Why the 32mpg trailrat? Is that a the or vehicle thing?
I put winter tyres in for the first time last year (fwd golf diesel) and in my normal commute across the top of the Mendips and down the cheddar gorge, they made a huge differance in the snow, hard frosts and wet. I was driving past stuck vehicles without any bother at all.
However, the biggest jam I found was in Bath, due to all the. Numpties who couldn't get through 1/2 inch of snow. Sadly winter tyres don't give you an ability to drive over the cars in front monster truck style!
[i]to not drop the clutch when braking[/i]
who drops the clutch when braking?
Its the vehicle.
[i]It's also compulsory over here in Germany to have winter tyres. [/i]
They are only mandatory if it's 'wintery'..., and how you define 'wintery' I've no idea but I guess it could be anytime of year - 40 euro fine.
(4) - Germany introduced regulations in 2010 requiring all passenger cars and motorbikes including vehicles from foreign countries to be fitted with winter tyres or all season tyres on all axles when conditions are wintry. Winter tyres (or 'all season' tyres) should bear the mark M+S* or the snowflake symbol on the side wall.
Winter tyres are far better in snow, in the same way that trailrakers are far better in mud than small block 8s. Tools for jobs.
You may be able to get by with a shovel and carpet, but why faff around when you could just be driving away?
Yes major roads get blocked with people on summer tyres, but the nice thing about winters is that you can detour on the minor roads.
And 4WD is not a substitute for the right rubber. It helps you get moving but does not help braking or cornering.
Those arguing against winter tyres have never used them, I'm sure.
If you're riding a decent bike you've summer and winter tyres on that so why not same for the car.
High Rollers all year round here and i'd say my bikes are decent.
I've no experience of winter tyres but i'm guessing you need to spend decent money for a decent tyre? I've a spare set of alloys in the shed that i'd convert if i could do it cheaply.
Euro, if you already have spare wheels you are laughing. The outlay is the same as normal tyres (£90 each for my Passat) and once they are fitted to your spares you don't have to pay for them to be fitted.
Doesn't cost a penny in the long run because your summers last much longer of course, so it evens out.
Tip: don't put massive weight in the boot of RWD car. Yes it will help to get car moving but it will be nasty in the corners and makes correcting slides much more difficult.
Been driving 20 years in Scandinavian winters and would choose FWD/RWD with winter tyres over 4WD with summer tyres always for the winter season. 4wd is nice to drive but they are really a minority here, even compared to number of Beamers and Mercs on the road.
Dads A Omega was quite fun to drive on ice, getting fairly impressive slides even on the modest speeds.
OK. The OH and I are in agreement, and are currently looking for a set of steelies to have the aforementioned winter tyres fitted to.
Just one question,
Do you think this might be a tad too much?
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A danish friend had winter tyres on her z4 when I was last over, it still steps out on roundabouts but was a lot better, they had 5x the snow the UK had and the UK was in shutdown that week 🙂
It's compulsory to have them from November to march in austria
If you have a crash and kill someone without winter tyres at that time you will be tried for murder.
Back in June I bought an overly powerful german RWD car. One of the first things i did was to buy
4 secondhand alloy's from eBay - £200
4 part worn (5-6mm tread) Dunlop winter runflats £100 (I got a mega bargain but it was June)
Fitted at a local tyre place £40
So for £340 (less than the retail cost of one of my rear summer tyres) I'm in a much safer place than I would have been. I'll also add weight to the boot.
I estimate I'll get two winters from the part worns, when they need replacing I'll buy another set in the summer months.
I fitted them this weekend.
I've got a sensible ford, rather than a daft beemer.
Winter tyres on my spare steel wheels went on this weekend in prperation for the first cold snap.
Thing is with British weather is its usually just cold and wet in the winter, with occasional snow and ice, and that's where the tyres perform bloody brilliantly.
My take...
A 2wd car with (newish) Winter/Snow(M+S) tyres is as good as a 4wd with normal tyres.
Having driven my brothers '09 range rover (on normal road tyres, but not rubber bands) I have to disagree with this somewhat - that said, the RR is a very clever car and can handle a lot more than you think if you switch on the correct function.
I drive an XC90 with winter tyres fitted all the time.
Finally put the winter tyres on today - come on snow!
I don't drive hard enough on the road to notice the difference in the dry. The snow tyres are marginally noisier but there is not a lot in it.
The rear Summer tyres were down 3mm so due to get replaced soon - swapping back to winters will give me some time before having to shell out.
Sharkbait- all the gadgets in the world still wont stop nearly 2 tonnes in a hurry - infact they may even extend braking distances when they sense slipping.
320d owner here.
Big fan of winter tyres.
When it's warm the winters are a bit more vague than the summers (stuck 'em on early this year as the summers were worn out), but once the temperature drops below about 7°C the winters are much better from cold - quieter and grippier (living in Sheffield, there's some truly shocking tarmac - with the summers on and the car cold, there's tarmac at the top of the hill that will have the traction control going off every time I drive over it. Winter's - no problem). To be honest I don't think of them as "snow" tyres as such, just cold weather.
I still won't get anywhere in deep snow (a front bumper that's well less than 6" off the deck won't help!) but in slush or packed down snow the car can be driven, and more importantly stopped in a fairly normal fashion. When it does go, it's very well balanced and the slide can be held or recovered as appropriate. Ice is still scary, but it is possible for the car to pull up in a straight line in a controlled fashion. Last year it got driven around the Peaks in the snow quite a lot and we also ended up caught on Kintyre for 3 days when that got cut off from the mainland, and the car was our lifeline to (heating)fuel and food.
If you drive like a bellend, you'll still have problems, but drive sensibly and anticipate correctly and it's perfectly possible to make normal progress in most conditions. I'd be more worried about getting hit by other people, than me hitting them.
Mine are on their 3rd winter now and barely look used, although my mileage has dropped mahoosively since moving up north. Money well spent in my book.
mightymule -
Theres a lot of useful information posted in this thread.
Winter tyres are a must I say on any car in the winter months when temp is 7'c of below.
I running goodyear ultragrip 8 this season on the E60, previously used Michelin Alpins and Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D's. I normally run 18's but switch to 16's for the winter rubber.
I was not impressed with the performance of the Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3Ds last year compared to the Alpins, which has resulted in me changing them this season, so we will see how the Ultragrip's fair.
I also run Alpins on the Golf GTI which perform really good too.
To date - touch wood... i have never got stuck in the E60 in extreme snow, but lets not forget its not the odd one or 2 major days of snow we fit these tyres, it is for the duration of the winter when the temps are cooler and summer compound hardens.
I have driven in Sweden and Norway enough times to highlight the benefits which is the core reason for me running the rubber here in the UK.
Below is a video of us driving in Sweden heading upto Hagfors for a WRC rally stage.
If it was upto me it should be law in the uk too, however it will never happen at the moment.
From one of today's papers 😉
The first overturned car of the snow season...
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I run winter tyres and think they're great.
On summer rubber too....
sharkbait -Having driven my brothers '09 range rover (on normal road tyres, but not rubber bands) I have to disagree with this somewhat - that said, the RR is a very clever car and can handle a lot more than you think if you switch on the correct function.
I drive an XC90 with winter tyres fitted all the time.
I disagree..To a certain point.... maybe the traction control can get the car moving in snow to a certain level - but try stopping 2 tons it at 70mph on cold surface tarmac compared to winter rubber. its not all about getting going.. its traction and lateral grip
As the driver of that BMW found out!
I have decent re alloys with jinyu winter tyres for the winter months. The alloys replaced the rubbish bmw mv1 alloys which had both cracked and been weld repaired! . The dezent re alloys are very strong winter alloys. . Which look so much better than the steel and are same price! The winter tyres are very good and not expensive. . £750 for tyre and wheel package. Apparently Most eu countries it is law to have winter tyres, why not gb?
Got some Maxxis Presta Snow on the front, Great Tyres.
Passed through this chaos over Cwm Prysor ( Between Bala and Trawsfynnydd ) this morning with no problems.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-25000562
I think winter tyres are a great idea but I also think that the skid pan day I did with my daughter also taught me more about sensible car control, which with being combined with winter tyres would give me a better chance of escaping an incident.
beicmynydd - MemberGot some Maxxis Presta Snow on the front, Great Tyres.
On the front only ?? not a good idea 😯
On the front only ?? not a good idea
I take your point rickt
I know if you don't have 4 and there is a good chance of a spin.
But at least I can go to and from work without having to walk up hill for the last mile !
I had a blowout on a rear on my 3 series touring and am looking to either go for winter or all season tyres.
Anyone used the all seasons in bad weather yet?
No experience of all season tyres but you don't have to spend a fortune on Winter tyres - I'm running a set of Rockstone Eco Snow run flats on an E61 - they were apparently designed for the E60/61.
I've not tried any big brand Winters (run Goodyear Eagles in the Summer) but have been very happy with the Eco Snows - you can pick a set up for under £400 if you shop around.
neninja - how do you find the wet performance of them ? (That's what normally lets these Far East rubber rings down). You running it as a 225/50/17?
Yes, 225/50/17 run flats
They've been ok in the wet. You can feel a little movement but nothing worrying. Was out on damp greasy roads yesterday evening in sub zero temps which would normally be the worst surface (apart from ice) and they did drift slightly but very predictably and the traction control light didn't come on once.
http://www.tyretest.com/wintercar_tyres/rockstone/ecosnow_run_flat/index.html
Update on the Rockstone Eco Snow - avoid them.
I've changed my mind. They are fine in the dry and when it's properly wet but have become sphincter twitchingly scary on the damp greasy roads we have at the moment. At motorway speeds (70ish) on the A66 dual carriageway near Brough you could feel the whole car drifting sideways on sweeping corners. At lower speeds I've been totally sideways at low speeds on roundabouts with traction and stability control both on! They are gripping less well at around freezing temps than the Goodyear Eagle Summer tyres I had on before. Tyre pressures are all correct.
They are coming off and going on Ebay - lesson learnt. I always say buy cheap and buy twice but on this occasion made that mistake (at least I only paid £200 for them - I now know why the person I bought them from had hardly used them).
Got a set of Nokian WR A3 run flats on the way from [url=
Tyres[/url] - £125 per tyre delivered which is a great price. They can supply Winter tyres from most of the big brands at much cheaper prices than I've seen anywhere else.
Yeah - your findings are very common with tyres from that sector of the market.
There is no way a lot of these tyres should be legal.
