Winter tyres - uk?

[Telboy5]

So, if some of the papers are to believed we'll be having loads of snow and the worst winter in 100 years 

 

However whilst I don't normally believe the hype, out of interest, how many owners will be putting winter tyres on their OC3's in the UK?

 

At a £110 a corner for my TSI, I'm tempted although thought the main gain was when the whether got below an average of 7C and as of yet with all this rain we've had, my Goodyear F1's have been doing just fine,

 

Thoughts and opinions on this would be welcomed.

[andyvee]

As you rightly stated, winters aren't all about snow. They outperform standard tyres in every respect once the temperature drops to 7 degrees or so. I have used them for 4 winters now, and I will be fitting them mid to end November, depending on the weather.

I find it best to fit a set of 16" steel rims with winters on, but vRS owners need a minimum of 17" to clear the front calipers.

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[iDENTITi]

Mine will be going on as soon as I find the money for a set of steels.

[niggle]

Sounds like they're running the same stories as last year, so a dry winter with torential till June, I'm sure folk in Somerset hope not.

 

I'll be sticking winter tyres/wheels on mine for a second year, difficult to gauge the performance in snow as I didn't encounter any.  However, they were extremely effective driving through Kielder Forest in the slushy aftermarth of a snow shower in March.

 

Just need to decide when to put them on, I want to run the summer Contis as close to the markers as possible and then get them replaced while the winters are on.  If they don't go on this weekend then I won't get a chance to do it until early-December, unless I fancy changing them in the dark with a head torch for illumination

[andyvee]

If the temperature when you are doing your daily commute is getting to be 6 degrees or so regularly it is time to put them on.

 

The difference in snow and ice is quite noticeable, but braking distances on wet cold days reduce significantly, so keep an eye in your rear view mirror as the car behind might not be able to stop as quickly as you can!

[classic]

Mine went on this week. Mainly so I don't get cold and/or wet putting them on !

Safety + getting to and from work if it does snow, make them a no brainer for me.

[Geek42]

Mine are going on this weekend.

[Sheldon.Cooper]

So, if some of the papers are to believed we'll be having loads of snow and the worst winter in 100 years 

 

However whilst I don't normally believe the hype, out of interest, how many owners will be putting winter tyres on their OC3's in the UK?

 

At a £110 a corner for my TSI, I'm tempted although thought the main gain was when the whether got below an average of 7C and as of yet with all this rain we've had, my Goodyear F1's have been doing just fine,

 

Thoughts and opinions on this would be welcomed.

Goodyear F1's perform very well in snow and ice, not as good as a true winter tyre but still better than many other tyres so maybe with your current tyre selection you won't need winters on.

[Wassers]

Hee hee, weather forecasters generally can't even get tomorrows weather correct - so I don't take much notice of their seasonal weather predictions. I have driven for 30 years plus without ever changing to winter tyres and managed to cope ok, even on the occasional time when I have been caught in some bad weather conditions. Mostly 'A' roads and motorways are fine during snow storms with normal tyres, its just the local roads that can become challenging. However, I'm lucky enough to work from home if its chucking it down with snow, knowing that my VRS is safely tucked away in the garage.

[stefano1]

My vrs is a family wagon so after my wife crashed our old BMW in low temp/ice On normal tyres my policy is front wheel or 4WD with winters just to be on the safe side....also excuse to buy some nice aftermarket alloys! Going on this weekend

[999rigger]

I will be putting my 4 winter tyres on this month (onto my existing alloys). This year I have gone for the Nokian WR D3 which won Autoexpress magazine's best winter tyre test this year.

[pipsyp]

I think they are a good idea but in my near 16 years of driving havent used them or really felt the need.

Ive always ensured that I have good tyres on my car at all times and this has been enough for me; also as is common sense I drive to the conditions as appropriate. Simply in cold/wet conditions driving slower and taking account of breaking distances etc. If we had heavy snow and was bad enough to compact onto main roads I simply would not use my car until conditions improved sufficiently.

I think winter tyres or not an insurance company would likely do all they can not to pay out and claim you were negligent to drive if the road conditions were bad enougg anyway, wouldnt put it past them.

One of the negative factors is storage....up until v recently (having just recently bought a house that has a garage) I didnt have anywhere to store a spare set of wheels/tyres and I wouldnt want to be paying someone for the priviledge.

If we remain part of the EU I dont doubt they'll become a legal requirement over here before too long anyway....at least then there will be a more competitve sales market for winter wheels/tyres and storage.

[V6Jules]

I've got a 30mile round trip to work and I've managed for the last 11 years to get to work every day whatever the weather with a plethora of different cars front and rear wheel drive with all sorts of tyres from rubbish to excellent. Never had winters yet but I'm seriously considering some winter tyres and wheels for the vrs, even if to just protect the Geminis.

I've tried to buy two sets of wheels on eBay for it but they keep falling through due to sellers being a pain in the arse. Maybe I will find some before the winter is over lol.

[io1901]

Mine will be going on shortly. 

[GavtheGat]

Cant justify the cost of a extra set of rims and tyres especially since I've never had any previous issues in winter on standard rubber. If there's a dusting of snow just ring work and say you cant get off the drive

[classic]

Cant justify the cost of a extra set of rims and tyres especially since I've never had any previous issues in winter on standard rubber. If there's a dusting of snow just ring work and say you cant get off the drive

Unfortunately that's not a good option for me and would cost me more than the price of the wheels/ tyres. I'm also often traveling at night or early hours on untreated roads. When it is bad its worth the money just to see the looks on struggling 4x4 drivers when I cruise past in an ordinary car....

[LiamONeill]

I like the idea of winter tyres and can see using them at some point in the future but at the moment the mixture of not having any storage for a second set of alloys (if I were doing it I'd really want another set of the standard alloys instead of steel wheels) and only really driving to work a day or two a week, over a short distance on main roads means I'm not looking to use them. Christmas holidays is probably when I'd really need them the most as that involves a lot of driving but that's a lot of expense for 2 weeks of the year that could just as easily be dry and clear.

 

Do you need to tell the insurance company is you change the tyres to winter ones, even if you stay on the same alloys and tyre size?

Edited 7 November, 2014 by LiamONeill

[V6Jules]

Other than the storage and the price of the rims the tyre cost isn't that much as you have to remember that you can only wear one set at a time so they will both last twice as long

[domhnall]

put mine on last weekend, as soon as we start having to scrape ice off the windscreens on a regular basis I put them on. Normally October but it;s been a few weeks later. I tend to take them off again in April when the frost and snow stop,

[Geek42]

Other than the storage and the price of the rims the tyre cost isn't that much as you have to remember that you can only wear one set at a time so they will both last twice as long

 

That's the basis on which I work, and I will get through them, but if you only do 5,000 miles a year you might find that you end up swapping them on age rather than tread depth and then you would be paying twice for the rubber. Not sure where the cut-off would be.

 

I've just bought a set of alloys (TUV approved and correct size for the vehicle) for £230 and paid less than £60 to have my existing winter tyres fitted as they happen to be the same size as the ones from my previous car. Considering that I bought my Octy used that amounts to 2% of the price of the vehicle, and if you bought new it's less than 1.5% (and you could get steel's cheaper). There was more play than that in the budget when I went to buy the car, so I don't consider affordability a valid argument. I've paid less than £300 to improve the safety of my £15k car.

 

Better value than the dealer's protection pack, the gap insurance, and even better value than the side airbags in my opinion. Of course, other opinions are valid!