in the end i got a set of vredestein quatrac 3's not a full winter tyre but seem more than enough for last winters conditions. Have had NO snow this year!!!!
Chat Forum
[closed]
car winter tyres
-
Posted 1 year ago #
-
I wanted winter tyres for my Peugeot but got quoted stupid prices in Ireland. I ended up getting rain tyres from Uniroyal which have been pretty good but all too easy to loose grip in ice. Snow - ok, ice - loads of cold sweat at times (I live off a main road half way up the hill between two sets of traffic lights).
Next yea it'll be imported winter tyres and new wheels off the ebay. Say what you want but when it's colder they make a difference (I had a set last year on the same car as now).
Hora, get yourself an atlas or a map of Europe before you say your usual, please:
I wouldnt bother with them unless you live somewhere really rural thats affected markedly by the weather - i.e. not many gritters etc come your way.
Places like Germany- yes. I can see why but here no.
Posted 1 year ago # -
There really is a lot of rubbish posted on here. I have in front of me the 17th October Auto Express where they tested winter tyres. Here are the results (all marked as a percentage of the highest score), car was a VW Golf.
Snow braking
Best winter tyre 100.0
All season 77.8
Best summer tyre -32.3
(Braking from 40km/h on snow winter tyre took 17.5m, summer tyre took 43.1m. Summer tyre was still doing 32km/h when the winter tyre had stopped.Snow traction
Best winter tyre 100.0
All season 89.1
Best summer tyre 35.9
A 2 wheel drive with winter tyres will move when a 4 wheel drive with summer tyres won't.Snow Handling
Best winter tyre 100.0
All season 97.7
Best summer tyre 42.9
Based on lap times round a snow covered circuitRolling Resistance
Best winter tyre 100.0
Best summer tyre 90.5
All season 86.6
So that's the fuel consumption argument blown then.Cabin Noise
Best winter tyre 100.0
All season 99.1
Best summer tyre 99.1
And the noise argument as wellAnd on dry roads are the winter tyres a liability?
Dry braking
Summer 100.0
All season 91.1
Winter 89.9Dry Handling
Summer 100.0
All season 98.9
Winter 98.4So for very little extra money (when the winter tyres are on, your aren't wearing out the summer tyres), why would you use tyres which only have 35% of the grip of winter tyres? And yes, it's generally traffic jams which cause the problems, but if you can use the side roads instead of the main roads (which everyone uses because they are gritted) than you can get round the jams.
Really, why wouldn't you?
Posted 1 year ago # -
I've just come back from Sweden and seeing ordinary cars, even Mercs and BMWs getting about completely normally in heavy snow and slush because they all were on winter tyres was an eye opener.
When I lived in Stockholm in the early 90's it was law to use studded tyres after a certain date or chains if your car wouldn't take a studded tyre. Not sure if this is still the case but they are far from normal winter tyres.
Posted 1 year ago # -
well here in Norway its the law and we have to change to winter tyres. I have them on my car from Oct to April. Anyone bleating about them being a waste of money is a moron. They are a safety issue first and foremost and they work excellently and they save lifes. By the way i live on the south west coast and the climate aint much different to Scotland.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Desperate for winter tyres but my companys fleet insurance claims they are a 'modification' and won't cover them; I told them I'll modify the front end using tree or ditch but they weren't interested. I can't quite see the economics of my company paying for tyres and reducing the risk of any accident being less cost effective than me pranging the car and the insurance paying out.
Any insurance types on here can explain this random thought process?
Posted 1 year ago # -
Gary_M - Member
Total waste of money if you live in the UK. In terms of driving its pretty difficult to differentiate between summer and winter here, apart from some exceptions.
Has anyone ever been more wrong on here?
Posted 1 year ago # -
CaptainMainwaring gave it a good shot
Winter tyres will hugely increase fuel consumption and road noise, wear very quickly, and screw up your handling as already said.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Gary_M - Member
Total waste of money if you live in the UK
By 'the UK'? Do you mean Torbay or Inverness?
Assume you change out of your flat leather soled jimmy choos when it's icey?
Posted 1 year ago # -
Ben, was this recently? A couple of weeks ago they had a bit on the news about drivers having trouble with winter tyres and insurance, they had some interviews from the main insurers and the general gist was that its not a modification, and that you should make a complaint if they won't cover it.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Ben, was this recently? A couple of weeks ago they had a bit on the news about drivers having trouble with winter tyres and insurance, they had some interviews from the main insurers and the general gist was that its not a modification, and that you should make a complaint if they won't cover it.
It's only because people are stupid enough to tell their insurers. The insurers systems have somewhere they can list modification but not anywhere to list model of tyre. So... they fill it in as a modification. They should say there's nowhere to enter the tyre model so they don't need to know. Simple training issue.Would you tell them if you swapped from Michelin to Pirelli?
Your handbook will tell you what tyre size, profile and speed rating the car takes. As long as the winter tyre complies you're covered.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I ended up putting winter tyres on my car last winter as were going skiing in France, and you couldn't fit snow chains (legal requirement) to the normal wheels.
In normal conditions, is very hard to tell the difference, but when you hit snow it makes a huge improvement, often the difference between being stuck and being able to drive.
Given that the tyres I've got are less than half the price of the normal summer tyres, it saves money too.
I did have some grief with the insurers as I had them on different wheels, and despite the fact they were a cheaper factory option, they insisted they were a modification and wanted over £100. So I switched to a more grown up insurer who quoted a cheaper premimum anyway, so more money saved
Posted 1 year ago # -
I was lucky enough to find a new set of steels shod with winter tyres for my t5 van on ebay last year. In snow and ice the difference between them and my normal tyres is massive - did a mini before / after test on an ice covered side road when I had them fitted - slamming on the brakes at 30mph the winter types stopped in less than a third of the distance. The biggest benefit is I can now go up hills and steer round corners in the snow - previously the van would just go straight.
In 'normal' uk winter conditions (cold and wet) I can't say I've noticed any real difference in terms of fuel consumption / noise. They've also worn pretty well - done about 10,000 miles on them so far and loads of life left (this is obviously helped by the fact the tread is much deeper than normal tyres).
Posted 1 year ago # -
It's only because people are stupid enough to tell their insurers.
Don't think I agree with this. I had some minor crash damage to a car years ago and when the guy from the insurance company came to look over the car, he started going to the passenger side of the car. I helpfully told him that the damage was on the drivers side. He responded with 'I'll get to that later mate'. He wasn't checking the damage, he was checking over the car to see if he could get out of honouring the claim.
If there is one thing more stupid than telling their insurers, it's paying for insurance that is worthless, that is really stupid. Insurers will try to weasel out of claims if you don't have the right speed rating, i'd have thought winter tyres would be too good an opportunity to miss to not pay a claim.
Posted 1 year ago # -
CaptainMainwaring gave it a good shot
Winter tyres will hugely increase fuel consumption and road noise, wear very quickly, and screw up your handling as already said.Except they don't, they don't and they don't.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Really special amount of crap being spouted on this thread.
Have the people going on about winter tyres being 'a total waste of money', 'noisy', 'not different from normal tyre', 'no good on ice' etc ever actually used any?
They are the correct tyres for low temperatures with or without snow or ice. No significant difference in noise fuel consumption or handling in my experience and actually wear less than summer tyres during the winter.
Plus, they cost me a total of £40 extra a year to get them swapped over in autumn/spring, and that is probably recouped in reduced wear.
Oh, and my car has more grip and is safer during the winter months, and never gets stuck in snow. I don't know about you, but I find that a bit of a bonus.
Posted 1 year ago # -
In a word CHAINS
If you keep decent treads what on Earth is the point of winter tyres? If its that bad you can either a) not travel b) if you have to then chains will get you out of everything but deep drifts
So why bother with winter tyres which could void your insurance as a modification, the cost of swapping on and off or buying spare rims?
Buy a set of chains and don't get stuck in the first place!
Posted 1 year ago # -
If you look at the 'crap' spouted, I think you'll find it was from the thread started a year ago. People are a bit more clued up now
Posted 1 year ago # -
If you look at the 'crap' spouted, I think you'll find it was from the thread started a year ago. People are a bit more clued up now
Its STW it's got a PHD in Crap!
Posted 1 year ago # -
Who the hell revived a year old thread?
Posted 1 year ago # -
i cannot believe the amount of uninformed stupid crap that comes out of folks mouths about winter tyres
i ski most weekends and my civic 2.2 was useless in the snow last year ..in fact i was close to selling it for another scooby !!
bought Khumo i zen KW27's Winter M+S marked from black circles in Nov for £55 each, ( Summer OEM bridgestones are £90 each )
Totally transformed the car,
happy to batter up and down anything now, in fact the biggest issue seems to be ground clearance!different noise ..bridgestones quite high pitched , winters ..low pitch, quite pleasing ...
no issues with reduced fuel ..maybe 1-2mpg max , but you drive more economically in winter ...
snow socks are great for occasional users as a get out of jail card but if you live places that get decent snow and cold winters then winters are well worth it even if for the peace of mind that improved braking and steering in cold weather gives you
from an insurance pov it's not a mod as i'm using the same wheels, just a tyre change ..
i reckon the goverment should just specify all vehicles are shod with a minimum of all season M+S rated tyres, that would make a huge difference up here.
it works well in europe and from my pov scotland is getting more and more likeit for the last few winters
Posted 1 year ago # -
i cannot believe the amount of uninformed stupid crap that comes out of folks mouths about winter tyres
i ski most weekends and my civic 2.2 was useless in the snow last year ..in fact i was close to selling it for another scooby !!
bought Khumo i zen KW27's Winter M+S marked from black circles in Nov for £55 each, ( Summer OEM bridgestones are £90 each )
Totally transformed the car,
happy to batter up and down anything now, in fact the biggest issue seems to be ground clearance!different noise ..bridgestones quite high pitched , winters ..low pitch, quite pleasing ...
no issues with reduced fuel ..maybe 1-2mpg max , but you drive more economically in winter ...
snow socks are great for occasional users as a get out of jail card but if you live places that get decent snow and cold winters then winters are well worth it even if for the peace of mind that improved braking and steering in cold weather gives you
from an insurance pov it's not a mod as i'm using the same wheels, just a tyre change ..
i reckon the goverment should just specify all vehicles are shod with a minimum of all season M+S rated tyres, that would make a huge difference up here.
it works well in europe and from my pov scotland is getting more and more likeit for the last few winters
Posted 1 year ago # -
In a word CHAINS
If you keep decent treads what on Earth is the point of winter tyres? If its that bad you can either a) not travel b) if you have to then chains will get you out of everything but deep drifts
So why bother with winter tyres which could void your insurance as a modification, the cost of swapping on and off or buying spare rims?
Buy a set of chains and don't get stuck in the first place!
Yeh, I'll stick some chains on when the car is in the ditch after hitting a patch of black ice.
Winter tyres are not just for snow, they are for colder weather and ice.You obviously have not used Winter tyres if you really believe what you wrote.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Used to have winter tyres with my old car but chains save a whole lot of hassle if its really that bad
Personal preference after all
Posted 1 year ago # -
Dab
I take it you are happy with the KW27's then. I was between those and Nokian WG32 until I read +ve reports on GT Champiro's on a Canadian website and went for them instead as they were slightly cheaper.
I'll endorse everything you say although I can't comment on the mpg as I haven't been able to do a proper comparison yet but from the car computer it's not more than 1 mpg difference.
Apart from having a big hill to climb to get to work, I'll be driving up to Aberdeenshire for xmas and with at least one trip to Glenshee planned I'm very please I have M&S tyres fitted. They have transformed my car (Ford Cougar) which was appalling in the snow into something quite capable.
Posted 1 year ago # -
@Woody
yes, delighted for £55 each .... now over £95+ if you can get them !!GW2's were my favored tread along with Vredersdien snowtrack 3
but as i say price was a bit silly for them.hth
Posted 1 year ago # -
Got mine at £67.50 - a week later when the snow came they were £109.40 !
Posted 1 year ago # -
Promised update:
Got some maxsport alaska IV's (from ears motorsport on ebay) fitted and finally got to try 'em out on a coupla inches of fresh/packed snow and ice last nite.
What you'd expect, really: confidence, traction, ease of movement, no need to follow in the "tracks" created by other cars. Totally different car (honda jazz).
If you can get 'em in your size and have the cash and if ya check with your insurer about your coverage being affected or not...it's a no brainer.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Just a quicke question (sorry if this is obvious), do people replace the front and rear (mines front wheel drive)?
Posted 1 year ago # -
Different people say different things: e.g the front will stick but the rear will wash out if only the front are fitted. Drive sensibly, some say, and having them on just the front is fine (assuming it's front wheel drive...).
I went for four, fwiw.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I would unless you like seeing the rear of your car overtake the front in slippery conditions!
Posted 1 year ago # -
Makes sense
Posted 1 year ago # -
phatstanley
I just have winter tyres on the front of my Passat and I'm managing through the snow in North East Scotland without much fuss. When the car does slide (other than when I'm yanking the handbrake) it's the rear that goes but it's easy enough to catch and correct and can be avoided if I would just stop chucking the car into the corner... Sometimes it just has to be done
I have fitted Mud and Snow tyres all round on the Fiesta and it is great for romping through the snow. It's much different to drive as it's much lighter than the Passat but it has convinced me so much of the benefits of winter tyres on the rear that I'll be looking to invest in a couple more wheels and winter tyres for next year.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Quite stunning to hear that winter tyres would be considered as insurance-nulling modification. These winter tyre threads and the other ones about heating the house have been rather surprising for this Scandinavian. You are a tough lot here at STW.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I hear that, Bob!
Although you get a more predictable and safe feel with them on all four tyres (which, with kids/family in the car, feels right)...
...handbrake turns are not so exciting and dramatic anymore.
C'est la vie en neige...
Posted 1 year ago #
Topic Closed
This topic has been closed to new replies.
