Oops , yes I meant depth of tread when new.

Edited 14 September, 201015 yr by magic62

On the surface you're correct; my WinTrac Xtremes have a depth of 6.6mm, whereas my vredestein ComTrac's are 9mm.

However - winter tyres have a "secret weapon" - the mini-treads- these are critical to their grip, and once gone, the tyres are dead.

I did a little measuring - my WinTracs minitreads are actually deeper than the main tread - 6.7mm. On my van's comTracs the mini-treads are 7.2mm

I guess what this means is that, yes you do get a bit more life from a deeper tread pattern, not not that huge.

It would also mean that the WinTrax Xtreme will have useable tread right down to the legal min, whereas the ComTrac will probably become dangerous before they've got to legal min depth.

For those who are wonder what I mean by mini-treads, there are the small grooves on the tyre surface.

ComTrac Winter

WinTrac Xtreme

ps

Apologies to philpix, seem to have hijacked your thread

To answer your original thread question:

Your car will behave in a safe and capable fashion with the right tyres fitted.

The Haldex/ESP/ABS system fitted to the vehicle is excellent for coping with slippery conditions - it is exactly what it was developed for

You just have to remember, despite 4x4 and winter tyres, you have to treat snow and ice with respect.

My Octy, with its older generation haldex and winter tyres, is the easiest 4x4 (car or off-roader) I have driven in the snow, and I've owned and driven a few.

When my parents come to replace their Subaru Forester, I'll be telling them to go for a Haldex based vehicle.

:+1: I agree, I have an Octy mk1 4x4 and having driven a wide variety of vehicles in some really dire winter conditions in the Welsh Valleys, Black Mountains and Brecon Beacons, the Octy never felt like it was going to get stuck. Not sure it would go so well if I lowered it in deep snow? But at standard ride height, it was very good. By far the worst experience was the old egg shaped Toyota Previa, mid engine, rear drive and no traction on a 15% slope, really quick to get stuck (tyres were a bit low on tread at the time which didn't help) followed closely be the SWMBO's Passat (b5.5 PD130) which even with traction control got very slippy when the snow was only just starting to stick. I have invested in some winter tyres for the front for her this year so she gets a bit more traction. Most surprising car ever was my old Renault 9 GTL 1.4 super skinny wheels and went out in the freezing rain back in 93/94? and had to really provoke it to slip

Biggest thing to remember though is getting traction to pull away is one thing, what is more important though is the laws of physics regarding stopping or cornering 4x4 helps with only 2 of the 3

Edited 14 September, 201015 yr by karlbar2k

The mini treads are called ‘Sipes’.

You just have to remember, despite 4x4 and winter tyres, you have to treat snow and ice with respect.

I like the public safety message

Winter tyres also only work down to around 4mm of tread, this is why loads of them pop up on eBay at around 4 - 5mm, they have reached the end of their use of a winter tyre by then.

I also noticed in the owners handbook it says to increase the tyre pressure by 0.2 bar for winter tyres.

In Austria it is law, that the winter tyres have at least 4mm. Less than 4mm doesnt qualify them anymore as a winter tyre.

It is also recommended to change them if they are older than 6 years, because of the rubber getting harder.

Sipes are built in the tread pattern of the winter tyres and give the modern winter tyre its grip under cold, snowy and icy conditions.

However, same as in summer tyres, there are a lot of differences in compound, the amount of silica, tread pattern etc.

A new and modern winter tyre is a lot better than a 6 year old one of a former generation.

The mini treads are called ‘Sipes’.

thanks for correcting my terminology

Gizmo68 + magic62 raise good points about tread depth - I guess to spell it - don't buy used winter tyres on ebay ! (with < 4mm anyway)

A couple of mates where thinking about doing this, I told them it wasn't a sound idea.

My parent refused to listen to me over not using winter tyres in the summer - got nicely baked in the high Alpine UV summer temps, and scrubbed all the sipes off.

Car ended up in a snow bank next winter - aquaplaned through the slush like poo hitting a teflon fan

Still didn't listen to me, just fitted a new set of winter tyres

Edited 15 September, 201015 yr by snow_muncher

The only real advantage of narrower, "high" profile tyres is the money you save, and the greater tyre choice you have.

I beg to differ... if the road's covered with mud/slush/hard snow a narrower tyre is definitely better. Broad, low-profile tyres outperforms narrow tyres when it comes to braking or making sharp turns in high speed on dry roads that are not worn down by lorries so that you constantly get caught in wheel tracks. If road safety is your main concern, IMHO very few drivers will ever have to care about the difference between, say, 195s and 225s. I guess that the spread of low-profiles has more to do with ( a ) vanity and ( b ) car manufacturers' need to put on larger rims in order to find space for larger brake discs. Their downside is that they cost more and also that they don't exactly improve your MPG.

Winter tyres on SWMBO's Octy are 175/80/14 and they're great on winter roads. The only car I've owned without bothering about winter tyres was a Citroën GS, tyre dimension 145/15, rolled through snow, mud, rain without problems.

If you want tyres wide enough to keep you "on top" of snow I doubt that 225 tyres will help. This is what you need:

Edited 15 September, 201015 yr by swedishskoda

That's just out-right snow porn :p

I would have one by now, if they weren't so heavily restricted in the Alps

Don't get jealous at all when one hoons it past as I'm skinning uphill

(disappeared before I could even take a photo !)

Edited 15 September, 201015 yr by snow_muncher

My old Sedici with Snotracs

Only myself and a Disco 2 made it up here (a little road that runs up behhind the Turnpike Pub off the M 62.

Snow tyres are astonishing

It's a shame I dont have any pictures of the deep snow cover hill i climbed to get here. And yes it was a meaningless drive, but it was wotrth it for the view and total silence

^^ Nice piccies

Last winter it was, however, not altogether pleasant waking up to

and a driveway that looked like

and when the plough had passed by, a wall of snow had to be shifted for the postie and the paper boy :(

Heres why us self empoyed types need Winter tyres or 4x4s It didn't go any where that day, or in fact any day with a snowflake within 20 miles

Hoping we get a lot more of the whitestuff this year down in Devon

The snow plough attachment worked well in the snow, didn't like the curb hidden under it though

Hoping the Alps will be better this winter too, particularly now I've found somewhere to put my uprated 4x4 system through its paces

Edited 16 September, 201015 yr by snow_muncher