Firstly, does anyone know where I can find the starting tread depth for specific tyres? Its usually 8mm for summer, but I believe it can be more for winter?

I’m looking at a few options- I have spare wheels already. New is looking at £380+ (Hankooks, 205/55/16 91 h) and I can save £100-£150 by picking up some 6/7mm off Ebay.

Any advice?

Ask yourself why people are selling them when they get down to 6mm.

They usually have 11-12mm when new. The winter grip is effective down to 4mm so you have 8mm of proper use from a new tyre. Second hand has 2-3mm of use.

3 years of use from new
1 year from second hand

P.S. I paid about £70 each for that size of Hankook at my local garage so ring around.

Grip on winter tyres is drastically reduced when the sipes wear down, do a google on this, don’t buy 2nd hand winter tyres as it’s an utterly pointless exercise.

In some european countries the tyres lose their winter classification when the tread wears to a certain level. I have a pair that are worn to a point where they have plenty of legal tread left but the little sipes that help on ice and the crossways tread for snow/mud have worn away. I moved them to the front and got a new pair for the rear driven wheels and the difference was noticeable immediately. (on mud, anyway)

Anyone recommend somewhere for Vredesteins? Don’t seem to be the easiest tyre to get (especially fitted) at a good price.

Check out camskill for cheap winter tyres just now, think fitting is extra though.

http://www.camskill.co.uk/m96b0s629p0/Winter_-_Snow_-_Cold_Weather_-_Car_MPV_Tyres_-_16_inch_R16_inch_-_205_55_16_205_55R16

Also worth a look is mytyres

http://www.mytyres.co.uk/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?suchen=Ordern&cart_id=53338224.110.5273&ranzahl=4&Breite=205&Quer=55&Felge=16&Speed=H&kategorie=6&Transport=P&F_F=1&dsco=110&sowigan=Wi&sort_by=preis&Ang_pro_Seite=20&weiter=20

Camskill is expensive. We got 4 x 185 x 80 R15s Avon Ice Touring for £46 each off Mytyres.

Plenty of the grip comes from the tread shape and material choice so it’s not the end of the world, but unless they’re cheap cheap you would probably get better benefit from buying new.

That said, my other half bought Avon Ice Touring about 15K miles ago early last year. Still got the sipes and barely any tread use at all, so it’s more a case of looking out for wear rather than 2nd hand or not.

We just paid £70 for a fitted pair of 175/65/14’s here 8) –

I got two seasons out of 4x winter contacts from eBay. 4-5mm tread. There’s more to winter tyres than just sipes, (although they hadnt worn off mine) compound is a big factor too. Work superbly, ever if it’s just cold/wet. If you’re visiting the alps often maybe new tyres would be better, but I still noticed a significant improvement over summer tyres even with used winter tyres…

Kumho kw-23 are good and reasonable price. Grip very well in snow and wet. They were 82 fitted 205/55/16.

Where’d you get those Matt?

I just got 4 Hankook Optimo 4s for my Clio, 185/55-15 . Havnt really seen any adverse weather yet, but have high hopes for this winter as have a 25 mile commute on a twisty country road. They are ment to be 4 season so ok for use all year round, only issue was he cst £80 each fitted.

don’t buy second hand

Bollocks. Don’t buy worn out, fair enough. I dropped on a set of second hand Goodyear ultra grips with oodles of tread being sold because the chap no longer had a car that they fitted, 4 for £50. That’ll do!

Aye- lots of used winter tyres are worn out, but not all. Sometimes people replace cars and get left with the wheels/tyres, frinstance. So don’t rule it out but do buy with caution.

Fair enough then, i guess if folk are happy enough to trust their life and perhaps their family’s lives to buying 2nd hand car tyres to save a few £ then go right ahead, i’m sure they’ll be fine as no driver ever curbs a tyre sidewall or hits a pothole at speed in the road do they?, nah….that wouldn’t damage a tyre surely?, it’d be noticeable on the tyre’s structure wouldn’t it?.

If your happy enough then it’s got **** all to do wi me, just offering my advice thats all.

When you buy a second hand car you are buying second hand tyres. How many people are so worried then? I’ve just re fitted winter tyres, this will their third winter and they have 4 mm tread I’ll have to see how they perform. I do intend to wear them out next year though then replace.

Fair enough then, i guess if folk are happy enough to trust their life and perhaps their family’s lives to buying 2nd hand car tyres to save a few £ then go right ahead,

Thats a bit ott. I drive company vans, and when I get a puncture they just swap the wheel for one off the repaired pile. So god knows how many times its been curbed.

As above, second hand cars. You don’t change the tyres if they have plenty of life in them. The only time I’d done a second take is when I bought a part worn off an ebay breaker and the tread had a flat spot where the van it was on had crashed. It was a almost new tyre with 9mm of tread…

You also need to check the age of a tyre as well as it’s (visible) condition, particularly with winter tyres.

Having said that, I’m happier buying second-hand tyres rather than second hand tyres already fitted to wheels – it means I’ve got to get them fitted, and a local tyre fitter will be only too happy to point out that your ebay bargains are potential deathtraps (\Faulds-Wood).

They must have the UK dot? on the sidewalls plus winter tyres unlike summer tyres need alot of meat on them.

Buy new.

Vredstein tyres are amazing IMO. I had 4 sportrac 3s on a Legacy and it was stunning!

Where’d you get those Matt?

Wee garage in the village (Killin) as he had a few left from last year, so when we needed new tyres at the end of August, we got winters (had ‘all seasons’ on that car before), i got him to fit them.

Most of this is crap, 2nd hand tyres are shipped in lorries to the UK as the laws over there are different due to having autobahns. If you puncture a tyre, even as you leave the forecourt in Germany you have to replace both sides for new.

Hence they have a massive surplus of near new tyres. Couple that with the requirement to run winter tyres on your vehicle then there are a lot of good ones survive.

And fixing a tyre (nail hole) does nothing to weaken a tyre at all.

I got 4 x Conti Winter Contacts with 7mm on for 120 fitted and new they are £150 each for 225/55/17’s.

I wouldnt pay new prices so they are better than the summer tyres even if slightly worn

Most of this is crap, 2nd hand tyres are shipped in lorries to the UK as the laws over there are different due to having autobahns. If you puncture a tyre, even as you leave the forecourt in Germany you have to replace both sides for new.

Hence they have a massive surplus of near new tyres. Couple that with the requirement to run winter tyres on your vehicle then there are a lot of good ones survive.

Where did you hear / read this idea?

Are German car tyres DOT approved for UK use? Will your insurer want to know?

I’ve lived in Eastern Europe and know the massive difference winter tyres can make in ice and snow. (I crashed a Subaru turbo on summer tyres on a motorway in Slovakia when they had an unexpected snow fall).

Anyway, I am not sure there is enough ice and snow here, but last year I tried 2 used winter tyres (had 5mm tread). They lasted about 15,000 miles and cost me £55 fitted!

I now have two used all season tyres, saving around £300 in the process.

I guess you have to be sure of who you buy from….

Are German car tyres DOT approved for UK use? Will your insurer want to know?

German tyre standards are just the same as UK…

There is no dedicated marking for either the UK or Germany.

somafunk – Member

Fair enough then, i guess if folk are happy enough to trust their life and perhaps their family’s lives to buying 2nd hand car tyres to save a few £ then go right ahead

I went even further and bought an entire car that someone else had driven. Terrifying prospect.