Winter Tyres

Kim_kim

I had to change mine mot due & they were low.
I changed from M&S to all seasons.
But I have a 4x4, so I can cope with snow on all seasons if I need too.

Iceweasel

Topper1900 wrote: »

Winter tyres are really only of any benefit in icy/snowy conditions

Just keep telling yourself that.

Repeat it often enough and perhaps it might come true.

Stay lucky.

DigForVictory

I got a new-to-me car in October & put the "winter tyres" on in early November not because of the cold but because of the wet. They've already improved life for me just by improving braking distances (although there is an argument that I'm just more aware).
As temperatures flirt with freezing round my way (S Lancashire), it's nice to know I've that morsel extra backup. There is the flipside that I'm a little more willing to try to drive in situations where maybe I ought not - Boxing Day M62 to Leeds & back coming to mind, but as we were going as a family to see my recently widowed mother-in-law, I was fairly headstrong about going anyway.

bigjl

Topper1900 wrote: »

Surely that's only if you drive at speed in v. wet conditions? On the school run/commute to work I bet 99% of drivers would never know the difference. Winter tyres are really only of any benefit in icy/snowy conditions and there's no forecast of that south of the midlands in the foreseeable future.

No nothing to do with speed.

I had GoodYear winters on my V50 a few years ago and they were very god in the wet.

Extremely good at dealing with standing water aswell.

Much less wheel tug when on a country A road with standing water at the edge.

I am the first to admit that I was surprised by how much better they were in the wet.

Especially in the first rainfall after a period of dry weather that make s the road just that little bit greasy.

I was converted.

I was very interested to read comments here and elsewhere about the new generation of all season tyres.

The Maxxis AP2 and Nokian All Weather seem to be good value going by what I have read.

bigjl

Iceweasel wrote: »

Just keep telling yourself that.

Repeat it often enough and perhaps it might come true.

Stay lucky.

Agreed.

I was a little sceptical but after driving on them, albeit a few years ago, I always advise them when asked.

The snow/ice/low temp ability is just a further bonus on the celebrate wet weather performance which is likely to be the conditions most people use them and gain benefit from them.

Marktheshark

Last snow I passed a few 4x4 that were running road tyres stuck on our hill, not brilliant but I got up and home.

neilmcl

bigjl wrote: »

As winter tyres are much better in the wet than summer tyres.

That's not true. A good summer tyre will outperform a winter tyre in the wet in most temperatures, it's only when you start getting temperatures lower than 5 degrees will winters come into their own, and that comes from the manufacturer's themselves.

The average UK temperature has just not been low enough for a winter tyre to be truly advantageous.

bigjl

neilmcl wrote: »

That's not true. A good summer tyre will outperform a winter tyre in the wet in most temperatures, it's only when you start getting temperatures lower than 5 degrees will winters come into their own, and that comes from the manufacturer's themselves.

The average UK temperature has just not been low enough for a winter tyre to be truly advantageous.

I don't agree.

force_ten

bigjl wrote: »

I would have had them on for a few weeks now.

As winter tyres are much better in the wet than summer tyres.

You can use winter tyres all year long if you want, though they will wear faster, especially on the edges of you do.

I was going to buy a set of All Season tyres then not have to worry about the changeover

But have not had the time.

I have winter tyres on a second set of rims and have been using them for around three years now

My conti summer tyres are B rated for wet braking my dunlop winter tyres are C rated for wet braking and in all the wet braking tests that i have seen on the net suggest that in wet conditions the braking distance on winter tyres is greater than on summer tyres

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oi-o_njQW34

that video will show summer tyres stopping shorter in the wet than the winter tyres

I agree that the aggressive tread pattern of a winter may clear water faster than a summer tyre but it dosent win in every test

force_ten

on the video above at 3.57 in it shows that at 10 degrees ambient in a brake test from 70mph the summer tyre stopped 7.9 mts shorter than the winter tyres the winter won on lap time and corner speed but 7.9 mts is one and a half car lengths longer stopping distance on my car