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Nah. I can't see the point. If it's so snowy and icy that I struggle to get about in a car, I'll not bother with the car.
Thats the difference for me, i think driving in snow is fun. I bung the Phil Spectre Xmas album on the stereo, and just getting to work is a buzz.
Thinking about it... The car might get pressed into service for commuting on days when the motorbike becomes a terribly stupid method of transport so it'd be nice I guess. I'm [pretty new to driving so I'll take any edge I can get.
Any recommendations? For a diesel Focus, 195/60 15 and not much performance.
You see last winter I had still rather new Milleniums and they were great. Cheap, quiet, grippy. Would replace with the same if they were available in Eire.
[i]summer tyres[/i]
what are they then? Can you get them anywhere, or just in specific places?
When I need to replace a tyre (or more than one) I don't go to a tyre fitter and say "can I have some summer/winter/allseason tyres", I just ask for tyres
john_drummer - Member
"When I need to replace a tyre (or more than one) I don't go to a tyre fitter and say "can I have some summer/winter/allseason tyres", I just ask for tyres"
You could draw a parallel here with the people who take their bikes into Halfords and ask them to fit 2 new tyres, and end up with Bikehut own brands, no?
[i]Thats the difference for me, i think driving in snow is fun. I bung the Phil Spectre Xmas album on the stereo, and just getting to work is a buzz. [/i]
I think it's fun too and I can handle it but on one morning I saw 4 or 5 rear end shunts from idiots who can't. That pretty much summed it up for me.
not really, no. I don't ask for [i]any old[/i] tyres, I usually ask them to replace like-for-like (after shopping around of course) - so whatever the car came with, if it's good enough for the manufacturers, it's good enough for me.
But how would I spot a summer tyre if it's already on the car (or not)? does it have big smiley sun pictures on the sidewall?. Likewise winter tyres - apart from the studded ones as shown above - snowflakes on the sidewall?
john_drummer - Member
"not really, no. I don't ask for any old tyres, I usually ask them to replace like-for-like (after shopping around of course) - so whatever the car came with, if it's good enough for the manufacturers, it's good enough for me."
So you're like one of those people that walk into Halfords and get the exact same rubbish that came on the bike then, rather than any old rubbish. Fair enough, I can see that's an important distinction 
I think it's fun too and I can handle it but on one morning I saw 4 or 5 rear end shunts from idiots who can't. That pretty much summed it up for me.
It is far too much fun to be far too stupid in the snow. Winter tyres just increase the control, speed and intensity of the fun. It is just too much fun to go too much sideways with the regularity that only snowy roads facilitate. Winter tyres or no winter tyres, roll on the snow.
snowflakes on the sidewall
Some actually do.
Likewise winter tyres - apart from the studded ones as shown above - snowflakes on the sidewall?
Snow tires have tread patterns specifically designed to dig down and bite into snow and ice, plus they are made from softer rubber compounds that retain their flexibility in cold weather, allowing the tire to better conform to the surface of the road. You will see tiny grooves in a snow tyre not present in any other type of tyre.
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[i]So you're like one of those people that walk into Halfords and get the exact same rubbish that came on the bike then, rather than any old rubbish. Fair enough, I can see that's an important distinction [/i]
no, I tend not to go to Halfords for bike stuff.
answer the question, smartarse, it's a genuine question, I'm not a tyre anorak.
How do I know if the tyres on my car are (a) summer, winter or all weather and (b) if they're just "any old rubbish".
mtb-rob - thanks for the sensible answer. I still don't know what's on mine, although I have a feeling they're not winter tyres like those - I'd go out & have a look but I can't be arsed.
OK. A little reading up on tyre tread and patterns will help you to understand how different treads work and how they affect the performance of the car under different conditions. However if you can't be f*cked then go to http://www.mytyres.co.uk/Summer_Tyres.html scroll down and type in your reg. # and it will (a)tell you what size of tyre your car has and (b)suggest a summer option(yes you guessed it, just click the sun) a winter option(snowflake?you got it) and an all season tyre for your vehicle along with pricing.
rob, any idea what the little grooves are for? I can't decide what they do. I'm guessing that the idea is that the 'knobbles' can move more and spread when they're on snow....
rob, any idea what the little grooves are for? I can't decide what they do. I'm guessing that the idea is that the 'knobbles' can move more and spread when they're on snow....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siping_(rubber)
oh. well I never knew there was so much choice.
If I lived in Sweden, or Scotland, or Austria, or maybe even Canada, I think I would. but TBH crawling through rush-hour Leeds/Bradford traffic probably doesn't require them
[i]a shitty little car with winter tyres is going to go farther than a big 4x4 with summer tyres[/i]
So true 🙂
I drive a double rear wheel chassis cab transit, in last years snow I drove it up behind Withdean Stadium in Brighton, its a pretty steep hill with hairpins. Got up 2/3rds and then had to wait whilst a Porsche Cayenne reversed out of a drive (next door to Peter Andre's/Katie Price's). It then trundled off ahead of me, took me three attempts to get up the hill to their drive and then I caught up with the Cayenne, it was going walking pace and all the tyres were trying to go in their own direction like it was on marbles. I was patient for about a hundred yards then overtook on a wide section 🙂
Got these fitted to my own van...only gets stuck on polished ice now 🙂 (Toyo HO9, not Hog)
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I had some snow chains left over from doing a ski season in France, so I was feeling all smug this year. That was right up until I broke one 🙁
I used the chains to rescue a friends wife I had loads of traction and it would have been no problem except I was worried I was going to be hit by someone else and also all the other cars were blocking the way.
Up until this year I would have agreed that it was not really worth getting winter tyres. But the big snow this year meant I could not even get out of my road without chains.
I think a lot of the problem these days is all cars seem to come with infeasibly wide tyres. If you fitted 155's to a BMW I am sure it would not have as much of a problem as it does with the just for show 245's
yurp i already have spare wheels though - scrap yard specials ....beauty of driving a shit vehicle.
its pretty good in the snow already due to high ground clearance and cookie cutter wheels - and a 1900 derv lump over the drive wheels !
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thats the start of my drive on tuesday (its october FFS)! its a mile and half to the village(which is likely where ill leave the motor when the snow comes in good) and 5 miles to the main road.
seemingly according to my (only) neighbour the first part is no bother as you can take run up - but there is a hair pin bend to another climb at the top that you cant carry speed round - even in the dry.....
"i'm surprised so few think winter tyres would make a difference"
No I have used them on hire cars on the continent and the difference is amazing. But I live in the mild mild west and snowy weather is really unusual.
If you had a FWD car and 2 winter and 2 summer tyres (winter tyres brand new), would you fit the winter ones onto the front or rear?
sense says front wheels - to get drive .....
no good with rear end grip if you cant move !
but by the same token you need to be aware that the rear end will be prone to stepping out and you will need to drive with caution. dont do as many aberdonians do on the first hint of snow and try and drive at the same speed/braking distances as they do in the dry !
My wife's car runs winters all year around it is a people carrier with a lot of weight at the front and benefits in the wet from these, good on grass too.
I have a pair of winters to put on the front of my car but I am very tempted to try the new [url= http://www.klebertyres.co.uk/KleberUK/front/affich.jsp?&lang=EN&codeRubrique=30032005121111 ]Kleber Quadraxer[/url]tyres that are commonly available in independent tyre dealers in the UK. They are all season with a winter tested rating (snowflake M&S).
We live in an east Cumbrian fellside village so tyres are critical for a few months of the year IMO.
Don't be tempted to buy part used winter tyres off ebay. Winter tyres lose there benefit at about 4mm of tread. The German's then take them off their cars and sell them to us at a good price!
I'm thinking Uniroyal Plus 66 should do me nicely.
HAHA. NO!
someone last year commented on how thin my winter biking gloves and shoes were.
winter gloves? they are just gloves!
Don't be tempted to buy part used winter tyres off ebay. Winter tyres lose there benefit at about 4mm of tread. The German's then take them off their cars and sell them to us at a good price!
Ah, makes sense. I've seen a few of those and thought why 'German-sourced' etc.
No chance. Slightest hint of snow and I'll be ringing into work, why spend money to lose that excuse. Likewise my work laptop is useless in the snow, so I'll just have to go and build a snowman.
trail_rat - all that garden and no pump track? 🙁
A somewhat ironic excuse considering your login name Yeti?
phil-W
The garden is a shared garden between the two houses here , i only have a small piece of personal garden
see that wood at the top of the hill there - that extends to a huge expanse of working forest which must be about 30 miles by 40 miles if not more ! .
thus i dont really need my own pump track 😉
A somewhat ironic excuse considering your login name Yeti?
Note the 'Southern' prefix; there is no sense of irony in my excuse whatsoever.
Hairychested - Member
If you had a FWD car and 2 winter and 2 summer tyres (winter tyres brand new), would you fit the winter ones onto the front or rear?
POSTED 1 HOUR AGO # REPORT-POST
trail_rat - Member
sense says front wheels - to get drive .....no good with rear end grip if you cant move !
but by the same token you need to be aware that the rear end will be prone to stepping out and you will need to drive with caution
Good advice.
I have run winter tyres on just the front of my fwd car. If you are not going to have all 4 (which would obviously be the ideal), then they've got to be on the drive wheels, otherwise they will be no use - you'll never get moving! As trail_rat says, you just need to be aware that you need to corner with caution since the back end doesn't have quite as much grip (although summer tyres are better [i]sideways[/i] in snow than they are driving/braking since they tend to have plenty of forward orientated grooves).