When should I put winter tyres on?

[gord]

When is the best time to fit them ,I was thinking the 1st week in November,until the 1st week in April.

They are supposed to work best at 7 degrees or less.

Any thoughts?

[Gizmo]

Whenever the temperature is consistently 7°c or lower WHEN YOU ARE DRIVING.

Dates don't really come into it as this will be different throughout the country, so keep an eye on the temp gauge and the weather forecast.

I tend to wait until we have had a week of 7°c or lower in our area to fit mine, SWMBO's go on up to a month later as she commutes at around 0830 and 1730 so the temperatures have warmed up / not dropped compared to when I set out (anything from 0300 and return up to 2200hrs)

[slider]

Trouble is you can't accurately predict when the temp. is going to consistently low. They make work best below 7C but that doesn't mean they are poor as the weather starts to cool down. I also feel they help in standing water - ok I know this has been the case all "summer" but the chances are we get some pretty wet days from now on.

I usually put mine on at the start of November and take of in mid April. After all you can only wear out on set of tyres at a time and you will feel a bit of a fool if you get a sudden frost or snowfall at the winters are sitting in the garage!

[Moist Von Lipwig]

As above wait till the driving temp is lower than 7 degrees. It is about that point that the winter tyres rubber is designed for, I believe. When this happens is going to depend on the weather and where you are. I'm keeping an eye on temps now as we had our first frost the other day but daytime temps are well above 7 for now.

Don't forget to let you Insurance company know. After lots of issues over the past few years most won't add any premium for it. There is a link on an old winter tyre thread to a database of insurers who won't add anything.

[Ootohere]

Mine are on now.

It has been below 4 degrees celcius untill 10am for 5 mornings in the last week & now torrential rain will arrive tonight for most of the week followed by a freeze.

2010, we got snow on the 24th October which lay till the 12th December,

& the Temperature never went above Zero for 5 weeks.

2012 it Snowed in April after 10 days of record high temperatures, it had been a mild Winter.

Horses for courses.

You can just put wheels/tyres on and off as you require surely.

george

This morning.

[Kidders]

Only when the weather is consistently no higher than 7C max during the day and of course, who knows when this will be as last winter down here was quite mild generally. I put winters on my van late December and took them off in Feb, the moment it went over 7C the handling was drastically affected for the worst, outright grip wasnt as good, and they will wear out quicker if too warm.

[Gizmo]

I suppose it all depends on the tyres as well, our Nokian's and Bridgestones both stayed on the cars longer than was ideal last winter yet both were still performing well and not wearing out, they were not being 'pushed' though.

[Ootohere]

My Picanto automatic has had its Pirelli Snow Controls on for over 5 years.

It only averages 4,000 miles a year, and mostly it is used in Snow,ice or rain, but a couple of thousand each year is in the dry and the warm.

Tyres are still as new.

Obviously only used at UK National speed limits when warmer than 7 celcius, & lower when cold.

george

[Brimma]

This mythical 7° ’cut-off’ point tickles me - it's as if the tyres will spontaneouly combust the second the temperature edges above it

I can understand that that is the recommended temperature when they come into their own, but it doesn't mean they’ll be lethal the rest of the time, surely?

[Gizmo]

No it doesn't, winter tyres can be run all year round perfectly safely.

Non winter tyres start to struggle below 7°c and winter tyres are at their best from there,

I have run winter tyres in 20°c and they were perfectly safe, but surely when you have the best for both conditions you ideally want to run the optimum tyres whenever you can, there will always be an overlap where either is the most desirable choice.

The important thing that some forget is when is the car going to be driven, if it's mainly early morning and late at night then the ideal time to switch is going to be earlier than a car that is mainly used in broad daylight when the air temperatures will be higher.

[Ootohere]

Important to understand checking tyre pressures in winter.

http://www.michelin.co.uk/tyres/learn-share/care-guide/cold-weather-tips

These pictures were taken 12 hours apart this April.

a 20 degree celcius drop over night

Glad i had the Summer tyres at 7pm the perfect night before.

& They were OK the next morning at 7 am.

The snow only lay for a day then.

george

Who cares what tyres you have if the roads are clear & you stick to a safe speed.

[Kidders]

This mythical 7° ’cut-off’ point tickles me - it's as if the tyres will spontaneouly combust the second the temperature edges above it

I can understand that that is the recommended temperature when they come into their own, but it doesn't mean they’ll be lethal the rest of the time, surely?

Have you ever used winter tyres? I have, and mine didnt perform their best until it was really cold. A decent premium summer tyre will still work well when its cold too, I left my Hankooks on the Mondeo throughout and it was great even at freezing temperatures. For the van its worth it, for the one time in the snow it pulled straight up the hill near my house and gave me much better control.

The 7 c is just a general cut off point. When temps went over 12c, thats when I noticed the biggest difference, the sidewall was a lot softer and the tread blocks were very pliable, introducing understeer much earlier than summer tyres. I'm sure it will vary brand to brand but thats my experience.

[Ootohere]

My van goes up and down to Great Yarmouth all year on its Cold weather tyres,

(fitted all year,like many Scottish commercials, campers etc have fitted.)

not that they are required much when down there.

It is all about Brands, & pressures to the Temperature.

The roads could do with some cambers on them tho in Norfolk.

george

[Kidders]

My van goes up and down to Great Yarmouth all year on its Cold weather tyres,

(fitted all year,like many Scottish commercials, campers etc have fitted.)

not that they are required much when down there.

It is all about Brands, & pressures to the Temperature.

The roads could do with some cambers on them tho in Norfolk.

george

I live in Norfolk but most of my driving is done out of county, round the M25 etc. After having winters I wouldnt say they are essential but the braking and grip does improve when its cold and wet, and ice. Much rather pay a bit more and have reduced braking distances in poor weather, my van is my livelihood so anything I can do to reduce risk is worthwhile.

[Brimma]

Have you ever used winter tyres?

Yes

[slider]

This mythical 7° ’cut-off’ point tickles me - it's as if the tyres will spontaneouly combust the second the temperature edges above it

I can understand that that is the recommended temperature when they come into their own, but it doesn't mean they’ll be lethal the rest of the time, surely?

I have to say that I found my winter tyres performed very poorly during the unseasonally warm weather we had in early March this year.

Temp was low to mid 20's and the car did not corner well at all.

[okenobi]

It was 9.5 on the way home from work last night, and wet. My S1 Evos were fine as always, but my winters are on order and will be here this week. As soon as they arrive, they're going on. I hasn't been above 13 for a over a week now and it's been wet virtually the entire time. Better to go earlier and be ahead of the weather by a little bit, than be caught out IMHO.

[marcevo1]

I think it depends on the type of car you use them on to whether they feel rubbish above say 12 degrees. If its a low power motor used for shopping they feel fine all day everyday. Pushing biggish power in a tight chassis they feel a bit dead - but not as dead as summer tyres in winter! Squidge you can live with - bakerlite and brittle understeery you can't.