General Winter tires - worth it?

[roy lovelock]

Hi guys, i have a set of 15" steels from my old 1.6 and i was thinking of getting winter tires put on all 4 wheels, and put them on the front of both of the multiwagons removing the blade alloys.
I was chewing over to do just mine, but the wife got stuck last year on ice and i had to tow it out with my oil burner, the petrols are a lot lighter i realised then.
Anyways , hs anyone used them and are they much better than the standards? and are they worth the extra expense, im lucky as i have spare stilo wheels so i wont need to chop and change them adding extra costs. we have been lucky this winter but i suspect that snow or ice will be here soon and i dont want to lose another stilo to this.
cheers
roy

 

[TangerineTractor]

Morning Roy!

I was thinking about this the other day.... It's only very recently (within the last year or two) that we've really been hearing about winter tyres in the UK. My personal opinion is that it's a load of marketing hype; there have been changes in legislation in Germany and other European countries - it's now mandatory in Germany to have winter tyres if driving on snow or ice. Because Germany is such a huge market, winter tyres have become a mainstream product rather than a specialist item, so the manufacturers are now trying to shift them here too. We don't really get enough severe weather over here to justify it - decent normal tyres should really be good enough for all but the most extreme UK conditions, especially in mild old East Anglia (I used to live in rural Suffolk). More info here.

 

[rattystilo]

Definately not this year and where you live. I agree its all marketing hype in the uk unless you live in the scottish highlands.. Why pay an extra 200+ on a set of tyres you will only use for a few weeks a year.

Better off spending 60 odd notes on tyre socks that you will only use when you really need them.

No disrespect to anyone but a lot of driving in snow is down to technique. i drove a Renault Laguna 2000 miles in the snow one holiday and didn't get stuck once even though a lot of people were getting stuck.

Yes you have to slow down for the conditions but there are times that you need to speed up in order not to get stuck.

 

[A3jeroen]

I'm 100% in favor of wintertires and we use them on all 3 MW's here. They are simply better below 7 degrees.
Never and I mean NEVER! use only wintertires in the front only. You will be overtaken by your own rear on slippery roads in no time.

gr J

 

[Shadeyman]

I live in the midlands, the weather here never really gets bad enough to spend £500 on a set of winter tyres. This year has been especially mild, mainly wet, sometimes cold but nothing the normal set of tyres already on my car couldn't handle.

So "Winter tires - worth it"? a deffinate no, they're not worth it.

 

[nikkiy9]

if you know anyone into rallying then ask if you can buy a set of part-worn gravel tyres, i stuck some on my punto a few years ago and never got stuck once,

 

[Morty Mort]

Driving in Nordic countries without winter tires will flag you as insane. And don't expect to get anything from the insurance.

It is an incredible difference. I'm now on Nokian Hakkapeliitta 7, climbing the hills of Tromsø as a 4WD with the Stilo.

 

[Yellow Peril]

It's horses for courses. For our Scandinavian brothers it's a no-brainer. But in the UK (unless you live in Scotland) given the average snowfall over the last 10 yeas (and the tree huggers tell us things are supposed to be warning up!) probably a waste of time and money.

 

[Shadeyman]

:yeahthat:

Just not worth it here in the Midlands.

 

[Morty Mort]

It's horses for courses. For our Scandinavian brothers it's a no-brainer. But in the UK (unless you live in Scotland) given the average snowfall over the last 10 yeas (and the tree huggers tell us things are supposed to be warning up!) probably a waste of time and money.

Ofcourse. Winter tires are expensive, and it's easier / smarter / cheaper (pick one) to just park the car and take a taxi when its slippery outside.

Where I lived south in Norway I used studless tires, but now, up north I'm on spikes.

 

[Caravadossi]

Hi guys, i have a set of 15" steels from my old 1.6 and i was thinking of getting winter tires put on all 4 wheels, and put them on the front of both of the multiwagons ...

In 2011, I fitted winter tyres to the front axle of my Toyota Auris. In snowy conditions I noticed that the rear felt a bit unstable and eventually suffered a 180-degree spin, which fortunately came to a soft end against a snow bank. I subsequently drove at a slower pace until winter tyres were fitted at the rear, too. RC, Melrose.
Thanks for endorsing my point with real-life experience. It is not always easy getting through to readers who persist with a Sixties mindset. HJ
Honest John, telegraph.co.uk/motoring (p.M4) 2012/01/28

The Telegraph also reports today that Kwik-Fit are dumping (25% off) their winter tyres.

120128

 

[Shadeyman]

Most places I've looked at have lowered the prices of winter tyres, mainly because they just aren't selling.

Most of the UK never really see's weather conditions that warrant purchasing winter tyres. Snow chains or snow socks can easily cope with pretty much anything the weather throws at us here in the UK(excluding Scotland, they get it bad sometimes) and they're a lot cheaper and less hassle than a separate set of winter tryes.

I've got 2 sets of Snow socks that fit on all 4 wheels of our car, just in case, they only cost £70, far cheaper than winter tyres.

 

[nikkiy9]

when i had the rally tyres on the front of the punto, i had the back end step out a few times, but having learnt how to control a car on a skid pan, i just kept my foot in, (at one point i was looking out the side window to see where i was going) steered into the slide and pulled the car straight, this was at 6am when i picked the brother-in-law up from work and driving on virgin snow, he was whiter than the snow too Ahhhh Ahhhh Ahhhh Ahhhh Ahhhh

 

[rattystilo]

Mind you my missus spun my Rav4 in the snow last year by not driving it correctly. Rather than driving it on the throttle and making all four wheels drive and grip she would go round the corners off the throttle. Came accross a parked car on a corner and braked rather than accelerated.

 

[Shadeyman]

Should have taken the corner slower and in gear, no need to brake or accelerate then.

 

[kiopo]

I do think they're being pushed on us by marketing hype, never heard of them a few years ago. Even in the worst weather I can remember in the UK a couple of years ago I didn't get stuck, and that was on summer Pirellis which were bad even in the wet!

I think the Stilo is fairly good in the mild snow really so I'm not planning on investing in any other sets of tyres. Did used to find it quite funny whizzing past a rear wheel drive Mercedes or BMW that was completely stuck up the slightest hill!

 

[kiopo]

Should have taken the corner slower and in gear, no need to brake or accelerate then.

Yeah I agree, as long as it's in gear the wheels are being driven anyway so there's no need for much throttle.

Accelerating into a corner can cause understeer in a FWD car due to rear weight transfer. Easing off the throttle / a gentle dab of brakes can help to shift the weight to the front. More important to know what you're doing though and to have practiced driving in the snow, rather than coasting round a bend and whacking on the brakes mid-corner!

When I had my first car I used to just go out in the snow / ice when it was really quiet and find a parking lot of something just to practice a bit of car control. Don't fancy learning that stuff in an emergency really. Should be part of driving test.

 

[nikkiy9]

the only downside with the stilo is, left foot braking cuts out the fuel supply on the engine so you can't even get away with that (something I use ALOT on her focus)

 

[kiopo]

the only downside with the stilo is, left foot braking cuts out the fuel supply on the engine so you can't even get away with that (something I use ALOT on her focus)

As in stalls it? I'm rubbish at left foot braking in the Stilo anyway tbh.

 

[nikkiy9]

As in stalls it? I'm rubbish at left foot braking in the Stilo anyway tbh.

nah, it doesnt stall, it just cuts out fuel like the passat does, next time your on an empty road alone in the car just tap the brake while still on the accelerator and you'll see what i mean, (mine is a jtd 115)