Winter Tyres

Iceweasel

I think that this is a good video explanation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clSC7APitaQ

But of course there are those who will say 'manufacturer's hype and sales spiel.'

Others won't trust it perhaps because of the accent and also because US 'All Season' tyres (tires) are not quite the same as here in Europe.

But for me it's the principle of the thing - and I feel they have proved their point.

There are always those who say they 'manage fine' and Winter tyres are an unnecessary expense - just there are those who shun sensible shoes, warm Winter clothing and Central Heating - those things are for wimps - not super drivers such as they are.

I don't know anyone who has purchased Winter tyres and then, after a typical cold Winter, said, "That was a waste of money I'll never buy more of those in the future."

thescouselander

Deleted_User wrote: »

I've never bothered with winter tyres. Even in the bad winters of 2009 and 2010 I managed just fine when the roads were covered in snow and ice.

Same here. In over 20 years of driving I've never used winter tyres and have never had any issues. They're a waste of time and money in this country IMO. We just don't get the weather that would require winter tyres.

agrinnall

Iceweasel wrote: »

I don't know anyone who has purchased Winter tyres and then, after a typical cold Winter, said, "That was a waste of money I'll never buy more of those in the future."

I agree, it's only those who have never used them, such as the post following yours, who can be so categorical that they are a waste of money. Of course, they really don't cost much anyway as while you're using the winter tyres you're not using the summer tyres, so the overall cost is fairly neutral.

thescouselander wrote: »

Same here. In over 20 years of driving I've never used winter tyres and have never had any issues. They're a waste of time and money in this country IMO. We just don't get the weather that would require winter tyres.

thescouselander

agrinnall wrote: »

I agree, it's only those who have never used them, such as the post following yours, who can be so categorical that they are a waste of money. Of course, they really don't cost much anyway as while you're using the winter tyres you're not using the summer tyres, so the overall cost is fairly neutral.

I still stand by my statement. The only reason to change to winter tyres would be because the performance of the standard tyres was unacceptable - this has not been the case in my experience.

You say winter tyres don't cost much but they aren't that widely available and a set for my car would cost over £600 before fitting and storage are accounted for. That's a lot to spend just in case we get a week of really bad weather. Also handling in warmer (normal) conditions can be compromised when using winter tyres (according to the reviews at least) and why would I want to put up with lower performance in normal conditions by attempting to mitigate for what would be considered extreme weather in this country?

I'd also say I have used winter tyres but I was in Germany at the time where the conditions do actually require winter tyres. I just can't see the point of them here, perhaps with driving in Scotland being the exception.

neilmcl

Guys, lets not turn this into another long-winded argument about the pros & cons of winter tyres, it's been done to death every year and it's not what the OP was after. He already understands the benefits of winters and simply wanted to know when would be the best time to fit them full stop.

I think we can all agree that the current conditions in most of the country haven't been bad/optimal enough for them and no knowing when this will likely change for a lengthy period enough to warrant the OP swapping his wheels over.

thescouselander

Perhaps a trip over to the met office might be worth while - here are the average temperatures for January.

neilmcl

However that doesn't really reflect the current unseasonal/record breaking temperatures we've been getting currently.

thescouselander

neilmcl wrote: »

However that doesn't really reflect the current unseasonal/record breaking temperatures we've been getting currently.

Indeed. So we can conclude, for London and the South East and a lot of CE, since average temperatures are higher than 7 degrees anyway and this year is significantly warmer than average it is unlikly winter tyres will be required.

[Deleted User]

Just because you stick winter tyres on doesn't mean you can carry on driving like a loony. Drive to the conditions and you'll be generally fine.

bigjl

force_ten wrote: »

goodyear ultragrip 8,s in 205/55/16 which is my tyre size are C rated for wet braking

www.camskill.co.uk/Goodyear UltraGrip_8_Performance

so for my car the goodyears are exactly the same wet rating as the dunlops my car is shod with

That is the same size as I had on the V50.

They were not a C back in 2010.

And I checked the specs in the shop when purchasing.

Though again I have never done any wet braking emergency tests.

But I can drive a car through standing water and tell the difference.

But we all know how reliable EU tests can be when compared to real life performance.

The Dunlop BluResponse I had fitted to the Clio were a wet weather A and I can assure you they were not as good in the wet as the Ultragrip 8's. The caveat again being I never tested them in an emergency stop on a private section of road.

One look at the tread pattern would suggest that.

I will stick with my opinion gained through 20/25k miles driving on UltraGrip 8's. Rather than an EU test that could be almost impossible to replicate in the real world. Just like their fuel economy tests.

Let's be honest a straight line braking test is not really representative of every day tyre usage conditions.

According to Those wet braking tests some very cheap Chinese winter tyres are at least as competent in the wet and a few better than an UltraGrip8.

Does anybody think that is actually true in the real world?