My Yeti will have 16" steel wheels on all year round - for ever.

 

(If wondering ...... in the dark ages there were steel wheels made in two parts pressed out of a sheet of hopefully-not-recycled steel, and once welded together they were light and very strong but not very pretty; in the middle ages came forged (forced) alloy wheels - they were also strong and light but were very expensive and only quite pretty; so in modern times came "alloy" wheels which were simply pored into a mould which meant they were very brittle, ridiculously heavy adding multiple kg's of unsprung weight, but were very pretty when supporting a shiny new car in a showroom.  So everyone thought they were wonderful which of course they ain't.)

 

I'll look forward to reading comments about that bit.

 

So I'm on 16" steel wheels.  Nice bouncy GT Radial tyres, M+S which I need, and I've not had any real issues driving on them in the heat or the wet, although I expect they won't have a long lifespan.  And now I want to sort out a spare because to date I've been carrying one of the Yeti's 17" Dolomites just in case (brittle alloy and un-bouncy tyre).  And once sorted I'll flog the Dolomites too.

 

So I've bought a rim but what to put on it.  Do non-directional winter tyres exist anywhere?  No one I've found, even tyre manufacturers, seem to actually say if a tyre is directional.  There's not a lot of point having a spare if you can only fit it to one side of the car without taking the tyre off and turning it around.  Anybody amongst this knowledgeable community know the answer?

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Goodrides I put on my Fabia mk3 are non directional. Go on My Tyres and check your size.

Forget that, they are directional, should have gone to specsavers.

Edited 10 September, 20187 yr by peter3197
Lousy information.

1 Directional spare really is no big issue, it will have a 50% chance of being for the right side.

You are only needing to fit it and travel until the puncture is repaired or replaced.

Wrong direction tyre will get you there on a snow covered road or no snow just as well.

 

 

For the future,

5 Michelin CrossClimates should be just fine.

 

These Goodride M&S marked that is used on a Fabia Mk2 are directional.

Edited 10 September, 20187 yr by Offski

18 minutes ago, aka_pseudonym said:

Do non-directional winter tyres exist anywhere? 

 

Of course they do, I'd suggest searching for asymmetric winter tyres as most asymmetrics aren't directional.

 

Couple of examples from the first page of google:

- Pirelli Winter Sottozero Serie2

- Yokohama Advan Winter V902

10 minutes ago, peter3197 said:

The Goodrides I put on my Fabia mk3 are non directional. Go on My Tyres and check your size.

Forget that, they are directional, should have gone to specsavers.

 

I looked and most are (but they never say, you have to zoom over the pic and see if you can see "rotation" anywhere).  But on these I can only see "outside" - but I still don't believe it looking at the tread pattern.

 

https://www.mytyres.co.uk/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?dsco=110&cart_id=lm93KlweKitOxNQz.110.939261188&sowigan=Wi&Breite=215&Quer=60&Felge=16&Speed=&Load=&kategorie=6&Marke=Goodride&S_Z=&tyre_for=&x_tyre_for=&Herst=Goodride&m_s=3&rsmFahrzeugart=ALL&filter_preis_bis=&filter_preis_von=&homologation=&Label=C-C-73-3&details=Ordern&typ=R-164193

 

Enjoy choosing your new frames.

 

 

The Goodride SW601 is definitely a non-directional asymmetric tyre.

 

It's very rare to have directional asymmetric tyres as the manufacturer would need to make separate tyres for each side. The good example is the Yokohama Neova

16 minutes ago, langers2k said:

as most asymmetrics aren't directional.

 

I understand not.  How can a tread pattern like this (Sottozero2) not be directional?

 

 

 

2 minutes ago, aka_pseudonym said:

I understand not.  How can a tread pattern like this (Sottozero2) not be directional?

 

I agree that they *look* like they'd prefer to roll in one direction but it's only marked with inside/outside and they only make one tread pattern.

 

If it were directional and asymmetric, it would be marked with a rotation direction and inside/outside. There would be two versions to choose which would be a mirror image of each other.

Few random posts showing it's a common misunderstanding with asymmetric tyres:

- https://blog.tirerack.com/blog/hunters-ramblings/are-my-asymmetric-tires-running-backwards

- https://www.tyremen.co.uk/blog/uniroyal-rainsport-3-why-weird-design

36 minutes ago, langers2k said:

as most asymmetrics aren't directional.

 

45 minutes ago, Offski said:

Michelin CrossClimates should be just fine.

 

OK - different question!  The GT Radials were on the steel wheels when I bought them and have 7mm tread left so I'm going to use them up.  Then I'd like to put Michelin CrossClimates on it but the piggy bank probably won't be full enough so it'll be Kleber Quadraxers so I don't have to pay for the "Michelin" word.  So with that in mind, and the fact that the spare will be sat in the boot just as a spare for when need arises, what tyre would you put on it?   Always bearing in mind the "need" might be more than just a few miles to a garage.  Nearest garage to me is 10 miles, nearest neighbour 0.75 miles, nearest supermarket 13 miles, nearest bank branch 43 miles, and until very recently the nearest Tesco was 50 miles ... so it's not all bad.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I would put it on for use in the areas near Tyre Fitting Centres, 

when i go on trips where a long way from fitters, and towns, and where there are long holidays, Xmas / New Year in Scotland north of Inverness as an Example i carry 2 Winter Spares.

 

Tied down properly when traveling, but if i have no Winter Tyres on i carry a pair anyway, the roads can change lots in a weekend or even 50 miles.

Maxxis AP2's, great tyres, but not for all year, even though they sell as such.

Edited 10 September, 20187 yr by Offski

5 minutes ago, langers2k said:

Few random posts showing it's a common misunderstanding with asymmetric tyres:

- https://blog.tirerack.com/blog/hunters-ramblings/are-my-asymmetric-tires-running-backwards

- https://www.tyremen.co.uk/blog/uniroyal-rainsport-3-why-weird-design

 

Thanks.  Weird though!  It just "looks" wrong as you said, and as I thought.  Need to train my brain not to believe my eyes probably!

 

  

Assuming the spare is in good condition and either asymmetric or non-directional, I'd leave it as it can be put on any corner.

 

I run cross climates all year and my spare is the standard summer tyre that came with the car. It's not an ideal match but it's only there to get me out of trouble. If the conditions are poor, then I'll drive slowly until I can have it replaced.

 

I certainly wouldn't recommend putting any directional tyre on the spare as there is a 50/50 chance it'll end up on the wrong side. I believe it's an MOT failure to have an incorrectly mounted (backwards) tyre fitted.

4 minutes ago, Offski said:

Example i carry 2 Winter Spares.

 

Directional? Left and right? I suppose I'm after recommendations for an anytime, anywhere, up hill, down dale, over the rainbow, long lasting, reliable, cheap, capable of everything tyre!

 

 

 

 

2 minutes ago, langers2k said:

Assuming the spare is in good condition and either asymmetric or non-directional, I'd leave it as it can be put on any corner.

 

No tyre at present - I just bought a rim - which is why I am asking.  Standard 7J 16" 5x112 ET45 VW rim.

 

Re the Michelin word. 

 Looks like job losses coming up with Michelin Dundee as they say, Changing / challenging Markets.  

http://bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-45474740 

Edited 10 September, 20187 yr by Offski

Who puts a car in for a MOT with a Spare on if it is a temporary spare.   Any odd tyre is a temporary to slow down using.

But then who drives for days on Space savers or on the motorway at 70 mph,  Plenty sadly.

Who drives at the normal speed with one odd Skoda OEM Spare that measures 195/55 R 15 when the other 3 are 205/40 R 17.  Loads sadly.

Edited 10 September, 20187 yr by Offski

3 minutes ago, aka_pseudonym said:

No tyre at present - I just bought a rim - which is why I am asking.  Standard 7J 16" 5x112 ET45 VW rim.

 

Personally, I'd use any mid-range non-directional asymmetric as it's normally just for emergency use. It's unlikely any of my driving or routes are going to leave me somewhere inaccessible or without mobile signal.

 

If you're doing something more adventurous then you might want a couple of spares suitable for bad conditions like Offski - for most, it's probably overkill.

 

2 minutes ago, Offski said:

Who puts a car in for a MOT with a Spare on if it is a temporary spare.

 

Well yes but like your other scenarios, I expect it's happened

 

Given it's incorrectly mounted and arguably unsafe, the police may take a dim view so I'll stick with an asymmetric spare that'll go on any corner.

The Police if they stop will help you fit what ever is in the spare tyre well to go on the car, and they fit what ever they have on police vehicles if they have a puncture unless they call out a Tyre Fitter.

This is the real world where people even drive with Run Flats with no air in because vehicles come without spares or inflation devices because of Manufacturers cutting weight for lower emissions.

 

I take it East Anglia and the South has total Mobile Phone Coverage 24/7, 365 days.

Edited 10 September, 20187 yr by Offski

2 minutes ago, langers2k said:

or without mobile signal.

 

I could have added in my list - "at least 2 miles in any direction for any mobile signal for any network".

 

Have you any seriously bad comments you'd make about Goodride?  I'd never heard of them before this evening.  The SW601 seems suitably cheap enough for my needs (except MyTyres have it out of stock).

 

 

I like Goodride, and TIGAR Tyres.  ATS Euromaster have them.  Michelin own TIGAR Tyres in Serbia.  & ATS Euromaster.

 

TIGAR M&S & TIGAR Winter, used both.

Edited 10 September, 20187 yr by Offski

3 minutes ago, Offski said:

The Police if they stop will help you fit what ever is in the spare tyre well to go on the car, and they fit what ever they have on police vehicles if they have a puncture unless they call out a Tyre Fitter.

This is the real world where people even drive with Run Flats with no air in because vehicles come without spares or inflation devices because of Manufacturers cutting weight for lower emissions.

 

The Coastguard here (Wales) use Yetis and they have a fifth of whatever is fitted to the car in the boot as a spare.

 

5 minutes ago, Offski said:

I like Goodride, and TIGAR Tyres.  ATS Euromaster have them.  Michelin own TIGAR Tyres in Serbia.  & ATS Euromaster.

 

TIGAR M&S & TIGAR Winter, used both.

 

 

That first one is directional I see - is that the M+S?  And is the Winter one directional?

 

Yes.

I am going cold turkey on tyres this winter. Buying no more, downsized the cars.

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/442093-tottaly-unscientific-tyre-test 

8 minutes ago, Offski said:

Yes.

I am going cold turkey on tyres this winter. Buying no more, downsized the cars.

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/442093-tottaly-unscientific-tyre-test 

 

End of the rubber fetish then? End of adventure - beginning of dementia?