[Closed] AutoExpress: - winter tyres ftw

so why don't the big tyre sellers offer them as standard?

The big tyre sellers? Like kwik fit? Well, I think VW specced the ones on my car....

Or do you mean that kwik fit should offer winters as a normal option and then only go for summers if you ask specifically (so the reverse of what currently happens)? If so, I'd say because that's not what the market place is asking for, which is not the same as the market place being correct.

*playing devils advocate btw*

well maybe its something to do with living in the SW but if you ask about winter tyres round here you get funny looks.

you not think its something to do with the "big tire shops" being like tesco - you think the woman in tesco knows what potato is best for your soup ?

train monkeys - they can fit tires - but they are still monkeys.

given the majority of people will buy the cheapest tyres possible at the last possible moment, i think you are pissing in the wind.

Didn't they say the same last year and the year before?

I bet the Kwik-Fit monkies can spell tyre though.

remould winters FTW *

* note mostly off road and slow commuting in terrible weather.

americanisms - the joy of working for and with americans !

What about other factors such as longevity and economy?

Whatever you do do not get them fitted by Kenway in Aberdeen..

What about other factors such as longevity and economy?

my tires generally perish before i wear them out....

Basically, in their winter tyre test they say the best winter tyres perform pretty similarly to summer tyres in the usual dry and wet weather conditions yet obliterate them on snow.

What was weather like? What temperature was road surface? Under 7* degrees?

What about if you lift that temperature to 20*?

I don't see the point of comparing it really, its like comparing apple with potatoes.

I wouldn't use winter tyres in summer, its not my cup of tea.

toys19...the ongoing saga of winter tyres for your vehicle.....what happened?

"What was weather like? What temperature was road surface? Under 7* degrees?

What about if you lift that temperature to 20*?

I don't see the point of comparing it really, its like comparing apple with potatoes.

I wouldn't use winter tyres in summer, its not my cup of tea. "

i LOVE that justification its just great - except that we get how many times more the number of under 7 degree mornings than we do + 20 degree mornings ?

unless you live in the tropical southwest where it seems more of a tradition to moan to the bbc news cameras about inadaquate gritting of roads than it is to prepare your car for the conditions.

Make me laugh that some people on here are more than happy to run season specific tyres on their bikes yet wouldn't consider fitting them on their car where it 'could' make the difference between getting somewhere or not getting there (or worse).

OEM tyres types and sizes on many cars are dictated by the tyre manufacturers as they offer certain tyres at hugely discounted prices.

The trend for large diameter wheels and low profile tyres is a good example of this. Great on a race track but horrible on the road as they ruin the ride of most cars. Despite this they are fitted as standard due to big discounts to the car makers (and they just happen to cost a fortune to replace once worn out).

Why would tyre manufacturers want to offer good deals on OEM Winter tyres when they can sell a discounted set of Summer tyres and then a retail set of Winter tyres as now?

if you ask about winter tyres round here you get funny looks.

I bought 4 new "summer" tyres on Saturday. The garage owner said: "The concept of all-condition compound tyres, which contain a lot more natural rubber, is fairly new in these parts, so I don't stock them. I have one winter/snow tyre that would fit your wheels, but it's horribly squirmy on tarmac due to all the extra sipes in the blocks and it's much worse at dispersing standing water so far from ideal in the normal winter conditions we get."

If only there were a type of tyre suitable for usage in every season. You could call them 'all-seasons' perhaps and leave them on the car year round.

popstar - Member

What was weather like? What temperature was road surface? Under 7* degrees?

What about if you lift that temperature to 20*?

Under such perfect conditions tyre performance is far less important than under bad ones.

So "when shall I put my winter tyres back on" thats the only relevant question at the moment.
I forecast snow in the North [Scotlandshire excluded] on Tuesday 3rd December.

well tbh - i put my winter spikes on the commuter last tuesday night after 3 hard frosts in a row - the temperature has since risen to a pretty consistently balm 7 degrees. If the jeep gets its mot on monday i suspect we wont get snow this year .... if it fails MOT - then we will probably be under 5 foot by wednesday next week.

I've been running Kleber Quadraxer's on mine for over a year now, they're more all-season than winter specific but have sipes etc. They're supposed to be crap in the wet but can't say I've noticed and in the dry they've been fine to, maybe if I took roundabouts at 60mph I might notice them breaking away sooner but that's not something I do these days. Last winter was mostly wet rather than snowy/icy so didn't really get to test them in 'normal' winter conditions but I think the advice it's better to use winter tyres all year round rather than summer ones makes sense for most of the UK.

Possibly a dumb question...

I've just taken a look at blackcircles.com & the winter tyres on there (for my car) have worse wet weather performance ratings than many of the regular tyres - I thought that the extra sipes & all that were meant to provide better wet grip from the winter ones? Or is it that the standard tests aren't done in conditions where the winter tyres can perform better?

Man, Scotlandshire and the likes no doubt need mild winter tyres. Urban Highlanders might want winter tyres for sure. Southerners ... I mean, £800 for 3 days of snow?

I've driven real winter tyres at higher temperatures, and difference winter vs summer tyre was like night and day. Granted summer tyres get a little harder when temperatures drop to 10* or lower, but I don't notice dramatic screaching or wallowy braking and handling like winter tyres do in summer.

Opinion from southerner.

trail rat- me too, winter tyres on thursday.
Disappointed with ABZ performance on the snow front..

I've just taken a look at blackcircles.com & the winter tyres on there (for my car) have worse wet weather performance ratings than many of the regular tyres - I thought that the extra sipes & all that were meant to provide better wet grip from the winter ones? Or is it that the standard tests aren't done in conditions where the winter tyres can perform better?

Snap. I'm confused too.

What do ze Chermans say about this, they're normally pretty good at testing this kind of stuff?

and ive driven real summer tires in the winter when there is ice on the road - and the difference is like being able to corner and ending up in the hedge even at slow speeds.

winter tires in summer = just slow down slightly.

molgrips must be doing some work this morning, I've set the countdown running...

its still early toys.

november 26th the snow hit in 2010 - didnt leave again till march.

last year it was start of december before it hit our house , and it was january before it was bad - 4/5ft drifts on the farm track.

popstar - Member

I mean, £800 for 3 days of snow?

AAAAARGH. They're not just for snow. They're better all the time in low temperatures. As for price, it's only an extra cost if you don't usually have tyres on your car and drive around on the rims. (oh and mine last touched snow near Chester which last time I looked is not in Scotlandshire)

Your final comment- try some winter tyres that aren't rubbish.

Nah I got bollocked for being in late so have refrained from STW..

Re longevity, most winter tyres are silica compound which makes them last really well. You will get many many winters from a set. And whilst they are slightly more squirmy, particularly when warm, they grip like hell.

Re fuel economy, Nokian WR G2 were amazing, probably 10% more than the Dunlop Sport they replaced. Maybe even slightly better than the Nokian summers I have.

Nokian always get great writeups, especially for winters, but they are really hard to find here and the no-one stocks them.

I guess you need to specify your geographical location before wielding your stick of righteousness on others.

I agree low profile summer tyres wont do good in minus degrees temperature, but suggesting to run winter tyres in summer is daft.

Just watch F1 race, a drop or raise of 5C of road surface makes big difference to perfomance of certain cars. No one recommends them running Rain tyres?

Granted general mass tyres aren't that extreme, but compound of season tyres is made to certain bracket of temperature.

I don't even bother trying to tell people how good winter rubber is anymore, some people are just not educated on the subject and too thick to understand when explained.

4 patches of rubber touch the road.. Why would you not want to increase traction and lateral grip?

popstar - Member

I agree low profile summer tyres wont do good in minus degrees temperature, but suggesting to run winter tyres in summer is daft.

Better tell Continental, they must not know much about tyres 😉

your in the south coast of france or spain then yeah winter tires are silly im sure.

I forecast snow in the North [Scotlandshire excluded] on Tuesday 3rd December.

Well there have already been people skiing in Weardale so you're a bit behind the curve on that. It always snows somewhere in country Durham on RAC Rally weekend.

My question is - what's better a M+S tyre with 4mm of tread or a summer tyre with 7...

molgrips - Member

Nah I got bollocked for being in late so have refrained from STW..

I see no real benefit in winter tyres for me. Our car does perhaps a couple of hundred miles a month. If its really icy / snowy I wont use it.
Not that it happens often in the arctic south.

oh we have snow at teh ski centres - ask scotroutes - just not on the coast.

So winter tyres grip better, last longer and give better mpg. All of this is achieved with little or no loss on warm weather performance.

Why aren't all tyres winter the then?
Market then as environmental the for the mpg benefits
Market them as economy the for their long life
Market them as performance tyres for their handling

So selling the crap the that everyone uses today.

Have I missed something?

They're better suited to dry or icy conditions, but not wet ones?

yeah huge numbers of users of summer tires ending up in ditches over summer when driving on the rivet as apparently they are squirmy.

i cant feel any squirm in my tires for the foot of suspension squirming and my wingmirror touching the floor first.

I'm confident that popstar knows better than Autoexpress.

So I've just taken off the perfectly good winter tyres that have been on for 2 years and 30k miles and fitted some summer tyres instead.

I don't like listening to professional opinions where these things are concerned.

'missing something'. you, me and most of denmark it seems. I've been back and forth there a few times this year and it was noticeable how many cars are now wearing steel wheels when i was there recently. they're still changing back and forth and running two sets of wheels. if these winter tyres 'are' better all around, why are they still swapping? convention?
mind the place does seem to be permanently wet, when it's not icy...