Tyre Suppliers recommend that Winter Tyres tread is 4mm as a min and Summer / All Season tyres are 3mm.

Well they would as it sells more tyres! Previous two leased Yetis had to get below 2.5mm before they would allow them to be changed as lease included tyre replacement costs.

 

Would;d not have been able to fit winters either.

 

Nice to finally be able to decide myself when to change the tyres, fit winters etc.

They make recommendations and state what Minimum Legal requirements are and how to be able to check.

Obviously drivers / owners need to think how, where and when they drive as they are responsible for their and others safety.

10 hours ago, BillN_33 said:

just slightly off topic

 

at what depth do "winter tyres" become less effective - say, versus normal tyres with a deeper thread

 

i.e. are almost new normal tyres more effective in winter than half used winter tyres?

 

For winter tyres it's the sipe depth that matters. Those are the tiny zigzag grooves that hold snow, which then grips the snow on the road. If they've worn down to nearly nothing, then you've lost the bulk of the advantage winter tyres give you. The Nokians have depth markings at 8, 6 & 4mm, and the sipes go deeper than the 4mm mark. As long as you still have sipes present they will out perform summer tyres in snow. Obviously the less tread they have the less standing water they can shift, but that goes for all tyres.

23 hours ago, Expatman said:

Thanks, it has been reported that All weather tyres give a smoother ride than summers because of the "softer" rubber composition used in all weather tyres. Have you noticed any improvement in ride comfort from previous summers/winters?

The ride is as good, or slightly better, with the Weatherproofs on the standard 17" Spitzberg alloys as it was on the 16" alloys I used for the winter tyres beforehand. Both are much better than with the Dunlops. There was a little excess noise for the first few hundred miles, but that's about it. 

10 hours ago, BillN_33 said:

at what depth do "winter tyres" become less effective - say, versus normal tyres with a deeper thread

 

Where I live they give the absolute minimum depth for summer and winter tyres as 2 and 4 mm respectively.

^^^ ?

Where is that,

2mm is getting pretty near 1.6mm, but obviously is not quite at that minimum tread depth.

10 minutes ago, Headinawayoffski said:

^^^ ?

Where is that,

2mm is getting pretty near 1.6mm, but obviously is not quite at that minimum tread depth.

Finland. 

Just put my winter set up on.  This is the 3rd winter (if you can call it that anymore) that I've had the Nokian WR SUV 3 tyres and I'd completely forgotten how much quieter they are than the Goodyear Efficient Grip summer tyres.  It's very noticeable.  Both sets of tyres have about 5000 miles on them.

 

However I definitely think that, down here in the South, full cold weather tyres are overkill.  When the time comes I'll definitely be going over to the  all season variety. 

6 hours ago, x19 said:

Just put my winter set up on.  This is the 3rd winter (if you can call it that anymore) that I've had the Nokian WR SUV 3 tyres and I'd completely forgotten how much quieter they are than the Goodyear Efficient Grip summer tyres.  It's very noticeable.  Both sets of tyres have about 5000 miles on them.

 

However I definitely think that, down here in the South, full cold weather tyres are overkill.  When the time comes I'll definitely be going over to the  all season variety. 

Interesting - what rim size are you running summer & winters? I have Goodyear Efficient Grips for summer and Nokian D3's for winter and have found the Nokians to be a bit noisier than the Goodyears and, although slight, the ride is a little harsher. Both summer & winter are on 16" rims with 215x60 R16 tyres.

Both sets of rims are 17" with 225x65 tyres.   I can't discern any significant difference in the ride but as I say, the Nokians are noticeably quieter.  Just in case you hadn't noticed, this is on a CR-V.  Perhaps the different suspension, running gear, etc., makes a difference to the road noise/ride from the tyres.  I sold my Yeti over 2 and a half years ago now.  

Ahh, that will explain it. Different cars, different suspension characteristics and wheel/tyre driving feeling.

A couple of questions on winters for my Yeti if possible? First is that there seems to be a general consensus that the winters should be on 16 inch rims, rather than the original 17 inch. Presumably all-weather tyres will be fine on the 17 inch if they are the same profile as the 17 inch "normal" tyres?

 

Second question concerns the availability of same size regular and XL tyres from the same manufacturer, with the XL for heavier loads. It seems sensible to think that the 4x4 Yeti should be considered as a heavier weight and go for the XL versions, but it does make me wonder about other makers who don't seem to have the 2 versions?

 

All thoughts welcome, Peter

I understand their are little or no options for suitable tyres at 17". Particulary as snow chains also cannot be used with 17" tyres in other countries.

 

It seems to me the best wheel size for the Yeti is 16" and that gives the option to fit winter tyres and snow chains, together with a more compliant ride. Base model and Greenline have this size, and I suspect most Yetis sold in other markets have these wheels from the factory.

Uk  has an unhealthy obsession with expensive low profile tyres. 

Nokian Weatherproofs fitted today, ordered through black circles and delivered to/fitted by a local garage on Skye.

I'll update on how I like them in due course.

On 10/11/2017 at 20:45, HowardBury said:

A couple of questions on winters for my Yeti if possible? First is that there seems to be a general consensus that the winters should be on 16 inch rims, rather than the original 17 inch. Presumably all-weather tyres will be fine on the 17 inch if they are the same profile as the 17 inch "normal" tyres?

JFI,

 

I found in the 2-3 years of using 17" cold weather tyres on the original alloy, the wheel arches jammed with compacted snow.

 

Since swapping to the smaller and narrower 16" steel wheel and cold weather tyre combo 4 or 5 years ago, I haven't suffered that problem. 

 

 

And yet the rolling circumference of the 2 is almost the same...............................................

32 minutes ago, Fin69 said:

JFI,

 

I found in the 2-3 years of using 17" cold weather tyres on the original alloy, the wheel arches jammed with compacted snow.

 

Since swapping to the smaller and narrower 16" steel wheel and cold weather tyre combo 4 or 5 years ago, I haven't suffered that problem. 

 

 

 Having missed out on a set of 16 inch alloys and tyres on here last week, I've been able to get another set locally instead. I'll now be suffering the dilemma of having VW on the alloys instead of the winged arrow, though. 

7 minutes ago, Llanigraham said:

And yet the rolling circumference of the 2 is almost the same...............................................

Careful Grahame, that almost came across as sarcastic. 

 

Maybe it's down to the narrow wheel/tyre, the snow is different, or any combination of a 1001 other things, whatever the reason,  that is what my personal experience has been. 

21 minutes ago, HowardBury said:

 Having missed out on a set of 16 inch alloys and tyres on here last week, I've been able to get another set locally instead. I'll now be suffering the dilemma of having VW on the alloys instead of the winged arrow, though. 

 

Hope you weren't looking for the set of 5 with Nokian's that were for sale in Perth - I got those!

 

Jolly good deal too and a great Briskoda member - absolute gentleman. They have Dezent centres - thought about whether Skoda roundels would fit but probably won't bother.

 

Bill 

 

P.S. first Yeti had 16 inch wheels, current one 17 inch. Winters are 16 inch. I cannot detect any difference in driving comfort between 16 & 17 inch. I must have very poor senses .

Edited 14 November, 20178 yr by lawnmowerman
P.S. added.

23 minutes ago, HowardBury said:

 Having missed out on a set of 16 inch alloys and tyres on here last week, I've been able to get another set locally instead. I'll now be suffering the dilemma of having VW on the alloys instead of the winged arrow, though. 

I fitted a set of these (via eBay) on my 'steelies'. They have lasted longer (4 years)  than I gave them credit for! 

 

Personally, I wouldn't be that fussed about the VW logo. I only fitted mine as the wheel and hub were both black and I just wanted to break that up. 

2 minutes ago, lawnmowerman said:

 

Hope you weren't looking for the set of 5 with Nokian's that were for sale in Perth - I got those!

 

Jolly good deal too and a great Briskoda member - absolute gentleman. They have Dezent centres - thought about whether Skoda roundels would fit but probably won't bother.

 

Bill 

Hi Bill

 

I saw that you had snaffled them, but then I missed another set down in Fife. I got this set locally, so pleased enough with that.  I was going to leave the towbar until into the new year, but I see our local guys are doing a 10% discount for November so I'll be taking advantage of that.

 

Peter (where's the skint smiley?)

6 minutes ago, Fin69 said:

I fitted a set of these (via eBay) on my 'steelies'. They have lasted longer (4 years)  than I gave them credit for! 

 

Personally, I wouldn't be that fussed about the VW logo. I only fitted mine as the wheel and hub were both black and I just wanted to break that up. 

 

 I'm not actually fussed at all, it's just that I would have preferred no logo to a VW one, but we'll cope.

41 minutes ago, HowardBury said:

 I'm not actually fussed at all, it's just that I would have preferred no logo to a VW one, but we'll cope.

If it bothers you at all you can pick up a set of logoed centres for just a few pounds off e-bay. They come with a self adhesive backing but I used an additional squirt of hot melt to ensure they stayed on. Used them on the plastic skoda hub caps I use with my winter steelies when I changed cars from "green" logged Yeti to a new 'black' logged Yeti.

1 hour ago, Expatman said:

If it bothers you at all you can pick up a set of logoed centres for just a few pounds off e-bay. They come with a self adhesive backing but I used an additional squirt of hot melt to ensure they stayed on. Used them on the plastic skoda hub caps I use with my winter steelies when I changed cars from "green" logged Yeti to a new 'black' logged Yeti.

Just looked on eBay and see what you are talking about. £3.99 including postage from Bulgaria? Must be worth a punt!