You don't need snow or sub zero temps to benefit from winter or all season tyres. seriously, in the south east even we get few hours of dry over 12c weather that i have opted for permenent all seasons. For the odd good day we do get, i am gonna buy a TVR.. better that in the garage than tyres an recycling.

And the winner is:

4wd with appropriate tyres.

Next, I want to see a proper muddy slippy slimey off roading test with all terrain tyres on a 2wd v a 4wd with standard road tyres comparison please.

Having performed a u turn in a marshy field this morning I can confirm that M&S tyres don't work well in mud, even with 4x4!

That's a sweeping statement to make! It veryuch depends on the tyre in questions tread pattern, amongst over things. Mine were very good this morning at the stables. :-)

That's a sweeping statement to make! It veryuch depends on the tyre in questions tread pattern, amongst over things. Mine were very good this morning at the stables. :-)

Depends on the mud as well I guess, the thick clogging mud I was in took a few hundred yards to clear from the tyres so meant even back on Tarmac was a bit slippery at first.

And the winner is:

4wd with appropriate tyres.

I'll second that!

More on the way tomorrow...

Addenton, I've just ordered a set of these for my real 4wd to get through the mud into the snow to play. It's really hard to find a mud tyre that works in snow/ice and a snow/ice tyre that works in mud.

Unfortunately I don't think they come in 225/50R17 for the yeti/scout or 195/70R15 for my other work car.

Is it so bad to just run the winter tyres all year round?

My winters on my BMW were terrible in normal conditions. Wobbly as hell. These are the only winter tyres i have ever owned so not sure if it was an anomoly but they were simply terrible most of the time. They activated ASR very easily and didnt feel safe in the bends due to how much they squirmed about.

I had Pirelli Sottozero Run flats bought from mytyres.co.uk on steel rims. 205/55/16 im sure they were.

I did get to try them for 1 day on 1 inch of snow and they were great but all in all they were a waste of money for me as we didnt get enough snow and they felt dodgy on normal wet or dry roads.

Going for all season tyres for the VRS when the factory fit contis wear out so hopefully these perform better.

I have used conti winter tyres in 30 C heat, they were fine, I did not notice a difference until I started pushing it in the corners, then they broke traction maybe 5-10% sooner than my summer tyres. In places like Slovakia, they routinely use winter tyres all year round, I feel this makes more sense than using summer tyres all year round! Winter tyres in summer work better than summer tyres in winter!

Perhaps a better option for those in the south of England would be all season tyres? I intend to try them when my summer tyres wear out.

I used Vredestein Quatrac 3s on my Fabia PD100 all year round Nov '11 - Nov '12. I took it down to the Alps and climbed the snow covered resorts roads very easily - but I did take a pair of EasyGrips just in case, but there wasn't a need to even to unpack them.

I found them so reliable that I got another set when I replaced it with an Octavia.

My mrs has had winter tyres on for 2 years and 22k miles and the fronts are still above 4mm and she has had them on permanently.

I suppose it's about how you drive as a major component of how you wear tyres out !

It seems Continental and the like only sell their all-season rubber in the US. I've ordered some Continental Purecontact tyres which are all-season and have a 70,000 mile treadwear warranty. In Europe they sell you summer or winter. Here in NZ they only sell you summer rubber.

Here in NZ they only sell you summer rubber.

Does the land of The Darkness* know snow though?

*Rugby reference.

The part I live in does and every 5-7 years most of the south island does:

But most of our tyre choices (and indeed car choices) are dictated by suppliers who work out of Australia.

Addenton, I've just ordered a set of these for my real 4wd to get through the mud into the snow to play. It's really hard to find a mud tyre that works in snow/ice and a snow/ice tyre that works in mud.

Unfortunately I don't think they come in 225/50R17 for the yeti/scout or 195/70R15 for my other work car.

Goodyear Wrangler AT/R in 245/45 R 18 on my Scout. Good bite in the snow and 10mm extra ground clearance. Not much reduction in MPG - still managed to get 50mpg on my (admittedly slow) 20+ mile trip to dealer for service yesterday. What's not to like...

You'll need to search European websites if you want them though.

Excellent example of summer tyres in the snow and ice. RWD Merc at about 14s and FWD Hyundai at about 1:06

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21333476

Edited 5 February, 201313 yr by pablo68

What irritates me is that these people on the news throw their hands up and scream 'theres nothing we can do! noone can get anywhere!' I really, really want to see one of these tv crews on the side of a hill and to drive straight past them and the BMW/Merc driver they're interviewing. Of course if they stop me for a chat, they will decide its my four wheel drive that lets me get about.

Driving from Holmfirth to Manchester this morning in that snow with 4x4 and winter rubber the only annoying thing was I was the one constantly having to get out of the car to push everyone else out of the way.

Jeeves, I've love to put a set of those on my other work car. It's daily toil is a mix of tar-seal and mine-site. But it can't handle the width and I'm not shouting it a set of 18" rims. It's currently on 195/70R15 which gives it van rubber.

Why is it soo hard to find out what sizes a tyre is available in? All these manufacturers websites make you choose a size then give you the tyres.

Coming home this morning I came to a 3-way roundabout with a fresh set of tyre tracks going straight up the kerb onto the island, across the island, back down onto the road and stopping at the pavement's kerb on the far side, where a large pile of snow from the roof/bonnet could be seen lying on the pavement.

Cost of winter tyres vs cost of repairs to suspension, steering, replacement alloys? (Yes, and it could equally be down to excessive speed and/or poor driving skills, but when the driving conditions are that bad, personally, I want all the help I can get, and for me that means a set of winter rubber).