Winter Tyre suggestions?

[billywhiz040480]

The wife has a Seat Altea XL 2.0 tdi CR 170 and it is in need of some new boots for the winter. With the cold weather having already arrived and baby number 2 imminent in less than 3 week we wanted peace of mind that we'll be able to get to the hospital safely.

 

Now, I have no idea what is good or bad in the world of winter tyres but I know there are people on here who do, so can I please tap into your knowledge by getting you to suggest some reasonablly priced options, the tyres in question are 225/45/17 XL thank you.

[Tom Tallon]

Billy

I run my octavia 1.8 TSi on Nokian WR D3s which apparently won the most recent car mag winter tyre test just beating the continental TS850 which is the best most consistent winter tyre in recent tests? either of these would be superb winter tyres.

They are 225/45/R17s which are just like yours.

others will say. Michelin, Pirelli, Dunlop or goodyear and so it goes on. my only advice is that your tyres are your contact with the road so buy a premium brand if you're worried about loved ones!! don't skimp,and go for obscure makes which could be even worse than good summer tyres.

you will find Oponeo will have them at a good price but they will be imported from Germany or Poland by European delivery if this bothers you.

[rogerzilla]

The Auto Express test was done on Nokian's test track so they would say that, wouldn't they?

 

Despite this I would recommend the D3 because it's exceptionally quiet and looks good.  Any winter tyre, even the cheapest Nankang SV-2, is so much better than a summer tyre that you can't really go wrong.

[Black_Sheep]

http://www.adac.de/infotestrat/tests/reifen/winterreifen/2013_winterreifen_Test_225_45_R17.aspx

Another tyre test here for size of wheels listed - although H speed rating most are available in V speed rating and XL too for not too much more.

As above I have run numerous brands on fleet and hire cars here in Germany - all perform better in cold / snow. Currently running Wintrac Xtremes and Blizzak LM-32 on cars here at the moment and both are good value / performance.

[FatblokeVRS]

This will be our 4th year putting on the steelies with Continental WinterContact T830 on both the VRS and my Astravan. Superb tyres that got top marks in tests in 2010 when we got them. Things may have moved on since then but I still consider them to be fantastic.

[Web Ferret]

Be quick prices are rising. Best time to buy winters is in summer

 

My Avon Ice touring ST have been fitted for their 3rd and final season. Other car has Nokian winter rubber fitted.

[@Lee]

Good-Year Ultragrip 8's. That is all.

[Ultrasonic]

This test may be of interest (along with others on this very useful site):

 

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2013-ADAC-Winter-Tyre-Test-225-45-R17.htm

 

What put me off the Nokians was their wet weather performance, so I went for Continental TS850 tyres instead when I finally got round to placing an order this evening (albeit on a smaller wheel size).

[Lady Elanore]

4th winter on Vredestein Wintrac extremes for me Had their Snowtrac tyres before that too

[silver1011]

I always smile at the tyre reviews.

 

How many of us take car reviews seriously?

 

It all depends on how much you want to spend. The Continentals, Goodyears and Nokian's etc. are good I'm sure but are also very expensive.

 

I've just bought four Avon Ice Tourer ST's in the exact same dimensions as you need (including the all important extra load (XL) rating of 94).

 

£100 a corner fitted.

[philbes]

I always smile at the tyre reviews.

 

How many of us take car reviews seriously?

 

It all depends on how much you want to spend. The Continentals, Goodyears and Nokian's etc. are good I'm sure but are also very expensive.

 

I've just bought four Avon Ice Tourer ST's in the exact same dimensions as you need (including the all important extra load (XL) rating of 94).

 

£100 a corner fitted.

Nokian WR 3D 225/45-17 94H XL are £107 at the moment.

[Wardy]

Wintrac Extremes on my set at the moment. Very good, would recommend.

 

Have also ran Pirelli Sottozero and Michelin Alpin A4 before. Both probably better than the Vredsteins and that's saying something. Traction was very, very impressive - excellent in dealing with very wet roads too. Pricey though!

[Lady Elanore]

Wintrac Extremes on my set at the moment. Very good, would recommend.

 

Have also ran Pirelli Sottozero and Michelin Alpin A4 before. Both probably better than the Vredsteins and that's saying something. Traction was very, very impressive - excellent in dealing with very wet roads too. Pricey though!

I found the Extremes to be excellent on ice, snow and really cold wet stuff, but on bone dry roads once the temperature starts rising they aren't so great. having said that the ones I had on my A4 3.0 Quattro were speed rated the same as the OE tyres

[Wardy]

Yep, I ran them a bit late this year and found the same thing. No massive surprise I suppose; they can't be good at everything

 

And what do we have winters fitted to this year? Something from Stuttgart?

[Lady Elanore]

 

 

And what do we have winters fitted to this year? Something from Stuttgart?

Grand Vitara 3dr. The MB is so rubbish in anything but hot sticky tarmac conditions, I figured it would be a waste of time putting winters on it. Btw when I say rubbish, I also means big fun

Edited 20 November, 2013 by Lady Elanore

[ConanBarbarian]

Good-Year Ultragrip 8

Ditto.

[Ultrasonic]

I always smile at the tyre reviews.

 

How many of us take car reviews seriously?

 

Tyre reviews are MUCH more useful as far as I'm concerned, for two main reasons:

 

1) You can test drive a car but you can't test drive a tyre. The best you could do would be to look and one, and short of thinking 'ooh, that's a pretty tread pattern' that tells you precisely nothing about how they would perfrom.

 

2) Properly conducted tests like the ADAC one above enable side-by-side comparisons of a wide range of tyres, crucially when pushed to their limits. If one tyre will stop my car in a 10% shorter distance then this is something I absolutely do want to know when making a buying choice, and it is not something you can ever find out from a mate (or someone on a forum) telling you they have one particular type of tyre and like them. They haven't tried all of the others for a comparison either.

 

I would NEVER buy tyres without looking at the results of comparitive tests like the one I linked to above. Although I must admit I prefer it when you can find out exactly what the numbers in a test actually relate to rather than just being relative scores. Tests like this for instance:

 

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2013-Winter-Tyre-Overview-Braking.htm

 

Edit: It's worth noting that this test is for 195/65 R15 tyres and so not directly relevant to the OP, it's just an example.

Edited 20 November, 2013 by Ultrasonic

[Stevoraith]

I have Continental TS830 in the same size as you need on the Octavia this year- as someone else said they won all the tyre tests a few years back before they were superceded by the TS850 which won the tests the past two years.  I couldn't find anyone with stock of the 850 so went for the 830.

It's too soon to give any opinion on how they are as I've only had them on just over a week.

 

I have Vredestein Wintrac extremes fitted to my Mini.  They seem decent too but the wife has been complaining that the car doesn't turn in as sharply and feels a bit unstable at the rear on country roads.  I only got them at the tail end of last winter so I have no real feel of how they cope in proper winter conditions either!

 

Previous to that I have run Dunlop Wintersport M3 on the Octavia.  Good in the snow but not so great in the damp conditions which we have most of the time during the winter.

 

I have also run Kumho KW27 on my BMW.  They were absolutely awesome the first year (we had REALLY bad snow) but by the second winter they felt a bit more vague in normal wet conditions and had the TC light flashing quite a lot.

 

So far I'd say the Continentals are probably the best in the cold but damp conditions we have for most of the winter.

[cs.rogers]

This will be our 4th year putting on the steelies with Continental WinterContact T830 on both the VRS and my Astravan. Superb tyres that got top marks in tests in 2010 when we got them. Things may have moved on since then but I still consider them to be fantastic.

Just bought a set of these and they really are a great tyre. Seem to wipe out aquaplaning and are very steady in the slippy stuff. 

[Lady Elanore]

I have Continental TS830 in the same size as you need on the Octavia this year- as someone else said they won all the tyre tests a few years back before they were superceded by the TS850 which won the tests the past two years.  I couldn't find anyone with stock of the 850 so went for the 830.

It's too soon to give any opinion on how they are as I've only had them on just over a week.

 

I have Vredestein Wintrac extremes fitted to my Mini.  They seem decent too but the wife has been complaining that the car doesn't turn in as sharply and feels a bit unstable at the rear on country roads.  I only got them at the tail end of last winter so I have no real feel of how they cope in proper winter conditions either!

 

Previous to that I have run Dunlop Wintersport M3 on the Octavia.  Good in the snow but not so great in the damp conditions which we have most of the time during the winter.

 

I have also run Kumho KW27 on my BMW.  They were absolutely awesome the first year (we had REALLY bad snow) but by the second winter they felt a bit more vague in normal wet conditions and had the TC light flashing quite a lot.

 

So far I'd say the Continentals are probably the best in the cold but damp conditions we have for most of the winter.

The Vreds do feel a little more spongy (but having been in a few Minis, they will improve the ride quality no end ) but that's the trade off for great grip in the cold/wet/ice/snow of winter. They are very progressive in the way there feel I found, you just have to be aware of that fact. I have a friend with a Mini One riding round on Vreds up in the North East and she swears by them.

[Tom Tallon]

We should all take note of the original post - the guy wants to know how to best protect his young family by prudent use of tyres in winter.

I particularly back up ultrasonics point? none of us are experts on winter tyres and all have axes to grind.

MY point is don't get winters which have failed practical tests by experts. you may as we'll use top quality summer tyres rather than dangerous winters.

I submit - read the test results which are everywhere and they will most likely point you to premium brand tyres because they spend time and trouble in perfecting their products.

so Nokian goodyear Vredenstein Pirelli continental Dunlop Michelin bridgestone and a few others such as Semperit.

[Wardy]

Axes to grind? Incorrect and very presumptuous I'd say too.

 

All the people who have replied have valuable insight, by running winter tyres over prolonged periods, in real-world conditions. A winter tyre test review is useful, but not simply exclusively on its own. They're conducted over a compressed period, judged by certain criteria.

 

Personally, I would look to positive feedback from users in the real world, combined with reviews.

[cs.rogers]

Research into anything should contain pulling information from multiple sources and balancing out the facts and opinions contained within....

 

I'm quite a cynical person, I'd look at options and reviews and see if there is money changing hands for a good review etc. I trawled the internet, rang suppliers and chatted to as many car experts I could get my hands on before taking the winter tyre plunge. What I found was anyone who tried them swore by them with more conviction than those who never tried them and considered them a fad or unnecessary in the UK. That drove my decision to buy. I then decided to buy a premium brand because as said above, I  believe that those manufacturers have more money to throw at R&D and therefore develop a better product that can handle the various conditions we find in the UK.

 

To top it off, the TS830 s were previously top in a wide amount of reviews and were competitively priced. 

[faboka vrs]

Last couple of winters I've ran Michelin alpin's. Ran these all year, can't really fault them. I bought them second hand and they had been used for 2 winter. I then ran them for almost 2 years (20 k) so good value for money

Currently replaced the fronts with Goodyear winters, ultra grip I think. Will see how they go/last. Still running a pair of the michelins on the back.

Last winter I was having no issues and was thinking "come on weather I want to test these tyres". Then I drove the wife's clio which has Michelin exalto pe2's. That confirmed it. Yup decent winters work lol

Can't remember why (oh year don palmer day but I put some old summer tyres on the rear of the furby for a couple of days in March. We then had some snow. Nicci told me off after she nipped out one evening. Yup back end all over the place

This year I've got some goodyears to put on the front of the clio also. Yes I know doesn't stop the back dancing but it's only for worse case if we need to use it. Furby has heated seats so is too good not to use in the winter.

[Tom Tallon]

Sorry Wardy you don't know what it means to have an axe to grind!!

 

An axe to grind means giving this poor guy info because you'd like to think that you know which tyres to buy based on the tyres you buy.

 

I'm not recommending Nokians (and others) which I use on my say so but on the word of motoring professionals - you're an amateur like me unl;ess you can prove otherwise.

 

Sorry for the disagreement but thats what we have!!