Winter or All-Season tyres?

Herzlos · 12 October 2016 at 9:37AM

I've become a big fan of winter tyres, but have changed car so need to buy a new set. I'm trying to figure out if it makes sense to get a set of all seasons (~£320) and keep them on all year, or to get a set of winters (~£400) and change them twice a year. IIRC it's about £25 to get tyre fitters to change them for me (I don't think it's worth buying new wheels).

So I do about 5-7k/year, and plan on keeping the car for another 4 years. At 20-28k miles I'm probably going to go through 2 sets of tyres.

I'm figuring all-seasons make financial sense, but does anyone have any experience of using them over dedicated winters?

takman · 12 October 2016 at 10:00AM

Personally in your situation I would go for all season tyres because your doing a very low milage per year. So when you consider how many miles you will be driving when the temperature is below 7 degrees then Winter Tyres don't sound worth it for you.

Although winter tyres are great if you drive alot during the coldest part of the day in the winter. So it all really depends on your usage but from your low miles they don't seem worth it.

BeenThroughItAll · 12 October 2016 at 10:01AM

I'd recommend all-weathers too. For the mileage you do they'd be my choice.

I had a set of Kumho KH21s previously which were my favourites - they worked well in all conditions including snow and ice, and wore better than the Vredestein Quatrac3 I had prior.

gabitzul · 12 October 2016 at 10:34AM

All-seasons all the way. The latest generation are in many situations as good as winters but don't wear as quickly and can be used year round.

Look at Michelin CrossClimate and Nokian Weatherproof first, then the Goodyear Vector 2nd Gen ones. The rest in my opinion appear inferior.

Biggles · 12 October 2016 at 12:47PM

I have all-season tyres to help cope with that occasional snowy spell. I can't see the sense in putting winter tyres on for four or maybe five months, when the roads might only have ice and snow for a few weeks at most and the majority of the winter all-season or summer tyres would suit the conditions best.

I don't follow your mileage sums, though. I put my all-season tyres on when I had done 35k miles. I just had a service and MoT at 81k miles and was told the tyres were good for at least another year or two.

dannyrst · 12 October 2016 at 1:02PM

Toyo R888's and have some fun.

agrinnall · 12 October 2016 at 2:28PM

I think we need to know a bit more about where you live (area of the country and rural vs urban) and what sort of driving you would do during the winter. If you live at the top of a country lane in Wester Ross and you're on call overnight then winters would be your best option, but if you live in the middle of Reading and drive two miles to the office then they are probably overkill.

Iceweasel · 12 October 2016 at 5:17PM

agrinnall wrote: »

I think we need to know a bit more about where you live (area of the country and rural vs urban) and what sort of driving you would do during the winter. If you live at the top of a country lane in Wester Ross and you're on call overnight then winters would be your best option, but if you live in the middle of Reading and drive two miles to the office then they are probably overkill.

Spot on agrinnall.

Chances are the all-seasons will be fine as the bulk of the UK population live in the 'balmy South' but you never know.

A 2nd set of wheels may well be a cheaper option if true Winter tyres are needed.

I reckon on a set of full Winter tyres lasting me 4 seasons so the cost of the wheels is offset by not having to swap them over on the same rims.

You can sell the wheels on so getting a fair proportion of your money back when/if you change to a vehicle with different size wheels/tyres.

I sell my Winter tyres at 4mm as part-worns, so get some money back that way too, towards the next set.

You also avoid the risk of damage to your summer wheels with all that changing around not needing to be done.

Also there are not many tyre-fitters who will swapover 4 tyres and balance them for £25.

The only downside of having 2 sets of wheels is finding the storage space for them.

agrinnall · 12 October 2016 at 5:44PM

Iceweasel wrote: »

Chances are the all-seasons will be fine as the bulk of the UK population live in the 'balmy South' but you never know.

You and I both know from personal experience the value of winter tyres in extreme UK conditions, but most people living in the 'balmy South' (which now includes me) won't have a clue.

I still have a full set of winters on steel rims that I really ought to sell as I doubt whether I would ever need them here - if the conditions are bad I can walk to the supermarket, unlike when I lived in Perthshire 6 miles down a single track road from the nearest shop of any sort and 17 miles to the nearest supermarket.

Richard53 · 12 October 2016 at 7:48PM

I'm a convert to winter tyres. I fitted a set of Goodyears (Ultra Grip 8) to the Mondeo and they made a big difference in cold and wet conditions, although Sod's Law meant that we had no snow for the next two winters. They weren't noticeably noisy, and survived a fully-loaded speed run to Geneva and back in hot weather without complaint. Basically, indistinguishable from summer tyres, but better in the cold. I did 20-25k miles on them and they weren't showing abnormal wear. I'd have them again for year-round use, but they aren't the cheapest.

I have never tried all season tyres, but after reading the comments here I think they might be worth a try.

hollie.weimeraner · 12 October 2016 at 8:29PM

I fitted Michelin Cross Climates to my car last winter and got caught in a blizzard where traffic was getting stuck. Sailed past everything with no effort at all.

They're not cheap but well worth the extra cost imho.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTdE6onkipA

Winter or All-Season tyres?

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