Winter tyres

[paulc]

Are these worth getting or a waste of money anybody tryed them

[mattr]

Originally Posted by paulc

Are these worth getting or a waste of money anybody tryed them

they are brilliant. I've been using them for 6 years now, and we have to drive around on snow and ice for 4 or 5 months a year.
they are also better once the ambient air temp dips below about 5 degrees as they are a different compound.
set of steelies or cheap alloys and some second hand tyres from Germany and you'll be set.
(iirc German winter tyres get binned at 8mm of tread, so still have 2 or 3 winters left in them.)

[K-Brewer]

As long as ur tyres have decent tread just drive to the conditions (slower) an u'll b fine, waste of money if u ask me

[hit5005]

Good Quality snow tyres are the dogs Bollocks I'm in South Wales were we had loads of snow iv not Failed to go Anyway

[mark christopher]

Originally Posted by Zippy Wizz Kidd

As long as ur tyres have decent tread just drive to the conditions (slower) an u'll b fine, waste of money if u ask me

The above is quiet frankly rubbish, they make a big difference, normally tyres loose all their pliability at 0 degress and snow/winter tyres dont hence far more grip

we use this firm a fair bit as most customers buy the tyres on steel wheels , making it easier to swap over
http://www.mytyres.co.uk/Tyres.html

[Jez]

well worth it imo.both our cars have them on front.mine cost £49 for both,not cheapies,hankook.if i couldnt get to work for 1 day cos of snow i would lose more than that in pay.no brainer.

[Karting]

They are the dogs bollocks, love the snow in mine.

If you can afford it then 100% do it.

[K-Brewer]

Originally Posted by mark christopher

The above is quiet frankly rubbish, they make a big difference, normally tyres loose all their pliability at 0 degress and snow/winter tyres dont hence far more grip

we use this firm a fair bit as most customers buy the tyres on steel wheels , making it easier to swap over
http://www.mytyres.co.uk/Tyres.html

It's not rubbish as it happens as I used to work in a company that made them an I also used to fit them so I know what I'm talking about an quite frankly it isn't worth the extra cost for the uk for the one week of snow we may get, they were designed for abroad originaly an decided to market them over here a few years back

[K-Brewer]

And it's not about pliability all though it does help, it's about the design of the tread on the tyre which helps as its a version of wet tyres but for snow as the tread is designed to push the snow out when the tyre rolls over snow the way a wet tyres pushes out water

[dale]

Winter tyres are superb.

I have a rear-wheel-drive automatic and on normal tyres its totally useless in any amount of snow on any gradient.

With the winter tyres on I can get up the steep hill outside my house even when its covered in a few inches of snow.

Another option are snow socks. These do have mega grip, but taking them off when you get to a road that's been cleared is a pain in the ass. Useful to keep in the boot to get you out of trouble though.

[richie.]

Originally Posted by Zippy Wizz Kidd

And it's not about pliability all though it does help, it's about the design of the tread on the tyre which helps as its a version of wet tyres but for snow as the tread is designed to push the snow out when the tyre rolls over snow the way a wet tyres pushes out water

Incorrect

The thousands of tiny grooves are designed to collect snow and ice within them which in turn momentarily bonds with the frozen road surface which is the basis of any snow/winter tyre. this means the cheapest tattiest winter tyre massively out performs any high end summer tyres on snow/ice.

tyre pattern - this is where your dollar makes the difference in winter tyres as this is the same principal as you'd expect on summer tyres because it determines how good the tyre will perform if wet/dry/breaking/road noise and so on. we bought the auto express best buy dunlops as they do most all and were £90 each for anyone pondering cost.

[mattr]

Originally Posted by mark christopher

The above is quiet frankly rubbish, they make a big difference, normally tyres loose all their pliability at 0 degress and snow/winter tyres dont hence far more grip.

the change over for winter compounds offering more grip than summer compounds (on dry tarmac) is somewhere between 5 and 8 degrees above zero. so they offer more grip from about November to Feb (in the UK). so not just when it's a bit snowy.
you can get around with summer tyres, but once you hit ice, or pack the tread with snow, or come to a halt, or have to stop. yer knackered.

[daz]

Originally Posted by Zippy Wizz Kidd

As long as ur tyres have decent tread just drive to the conditions (slower) an u'll b fine, waste of money if u ask me

Agreed, Ive been driving over 20 years and never needed them. Slowing down and adjusting your driving style is alot cheaper

[richie.]

they are absolutely tremendous! had ours since October and tried them properly for the first time last night. We had a white out with main roads covered but needed to get to a 30th party so ventured out in the wife's newly named snow mobile. tried numerous times to get the car stuck in deep snow/high inclines from standstill at junctions and just couldn't throw it! was quite satisfying passing stuck cars in the car park whilst playing around

the way we looked at it we needed new tyres in October so we bought dunlop winter tyres instead of summers and they worked out the same price as we would have spent anyway so it would have been insane to get anything else. we'll get another set next year for the rear to spread the load. Its all down to affording them really but if your due tyres then why think about it?

your summers wear quicker at temps below 7 deg C and don't perform as well so switching over from Oct-Apr will mean longer lasting tyres

Negative comments are just unhelpful to the reality of how good they are really......

[mattr]

Originally Posted by daz

Agreed, Ive been driving over 20 years and never needed them. Slowing down and adjusting your driving style is alot cheaper

funny that, I've been driving 20 years too (and as a test driver for several), and managed without until about 5 years ago.
I now don't have to worry about black ice, sheet ice, compacted snow, snow or low temperatures.
And summer tyres wear faster in the winter, cos they get brittle. (wrong compound for the conditions you see). So I get about 150000 miles out of 2 sets, instead of 60 thousand out of one.
the only down side is the initial purchase.

[daz]

Originally Posted by mattr

funny that, I've been driving 20 years too (and as a test driver for several), and managed without until about 5 years ago.
I now don't have to worry about black ice, sheet ice, compacted snow, snow or low temperatures.
And summer tyres wear faster in the winter, cos they get brittle. (wrong compound for the conditions you see). So I get about 150000 miles out of 2 sets, instead of 60 thousand out of one.
the only down side is the initial purchase.

And this is coming from someone from Sweden who have alot harsher winters than Britain, we have a few days of snow a year and well treated roads so they are not worth it in this country!

[K-Brewer]

Originally Posted by daz

And this is coming from someone from Sweden who have alot harsher winters than Britain, we have a few days of snow a year and well treated roads so they are not worth it in this country!

My point exactly, if u drive to the road conditions u will b fine an if its really that bad would u b out in it lol

[mattr]

Originally Posted by daz

And this is coming from someone from Sweden who have alot harsher winters than Britain, we have a few days of snow a year and well treated roads so they are not worth it in this country!

we've had less snow than most of the UK for 3 of the last 5 years. And fwiw, where I am is almost the proper deep south of Sweden. I'm closer to the south of France than the arctic circle....... btw, we actually have snow ploughs. Most of our roads are cleared quicker and more effectively than you would think.

Maybe if the temperature never got below 5 degrees you'd have a point.

[Cream]

Originally Posted by mattr

funny that, I've been driving 20 years too (and as a test driver for several), and managed without until about 5 years ago.
I now don't have to worry about black ice, sheet ice, compacted snow, snow or low temperatures.
And summer tyres wear faster in the winter, cos they get brittle. (wrong compound for the conditions you see). So I get about 150000 miles out of 2 sets, instead of 60 thousand out of one.
the only down side is the initial purchase.

60,000 miles on one set of tyres

I get about 11,000, must learn not to press so heavy on the pedals.

Never had winter tyres, but keep on contemplating getting some for my scooby.