Wow - used my Winter tires in anger today

[broere]

I've got winter tyres on my octy. Every time I drive my son's car on summer tyres in the present winter conditions, I feel the difference. Next winter, he'll buy winter tyres too, he told me after driving my car. And don't tell me it's all about 'rubbish drivers'. A collegue of mine just couldn't leave the car park, I didn't even feel a thing. The difference is huge. For three winters now, I drove into the Alps, and had no problems at all even in extreme snow conditions. I noticed other drivers, on summer tyres, driving along with their chains or socks, sliding in every curve because the rear tyres had no grip at all.

In Germany and Austria they are compulsory, and even in Belgium people are considering the idea.

Don't forget that while you're using winter tyres, your summer don't wear...

[GrantS508]

My Alloys were £100 from eBay ...Tyres £46 each from Camskill

They are on the car for the third winter now..November to mid March..still showing only negligable wear (bought in September 2010)

My summer wheels and tyres are put away for 4 months..saving more money on wear

So where is the expence?

My car is brand new, I have loads of tread left, so I would have to fork out nearly 300 quid for some wheels. I don't know what pop star wages your on to say that isn't any expense, but the military don't pay me that well that I can throw that kinda money around when I don't require a change of wheels.

However I see your point that if I was perhaps at a stage where I needed new tyres and it was coming up to winter, it wouldn't affect me massively price wise to go for a set of winters.

Now can you please drop it, I have very little interest in keeping this going as I do accept that winters can make a difference and perhaps I just had a poor type.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

[MartynVRS]

The benefits of winter tyres are obvious but since it's not law to use them you have to choose if you think they are necessary. If I lived up North where it's had bad snow the last few years I probably would or if my job required lots of driving. But I live in Swansea where normally we get very little snow since we are so close to the coast and if we get it the rest of the country has bucket loads. I am considering them for next year but I've survived without them. The only bad road I've been on since it all started was coming back from my cousins last night. Still lots of snow on trees and slush on parts of the road with ice since it was cold last night. At no point did it lose traction or did I struggle anywhere and this was all at speed limits. Just drive to conditions and give plenty of braking time and that's half the battle. I also steer as little as possible too

[O.B-B]

Just going to add my personal experience to this topic. For the past 15 months I've had a set a "All-Season Tyres" fitted to my car (Kleber Quadraxers if anyone is interested). I originally bought and fitted them for last winter but I found they worked so well I kept them on all year. They have the "3 peak" mountain and "snow flake" symbols so are rated for use in severe winter conditions.

This last week was the first time they've been used in anger in the snow and I can say they were a revelation for me. One one occasion I had to be on shift at 0530hrs which necessitated leaving the house at 0400am. The roads were deserted (and snow covered at the time of the day) but I happily did the 30 miles to work with no dramas. The next day I returned home at 2130hrs where the temperatures were just as cold but there was slush and other drivers around. Again...no dramas at all. Happily overtook people where necessary and generally was able to keep away from traffic that had "bunched up" dangerously behind each other. For the sense of control they gave me they were worth the money for those two days alone.

I have found that over the 12000 or so miles I've done in 15 months the tyre wear has been negligible. In the summer they perhaps don't have the grip that my Bridgestone Potenza S01s have but then they don't have the horrendous road noise either! As for speed, I don't regularly "drive it like I stole it" but neither do i hang around. The tyres are rated at V for speed which is only one down from the W rating my Bridgestones have. V is still rated at something like 140mph which is a speed I have no intention of trying to get up to!

For me I will never buy another type of tyre again. And before anyone asks...no I don't work for a tyre manufacturer! I just wanted to give people my real world experiences of using an All Season Tyre for over a year.

[AnotherGareth]

And why do I need to downgrade to smaller profile steel wheels

Although you received some good answers to this part of your question, one answer that appears to have been missed is that smaller wheels with a narrower tyre section are often required if you need to fit snow chains. Check the handbook for your car ...

Mind you, I reckon with good rubber appropriate to the conditions, snow chains would rarely be needed in the UK.

FWIW I chose smaller narrower steel wheels to go with the narrowest tyre mentioned in my car's handbook, with the hope of getting better braking at the expense of cornering grip. Steel wheels were cheaper to buy than a second set of alloys, and if they were kerbed could be bent back, unlike alloys which have a higher chance of cracking. The higher profile tyre reduces the chance of the wheels being damaged as well, (although maybe that's not a serious consideration).

[Rab-k]

As the forecast for Sunday suggests normal service is about to be resumed, (wet'n'windy in other words), I thought I'd take the opportunity today to go and play in the snow...

[mountainandsea]

Hi All,

Good to see some more reasoned debate coming back to this thread - it looked for a while like it was going to descend into a slanging match......

(A quick recap - I had winter tyres on an A6 some years ago. They were unquestionably good on snow and slippery/very wet surfaces but adversely affected the car's handling on damp/dry roads. I live in a rural part of Aberdeenshire, where we probably get the most wintry weather in the UK. Fitted all season tyres (Vredesteins) and when the A6 was replaced by an Octy 4x4, and my wife's Golf with another Octy, they've been fitted with the same. No dramas with spinning, loss of traction or braking. Octy 4x4 now replaced with a Scout).

So, some thoughts on winter tyres (or not). None of this is "trolling" for a reaction, or critical of anyone else - just maybe for a bit of debate!

There have been some fairly forthright opinions in the thread about winter tyres being the safest thing to be on. Some posters have expressed the opinion that Winters should be compulsory for a period as in some continental countries. So - for debate - would the same folk support a lowering of the speed limit to (say) 60 on motorways, 50 on extra-urban roads, 30 for current 40mph limits and 20 for all urban roads over the same period? this surely would be "safer", whatever rubber you're on?

We get the kind of conditions most of the UK has experienced over the last ten days every winter. Standard kit in both our cars from the beginning of November to the end of April includes collapsible snow shovels, stove & panset, food, water and (when the weather is predicted to be really bad) sleeping bags if we're going any distance. The thing that stops folk around here getting about isn't slippery or difficult surfaces - it's almost always either volume (ground clearance) or drifting - which can be frighteningly quick to form. In these circumstances, it matters little what tyres you're on; you're going nowhere. this was what I was alluding to when suggesting that knowing when not to drive is a useful skill (and a snowdrift cares not whether your job is critical ). So - for debate - do folk who fit winter tyres to prepare their cars for winter put the same kind of kit in the boot?

Many posters have referenced braking distance on slippery surfaces as a key reason for fitting winter tyres. This got me to thinking (!) about the scale of priority when considering whether to fit them. As I've said, my A6 was handling really poorly on winters in less extreme conditions, but my normal driving is done on rural roads which are pretty much all twisty and with very light traffic load. Having worked down in Hampshire for the last couple of weeks and seen the astonishing (for me) levels of congestion on all roads including the motorways, I can fully understand why braking distance is way up the priority list for many. So - for debate - the solution chosen may depend as much on local road/traffic conditions as outright weather conditions?

The weather is forecast to become much warmer next week in the south of the UK with temperatures at a pretty steady 10-11 degrees Celsius day and night. So - for debate - given that tyre manufacturers recommend winter tyres only for below 7 degrees C, will folk change back to their "regular" tyres? (I stress I'm not trolling here!) If the whole reason for fitting winters is that they're safer below 7 C, then it could be argued that they're not as good at 11 C as an all season (or perhaps some "summer" tyres) so that the "safe" thing to do would be to change back? This genuinely interests me because if I were to get winters in the future this is how I'd envisage utilising them, as another poster had implied he does.

Just to lighten things a bit - the snowy conditions sometimes last well into Spring - on Good Friday 2012 I did wonder whether I'd made the right choice of toys.....

One thing which was a feature of winter 2010/11, an exceptionally cold winter in the NE of Scotland, was the amount of ice which accumulates around the running gear in really frigid conditions. this liitle lot ad to be chipped out using a variety of tools on a day when it was never above minus 12 C!

Kind Regards

Ian

Edited 25 January, 2013 by mountainandsea

[zacherynuk]

My recently installed Goodyear Vector All Seasons have been 'king fabulous. I have driven in everything from 19 degree dry to 6 inches snow and more recently early black ice patches and they have not faltered. As I use the same 4 mile route 4 times a day 3 days a week (kiddie run) I can really sense the difference, traction is incredible on otherwise bumbling tight inclines and braking & turning is faultless. In heavy rain, on sodden roads I can still screech!

The "downgrade" from 18" to 17" alloys along with softer compound has made every journey quieter and smoother.

I am a happy all-round bunny.

[Darwin555]

Hi Duncan,As posted earlier in the thread, I have used winter tyres and then not fitted them subsequently.

To expand on the rather brief reply to ChrisRs above:I fitted winter tyres to a previous car (an A6 Avant) about six winters ago, before they'd become really popular. Given that I live in the area of Britain most affected by winter driving conditions (the CockBridge - Tomintoul road just a few miles away etc) and that I'm in a rural location (2.5 miles to a shop, 20 miles to a supermarket, 26 miles to a dual carriageway and 98 miles to the nearest motorway) I felt that they'd be worth fitting.

The ones fitted were a decent make (Goodyear I think) and in accordance with advice received at the time were inflated very slightly over the normal pressure for the car. Fitted right before the winter hit hard, they were good in really marginal conditions and continued to be so when a thaw came a couple of weeks later. However, on dry or damp roads the tyres adversely affected the handling of the car when cornering. It became "sketchy" and I found myself tiptoeing around corners despite trying different pressures etc.Then the winter weather came back and I left them on - they coped well. Back to better conditions and the handling was awful again.

I was then recommended to fit Vredestein tyres, and the difference was instant. Handling much improved and when a further bout of bad weather came I left these on and found them comparable to the winter tyres.The Audi was sold and the winter wheels went with it. I then bought a Octavia 4 x 4 and have always fitted Vredesteins; normally Sportracs. Even during winter 2010-2011 which was one of the hardest in memory, the car didn't put a foot wrong with these fitted and I've not subsequently fitted winters. I have however passed several cars with winter tyres fitted who were struggling!

Winter tyres pointless? Not at all, and if they work for you and give an advantage that's great. They just didn't work well enough over the range of conditions I needed them to do. For me, and for where I live a good "all season" tyre works.

the 4x4 has recently been traded against a 2012 Scout which still has the factory fit Dunlops on it. As I'm away from home at the moment I haven't driven it in full-on winter conditions, if they don't cut it I'll look to replace. If I did purchase winter tyres they'd only be going on immediately prior to the spells of bad weather and coming off straight away once the roads had improved.

This may go against the orthodoxy of this thread, but please don't infer that those who've had a different experience haven't tried!

Kind Regards

Ian

You must be within spitting distance of me.

I am 21 miles from the closest dualler (Inverurie), but as I am in what is probably your closest town, and only have to step outside my front door and I am in the shops.

On the winter treads issue. In ordinary wet and cold the only difference I claim to notice is the slightly wobbly ride from the massive sidewalls on my 15" steelies, compared to the tyres on my 17" summer alloys. However in snow and ice the difference really is night and day. I invested in the winters in late 2011 when my standard tyres on steels were due for replacement, and I knew I was going to buy alloys come the spring. In early 2011 the car had struggled in the snow and ice and I usually ended up parking on the street because my very gentle inclined drive simply caused the wheels to spin and polish the ice. Fast forward to winter 2011 and we didn't have significant snow so I've had to wait until this year to find out how they were going perform. This year I no longer struggle in my own drive despite almost a foot of snow, and the commute to work has been incredibly confident. I would say that I have had comparable grip on white roads to that which I have on ordinary roads. The only thing which has slowed me down significantly this winter has been the poor visibility and navigating some roads by snow poles!

[stever750]

Good post Ian. I guess that's a good explanation of metblackrat's POV wrt to training (attitude) rather than relying on technology. I don't think they should be a legal requirement on private cars; commercial vehicles maybe since they are usual cause of road blockages when it snows. The rest of us should be open to choice, the sensible option being to stay at home unless you have t go out, in which case give yourself the best chance of being able to get where you set out to.

[Darwin555]

We get the kind of conditions most of the UK has experienced over the last ten days every winter. Standard kit in both our cars from the beginning of November to the end of April includes collapsible snow shovels, stove & panset, food, water and (when the weather is predicted to be really bad) sleeping bags if we're going any distance. The thing that stops folk around here getting about isn't slippery or difficult surfaces - it's almost always either volume (ground clearance) or drifting - which can be frighteningly quick to form. In these circumstances, it matters little what tyres you're on; you're going nowhere. this was what I was alluding to when suggesting that knowing when not to drive is a useful skill (and a snowdrift cares not whether your job is critical ). So - for debate - do folk who fit winter tyres to prepare their cars for winter put the same kind of kit in the boot?

The weather is forecast to become much warmer next week in the south of the UK with temperatures at a pretty steady 10-11 degrees Celsius day and night. So - for debate - given that tyre manufacturers recommend winter tyres only for below 7 degrees C, will folk change back to their "regular" tyres? (I stress I'm not trolling here!) If the whole reason for fitting winters is that they're safer below 7 C, then it could be argued that they're not as good at 11 C as an all season (or perhaps some "summer" tyres) so that the "safe" thing to do would be to change back? This genuinely interests me because if I were to get winters in the future this is how I'd envisage utilising them, as another poster had implied he does.

Kind Regards

Ian

My winter driving kit.

Big metal shovel (more useful when ice is involved than the plastic snow scoop I use to clear the drive)

Old plastic biscuit box of salt

Strips of carpet

Extra warm clothing

Couple of blankets

Hi vis vest

4 pack of red bull

Couple of mars bars

For longer trips we also throw in sleeping bags, solid fuel stove, and pan.

Since fitting the winter tyres the 'extra grip' kit has been used only to help other people out.

The whole lot goes in the car during the October break (I'm a teacher), when the winter wheels go on, and come out again during the Easter break when the summer wheels go on.

I see your argument about chopping and changing whenever the temp goes above 7, but last year before I had got around to buying alloys I ran the winters until about June, including a drive down to Bristol and back in double firgure temps, and didn't feel that the winters were causing any grip issues at those higher temps. As said in my previous post, the only thing I notice is 'wobbly' sidewalls.

[Rab-k]

Having the raised boot floor makes for an excellent stash for the 'seasonal' kit in the form of snow chains, welly boots + thick socks, hat/scarf/gloves, waterproofs, folding shovel, space blankets, glow sticks, etc. They sit hidden away in there all year so I never have to think about preparing for winter - apart from swapping the summer rubber for winter of course. (Something which I only have to do on the Octy - thankfully the Polo lives on its Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons).

I probably won't bother swapping back to summer tyres until the end of March, unless the temp. creeps into double figures for a week+ without any sign of a cold snap in the offing.

[domhnall]

We've had snow in April for the last 2 years. Winters on October to April here.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

[Howlingwolf]

I live in Zagreb, Croatia...a few weeks ago we had 68 cm of snow on the road over night. I doubt anyone would get to work without winter tyres fitted. I personaly can not afford a premium brand but i was amazed at how Barum Polaris 3 can handle that. As for storing the tyres over those few months alot of tyre shops including the company where i work offer the option of you leaving the tyres for keeping in their own warehouse for something about 10-15€ for the set per season. I think the best calculation to those who disagree with buying a set is: potential damage on car+possible injuries cost more than a set of 4 tyres.

Edited 26 January, 2013 by Howlingwolf

[mattytemp]

Well last night I come to the disision to save money over year and buy set of steelies and winters ready for next winter as I realised how usless summers are in heavy snow. What brand at the moment are best ones for a cr vrs and what size rims?

[Gizmo]

What brand at the moment are best ones for a cr vrs and what size rims?

Most people will recommend what they have used, personally for me after trying 3 different sets of winter tyres I will be opting for Nokian WR A3’s in the future, they are without doubt the best I have tried, cost is very reasonable IMO (just above budget brand prices for a premium brand tyre).

As for tyre size that all depends on what is more important to you, style? then stick with the 225/40/18”s or practicality? then go for 205/55/16’s the tyres are much cheaper and they will work better in snow than the wider lower profile OE size.

EDIT: Just noticed you are going for steel wheels, in which case you will be going for 16” as i’m sure you will struggle to find any 18” steel wheels to fit.

[Huskoda]

Nokian WR A3s or Goodyear Ultragrip 8's appear the most popular. I have the Goodyears, but may get Nokians next time as they're asymmetric so I can put one in the boot as a spare when using summers.

Last night driving conditions were horrendous. Being stuck behind morons doing 5mph on flat roads. Unable to go on any main road that had a hill because it was clogged with stuck cars, I fared far better using back streets as there was noone to get in my way.

They don't need to make them compulsory, but I would certainly back a move for police to start fining people who blocked roads because their cars were not suitably equipped for the conditions, like they do in Germany. As an added bonus, this should have no effect on the people who have the pro skills to not need winter tyres

[andyvee]

Six inches of snow here overnight, and I left to drive to Chester at 7am. No drama at all on winters.

Amazing how many cars had been abandoned on the A roads because they couldn't get up the hills. There were half a dozen buses abondoned as well. If these were abondoned last night, another 2 to 3 inches fell since then, and I didn't have any problems at all.

The main issue I had was ground clearance - maybe the B12 kit isn't the best option in deep snow .........

[mat-vrs]

We are using Vredestein Snowtrac 3's. Very impressive, although we only put them on towards the end of the snow so didn't tackle anything too extreme.

Previously we had Matador winter tyres, although budgets they were excellent and we had 3 winters use and would have had another I think.

I can't compare them directly though as they were different sizes/cars and 4wd/2wd.

[Howardian1]

After being on a hill three years ago with the car simply sliding downhill under its own weight from stationary, I got a set of Nokian winter tyres for it. The difference, even on a Scout, is unbelievable. Now I would have no fears about driving in 6" on unploughed snow and getting where I wanted to be.

This was the car this morning, with a measured 4.5" of snow on the roof. Going bush-beating so brushed the snow off the car, got in and simply reversed out of my awkward twisty, uphill drive which also passes dangerously close to the house. 3 years ago I nearly slid sideways into the corner of the house, so 'nuf said. Going into the North York Moors on ploughed roads I couldn't even get the car ABS to go off on a downhill section at 30mph when stamping on the brakes (on a safe stretch, to test grip).

Invested in a set of Yeti Spitzberg alloys this summer, as I already had the full-size Nokians and decided I was tired of going to tyre fitters twice a year. As for wear, this is the third full season and they've got from 8mm to 6mm in that time.

I've always been a person who, if I've decided to drive somewhere, will generally get there and have always had 4wd cars as a result. Now I would never consider winter driving without winter tyres.

[Jaytip]

I drive a taxi for a living and every winter I put winter tyres on. While a lot of my colleagues won't leave the house due to the fear of bumping their cars, I make my money back on the cost of buying them in two days.

When people say they are an added expense, they are wrong. Whether you drive on regular or winter tyres throughout the winter months you are still going to have tyre wear. A lot of the big tyre companies will store the regular tyres for a small fee, so it's a no brainer.

[Tom Tallon]

If Howardian (from the Hills I presume) is still looking at this thread, which Nokians do you use. I have WR D3s which have not missed a beat in 6 inches of snow on an octavia in the North East winter so far. For future reference which Nokians have impressed you so much in your driving experiences?

[Howardian1]

If Howardian (from the Hills I presume) is still looking at this thread, which Nokians do you use. I have WR D3s which have not missed a beat in 6 inches of snow on an octavia in the North East winter so far. For future reference which Nokians have impressed you so much in your driving experiences?

WRG2s.

To be fair, they're the only ones I've had on my Scout so I don't have any comparable experiences with other makes. I got them from MyTyres and picked those ones because they seemed to have the consistently best reviews. I noted that they also had a tread pattern that was more suited to slush, which I felt was perhaps more applicable therefore in UK conditions.

The only other winter tyres I've ever run (and I don't know whether they were 'snow' or 'winter' tyres) were Vredestein Snowstars in the mid-1990s on my Subaru L Series estate. Again, they made a big difference, but it's funny how you forget these things when you get a 10-year run of mild winters...

Just posted pics of the car in its winter set-up here, if anyone's interested:

http://www.briskoda....42#entry3109642

[Rab-k]

Likewise the WRG2 gets my vote, although the only other M&S tyre I've ever used is the Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons currently on my Polo - but I'd say the Nokians are more grippy.

Pics here.

[domhnall]

Wrg2 for me too

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2