Winter Tyres

[Rob]

Very true, although lets be honest, if you can't afford to change a set of tyres over, you shouldn't really have a car. Good point about storage. Helps if you have access to a garage or a large shed.

My point wasn't not being able to afford £50, it was more - I can think of a lot of better things to spend that £50 on... The way I feel about motoring lately it's going to be lucky to get a fiver spent on it for some immigrant down ASDA wash it.

 

[Chris_786]

That looks awesome...

If that's not sarcasm then thanks lol.

 

[CIW]

I live on a hill, two winters ago neither of the cars I had at the time moved for nearly six weeks. Last year I got some winter tyres for the station hack and never looked back, we were running errands for neighbours with 4x4's and could park the car on the driveway rather than half a mile away which is the nearest the gritters get to us:


This year we have a BMW so it was even more of a no brainer, bought some 17" alloys off eBay, refurbed them and put on some Dunlop SP-4's and I'm set up for the next couple of years (at least) with no further expenditure required.

 

[Rich-D]

Never bothered before, in my 18 years of driving, but this year I have bought some

The reason is, rwd + 500Nm of torque + 255/35/18 tyres, it's just not going to work and I need my car

So I got a set of cheap 17" alloys off eBay and a couple of pairs of part worn 225/45/17 winter tyres, also off eBay

 

[Bubbles]

FAO people who have or have bought winter tyres in the past..

What brands would you say to go for? do you treat the names the same as you do with summer tyres, ie, only go for dunlops, contis etc etc - or are the slightly cheaper winter tyres just as good?

Ive been ringing around a few places this morning and they're now struggling with getting hold of winter tyre stock, prielli's are going to cost me £180 a corner, where as i could buy some Sonars? for £100 a corner

Do people have any experience of winter tyres from the not so known names?

But is buying a more unknown brand a bad idea?

 

[Turkish]

IIRC Nokians seem to be well rated despite being an unknown name. Other thing to do is check out the comparison tests some of the motoring press have done to get an overview.

 

[Eliganza]

Nokians are quite big in the world of MTB iirc, so should have some experience in making tyres haha.

 

[frenchy4242]

Interesting two statements there. The country is poorly prepared yet you are doing nothing to prepare. Just playing devils advocate here btw.

Doesn't make a difference what tyres you have when the road ahead and behind is blocked with cars on summer tyres

 

[CIW]

What brands would you say to go for? do you treat the names the same as you do with summer tyres, ie, only go for dunlops, contis etc etc - or are the slightly cheaper winter tyres just as good?

Last year I was late buying and had very limited choice so ended up with some Nankang SV-2's fitted on our Alfa 147 (in the picture above). In the wet and on snow they were excellent, the only issue I had with them was the slight lack of steering precision - they clearly have pretty pliable sidewalls and this translated to less precision at motorway speeds. Of course, it probably didn't help that I'd raised the profile as well by switching to smaller rims for the winter.

Can't vouch for other budget tyres, I've seen some rated as dangerous in the wet so worth doing some research.

This year I've got Dunlop SP-4's on our new car and immediately they feel better than the Nankangs in regular driving, can't comment on snow performance yet.

 

[aucky]

I like you, you know this. But that is b****cks nobody NEEDS to get to work. Will you die if you miss work? No.

If my site had to take the plants offline for 24 hours becaue not enough people could make it in, the losses in profit would be way, way into 6 figures.

No I wouldn't die, but can you imagine the bollocking one would recieve for taking a 'snow day' if this happened?

 

[CIW]

check out the comparison tests some of the motoring press have done to get an overview.

This site is an excellent resource (for all tyres, not just winters):

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre-Tests/#winter

 

[Lagerlout]

Nah. Both got FWD cars, live near work or use main roads etc. No big hills to tackle etc.

I'm not against the idea, but have no real need to change tyres myself. Unfortunately, where I live now, I can walk to work. No snow days for me!!

 

[Turkish]

Doesn't make a difference what tyres you have when the road ahead and behind is blocked with cars on summer tyres

You're assuming they all made it off the driveway and haven't planted it into the nearest grass verge or row of parked cars. Which given some of the displays of driving I witnessed last time we had snow was the most likely fate of many running summers.

 

[Herr Flick]

As above, the nankang sv2's were very good and I had them last winter and the car acted like it was just on a dry road (excluding braking/putting my foot down.

I think I bought them in November and they cost me £210 for four at 215/55/17. ( I think that's what they were)

 

[aucky]

The people in here who think they are a waste of money have obviously never driven on polished sheet ice.

 

[Stava]

Winter tyres wont work on ice either.

Think about it...

 

[aucky]

Winter tyres wont work on ice either.

Think about it...

Compacted snow can also be troublesome

Compound - suited to low temp
Tread blocks - designed to have more edges to key
On winter wheels - allows thinner/taller profile.

 

[Stava]

Don't get me wrong fella, I see the advantages of winter tyres, and will be buying some once I am back.

 

[jon_r]

It's worth saying that buying winter tyres (part worn) off of ebay is a bit of a flase economy. I've read winter tyres tend to go off the boil a bit with 4mm left on them. You'll notice most on ebay are sold with 4mm of tread left.

 

[Gaz.]

The people in here who think they are a waste of money have obviously never driven on polished sheet ice.

Doubt many have done the Monte Carlo rally on studs, no. Rubber just doesn't cut it. Rubber doesn't cut it on polished ice.

 

[Turkish]

It works better than summer tyres...

 

[Revels]

Wear is supposedly worse above 7deg. So really only needed for 3months? If that.

 

[Gaz.]

It works better than summer tyres...

I'm not disputing that, but rubber still doesn't cut it on polished ice, TBF.

 

[jon_r]

Wear is supposedly worse above 7deg. So really only needed for 3months? If that.

Or 10 months up here.

 

[aucky]

^
That understeer test is impressive tbh.
Lol at the first car

 

[TheEvilGiraffe]

Bought mine because I could. They've been great so far in the cold mornings/evenings on my commute. Done about 500 miles so far, and the injection moulding nipples are jsut about worn out.

I've got somewhere to store a set of wheels, and I had a spare set, so I flogged the old tyres, and bought winters.

They're epic in the wet, don't understeer in the cold like the summers did (harder compound, less flexible in the cold), and slight over-size means a little more ground clearance which will help when the Arctic lands on the doorstep.

If it doesn't snow at all, a little extra security in my mind is surely a good thing. I managed in my old Ph1 on Paradas in the snow 2 years ago... however, the brakes might as well have been left at home for obvious reasons. As mentioned above, these will be better by quite a margin even in the wet, let alone cold/snow/icy conditions.

I don't see it as an extra expense really as I'm not using the other tyres. I'd expect to see 3 years minimum out of these as they'll only be on until Feb/March... We'll see :approve:

 

[jack_davey]

Set of cheap 15's from eBay or the for sale section on here bang some rubber on them then tuck your 16's away until spring/summer.

Yeah that's what I've been thinking, but I honestly cant find a cheap set of OZ F1s or similar anywhere! Would be ideal track wheels too.

The only other problem with this is that 15s with 195/50/15s lower the ground clearance of the car quite alot

 

[Herr Flick]

It's worth saying that buying winter tyres (part worn) off of ebay is a bit of a flase economy. I've read winter tyres tend to go off the boil a bit with 4mm left on them. You'll notice most on ebay are sold with 4mm of tread left.

This.
They can be worse than summer tyres if they are worn down. people trying to save £50 on a set of tyres is just stupid.

 

[Chris_786]

There are two tread markers on mine, legal limit and effective limit iirc

 

[Alfonz]

I don't have actual winter tyres but i do have a set of steelies with all weathers on which I use for winter.

 

[Herr Flick]

Bad boys, bad boys whatcha gonna do...

 

[Mr Burns]

You did well changing those wheels seeing as you're disabled. lol

 

[Herr Flick]

Lol. I didn't put I there.

Now.. Come on snow!!

 

[alanc1000]

admittadly that clip above with the tyre text is a big eye opener.

Just to balance it out, here is a vid with "s**t" snow socks:

 

[Turkish]

The reason we say snow socks are s**t Alan is that they're a one trick pony. You have to f**k about fitting them and they have to come off again when you find a section of road where the snow has been cleared or melted because they fall to pieces when run on Tarmac.

Winter tyres are better in low temps, wet greasy roads as well as snow/ice and once fitted are left on until spring/summer. I'd view the socks as an emergency item to store in the boot in case you find yourself trapped in snow. Not as a viable daily solution for bad weather and snow.

In terms of usage they're more like a snow chain.

 

[Munson]

Exactly. You coldnt uses now socks unless fitting them to get out of a specific problem. One piece of cleared road and you'd ruin them very quickly, and of course you don't benefit from the softer compound and tread pattern of a bespoke winter tyre in all conditions rather than just snow.

Winter tyres are for ballers. Snow socks are for paupers.

 

[TheEvilGiraffe]

Lol. I didn't put I there.

Now.. Come on snow!!

Gally just flinched at the archgap competition trophy heading your way !!

Awesome looking rubber...

 

[Revels]

Last time we had snow I didn't drive my car. My boss only lives a 2min walk away and he thinks nothing can stop him so I got a lift with him. His car cost 30x the amount of mine but that didn't seem to bother him.

On one of the last days of the snow, came to a corner, only going slowly, turned and the car just drifted. Lucky there was nothing to crash into as he had zero control. He hasn't bought winter tyres but he did buy some of those snow-sock things. Be interesting to see how s**t they are when he fits them in the coming months. Lol.

 

[Mr Burns]

Exactly. You coldnt uses now socks unless fitting them to get out of a specific problem. One piece of cleared road and you'd ruin them very quickly, and of course you don't benefit from the softer compound and tread pattern of a bespoke winter tyre in all conditions rather than just snow.

Winter tyres are for ballers. Snow socks are for paupers.

Did you seen what you did there?

 

[Šįk]

I have never tried them but im keen. Been playing with the idea but I can't justify spending £250+ in my situation. I plan to sell our car start of next year so I'd be stuck with some random bit used winter Tyres. I wouldn't imagin they'd be worth much either?