Winter Tyres ??

ttoli

Just a question ,why have "winter tyres" become popular in the UK in recent years?.
Whilst I don't consider myself an old phart, when I passed my test ( 1981), the winters were far harsher and I managed , if anything it taught me how to drive in all road conditions without having to resort to a second set of wheels+tyres for winter.

Thanks

marlot

Cars have wider tyres, so less traction in snow. Normal car tyres are worse in snow than they used to be. People don't want to be snowed in. People commute further than they used to.

Iceweasel

marlot wrote: »

Cars have wider tyres, so less traction in snow. Normal car tyres are worse in snow than they used to be. People don't want to be snowed in. People commute further than they used to.

Just a little correction needed.

Summer tyres are worse in the snow than they used to be.

The words 'normal car tyres' is pretty meaningless these days.

What most folks think of as normal tyres are actually Summer tyres.

Johno100

Or it's a new income stream the tyre industry is trying to promote and maximise.

littleredhen

Well I live at bottom of a hill, we get snow quite a lot in the winter, without winter tyres I can't get up hill, with them, no problem, great in wet weather too, depends where you live:snow_grin:snow_laug

Iceweasel

Johno100 wrote: »

Or it's a new income stream the tyre industry is trying to promote and maximise.

Hardly new - Continental introduced Winter tyres for use in snow back in 1952.

I had a set back in the mid 80's on a rear wheel drive BMW which astounded the neighbours as I wasn't stuck when there was half-inch of snow.

Everyone thought (some still do) that RWD cars are rubbish in the snow.

bigjl

I have used Winter Tyres on work vehicles and have fitted them to my old V50 and one of my current cars a Berlingo.

The car feels safe and secure in the early mornings (around 6:30am) when going to work.

They now have 2000 miles on them and no signs of wear yet.

Will be putting a set of summer tyres on in a few months. Probably Michelin.

My advice is give them a try, might be too late his year. But you might find some great deals due to the end of winter.

Oponeo have decent amount of stock in the sizes I searched.

Strider590

Johno100 wrote: »

Or it's a new income stream the tyre industry is trying to promote and maximise.

That's nonsense.......

What do you think 4x4 manufacturers have been doing for decades?

I mentioned winter tyres on a Facebook post by BMW, advertising their new fancy quadraspaz 4x4 technology, basically claiming it was all you needed for a snowy winter..... My post got deleted extremely quickly.

Winter tyres are something the automotive industry is keen to hide from car buyers.

Tyre manufacturers make very little from promoting winter tyres, because when your car is on winter tyres, it's not wearing out your summer tyres (and vice versa) so actually there's very little extra income from selling winter tyres.
The only real benefit is it's an opportunity to win over customers who might like your winter tyres so much, that they use your summer tyres next time around.

Word is FINALLY starting to get around and whilst 4x4 manufacturers hate it, I think anything that dispels some old motoring myths is a VERY positive thing.

bigjl

Strider590 wrote: »

That's nonsense.......

What do you think 4x4 manufacturers have been doing for decades?

I mentioned winter tyres on a Facebook post by BMW, advertising their new fancy quadraspaz 4x4 technology, basically claiming it was all you needed for a snowy winter..... My post got deleted extremely quickly.

Winter tyres are something the automotive industry is keen to hide from car buyers.

Tyre manufacturers make very little from promoting winter tyres, because when your car is on winter tyres, it's not wearing out your summer tyres (and vice versa) so actually there's very little extra income from selling winter tyres.
The only real benefit is it's an opportunity to win over customers who might like your winter tyres so much, that they use your summer tyres next time around.

Word is FINALLY starting to get around and whilst 4x4 manufacturers hate it, I think anything that dispels some old motoring myths is a VERY positive thing.

Funnily enough Jaguar dealers make a big thing about Winter tyres.

With Pirelli doing specific J Rated Winter tyres in the large wheels sizes that you get on modern Jaguars.

They even have winter tyre displays in the dealership, at least in every Jaguar dealer I have visited.

pgoncalv

I was looking into it, but you seem to have to store the old ones yourself?

What most people in the continent do is to have some standard wheels as well...

So if you are planning to use them regularly, you may be better to get two sets of wheels so you do not have to keep swapping the tyres around..

Strider590

pgoncalv wrote: »

I was looking into it, but you seem to have to store the old ones yourself?

What most people in the continent do is to have some standard wheels as well...

So if you are planning to use them regularly, you may be better to get two sets of wheels so you do not have to keep swapping the tyres around..

Shove em in the corner of the garden with some tarp over them.
I role mine down the back of my shed.