For a couple of days a year in the south I don’t think they are really worth it. Maybe if I lived in scotchland.

Besides, that would mean on snowy days I’d feel like I had to go to work….

For a couple of days a year in the south I don’t think they are really worth it. Maybe if I lived in scotchland.

Besides, that would mean on snowy days I’d feel like I had to go to work….

That’s because you have not yet cottoned to the fact that winter tyres are for sub 7deg temperature and nothing specifically to do with snow.

If my car temperature reading is to be believed I recon I used to commute in sub 7 Deg for about 5 months a year, even down souf. And the best bit is that winter tyres wear more slowly at sub 7 deg than summer ones do so its actually saving money rather than costing extra.

For a couple of days a year in the south I don’t think they are really worth it. Maybe if I lived in scotchland.

Not sure that this has anything to do with winter tyres, probably more a question of differentiation and the south being better than other parts of the country due to having a more Mediterranean climate. 😉

Never had any problems with just 2 on the front of my fwd car. You just have to bear in mind that the rear has less grip.

I take it you are also happy to drive with bald tyres on the back in the summer? Not worth the risk when you are dealing with vastly reduced grip. Yes, it will keep you going forward, the problem is braking and cornering.

There was also much discussion last winter re insurance implications. Mixing summer and winter tyres would be a very easy get out for an insurance company.

Used winter tyres for years, very worthwhile in cold & wet, not just snow.
I run Toyo Snowprox on the car & Imported M/S tyres from the states on my truck.
Easier if you can fit them to a set of cheap wheels that you can swap over

For a couple of days a year in the south I don’t think they are really worth it. Maybe if I lived in scotchland.

I agree, round London most roads seem to be reasonably well gritted and clear. I’ve never felt the need for winter tyres yet but tried some Autosocks last year and was impressed with them. They’re a damn sight cheaper than a set of tyres as well.

For a couple of days a year in the south I don’t think they are really worth it. Maybe if I lived in scotchland.

Besides, that would mean on snowy days I’d feel like I had to go to work….

Have to say I disagree with this, my old dear drives a BMW and being rear wheel drive she found it pretty much undriveable in snow and ice. She bought some all season tyres (Bridgestone A001) last year and found the difference to be night and day. They also grip much better in the wet and cold, of which we have plenty in the south.

one thing to remember when buying winter tyres is first check your car handbook or with your dealer on what size you should be fitting.

If you have 18″, wide low profile tyres then your car will probably require a smaller wheel diameter, higher profile and slightly narrower winter tyre. You are also allowed to go one one grade down in speed rating as obviously you shouldnt be going as fast in winter conditions (if you stick to the limits you won’t get anywhere near the speed rating of most tyres anyway).

This should make winter tyres a bit cheaper and more comfortable and also makes them work better. You want a nice big side wall for plenty of flex and also there is a high risk of hitting a rock or kerb with snow around as it’s hidden so the high profile tyre is more robust.

You need to fit the correct size winter tyres that the manufacturer recommends or your insurance could be invalid. Same goes for summer tyres really.

Although if you can afford a car with 18″, fat, low profile tyres you can’t use the money thing as an excuse anyway as you must be loaded to be able to afford to replace the summer tyres 😉

I stick with a car that uses 15″ tyres at the moment as I know I can afford very good tyres in that size and this year I bought an estate car of the same type as I already had good winter tyres.

Any recommendation for cheaper ones than the Nokian, or decent review site, I know I know but I’m jobless and could do with some new tyres. All the part worn ones on ebay are seemingly 5mm, so are only just enough to be useful, according to posts above.
These do sound the way to go, as living in the country getting home under my own power is the only option..

Does anyone here use winter tyres all year round?

And the best bit is that winter tyres wear more slowly at sub 7 deg than summer ones do

Can’t get my head round that

Assuming that the winter tyres are of a softer compound to grip in lower temps why should the harder tyre wear quicker?

Interested.

I think most missed my point.

99.9% of the time in the westcountry there is no need for winter tyres. I know they are better in lower temperatures but not essential.

for the 0.1% of the time they are essential, i’ll stay at home, log in remotely and walk to the shops.

besides, me having winter tyres won’t stop someone else sliding into me will it…

I’ve just got a set of Dunlop winters for the missus’ car (Citroen C1) which will go on a set of steel wheels I got off Gumtree and I’m about to order some Avon Ice Touring STs for mine (Skoda Octavia) to go on some 16″ alloys I got off fleabay which will replace the 18″ wheels for a few months. As someone’s said, watch the speed and load ratings, though in some cases, as with my 18s, the ratings are higher than they actually need to be due to the tyres only being available in certain ratings (225/40 R18s are only available in an 88 or a 92 load rating so Skoda have to put the 92s on, though Octys are OK on a 91 – which is what the 16″ spare is – so I’m getting 91s). I’m not sure if that makes any sense, it’s definitely a bit of a minefield and it’s worth having a look on the internet forums specific to your car where there’s a lot of good helpful info to be had (Briskoda in my case). In both cases the cost of buying the wheels and winter tyres is negligible and is a no brainer now for me, especially after the last two winters, both involving digging and pushing cars out of the snow (NE England).

Re: summer tyres wearing in winter.

I am not sure if this is true either as the rubber is harder so you would expect them to be just useless and not wear out.

But one mechanism I can see for them to wear faster is the harder rubber is more likely to chip and having wheel spin and more sliding around could result in more wear.

So it could happen.

Running 2 sets of tyres does not cost me any more to do. I am only using one set of tyres at a time and any bump will result in a £150 excess + increased premium for 3 years (despite protected ncb) and a lot of hassle so for that reason it is winters for me in winter for now on.

Anyone who has never tried winter tyres cannot possibly comment on them. As soon as you try them the difference is night and day. Tyres are the most important thing on your car. If you enjoy driving you will love winter tyres in winter. If you don’t love driving then you are probably going to benefit even more as they will stop you getting in trouble.

besides, me having winter tyres won’t stop someone else sliding into me will it…

Yeah, that’s the thing. I ran winter tyres on my Mk2 GTi last winter and they were absolutely brilliant – Continental Winter Contacts, totally recommended – they grip in places where you really don’t expect them to when it’s snowy, but they’re also excellent on cold roads thanks to using a compound which stays soft even at low temperatures.

Brilliant for getting around and really confidence inspiring. The big ‘but’ is that other drivers mostly don’t use them, so you’ll still get caught up in massive jams when someone spins on the M6. You may be able to stop in summer-type braking distances on snow, but the car behind you probably won’t be able to. You may be able to corner on a snowy back road, but the twit in the 4×4 running summer tyres can still slide across the road and straight into you.

I know that’s all kind of obvious, but unless everyone is using winter tyres, as in certain European countries, they can only achieve so much. They’ll be going back on this winter though.

There was also much discussion last winter re insurance implications. Mixing summer and winter tyres would be a very easy get out for an insurance company.

You should probably disclose you are fitting winter tyres to your insurance provider … even if its a full set. Last year Tesco tried to charge me an additional £90 as they deemed them to be non standard items. As promised cancelled the policy at its end and went to First Direct.

This year have gone to a smaller diameter wheel (cheaper tyres), gave them a call and they have reduced their policy (which was cheaper than Tesco’s already) by £27. Not sure if due to the tyres, or less desirable alloys ?

While it sounds unnecessary, Id rather be told before hand than afterwards when they are peeling an HSE Rangerover with summer tyres off my back bumper that my cover may be affected.

Woody – Member

The winters allowed the car to be usable in the snow and the damp.
Oh good. My lot are finally getting them for all RRV’s and also a few X1’s according to rumour
Its the same service 😆

We are getting X1’s as there were problems getting the Octavia Scout apparently

GLad to see all the positive for the Nokian WR G2s, that’s what we picked up off our mate in Scotland – currently in the garage ready to be fitted late october ish.

mightymarmite – Member

You should probably disclose you are fitting winter tyres to your insurance provider … even if its a full set. Last year Tesco tried to charge me an additional £90 as they deemed them to be non standard items.

Admiral said the same- snow tyres were a “performance modification” on my 1.8 diesel estate and would have netted a £60 premium. Asked about socks and they said it might- might! invalidate my cover, but couldn’t say for sure. Presumably I was supposed to go and have a crash to find out.

I suppose the logic is that you’ll go and drive in worse conditions. But that sounds like raw stupidity really.

On the insurance issue – you stick to the manufacturer recommended winter size they do not have a leg to stand on.

Playing devils advocate though you could use the argument that they use for drivers who have claims that are not their fault. If you have winter tyres you are more likely to be out on the road and this might get hit by someone else. Just like they claim they can put up the premiums on ‘unlucky’ people who have been hit by someone else 🙄

Also something like the WRG2 is perfect for the UK as it is geared more towards slush and light snow than full on siberian levels of snow so you could argue that it is all season tyre that just happens to be snow flake rated. It’s got the best handling out of any winter tyre and is still up in the ratings in the snow performance – okay something like a michelin alpin is ultimately better in deep snow but all winter tyres are 10x better than any summer tyre.

STW has me grovelling in the dark with a torch under my car to find out what’s on the spare wheel. :-/

It’s a Continental Contact M+S TS750. I had a set on in the 90s and I learnt that not all snow tyres are equal – they were disappointing. The Michelin Alpins have always got me up to the resort without chaining (so far) but I failed a couple of times on the Contis. Same car for nearly 17 years now BTW.

The Octavia used Conti ts830. The fabia Conti ts810. Focus Mich alpins

I am trying this year a set of Nokian eNTyres. They are all season tyre’s not a full winter. I want something to fit and forget about rather than swapping over.

Winter tyres are not just about snow:

1) they get better grip on any road below 10 degrees C
2) they wear much better in the winter than summer tyres, which break up more easily in winter because the rubber’s too brittle

So running two sets of tyres will be safer all year, it will save you money in the long run (since you’ll get more miles altogether) and you’ll also be able to drive in the snow.

It is true of course that you can only achieve so much in the snow, but in my case that’s getting up the hill out of our street which wasn’t ploughed, and was blocked for about ten days whilst the ploughed and salted roads were fine in a day.

Oh, Nokian WR G2s here too – they were so good that I got Nokian V summer tyres too which are also fab.

Anyone who has never tried winter tyres cannot possibly comment on them. As soon as you try them the difference is night and day

Yes – imagine turning up at a typical mountain mayhem with some Furious Freds compared to Trailrakers…

I thought the insurance rubbish was cleared up last year when the media got hold of it?

We went for some ‘all season’ rubbish as some put it, a couple of months ago. Obviously better to have a spare set of wheels with winter tyres, but we just don’t have the space for them.

We got Kleber Quadraxer all season tyres, two months fitted and the only complaint notable change is the steering feels a little less direct and rubbery, but on the plus side its much less jiggly on poor roads. The extra sipes and grooves are good at picking up gravel from where we park the car, so we get the tick tick tickticktiktiktitittttttping! every day 🙂 They may not be as good as dedicated winter tyres, but comparing them to the winter/mud tyres I run on my van all year round, they certainly have the right combination of deep grooves and sipes. Apparently they are made by Michelin.

P20 – whereabouts are ou?

I got 4 continental winter tyres last winter, fantastic performance, left them on all year as I do very few miles.They’re still fine, apart from the one that I had to drive on flat for 2 miles. From a chap near Bolton, sells on ebay, huge warehouse with new and part worn.

Problem with buying part work winters is that they are normally ones from the continent that are no longer suitable for snow as they are below 5mm. Still absolutely fine for dry and wet roads in winter but have reduced snow and slush clearance. If you shop around it won’t cost you much more for some nice new ones with 8-9mm.

I am not against part worn tyres in general though. Would rather some 3-5mm part worns of a decent brand and model than some 7mm Linglong love you long time jobbies.

To recap.

I did, in the end buy a full set of winter tyres for my motor. It was about a month ago now. Dunlop Wintersports, very nice they are too. Its not quite cold enough up here for them yet but Im glad I got them. I will put them on when the first snow arrives.

They have gone up in price by £30 a corner in 4 weeks!

Oops didn’t realise this was an old thread.

Good job OP.

Got these for the Mondeo Estate at 70 quid each not bad. They are incredible in snow.

http://www.tyrewizard.co.uk/winter-tyres-c24/16-c27/lassa-snoway-era-20555-r16-94h-winter-tyre-p3395

Oops sold out! You better get in there quick and see whats left.