I should only need them for a max of two months so I reckon the steel wheel option is fair value rather than swopping tyres around

Do remember winter tyres are not just for snow; they are for cold weather.

For whats it worth I would report that the GW3`s have been excellent in snow and some pretty bad downhill icy bits.

Although we have not had huge amounts of snow I have gone deliberately (got some stick from wonderwoman and miss bossy boots) on some back roads up on the tops around here with plenty of snow and a couple of weeks ago up in Langdale in the lakes where lots of cars and buses were struggling and folk were digging.

As I used to drive over in Germany in winter I have previously had Quatrac 3 All Seasons on my old 2 wd Octy estate and they were very good over the previous pretty rough winters but a combination of 4wd and proper winters does inspire some confidence, did have had a couple of slight sideways moments even with the hill decent up in the lakes. Mind you there was a lot of hidden ice under the snow.Just wonder how long to wait before I put the rubberbands back on, They have only done 600 miles!

Yorkies the dogs bits!!!!

Cheers

Peter :beer:

Just got my Dunlop summer tyres swapped back today, noticed they are now 5mm all round at 19k miles. The Falken Euro Winters (225/50/17) are still on 7mm. Has anyone else noticed how many small stones winter tyres pick up in their tread? I must of picked out 20 or so stones before storing them away.

Being a lease car I will get the Dunlops replaced all at no cost when they get down to 3mm.

Must admit I am dissappointed we had very little snow here on the north east coast this winter, although it has been cold :(

First service due this Friday.

Just got my Dunlop summer tyres swapped back today, noticed they are now 5mm all round at 19k miles. The Falken Euro Winters (225/50/17) are still on 7mm. Has anyone else noticed how many small stones winter tyres pick up in their tread? I must of picked out 20 or so stones before storing them away.

Being a lease car I will get the Dunlops replaced all at no cost when they get down to 3mm.

Must admit I am dissappointed we had very little snow here on the north east coast this winter, although it has been cold :(

First service due this Friday.

Aren't you jumping the gun a wee bit? You'll have snow in a few weeks time and your winter tyres will work wonders in the current rain.

Mind you; if as you suggest your Company pays for your summer tyres and you pay for the Winters I can understand your reasons why you want to be on winters for the minimum time.

. Has anyone else noticed how many small stones winter tyres pick up in their tread? I must of picked out 20 or so stones before storing them away.

Funnily enough, I recently thought exactly the same; I washed mine at the weekend and noticed a fair number of (biggish) stones in the tread!

Aren't you jumping the gun a wee bit? You'll have snow in a few weeks time and your winter tyres will work wonders in the current rain.

Mind you; if as you suggest your Company pays for your summer tyres and you pay for the Winters I can understand your reasons why you want to be on winters for the minimum time.

Yes I understand what you mean, but it's 14.5 degrees today (according to the Yeti) and around 10 all next week. What's this snow you speak of ? Through the whole winter we had a few hours of snow which melted away before it could really settle.

I'll take my chances as I'm pretty certain the spring has come early

You've forgotten that it always snows at Easter.

Winters will, for me, stay on for at least another 4 weeks; run them as a miminimum from November to the back end of March. The wider grooves and additional sipes easily collect stones but the also shift and cut through water far more effectively; may or may have not noticed a lot more spray following you on a day with winters

TP

..... but the also shift and cut through water far more effectively; may or may have not noticed a lot more spray following you on a day with winters

TP

Definitely; even with my RallyFlaps I feel somewhat concerned at the amount of spay I see in my rear view mirrors and what following drivers will not be able to see ahead of them.

what following drivers will not be able to see ahead of them.

That'll be you then...

Winters will, for me, stay on for at least another 4 weeks; run them as a miminimum from November to the back end of March. The wider grooves and additional sipes easily collect stones but the also shift and cut through water far more effectively; may or may have not noticed a lot more spray following you on a day with winters

TP

I'm leaving them on - winters on = no snow

We did have a couple of inches of snow on Saturday evening and I drove the car around our streets seeing how it behaved. All was well, but the snow was gone the next morning and I was able to go out on my road bike.

p.s. what happened to all that bragging we had about winter photos - I haven't taken one yet :think: