Hi All

This is the 3rd winter running the Continental WinterContact 810's on the VRS. Excellent tyre. Got them on my Astravan too. They make a huge difference to grip in winter weather, not just snow. Will change them back to the summer wheels and tyres in a couple of weeks. Another good thing is your alloys are not getting all the salt etc on them and you can do some maintenance on them over the winter if required. The Winter tyres will probably last another winter or two. Well worth the money as far as I am concerned. When I got my tyres, they were £61 each fitted to loose wheels for the car and £71 each fitted to the van from my local KwikFit. A good price I thought.

One other point, the all season are not as good in summer as summer tyres and not as good in winter as winter tyres but somewhere in between.

Cheers

Dave

Edited 13 March, 201313 yr by FatblokeVRS

One other point, the all season are not as good in summer as summer tyres and not as good in winter as winter tyres but somewhere in between.

Thats the whole point of them though as they are a better compromise in all situations meaning you can run them all year as i found my winters on my last car to be horrible on damp or dry roads above freezing. Squidgy as hell. I would never consider running winters again in normal conditions after my experiences as they felt unsafe.

So thats the banter over. ANyone care to help the OP with his original post?

So thats the banter over. ANyone care to help the OP with his original post?

Actually, considering the OP asked about "any fun anyone else had been having" then a discussion on our experiences in snow is kinda on topic. Also discussing winter and all season tyres and their benefits is kinda helpful too id wager, certainly more so than your post.

So thats the banter over. ANyone care to help the OP with his original post?

You'll see several suggestion brands of tyre have already been mentioned. Which ones are you recommending?

Steady on you 2. And jock you are a dooshbag :-)

I can wholeheartedly recommend Goodyear Ultragrip 8. Had them on last 4 months and worked a treat!

Steady on you 2. And jock you are a dooshbag :-)

I can wholeheartedly recommend Goodyear Ultragrip 8. Had them on last 4 months and worked a treat!

Lame.

I totally agree that driving style should be altered according to the conditions. The cost is not as expensive as everyone is trying to make out. I bought hankook icebear second hand ( still had 8mm of tread and no damage) which I've fitted onto the original wheels for £300. So while the winters are on the summer ones aren't wearing out...only extra cost is to swap them over as far as I can see. For me the cost is worth it for the extra safety and confidence they provide. The winters will last a few years even with me doing about 20k miles per year. I also live in Scotland and my route to work is mostly country roads which are often not treated.

Surely the argument is similar to people saying that fitting cheap budget tyres is unsafe...you could adjust your driving style to the lower grip that these would provide so why bother paying for more expensive rubber? You could fit cheaper brakes and adjust your style to account for the greater braking distance? I'm not trying to start an argument but I can guess some of the responses that will no doubt follow!

Edited 13 March, 201313 yr by neil_f

I went for a set of MyTyres steel wheels with Avon Ice Touring ST fitted for about £500. As others have said the summers arne't wearing while the winters are on so yes it's an intial outlay, but it doesn't cost much in the long run, and the advantage of having them on seperate wheels is I can change them when I want and for free.I do a fairly high mileage and having had a scary moment on ice a few years back decided I may as well give winter tyres a go. As others have said it's not just about driving in snow, they're giving more grip in cold temperatures and are better with standing water than my summer tyres. I see buying grippier tyres for the winter to be a similar investment to buying decent summer tyres rather than cheap ditch finders.

i found my winters on my last car to be horrible on damp or dry roads above freezing. Squidgy as hell. I would never consider running winters again in normal conditions after my experiences as they felt unsafe.

All winter tyres are not equal, and just as with summer tyres some types will work better on some cars than others. Just because you had a set of winter tyres that you didn't like on your car doesn't mean all winter tyres are as bad. Generally speaking you want to run winters at a slightly higher pressure than usual, which might explain the squidginess, plus mine did take several hundred miles to bed in and feel right.

All winter tyres are not equal, and just as with summer tyres some types will work better on some cars than others. Just because you had a set of winter tyres that you didn't like on your car doesn't mean all winter tyres are as bad. Generally speaking you want to run winters at a slightly higher pressure than usual, which might explain the squidginess, plus mine did take several hundred miles to bed in and feel right.

I did think they might bed in but i wasnt really prepared to find out as they were horribly twitchy. They were pirreli sottozero run flats on steel rims. Cost £540 from mytyres. They used to trigger the ESP at relatively slow and steady speeds. Inspired no confidence at all.

Maybe it was because they were on smaller 16" rims and were narrower than the OE alloys but whatever the reason they just didnt feel safe. Also the year i bought them ( last winter) we had no snow whatsoever and in fact it was 11 degrees on xmas day so they ended up being pointless. I changed my car shortly after so sold on the winters but my abiding memory of them was not good at all.

Going on the winter weather we have or dont have this year i would argue that winter tyres are overkill. Saying that 3 and 4 years ago it was horrendous but i still got about in my BMW. I cant be arsed swapping wheels about all the time so whatever tyre i run has to be suitable for using all year round. All seasons dont seem to exist to fit my car and based on my winter tyre experience there is no way id run those squidgy things again on anything other than snow. Doesnt really leave me much options other than summers all year and snow socks in the boot.

Funniy enough a work mate has winters on his 1 series and he doesnt like them on dry or damp roads either so maybe its just a RWD thing. Dont know anyone with FWD who has winters.

Thanks for all the advice guys. I think I might try and wait to se if there are any good deals over the summer and have them ready for the winter. I'm planning on keeping the car for at least 5 years and I do a lot of mileage on ungritted country roads so I think the cost despite initial outlay should be absorbed into the running costs of the Car.

i found my winters on my last car to be horrible on damp or dry roads above freezing. Squidgy as hell. I would never consider running winters again in normal conditions after my experiences as they felt unsafe.

I did think they might bed in but i wasnt really prepared to find out as they were horribly twitchy. They were pirreli sottozero run flats on steel rims. Cost £540 from mytyres. They used to trigger the ESP at relatively slow and steady speeds. Inspired no confidence at all.

Maybe it was because they were on smaller 16" rims and were narrower than the OE alloys but whatever the reason they just didnt feel safe. Also the year i bought them ( last winter) we had no snow whatsoever

Funniy enough a work mate has winters on his 1 series and he doesnt like them on dry or damp roads either so maybe its just a RWD thing. Dont know anyone with FWD who has winters.

Not all winter tyres are equal, my Bridgestone Blizzaks will loose traction if you pull away quickly on a damp cold road, they do perform well at all other times though, be that on ice, snow wet or dry tarmac.

The Nokian’s I previously ran and the newer ones SWMBO now has are phenomenal though in all conditions.

Not sure if having run flats would be compromising them?

did you run yours with an extra 0.2 bar in them?

I doubt the size had anything to do with it as my summers are 225/40/18” and the winters are 205/55/16”.

Not all winter tyres are equal, my Bridgestone Blizzaks will loose traction if you pull away quickly on a damp cold road, they do perform well at all other times though, be that on ice, snow wet or dry tarmac.

The Nokian’s I previously ran and the newer ones SWMBO now has are phenomenal though in all conditions.

Not sure if having run flats would be compromising them?

did you run yours with an extra 0.2 bar in them?

I doubt the size had anything to do with it as my summers are 225/40/18” and the winters are 205/55/16”.

No i ran them at the same pressures although i always go about 0.1 bar above anyway.

I get the impression if I went to Tenerife someone here would have went to Elevenerife

I have winters on my wife's car and she runs them all year round, they don't wear significantly faster and they are better in wet conditions as well as colder than summers. They don't handle much worse at all, maybe because they are the same size as previous summer tyres but are a little noisier.

It is not about driving style and wether or not you have had an accident, it's about not having an accident. If everyone drove perfect then no-one would have accidents would they? Wrong, human error is always the elephant in the room, cognitive failure is not a human trait that you can say "I haven't had an accident in 20+ years so I'm perfect ". Your 'upcoming' accident may be extremely serious whereas my slip into a kerb was my failure and accident !

Therefore I chose to limit the risk to my wife especially as she drives on untreated A/B roads at stupid o'clock some mornings. I fundamentally chose to 'limit the risk' and won't put a value on that ! And that is what it's about, limiting risk after all everyone does it......that's why you wear heavier clothes in winter..........to stop you catching cold, although some can choose shorts and T-shirt if they want

No i ran them at the same pressures although i always go about 0.1 bar above anyway.

It may have been good to try them at the recommended pressures for the car + 0.2bar? (as most manufacturers claim)

Mine are set to the maximum recommended pressure (4 adults / luggage) + 0.2bar, they still wear evenly yet do not roll around, although for you it’s a bit late now and we will never know if it would have made a difference.

I get the impression if I went to Tenerife someone here would have went to Elevenerife

that's why you wear heavier clothes in winter..........to stop you catching cold, although some can choose shorts and T-shirt if they want

Ignoring the above and referring to the rest of your post relating to winter tyres in dry / damp conditions, your experience goes agianst most tyre reviews where summers generally perform better in wet conditions i.e aquaplaning, wet grip and wet braking therefore running winters in summer is putting your wife at increased risk of avoiding an accident. This is my experience also and why i didnt like my winter tyres. Even on dry roads they felt skittish and the fact that they triggered the ESP under very easy cornering only confirms to me that they were not as safe as summer tyres in certain situations.

These skittish characteristics were evident even at low temperatures on dry and damp roads. Unfortunately i never had much chance to testify to their snow and ice capabilities as we never had any last year but im sute they would have performed well.

I suspect the majority of your experience may well have been to do with the fact they were runflats, and therefore had a very inflexible sidewall.

If my experience with normal/summer compound runflats on BMWs is anything to go by, that would be where I'd focus.

I suspect the majority of your experience may well have been to do with the fact they were runflats, and therefore had a very inflexible sidewall.

If my experience with normal/summer compound runflats on BMWs is anything to go by, that would be where I'd focus.

You could be right. The car is long gone now though. Its risky though buying new winters for the VRS as the only experience ive had was not good. Also the only 2 other people i know that have winter tyres both have BMW's funnily enough and they dont like their winters much either so i have nothing else to base my opinions on. Must be charactersitic of RWD cars or something and probably run flats as well.

It's not an RWD characteristic, I can tell you that. I know quite a few BMW owners who run winters, with positive feedback.

The key factor? None of them use runflats anymore.

It's not an RWD characteristic, I can tell you that. I know quite a few BMW owners who run winters, with positive feedback.

The key factor? None of them use runflats anymore.

AAAHHHH. Makes sense when you think about it. Stiff side walls and softer taller tread blocks. Here was me thinking i was being smart buying winter run flats as well and they cost more. May have a rethink about them for the VRS when my contis need changed.

Yep, there's a chap on here who ran a 335i Touring on proper (non-runflat winters) and loved them. Outperformed standard 4x4s up in the North-East, that must have been a nice feeling

Runflats are just the work of the devil in my view. No positive characteristics I can think of at all. More expensive and they'll only give you a limited running distance when a puncture occurs anyway.

And they reduce ride quality, steering feedback and turn-in feel. The last two are the reasons they're never fitted to BMW's 'proper' M-division vehicles.

Lame.

Jockdooshbag apart from being lame, i can def recommend these ultragrip 8's. Get the non runflats next time :think:

Edited 14 March, 201313 yr by sly200sx