Hi Everyone and a Happy New Year.... I am the proud owner of a "60" plate Panda 4x4 Cross 1.3 MJ.and loving it already,snow????? No problem! Only gripe is the "Spacesaver" spare wheel,so very pointless,I have no faith in them at all. I have managed to obtain a spare alloy wheel {Thank you children & grandchildren for helping Santa with that} but have met with problems getting a tyre......Panda came with Continental 4x4 Winter Contact 175/65 R15 84T M+S tyres.Continental no longer make this size......................PLEASE can anyone advise me on an alternative winter tyre that I can get by post or here in Scotland, I.E. a tyre compatable with the Conti's as and when the spare is required? One other thing I've noticed looking through tyre suppliers,a lot say winter tyres only available in sets of 4???????????
Enough of my problems....Have a great 2011 all....
Howard

Have a look at http://www.mytyres.co.uk
Just type in your tyre size and it will show a list of results (if they have stock left), they also post to Scotland no probs, or you can use their "fitted" service which is done through local agents.

I bought 4 winter from mytyres, the day after they shot up from £29 per tyre to £75! Even though it's a .co.uk site they are german and ship from there and some people have had problems with paying for them, if it's a expensive order, they want it via bank transfer.

www.Camskill.co.uk are good for tyres, they don't always update their site, so it's often best to ring them.

Thank you for your help. I suppose that it boils down to that any "Winter" tyre of the correct dimensions will suffice?
Thanks again,
H.

howard52 said:

Thank you for your help. I suppose that it boils down to that any "Winter" tyre of the correct dimensions will suffice?
Thanks again,
H.

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Correct!
Remember to go for one that has the "M&S" mark as not all "Winter" tyres carry it, and your always better with it in my opinion.

Well, it does seem that 175/65 R15T Continental Wintercontacts are no longer listed on Mytyres. It's a shame as I'm sure you would have liked to have matched your shiny new full-size spare to your existing tyres.
However, a puncture is very unlikely and those Wintercontacts will soon be worn and in need of replacements. In my experience those replacements should be Vredestein Quatrac3s. So, in anticipation of that, get a Vredestein Quatrac3 fitted as your spare. I bought mine through Mytyres and had no payment or delivery difficulties. I have a good local tyre fitter who fits them cheaper than Mytyres can arrange. Buy the tyres through Quidco and get some cashback, use a cashback credit card and get a bit more.
As regards winter tyres in general, any old winter tyre is not a good policy when choosing them. There are some poor tyres out there that have risen to ridiculous prices because they are described as "winter".
Quatrac3s are described as all-season but carry the important snowflake and mountain symbol which denotes their good performance as snow tyres. M+S is a less meaningful description. I recently drove over to Carlisle from Sunderland on snow and ice, at 50-60 mph, and at no time was I worried.
Only thought I have is, where are you going to put that great big spare when you are out and about?

doctorchris said:

Well, it does seem that 175/65 R15T Continental Wintercontacts are no longer listed on Mytyres. It's a shame as I'm sure you would have liked to have matched your shiny new full-size spare to your existing tyres.

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Most likely due to them being out of stock Give it a few months and they'll be back in stock after everyone has stopped panic buying winter tyres

After extensive recent 'testing' I can also say that the Hankook Optimo 4S is also a good tyre if the Vredestein Quatrac 3 is out of stock (we have both and I have to say they have both been good in the recent snowy / icy weather)

I'd give Mytyres a wide berth, Tyremen in Hull were very good.

RS4 said:

I'd give Mytyres a wide berth, Tyremen in Hull were very good.

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mytyres are absolutely fine

306maxi said:

mytyres are absolutely fine

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What he said.

Ordered tyres on a Thursday night. They arrived on the Monday. From Germany.

Best advice is to wait till April ish and buy winter tread when prices come back down

Golgarth said:

Best advice is to wait till April ish and buy winter tread when prices come back down

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I would wait till late summer or early autumn. I wouldn't buy tyres that have been manufactured in early 2011 and then only fit them in November or December 2011.

Thank you everyone,you have all given food for thought
Waiting til August?September sounds good to me!
Thanks again,
Howard
P.S. any further comments always welcome.......