From an earlier thread I see a few on here fit winter tyres. As I need new tyres anyway I’m going to get some in the next week.

Any recommendations welcome.

Looking at Kuhmo’s and Nokian’s , with the Kumho’s favourite due to reports/price.

Any others I should look at and any deals available?

Cheers

vredestein.

The WR G2s are reportedly more slush/snow orientated (think Northern Europe), whereas others such as the Vredetein Wintracs, Conti WinterContacts and IIRC the Kuhmos are almost as effective in said snow, but fare better in the wet…

Nokian WR on my volvo which have been good, but I think you have to get the G2 now.
Depends on the car….. I’d have a look at owners forums for recommendations.

Not having much luck tracking down any of the Vredesteins in the UK.

Interestingly quite a few of the tyres classed as ‘winter’ in the UK are ‘4 season’ elsewhere, so should be ok for next summer too!

The Kuhmo’s are still winning on price/overall performance and I’ve tried my car owners forum without much luck. I’ll have a look on the main Ford forum.

have vredestein.snotrac2’s on my mondeo, work a treat

Saccades

Do you change them in the spring and where did you get them (if in the UK) ?

Toyo proxies see me good in the lakes

I leave them on all year, originally came with the car 2nd hand and i added 18k miles on before i changed for a new set. they are great in the dry if noisy compared to the firestone firehawks on the other car. In the bad snows last year i didn’t have a bother beating cars at lights.

I’m ireland, but all the independents i phoned could get them in within a week. Cost me 170 yoyo each, but ireland is a savage rip off.

Don’t know how supply will be in the UK for winter tyres in the next weeks.
The sales are huge over in continental Europe at the mo & stocks are running really low…
I get the impression that everyone is expecting a bitch of a winter this year.

Thanks for all the info.

I have a couple of local suppliers looking around for me, so I’ll see what they turn up tomorrow. Failing that, I can get 4 x Kumho KU 31’s for <£280 fitted, which seems a bit of a bargain

cheers

Another Vredestein user here, had them 25 years ago and bought some last year. They’re ace.

I wanted Vredsteins too but the prices were silly so when I could get Uniroyal rain tyres for peanuts I did. So far superb.

>The WR G2s are reportedly more slush/snow orientated (think Northern
>Europe)

Not really, they are Nokian’s attempt on winter tyre to Central European markets. For more snow oriented tyres Nokian sells Hakkapeliitta R but they are probably unavailable and too soft rubber for warmer temps in UK.

Another shout for Uniroyal Rainsport2 – having a full set fitted next weekend

I’ve just had my second set of rainsport 2’s fitted. Brilliant tyre in the wet and snow, and very good in the dry too. Couple of minor issues are that they’re very quick wearing (fronts lasted <15k miles on my diesel) and they’re fairly easily damaged by impact due to thin sidewalls, but seeing as I can got them for £36 per tyre I think they’re the best-value tyre I’ve ever bought and the grip in the wet still astounds me.

Last winter I was in Munich, and it took a short while to understand why no cars had alloy wheels, then dawned on me they had thinner steel wheels for winter use and winter tyres. Makes so much sense!

For Vredesteins try http://www.tyremen.co.uk/. I dealt with them last year and they’re very helpful with brilliant service.

I also just got some Nokian WR G2’s from http://tyrexpress.com in four days. Tons cheaper than mytyres which is the only other place that seems to stock them. Reports look good for leaving them on but obviously I’ve not tried them myself yet.

Avon Ice Touring STs here – http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Avon/Ice-Touring-ST.htm

Really good tyre so far, only had them on 2 weeks, great grip in damp conditions and we’ve gained 5mpg by dropping to 16″ wheels.

Paid £270 fitted for 205/55/16

Very happy with Continental TS 830. Not cheap, but very good in snow and ice.

Decided to go for THESE in the end as they had good reviews in Canada/N. America and they are usable all year round – they are also cheap!

Only problem is, I ordered them last Sunday thinking I’d have them in plenty time. They are still tracking as being in a depot in Germany and I’ve 3″ of snow 😳

I’ve just ordered some Vredestien Snowtrac 3’s from Mytyres, £90 a corner though.

Another Avon Ice Touring user here, had 2 sets over 5 years and never got stuck in my Fiesta, we can see a fair bit of snow here too (Moray).

I’m using some budget brand I’ve never heard of this year, I can report thay have also been surprisingly excellent, £57 each. Don’t know if they’ll last that long if I run them all year, will probably swap them over come the drier weather. I only fit them to the front wheels anyway.

I was looking for Vredestein after the recommendations above but couldn’t find them in the size I wanted.

Should be very good.

General Grabber TRs in size 16″ 235/85 (on the Landy) 😉

Not winter tyres, but I got a set of these Klack and Go snow chains last year. Very quick and simple to take on and off.

I live in Sheffield, so more than a couple of hills. When the snow came, getting around hardly took any longer than normal. The side roads were deserted and I could get up and down any sensible hills. Avoided coming down the stupidly steep ones though. Starting and stopping on the hills wasn’t an issue. Less expensive option than the tyres, not as good in intermediate conditions, but do the business when it counts.

Impressed. Too right.

Now, head torch and gloves are ready in the snow chain box. Bring on the snow.

Oh, and a bonus. If fitted to a front wheel drive car, playing with the oversteer is just brilliant!

I have used chains for about ten years and winter tyres for about three.

Chains are impressive when the conditions are right snow & ice with no tarmac. I have used them in the Highlands once in full coverage and they are great every other time they have been a big faff and I gave them to a charity shop.

Nokian WRG2’s are really brilliant in the UK and all personal reviews will tell you this, they will be beaten by other tyres for pure snow performance but as an all round you can not go wrong, my wifes car runs these all year round as they ARE very good in wet conditions.

The new Kleber Quadraxer all season tyre is worth a look. It is very well priced at local fitters and it is M&S rated.

If you don’t drive like a street racer winter & all season tyres are a genuine all year alternative. Most have excellent rolling resistence, our cars give better fuel economy with winter tyres than with summer tyres. Fuel is a big part of tyre cost.

I may have to consider a set of those (snow chains) unless I can nick mine back from the ex if they are the right size, as I don’t want to miss out on days at Weardale Ski Club which appears to have less snow today than Durham 🙄

Edit: I was very close to buying the WG32’s but in the end there was over £100 difference which swung it.

Do you guys just change tyres, or keep a second set of wheels?
I’m thinking of getting some steel wheels froma local scrappy to allow me to put slightly narrower and taller winter tyres on.

A spare set of wheels is a good way to go if you have the room for storage (dry, cool & dark space) and the smaller size is cheaper and will perform better in the snow.

ir_bandito – I was looking a few weeks ago & can’t remember whether it was mytyres or black circles but one of them was offering the winter tyres complete with steel wheels.

I’ve got an Auto Express from a few weeks ago (as long as it hasn’t been thrown away) with winter tyre test. I’ll post the results up here later if I remember/get the chance.

Wheels and winter tyre options MYTYRES

I thought about that but can get the tyres swapped over for £30 incl. valves/balancing. Well worth it though if you’ve got some nice alloys which you want to keep nice!

Here are the Auto Express results and others summarised.

Auto Express

just found some steel wheels on ebay for a Focus (I have a C-Max).
Similar situatuon, 15″ wheels to replace 16″ alloys, except the smaller wheel foulded the brake calliper. Doh! Wonder how I can check?

Cheers for the Mytyres link. Local Kwik Fit has quoted £300 for 4 Conti tyres, so £75 each. Mytyres are about £100 each with wheels, and local scrappy hasn’t got any in stock, so that may be the best option.

ir_bandito – Member

just found some steel wheels on ebay for a Focus (I have a C-Max).
Similar situatuon, 15″ wheels to replace 16″ alloys, except the smaller wheel foulded the brake calliper. Doh! Wonder how I can check?

You could get Kleber Quadraxer all season tyres for about £77 each in the original 16inch size and then you don’t need to swap and store wheels.

Put 2 Quadraxers on the front and swap the summer tyres from the back to the front in April. Wear the summer tyres down next year and then either put the two summer tyres you have just taken off back on if they have good tread or get some more either 2 more all season so you have them all round or two more summer if it works well swapping tyres front to back twice a year.

The compromise is being more careful with a poor traction rear in snow during winter (but the difference from have four summer tyres will be astounding). The benefit with having the summers on the front during the summer will be better dry weather braking. It is a good and cheap option.

I’ve just bought 200kgs of grit…

thanks scuttler. tyremen had 4 snotrack 3s in stock. i bought a pair.. so that leaves 1 pair left in 185/60/14 if anyone is gagging for a set.

they are like hens teeth up here in Inverness.

Conti Winter Contacts here, not cheap, but neither was the car.

Not something I think its worth trying to save pennies on.

just put gislavd norfrost 5’s on the mrs car, sticks to the road like excrement to a blanket. Ill stick with chains this year I think.

Local Kwik Fit has quoted £300 for 4 Conti tyres,

You’re in Hexham aren’t you? Try Hexham Tyre and Battery behind the Vauxhall garage – *much cheaper* than KF IME.