Now the snow has compacted on the minor roads the poor old ESP is working overtime trying to keep the Furby II going in the right direction. Having run the prevoius Yeti on winters I've decided it's safer to drop the OEM sports tyres and I've ordered some winter wheels from mytyres in 165/70 R14 as this size works well on our older Mk I and fits the II as well.

Regards,

TP

Having to hold off on the order after reading the German tyre and rim guide which suggests this size is not compatible with TPM. Have to wait to see if I can get a sensible answer out of SUK tomorrow :S Handbook makes no mention of it and the size is listed on the filler cap.

Shame if it's not as there an almost perfect match diameter wise with the standard 205/45 R16. Otherwise it's much more expensive 195/55 R15 :(

TP

Ive got these, and I rate them. Today it was -7 at 5am and our side roads were very icy and slippery. My Fabia doesnt have ESP and it coped well today, no ABS activation and just very minor slips down hill. No worse than any other tyre Ive used in snow. In fact I got up a road today that a neighbour could not in his Octavia diesel so Im happy

Been reading this thread with intrest and honestly these tyre's are rubbish in the snow and as from next week I will have winter tyres fitted to the car, decided to use the car for the first time in a week and reversed the car out of the space where I stay came forward and spin spin spin, no grip at all! Took a couple of people to push me out, so we came back dug the space out even more than this morning and decided to drive the car into my space and same old problem no traction at all.

I can get a set of winter tyres for £40 from my Skoda Service Centre, so I just need to purchase the steel wheels, I'm sure my father has the same tyres on his fiesta so don't think he will have mucj luck either!

Davy

Now my car is liberated from deep snow I have been out and about on some pretty bad roads and they are no worse than any other normal tyre. I also reckon my own snow driving technique was not good. Now driving much more gently eg moving off on the clutch only and so far have not got stuck again. I am sure winter tyres will be night and day but I just cant justify the expense for them.

I dont think that true, I think its triggered by a difference in wheel rotational speed, not necessarily a locked wheel. I recall reading another thread I think here someone had abs issues after changing tyres, when going round corners (maybe due to differing tyre diameters).

Maybe it's different in recent cars? Perhaps with ESP? Must say, I don't have a problem generally.

UK spec tyres are "all season" tyres, if I lived in Scotland, the Pennines or the Welsh hills I'd expect to need winter tyres, but not someone in the midlands. Or maybe all those other cars this morning were on winter tyres...

Trust me, here in the urban west midlands, I was very glad of my winter tyres- got me through a couple of places the Conti SC3s I use the rest of the year would have seen me sat stationary with spinning wheels. Last year saw me have to reverse 1/2 mile down a lane.

I don't think anything with high performance tyres sold in the UK has all-seasons on- Conti SportContact are definitely summer tyres.

in order for me to get back into my space, even after digging out I had to drop my tyre pressure, my friend has just fitted winter tyres to his alto and he has told me it is night and day compared to normal tyres and would recommend people to get them.

Davy

Turanzas are definitely summer-only tires, so don't expect them to perform well in snow or icy roads. I have them (stored, waiting for spring) for my Ibiza ST. For real winter conditions, you will need real winter tires.

Having lived all my life in Finland, with a real snowy winter every year (some more snowy, some less), I'm partial to recommending to anyone that you invest in good quality studless winter tires, or better still and particularly if you experience a lot of ice and snow, studded tires (if legal in your area). I use studded tires in both of my cars (Nokian Hakkapeliitta 5 in my 2008 Octy II RS and Hakkapeliitta 7 in my new Seat Ibiza ST), and would never trade them for studless ones - YMMV.

If your main interest is reliable winter performance in all conditions, get winter tires made for Nordic/Scandinavian conditions, such as the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R, Bridgestone Blizzak Nordic or Continental ContiVikingContact 5. They may not be the best performers in cold-wet conditions (although not bad either) and usually have just a Q speed rating (160 km/h), but perform excellently in snowy and icy conditions.

If you wish to have a higher speed rating, and experience mainly cold-wet conditions, then maybe the winter tires made for the Central European market may be better suited for you. Some of those would be Nokian W+ or WR G2, Bridgestone Blizzak LM or ContiWinterContact tires other than CVC5.