ah that's interesting, had no idea it did that
General Winter tires - worth it?
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General Winter tires - worth it?
ah that's interesting, had no idea it did that
This has been covered so many times before. 
If you have snow or ice and want to feel safe, winter tires give around 40-50% more grip (personal oppinion) than regular tires.
On everything else except snow, ice or slush, they feel the same as regular tires, sometimes actually with more roll noise.
It is now mandatory in Romania as well to have winter tires if ice or snow. I think it's a good idea because the traffic is now a little bit more fluid as the cars are actually able to pull away from the stop sign.
Still have my Nokian WR-G2
Try doing this with your regular tires:
If you have snow or ice and want to feel safe, winter tires give around 40-50% more grip (personal oppinion) than regular tires.
On everything else except snow, ice or slush, they feel the same as regular tires, sometimes actually with more roll noise.
It is now mandatory in Romania as well to have winter tires if ice or snow. I think it's a good idea because the traffic is now a little bit more fluid as the cars are actually able to pull away from the stop sign.
Still have my Nokian WR-G2
Try doing this with your regular tires:
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Should have taken the corner slower and in gear, no need to brake or accelerate then.
She was in gear but came off the throttle. In a 4 wheel drive car i find you can drive it on the throttle in the snow and if the car is sliding on a closed throttle you accellerate to get the grip back. just goes to show that 4 wheel drives aren't infallible if driven incorrectly.
look in the 500 section theres a big thread in there
let me put it like this a few years ago i got stuck in North yorkshire on normal summer b250 bridgestones (grande punto) and ended up fitting snow chains to get me moving....
anyhow in that event you could still see the tarmac
So i bought winters........
i "lost" an audi TT quatro that was talegating me ((he followed me into an S bend and vanished into a copse of trees)) and in Dec 2010 i was up in north yorkshire and i only had one morning where i had to rock the car out
to give you some idea what i was faced with..
let me put it like this a few years ago i got stuck in North yorkshire on normal summer b250 bridgestones (grande punto) and ended up fitting snow chains to get me moving....
anyhow in that event you could still see the tarmac
So i bought winters........
i "lost" an audi TT quatro that was talegating me ((he followed me into an S bend and vanished into a copse of trees)) and in Dec 2010 i was up in north yorkshire and i only had one morning where i had to rock the car out
to give you some idea what i was faced with..
I've got brand new snow socks in the garage for almost 2 years now, really want to try them out but once again it looks like the weather isn't "bad" enough. Maybe next year.
Tbh winter tyres have nothing to do with just snow fall at all. They are a proven science and anyone who tries to deny this is just ignorant IMO.
Yes I've had a set for 2 seasons, and yes this year they've not had as much use as last year, but as soon as the core road temp drops below 7C they come into a world of their own, they're worth the money, and other than the initial cost, actually make economical sence as you summers then last twice as long
Loads of info in the 500 section as Andy has said.
All I say is that until you've done an emergency stop on a wet road from 50 when the temp is 3-5C outside on winters, vs doing it on summers, you'll simply have no idea! Happy to demonstrate it if anyone lives locally
With regards to not needing them a few years ago, realistically they were needed, but unfortunately the tyre tech wasn't there, but it is now
Yes I've had a set for 2 seasons, and yes this year they've not had as much use as last year, but as soon as the core road temp drops below 7C they come into a world of their own, they're worth the money, and other than the initial cost, actually make economical sence as you summers then last twice as long
Loads of info in the 500 section as Andy has said.
All I say is that until you've done an emergency stop on a wet road from 50 when the temp is 3-5C outside on winters, vs doing it on summers, you'll simply have no idea! Happy to demonstrate it if anyone lives locally
With regards to not needing them a few years ago, realistically they were needed, but unfortunately the tyre tech wasn't there, but it is now
Amen to that!:worship:
Well put.
gr J
Well put.
gr J
Tbh winter tyres have nothing to do with just snow fall at all. They are a proven science and anyone who tries to deny this is just ignorant IMO.
Yes I've had a set for 2 seasons, and yes this year they've not had as much use as last year, but as soon as the core road temp drops below 7C they come into a world of their own, they're worth the money, and other than the initial cost, actually make economical sence as you summers then last twice as long
Loads of info in the 500 section as Andy has said.
All I say is that until you've done an emergency stop on a wet road from 50 when the temp is 3-5C outside on winters, vs doing it on summers, you'll simply have no idea! Happy to demonstrate it if anyone lives locally
With regards to not needing them a few years ago, realistically they were needed, but unfortunately the tyre tech wasn't there, but it is now
+1 the tyres work by having a higher silicon content which makes them more malleable in the cold temperatures. in the summer they will get too hot and just leave black marks everywhere. under 7degrees and they will be fine.
but imo its not just the tyres that will help its more training behind the wheel. if you know how to control a skid then you are less likely to get into one.
In 2011 I had winter tires all year round because I was too lazy to take them off, and the car was also repaired for 3 months so didn't make much sense then.
My father's car also has winter tires all year round. They offer the same grip in summer, only down side is they wear some 20% faster.
I am going to put the summer tires back on this year to spare what's left of my 400£ investment.
@auditt if you have good tires and don't skid in the first place then I guess it doesn't really matter how good of a driver are you.
My father's car also has winter tires all year round. They offer the same grip in summer, only down side is they wear some 20% faster.
I am going to put the summer tires back on this year to spare what's left of my 400£ investment.
@auditt if you have good tires and don't skid in the first place then I guess it doesn't really matter how good of a driver are you.
Hi ,
I bought mine "part-worn" (6mm) form e-day in the summer - pretty reasonable
( £40 each),
put them on old wheels ready for the BAD weather,
then I had a 400 mile trip planned for the start of DEC ( hard/cold day - Pennines roads shut),
the punto was shifting along a dual carriageway, approached a roundabout a little too quickly, piled on the brakes, and was REALLY impressed with the stopping power,
yes I think they are slightly noisy , and use a little more fuel -5% maybe,
but I'm well pleased,
we've actually got some REALLY grippy ones for the panda too ,
studdable jobs ( german issue) - £30 each,
I'm only going to use them in Really bad conditions, as I'm unsure how they make the already body-roll-tastic panda behave,
Charlie
Looks like I might be able to try the snow socks out the weekend.
neonglow
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Never been to the UK myself and I don't really know what kind of weather you have up there but here we consider it insane to drive on summer wheels in the winter especially this one. I posted this pic a while before today but it says it all. Everything around is frozen as a rock I had to cut the frozen snow around my wheel arches with an axe this morning My bottle of -20 screenwash converted to ceramic over night the only liquid in a bottle that is not frozen is a bottle of top up oil I have left over from last oil change
My bottle of -20 screenwash converted to ceramic over night the only liquid in a bottle that is not frozen is a bottle of top up oil I have left over from last oil change
Never been to the UK myself and I don't really know what kind of weather you have up there but here we consider it insane to drive on summer wheels in the winter especially this one. I posted this pic a while before today but it says it all. Everything around is frozen as a rock I had to cut the frozen snow around my wheel arches with an axe this morning
if it goes below -5 and snows here everyone phones their work and says they cant get in
neonglow
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I would LOVE to do that
I actually drive my wife 20 kms to work every day then park the car back home and walk to work for half an hour Minus 20 is not that different compared to -5 just the fiat sometimes refuses to unlock and you have some knackered water bottles in the back. It hasn't been that cold around here for years I would say. The coldest last year was around -15.. must be global warming. Back to topic - below zero degress centigrade I think winter tires are a must and despite of that this happens:
I drove on summer tires in the Austrian alps one winter.... it was the biggest car adventure of my life
Never been to the UK myself and I don't really know what kind of weather you have up there but here we consider it insane to drive on summer wheels in the winter especially this one. I posted this pic a while before today but it says it all. Everything around is frozen as a rock I had to cut the frozen snow around my wheel arches with an axe this morning
Where did you park your car, in a freezer?
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@neonglow, hey for those conditions you need chains as well. Does not look like there has been a snow plow recently on that road. I live in the lowlands so only seen 2cm of snow this dam winter, some on Friday I expect. But the plows are normally out at 0h300 when it has snowed and on normal roads that have not been plowed yet, you can get away with winter tyres. but in the Alps...I guess you learnt your lesson
As to -19°C, not seen that either for 5 years or so, but the -8°C tonight was bad enough walking to my car.
As to -19°C, not seen that either for 5 years or so, but the -8°C tonight was bad enough walking to my car.
neonglow
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Where did you park your car, in a freezer?
Well, don't think I am used to that that's the lowest temperature I've ever seen in a car.. that's why I cared enough to take that picture
But yet again I am still young and my previous vehicle didn't have a thermometer Unfortunately I don't own a garage and park in the yard outside. This morning when I put my key in and saw that I looked up and prayed for a while before turning.. so winter tires are not something exotic a normal summer set would have turned into hardened plastic in such conditions
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neonglow
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@neonglow, hey for those conditions you need chains as well. Does not look like there has been a snow plow recently on that road. I live in the lowlands so only seen 2cm of snow this dam winter, some on Friday I expect. But the plows are normally out at 0h300 when it has snowed and on normal roads that have not been plowed yet, you can get away with winter tyres. but in the Alps...I guess you learnt your lesson
As to -19°C, not seen that either for 5 years or so, but the -8°C tonight was bad enough walking to my car.
Well the main roads are pretty much clean there is just iceon them so I can't put chains on... not to mention that I can't
But as youhave shroudly observed no plow has passed any near my house and it is quite astruggle to get the fiat out or in my parking place I bet it's pretty snowynear Kitzbühel I never go unprepared to the Austrian Alps now I have learned my lesson At least you are so better organized in the winter... our ski resorts are more or less blocked.
Where did you park your car, in a freezer?
Haha, -19°C is rather cold. I had the Stilo MOT'ed recently and got the finger pointed at me as the coolant had a freeze temp at "only" -25°C. "That is not enough on the inlands" he said. So I got a can of red coolant concentrate to remix/replace into the existing mixture to lower the level to -30°C.
I've lived in the West Midlands(UK) all my life(45 years) and I've never seen the temperature that low.
My freezer is set to -19 ...
neonglow I also drive a Silver Stilo Multiwagon every day, but in that snow at -19, no thanks.
neonglow :worship:
My freezer is set to -19 ...
neonglow I also drive a Silver Stilo Multiwagon every day, but in that snow at -19, no thanks.
neonglow :worship:
