Whos gone winter tyres this year?

[StevenRB45]

Interesting Video

[ame]https://youtu.be/bKtnczk8Mxk[/ame]

Looks as though in this country you're better off on all season due to more consistent at all temperatures.

 

[DaveMcT]

I've never chosen to buy winter tyres and the ones I did have (which came with the car) had high wear rates with no appreciable grip benefit. The Generals I have on the car are doing fine and they only spin when I get sick of doing 180 turns because the Sat Nav f***ed up yet again. They are quiet at speed, grip well and handle fine.

They've not seen snow yet but I don't expect anything worse than I had on the Punto HGT. During the 2010 snow, they were used "summers" but got me around without mishap (or scary moments) and up a hill that no other 2WD car could follow.

 

[StevenRB45]

I've never chosen to buy winter tyres and the ones I did have (which came with the car) had high wear rates with no appreciable grip benefit. The Generals I have on the car are doing fine and they only spin when I get sick of doing 180 turns because the Sat Nav f***ed up yet again. They are quiet at speed, grip well and handle fine.

They've not seen snow yet but I don't expect anything worse than I had on the Punto HGT. During the 2010 snow, they were used "summers" but got me around without mishap (or scary moments) and up a hill that no other 2WD car could follow.

I agree you don't necessarily need them you can get by on summers, I did for many years.

But we get about 3 months a year of summer tyre weather, 8 months where all seasons are a better balance and maybe a month where actual winters would be better.

In my case if the roads aren't wet, they're covered mud, pine needles, leaves e.t.c. In winter this then freezes as well to make it super extra fun. The more aggressive tread pattern helps on dirty road surfaces in normal temps as well.

However if I lived somewhere you could guarantee decent gritting or was flatter and farms weren't dragging crap over the road all the time I wouldn't bother.

I live somewhere where you have to climb a steep hill to get home. I did do that in the Suzuki on summers when it was 2 mile sheet of ice but I aged about 10 years in those 2 miles a light touch of the throttle would spin the wheels and lost directional control but the hill was too steep to use a really high gear and too twisty to do on momentum.

 

[DaveMcT]

I generally go for all season tyres. IME muddy roads are a nightmare whatever the car has fitted. I used to ride a big motor bike for day to day transport so I really do know the issues with cold weather and muddy grip.

 

[StevenRB45]

Another year...another video pointing out having a summer tyred SUV for winter is rather daft.

https://youtu.be/3N6PGrQ5imw

Happily the all-seasons in the video are what is on the wife's car, met office are forecasting snow in the North and Scotland and frosty conditions from mid week.

 

[AndyRKett]

Another year...another video pointing out having a summer tyred SUV for winter is rather daft.

https://youtu.be/3N6PGrQ5imw

Happily the all-seasons in the video are what is on the wife's car, met office are forecasting snow in the North and Scotland and frosty conditions from mid week.

Seeing as my wife has a 2wd version of the same mini, and has Bridgestone summer tyres on it..... having seen that I still won't be getting her winter tyres as the Tyres on her car are Stupidly expensive, due to being 18" SUV profile tires that are runflats.

Would be about £800 looking at some online tyre places to replace all 4 tyres and that's with black Friday deals that are on right now.

The tyres fitted to both cars although not winter or all season they are rated for high performance in the wet, and in recent years rather than having snow and ice in these parts further south we just get lots of rain and wet weather.

 

[2668GRIFFIN]

Hiya
In my opinion they are a wast of time and money
Tyre technology is much more superior than it was years ago and its not worth the bother just for about eight weeks a year
Luigi

 

[StevenRB45]

Hiya
In my opinion they are a wast of time and money
Tyre technology is much more superior than it was years ago and its not worth the bother just for about eight weeks a year
Luigi

I was very much in "why the hell do you need winters?" camp a few years ago, but the rest of that particular YouTube channel has various tests as to why even if it doesn't snow they are a decent idea. Or at least all seasons are he doesn't recommend a full winter for the UK.

There's a lot to do with wet performance dropping off summer tyres off below 10 degrees. In testing modern all seasons will match summer tyres in wet conditions even up to 30 odd degrees. Obviously dry performance isn't quite up there but you can't have everything.

That and watching my wife nearly plant the C3 in the wall opposite the house after the end of a 12 hour night shift coincided with a blizzard rather set my mind to as why I should take some action.

Seeing as my wife has a 2wd version of the same mini, and has Bridgestone summer tyres on it..... having seen that I still won't be getting her winter tyres as the Tyres on her car are Stupidly expensive, due to being 18" SUV profile tires that are runflats.

Would be about £800 looking at some online tyre places to replace all 4 tyres and that's with black Friday deals that are on right now.

The tyres fitted to both cars although not winter or all season they are rated for high performance in the wet, and in recent years rather than having snow and ice in these parts further south we just get lots of rain and wet weather.

Fair enough really, the reason the C3 is on them is it has a spare, so no run flat faffing on and it's on literally the most common tyre size in the world so tyres are cheap. So 4 All seasons cost less than half of what it would on the MINI.

I'd prefer 2wd and summers like I used to use at least then you know precisely how little grip you are working with.

 

[DaveMcT]

Hiya
In my opinion they are a wast of time and money
Tyre technology is much more superior than it was years ago and its not worth the bother just for about eight weeks a year
Luigi

If we regularly had winters with the Beast From the East for weeks/months at a time, then soft tread winter tyres would make sense. In UK I dont think we get it cold enough to justify the costs. There are always exceptional years but they are so few and far between I don't see the point in buying water tyres/wheels.

 

[portland_bill]

Hiya
In my opinion they are a wast of time and money
Tyre technology is much more superior than it was years ago and its not worth the bother just for about eight weeks a year
Luigi

I used to be sceptical too, but had an opportunity to get a set of extra wheels a few years ago and shod them with winters. A drive on a cold day on the summers, followed by a swap and a drive on the winters, highlight a significant difference. No matter how good the summers, the winters will feel different on colder days.

Earlier this week, on a frosty evening, I had a short journey to do, and took the Fabia. Roads were damp, temp around 8 degrees, and we had a little wriggle at one point. A place that has claimed a couple of cars in winters.

Partly laziness, partly wishing to get some wear out of them before they get too old, I left the winters on the Panda all year. Slightly soggy in the heat of the summer, but manageable. This last week with a few frosty nights, I can feel the winters getting enthusiastic, and gripping well.

Panda was always good in winter, with winter tyres, even better.

A faff to change them, if they ever wear out, I might just go all-seasons. Seriously considering all-seasons for the Fabia, as it needs to work all year round. Just need to move the wheels around to even out the wear.

 

[MaxHeadroom]

I didnt think Winter tyres could be all that good until I managed to leave work and drive 15 miles to get home at 03:30 in the morning in what turned out to be a blizzard delivering a lot of snow. To put it into perspective, some of my colleagues could'nt even get out of the works car park!

I live in the Cotswold hills and where I am, we can get cut-off (albeit briefly until the roads are cleared) but when the choice is to get home safely in a warm car, or abandon the car at the side of the road and walk several miles in the cold, winter tyres make complete sense. There are also some very steep hills here to contend with.

However...
as has been mentioned, tyre technology has moved forward and we now have tyres that can perform well in all conditions all year round, including snow.

So in my opinion it seems to me that the traditional 'summer tyre' has now become the pointless option.
While a four-season tyre might not perform as well as a full-on winter tyre, I believe for the amount of snow we get in the UK (even here in the Cotswold Hills) that they're a pretty good compromise

 

[StevenRB45]

So in my opinion it seems to me that the traditional 'summer tyre' has now become the pointless option.
While a four-season tyre might not perform as well as a full-on winter tyre, I believe for the amount of snow we get in the UK (even here in the Cotswold Hills) that they're a pretty good compromise

The summer tyre has measurable advantages mainly to do with braking in dry conditions especially in hot weather compared to an All-Season and definitely compared to a winter.

Wet performance tends to go the other way with All seasons beating both Winter and Summer tyres in the kind of wet/damp 0-15 degree temperature range we see so much of year from autumn to spring but the best all-seasons can match a summer even in hot conditions in the wet and don't fall to bits in the dry either.

Full winter conditions..a winter is best but full winter is pretty rare even for me up in the North. All-season are a magnitude ahead of summers on frost and ice.

But and there is a but, they tend to lend a slightly mushy quality to steering feel, heavy braking in dry weather and turn in, not terrible but obviously not a summer tyre.

So if you had a fast car or one you drive for fun summers are a still a viable option. The Mazda certainly isn't as fun on all seasons (but on balance I thought it was a ok price to pay), they made no difference to the Citroën at all as steering and braking feel was nil anyway.

 

[MaxHeadroom]

Yep I'd agree with all of that.


For the kind of short daily commute driving I'm doing now (in a Panda) I can't see the point of a summer tyre anymore at all. But like you say if I'd got a more serious performance beastie doing longer runs at speed, I'm not sure I'd want to be on an all-season tyre.

When I was running my twin turbo SAAB doing a two hour commute down to Heathrow with a fair amount of fast country roads on the way home to play on, things were different; I had a second set of wheels with winter tyres on and swapped them over with the summers when the weather signalled winter was coming.

It was also a good opportunity to give the offcoming wheels a really good clean; polish; wax; and seal too

 

[portland_bill]

I live on a slight hill. Notihng compared to the ones I grew up with in Dorset, or those in the Lakes, etc., but enough to cause issues with summer tyres when it snows. It is difficult to tell, but the hill must steepen just after my house, as anyone who is going to get stuck, gets just past my house and then struggles.

One memorable year, there was a guy outside struggling, kept taking longer runs at it, but still getting just outside and couldn't get further. This was in a Jag X-type, with 4wd, but obviously on summer tyres. As we're a cul-de-sac, with just over 50yds beyond me, I don't understand why they don't just park opposite, and walk. They can collect it when the snow thaws.
On this occasion, after the guy had been faffing for around 30 minutes, I needed to go out. He sat still while I drove around him, without a slither. When I got back, about another 30 minutes later, he was still trying. (Yes really) I drove around him again, beyond his best point, and reversed gently back onto my drive. (I didn't have to go quite so far up the hill, but it seemed 'necessary'.) He took the hint, parked it and walked.

 

[MaxHeadroom]

Sounds like a lot of very good entertainment where you live Bill, when it snows! :devil:

 

[portland_bill]

Sounds like a lot of very good entertainment where you live Bill, when it snows! :devil:

It is entertaining all year. The road seems to attract a large number of people with dubious driving skills.

We're a cul-de-sac, but so many still cannot bring themselves to turn around when they arrive home, ready for the next departure. Doing so saves time, and stress, as we are usually in more of a hurry when leaving than when returning. (Except perhaps for some of us oldies, desperate for the loo.) Turning the car around uses more fuel with a cold engine than a hot one, so better for the pocket adn environment too. But so many, drive up the road, turn and then back down again, passing their original spot a couple of minutes later. So they've been driving for 2 minutes, and got nowhere yet.

There's a guy down the road, parks his 2005 Transit opposite. I think he's a painter/decorator, judging by his dress and the crap in the van. Always parks facing in, turns there using my neighbour's drive, clears a letterbox size partof his windscreen when icy, and drives away, no seat belt. When starting, never waits for the glowplugs, so churns for several moments, progressively longer as the winter sets in. Arriving home, he hits the kerb every time, makes more noise than the engine.

 

[dave]

Tyre technology is much more superior than it was years ago

that is what is causing the problems of gridlock winter roads, new tech means summers are now all focused on noise reduction and low fuel consumption, that makes them more useless in winter than tyres of old, compounds are harder and tread patterns terrible.