a full winter tyre might help.

Drove up the M5 last night an there was a hail storm leaving a slushy mess over the road. There were several cars on the hard shoulder, mine never skipped a beat, even though there was also standing water, not one hint of traction control. I know what it would be like on part worn standard tyres. Yet in the summer you wouldn't notice any difference.

I wonder why the UK has evolved a tyre market where they sell tyres that are not suitable for at least 6 months of the year.

Iceweasel

IanMSpencer wrote: »

if UK tyre suppliers supplied All Season tyres then the whole nation would be on the right tyre all year round

I can't agree - we would then be on compromise tyres all the time which would not be the best at any time of year.

Yet in the summer you wouldn't notice any difference.

Well I would - I tried them - never again!

I wonder why the UK has evolved a tyre market where they sell tyres that are not suitable for at least 6 months of the year.

Summer tyres are perfect for 6 months of British summer time - clue is in the name LOL.

It's a bit like having 'all-season shoes' - better to have the appropriate tyres (and shoes) in my opinion.