Winter Tires - Suitable All Year Round?

[Jons3y]

Re the Goodyear Vector 4 seasons (225/50/R17), had them on my 1.2TSI Yeti for the last two winters and can agree with most of what BobbyG79 said above.

In snow the car feels stable when cornering and braking.

However the traction going up any sort of slope in the snow is pretty feeble. 

This probably has more to do with the light front end of the FWD 1.2 and the wide profile rubber rather than any fault of the tyres.

[muddyboots]

Bit late to the party I guess, and although I'm not a Yeti owner yet, I've been using winter tyres for years now, so thought I'd chip in

 

Bit of background then.

I live in a village that's almost 1000ft up.

My daily commute sees me crossing the Derbyshire Peak District early in the morning and again in the evening.

Hilly, twisty routes - that on summer mornings & evenings are awesome roads for the enthusiastic driver (so high braking performance & grip are required), and in winter can be hell - usually untreated when I venture out in the morning (so traction in uncleared snow, and performance on cold/wet/grimy roads is essential).

I've used winter tyres on fwd diesel cars - a Mk4 Ibiza, two B5.5 Passat estates, and now a Mk2 Focus.

I first experienced the revelation of winter tyres over 10 years ago and have used numerous brands/models.

 

So the question of this thread - would I use winter tyres all year round ?

No.

Reason being - the braking distances are simply too compromised compared to summer tyres. Pottering round town, you'd perhaps never notice - but try and stop quickly from speed on a fast road, wet or dry, and they are really lacking. And this is using top-end winter tyres - I dread to think just how woefully bad the cheap chinese tat is (read this to see just how dreadful some of the cheap brands are).

 

The tyre manufacturers and industry all say 7ºc is the magic temperature below which winter tyres are the better choice, but I personally think they only come into their own when you're virtually reaching freezing temps. Generally I switch over around start of December, but for the few weeks before I keep an eye on the 5-10 day forecasts (and the weather geek chatter in the Netweather.tv community forums - when they get excited, you know it's time to worry) in case any early bad weather comes in. They usually come off March time, or whenever the temperature during my journey times is consistently above 3-4ºc.

 

So this is coming from 2wd/fwd experience.

Due to the terrain I drive over, on the few days the snow does fall, I need tyres with the best possible snow traction - as I only have two driving wheels. For my needs, all-season tyres are too compromised in the snow traction department.

 

However - have a read of these two tests - Auto Bild 2012 All-season test and Auto Bild 2011 All-season test.

The braking performance of the all-season tyres isn't too far off that of summer tyres, being noticeably better than the winters, although the outright snow traction is not so good as winters.

 

So - if I had the benefit of 4wd, the poorer snow traction of all-seasons compared to winters would be much less of an issue (I imagine) as the additional 2 driving wheels would help enormously, so the all-season tyre would become attractive and one I'd consider for all-year-round use. (Braking/steering on snow still wouldn't be as good as winters though. but still be better than summer tyres.)

 

But with 2wd, it's definitely two sets for me - so I can fully enjoy the summer roads, and be able to drive almost normally when the winter sets in.

 

 

Diverging onto the subject of "What winter / all-season tyres are best".

For me the best source of information is the controlled comparison tests carried out by the various european motoring organisations every year.

The tyrereviews website collates all this info; have a read of all the previous tests here: Winter tyre tests and all-season tyre tests.

We're heading to the time of year when the tests begin and new tyre models are launched, so it's worth keeping an eye on the site (if you're a tyre saddo like me anyway!).

Last year the Continental TS850 conquered all others (in a certain size range); I used them on my Focus (some incar footage here...) and the wife's Mondeo to great effect.

A couple of years before that, the Conti TS830 was one of the front runners, see here for an example...

 

The key thing to remember with winter tyres, is that dealing with snowy conditions only matters a few days each winter. The rest of the winter it's mainly performance on cold wet roads that matters - and this is where cheap tyres are dire (even if they are superior in snow compared to a summer tyre).

To quote the "2012 Auto Bild 42 winter-tyre braking shootout",  where braking in wet and snow was tested: "Auto Bild considered places 27-42 so dangerous they did not test them in the snow."

[muddyboots]

Incidentally, with regards to wear rates...for a couple years I did run my winters right into April/May when it was significantly warmer - and despite some fairly enthusiastic driving, noticed virtually no increase in wear rates compared to summers. They're just "squishy" and worse at braking !

I think the idea that winters will wear out in no time in warm weather is a little overstated, perhaps they used to, but it's an area where winter tyres have developed in recent years.

[Sandy.Rogers]

It's good to see that nothing changes on the YF - although the topic of Winter tyres etc. normally really kicks in with a vengeance in October. I reckon my Winters will be going on at the end of October, unless.........

[Lady Elanore]

I'm off to try my Winters on the beach today

[Sandy.Rogers]

Lady Elanore, your title ~ is that Lindisfarne as in the group, or Lindisfarne just across from Seahouses & Bamburgh?

[Lady Elanore]

Lady Elanore, your title ~ is that Lindisfarne as in the group, or Lindisfarne just across from Seahouses & Bamburgh?

 

 

Good spot. It's actually both. I adore Lindisfarne (and the whole of Northumberland-I was born in Newcastle ). It's also where I got my used name from..................The band and my favourite song of theirs Are you an ex-pat Geordie?

[oldstan]

Having trouble seeing clearly....too much fog on the Tyne?

 

We can swing together, we can have a wee wee, we can have a wet on the wall......

[Sandy.Rogers]

Grew up in Heaton, lived at Seahouses at weekends, we almost got caught on the Causeway once, and still think Lindesfarne's one of the all time.great groups.

[Lady Elanore]

Having trouble seeing clearly....too much fog on the Tyne?

 

We can swing together, we can have a wee wee, we can have a wet on the wall......

 

 

You goy if

 

 

Grew up in Heaton, lived at Seahouses at weekends, we almost got caught on the Causeway once, and still think Lindesfarne's one of the all time.great groups.

 

 

You would need a good wading depth if you got stuck on the causeway!

[rockhopper]

Back on topic.....!

I'm about to start my 4th winter on my Continental WinterContacts.

My TS810's have 19,000 miles on the with 6mm of tread left and my TS830P have also just over 6mm of tread left on them.

I have not noticed any increased wear in warmer mins. I always change them when the temp drops to around 7 degrees and take them off when the temp goes above 7 degrees. Last winter they went on in October and came off very late, it was the end of April from memory.

Yes the braking isn't as good when the temps rise-I have driven them in temps of 25 degrees when there was a sudden warm spell a couple of years ago and I was in the lakes.

The handling in the warmer weather isn't as good because of the squishiness of the blocks, so you have to drive more gently, but as soon as the temps dropped I had so much more confidence.

I am going to fit the ones I had on the Yeti to my Freelander, and have bought a set of 16" LR alloy wheels (can't find any LR 1&6" steel wheels) off eBay.

They are roughly 20mm less on the diameter than the 65 profile tyres it should have, which will be fine.

Mike

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[muddyboots]

First few winter tyre tests of the season are out:

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre-Tests/#winter

 

Conti TS850 still winning all tests like it did last year....

[rockhopper]

First few winter tyre tests of the season are out:

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre-Tests/#winter

 

Conti TS850 still winning all tests like it did last year....

 

I'll make do with some 'old' TS's then.    

 

Been very happy with them.

[muddyboots]

Quick comparison of online prices.

 

Price is for 4 x Conti TS850 215/55/16 97H XL, delivered, unfitted, as of 1/10/2013:

 

Camskill: £439

Oponeo: £460

MyTyres: £490

Lovetyres: £512

Tyres-Pneus-Online: £456

 

Pays to shop around...Camskill are nearly always cheapest - if they have the model you want. And their delivery is quick too.

 

Or just use their price as a bartering tool with your local dealer