Winter tyres.... do I need them

[maverick451]

Hi guys

I imagine this has been answered many times before but im new on here so bare with me

Why do the majority buy seperate rims or alloys to fit there winter tyres on?

Why not just put them on the standard alloys and then get them switched back?

[r999]

The Skoda dealer advised me to stack my summer wheels/tyres horizontally in the garage inflated to approx 38 psi.

That was a bad recommendation. If tyres are on the car when it is out of use (i.e bearing weight) then they should be inflated to 25% above normal pressure. But for storing off the car, the pressure should be 15 psi. That's the recommendation from every tyre manufacturer I've seen.

[r999]

Oops, duplicate post.. apologies

Edited 16 November, 2012 by r999

[Ooopnorth]

Hi guys

I imagine this has been answered many times before but im new on here so bare with me

Why do the majority buy seperate rims or alloys to fit there winter tyres on?

Why not just put them on the standard alloys and then get them switched back?

That's a fair question. On my previous car with 16 inch alloys, that's exactly what I did, although I also had to pay £10 a corner, twice a year, to fit the winters and then refit the summers. However, the Yeti Elegance/SE (unless you specify otherwise at the time of ordering) arrives with relatively wide 17 inch wheels and with a relatively low profile (at least to my mind), which are not ideal for driving in snow when narrower wheels have an advantage. Also, the cost of winter tyres for the 17inch wheels seems to be much more expensive than the 16inch alternatives you can fit on your extra set of wheels. After the initial cost of the investment, the advantage of a spare set of wheels (steels or alloys) is that you can fit them yourself at no extra cost. I'm sure they're are other advantages/issues that more experienced and technically minded formites will discuss too.

Edited 16 November, 2012 by Ooopnorth

[rockhopper]

When I bought my winter tyres the price difference was over £40 per tyre. My steel wheels cost about that. Then there is paying a company (about £10 locally) per tyre to fit, and it makes the 16" wheel/tyre combo even better value. So it cost me about the same to buy as 4 17" tyres, but saves me £80 per year.

As mentioned above summer tyres wear out much faster in winter, so it is cheaper long term to use winters in winter.

[vegit8]

My major concern with switching tyres each season is the possible damage to the bead of the tyre.

Then there are concerns about increasing the chances of damage to the rims, there are a number of horror stories on here where rims have been damaged by less than careful operatives in tyre shops.

If you do about 12,000 miles a year then a set of tyres is going to last about three years worth of running time.

If you do the same amount of miles on each compound then the tyres may actually last 6 years, each tyre on and off each year equals 12 instances of removal /fitting over the life of a tyre

[rockhopper]

My major concern with switching tyres each season is the possible damage to the bead of the tyre.

Then there are concerns about increasing the chances of damage to the rims, there are a number of horror stories on here where rims have been damaged by less than careful operatives in tyre shops.

If you do about 12,000 miles a year then a set of tyres is going to last about three years worth of running time.

If you do the same amount of miles on each compound then the tyres may actually last 6 years, each tyre on and off each year equals 12 instances of removal /fitting over the life of a tyre

Actually, if summers on all year round last that long then you may get and extra 6 months to a year if you swap, as the winters wear less in winter than summers.

[gobiman]

Personal view but I wouldn't even think of having winter tyres without a separate set of rims for them. If you look at how tyres are taken off / put on , it is similar to levers on a bike tyre but with a slightly scarey machine and simply can't be great for structural integrity doing it twice a year. As well as the risk highlighted of damage to wheels by the garage bloke (and it is usually the junior bloke there doing it!!), there is also the question of getting them rebalanced.

For well under £100, you can buy a trolley jack, torque wrench (great one in Aldi for £25.99) and do it yourself. Once both sets of wheels/tyres have been set up (balanced/tracked) on initial fitment, you can mark them with chalk for the relevant axle and front/rear and then easy on/off. That's what I do twice a year for free. Takes about an hour. Added advantage is that you can inspect the tyres coming off for nails etc.

[gobiman]

Sorry £15.99 for torque wrench!

[vegit8]

even if you dont want to / feel able to swap tyres and rims, speak to your fitter and for a small fee they will swap them round for you, obviously how easy this is depends on how far away the fitter is, but this reply was in relation to the idea of swapping tyres on the same set of rims, which would mean a trip to the fitter in any case.

[Eleg4by4]

Are winter/all weather tyres repairable in the event of a puncture in the same way that 'summer' tyres are? (Run-flat tyres are generally not able to be fixed I believe.)

Also, who has the definitive say on what the correct tyre pressures should be for winter/all weather tyres? Is it the manufacturer of the tyre or Skoda?

[dbg400]

As long as they're not run flats they should be just the same as summer tyres. I got a puncture in one of my new winters less than 24 hours after putting it on the car - glad I had the spare tyre option! That was repaired no problem and has done 1300 or so miles since then.

Skoda say winter tyres should be +0.2 bar above standard, and I've seen similar specified on tyre websites. I'd assume you'd go with that as the tyre manufacturer won't know the loading the tyre will actually get - only what it was designed for.

[r999]

(Run-flat tyres are generally not able to be fixed I believe.)

There is much confusion on that question, but the truth is that some run-flat tyres can safely be fixed. As this page points out,

http://www.etyres.co.uk/news/puncture-repairs-to-run-flat-tyres-only-michelin-zp-4282.html Michelin was the first manufacturer to say their run-flats could be repaired, and since that page was published, Goodyear to my knowledge has said likewise.

[Eleg4by4]

There is much confusion on that question, but the truth is that some run-flat tyres can safely be fixed. As this page points out,

http://www.etyres.co...in-zp-4282.html Michelin was the first manufacturer to say their run-flats could be repaired, and since that page was published, Goodyear to my knowledge has said likewise.

In my experience, run-flats are very handy if you do get a puncture, but the negatives (for me at any rate) of: noise, stiff ride, more expensive, worse life, tyre pressure monitoring required and the fact that most tyre fitters have trouble getting them off without damaging the alloy outweigh the benefits! I guess that the technology is improving all the time though, although I never met any tyre supplier who was able to repair run-flats.

[GEOFFL]

Just called in at my local dealer, D M Keith, offering sets of winters, supplied, fitted balanced etc £420 for 16s, £640 for 17s.

[bahnstormer vrs]

Just called in at my local dealer, D M Keith, offering sets of winters, supplied, fitted balanced etc £420 for 16s, £640 for 17s.

Tyres only?

[Jazz Moli]

As they say.........GET SOME. You know it makes sense.

I'm retired too but I'm into a fair bit winter mountaineering & I like to get to some awkward places & get home again.

The A9 is possibly the favourite route & it does get its fair share of snow.

I also like the car to look good & have a set of alloys for the winter with winter tyres. See pic for info:

Being retired means you have lots of spare time and can enjoy driving around. Don't know should I envey you or warry about myself. . . seams most of yeti owners are older guys, (except me). Just joking. Best regards to all retired!

Edited 23 November, 2012 by Jazz Moli

[magic62]

If you want to be retired in the future, take care of having the right tyres on your car

[Jazz Moli]

Good advice. Just bought (and mounted) 4 michelin alpine A4. Very satisfied for now (in wet and dry conditions) thouhg no snow (in Croatia) yet.

[ChrisRs]

Just called in at my local dealer, D M Keith, offering sets of winters, supplied, fitted balanced etc £420 for 16s, £640 for 17s.

Far cheaper from Camskill and £40 to fit and balance at a tyrefitters

http://www.camskill.co.uk/m96b0s629p61894/Kumho_Tyres_Winter_Snow_Car_Kumho_KW27_Kumho_KW_27_-_205_55_R16_94V_XL_TL_

I have these..This is the Third Winter on the car..Superb!!

Buy some old alloys from eBay..Job done

No appreciable wear either

A no brainer!!

[Breckie]

Lowest I saw today was -3.5 on the way to Glenshee. Still took it "canny" even with the winter tyres on.

[The Plumber]

Lowest I saw today was -3.5 on the way to Glenshee. Still took it "canny" even with the winter tyres on.

Drove down to Lincoln early this morning in my lads Fabia II HTP; very light car and even with winters it 'slipped' a little in the freezing and foggy conditions, oh and no ESP or TCS to help out :S Thanks SUK for relegating safety to the options list, which the previous owner obviously didn't look at; totally bog standard car

TP

[Expatman]

Drove down to Lincoln early this morning in my lads Fabia II HTP; very light car and even with winters it 'slipped' a little in the freezing and foggy conditions, oh and no ESP or TCS to help out :S Thanks SUK for relegating safety to the options list, which the previous owner obviously didn't look at; totally bog standard car

TP

Hi Tim,

Glad you made it okay. Not sure who P......'s me off more. Skoda for not including such effective safety systems as standard or the original purchaser for not speccing. On balance I think Skoda p....s's me off more.

A couple of years ago I had a 'frank' debate with my brother-in-law who was speccing the top entertainment package and other bling on a new car but not ESP or any safety systems, just could not get it through to him that ESP would likely save his families life in an extreme situation. He didn't see he got anything obvious for the expenditure while he could enjoy a high end entertainment system. He got the car with bling and crows that he has not felt the lack of ESP and I, therefore, must have been wrong to try and convince him to waste his money on it.

[ejstubbs]

You could point him at this Wikipedia article. (Bear in mind, though, that you cannot persuade people who choose to remain wilfully ignorant.)

From the article:

According to

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

and the U.S.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

,

one-third of fatal accidents could have been prevented by the technology

.

The article says that ESC is already obligatory on new cars in Canada, the US and Australia. The EU isn't due to join that particular party until 2014, just in case he starts banging on about the EU interfering in things - although my guess is that it will be the case de facto before then for >90% of new cars simply because the manufacturers will want to keep things simple across global markets.

[Hairball]

Finally ordered four new Skugg boots for Jana.. I decided to swap the boots on the original 17" Spitzburgs for now, I know over time new spinners would make sense but I can't afford new ones this time of the year, Also no trouble with the insurance bods as for them it's just a change of boots and not wheels. Dunlops go back on next year. CONTINENTAL WINTER CONTACT TS830P on the way.