19” winter tyres?

[Groaver]

Did a search for winter tyre/wheel combination and decided to go for winters on my 19" alloys.

Got a set of Vredestein Wintrac Xtreme S from Camskill, fitted locally.

 

Initial thoughts are that they are quieter and have reduced bump/thump through the cabin.

 

I did wonder about such a large profile but the video in my link was sort of reassuring.

Winter tyre size differences

I enjoyed this particular test:

2 wheel drive with snow tyres or 4WD without

[MikeHig]

Just a quick comment on the winter tyres issues......if you might need to fit chains, it is worth checking whether your car's wheel & tyre combination will take them. I have an S2 with standard 18" wheels (can't recall the tyre dimensions right now) and I was surprised to read in the handbook that chains cannot be fitted.

Luckily my winters are 17" with a narrower tyre so I could use my chains, if needed.

 

On 13/12/2018 at 18:31, Groaver said:

Did a search for winter tyre/wheel combination and decided to go for winters on my 19" alloys.

Got a set of Vredestein Wintrac Xtreme S from Camskill, fitted locally.

 

Initial thoughts are that they are quieter and have reduced bump/thump through the cabin.

 

I did wonder about such a large profile but the video in my link was sort of reassuring.

Winter tyre size differences

I enjoyed this particular test:

2 wheel drive with snow tyres or 4WD without

Will have a look at those tyres ta. Not one for buying steels and I've never had winters on any of my cars but bought some for the wifes Beetle last week (used but mint, so sue me) to keep her and the kid pointing in the right direction.

 

19s are nice but they do make getting winters more of an issue!

 

The Conti 860S are £250 a tyre. Bugger me sideways.  Only £170 for the 850Ps which were winning awards until last year so maybe I'll get those. How much were you stung for changing yours? my local place took £18 a  wheel for swapping the wifes 17s over.

 

On 13/12/2018 at 20:53, DBT85 said:

 

Will have a look at those tyres ta. Not one for buying steels and I've never had winters on any of my cars but bought some for the wifes Beetle last week (used but mint, so sue me) to keep her and the kid pointing in the right direction.

 

19s are nice but they do make getting winters more of an issue!

 

The Conti 860S are £250 a tyre. Bugger me sideways.  Only £170 for the 850Ps which were winning awards until last year so maybe I'll get those. How much were you stung for changing yours? my local place took £18 a  wheel for swapping the wifes 17s over.

I know you're looking at specific Winters but have you considered all-seasons?

A bit of a bugger finding them for the 235/40 R19's (well a choice of two!) but I opted for the Vredestein Quatrac 5's and they've been amazing so far.  No issues in deep snow and none in almost 30 degrees and everything in between.    I thought the 276 ponies in the Superb may have overwhelmed them but they've been great, even on stints of 'spirited' driving across the moors and dales.   As it stands I'll be getting another set when these ones wear out.    

 

Having previously had a 2nd set of Winter tyres/alloys I can't actually think of a single draw back of switching to the Quatrac 5's; just the benefit of freeing up some space in my garage and not having to spend £40 swapping them over every 6 months.  

 

Put some Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3's on mine about a month ago. So far so good...

 

-

 

On 14/12/2018 at 14:05, ewlmr said:

Put some Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3's on mine about a month ago. So far so good...

 

-

Are Nokian a popular choice in your location?  They always seems well regarded, at the cold/snowy end of Winter extremes

 

On 14/12/2018 at 14:15, penguin17 said:

Are Nokian a popular choice in your location?  They always seems well regarded, at the cold/snowy end of Winter extremes

 

I think so... They are a Finnish company that specialises in winter tyres and always seem to get the "best in test" award... Here you have to have winter tyres fitted between December 1st and March 31 and it seems like at least half the cars I see have either the Studded or non-studded Nokian tyres. But im originally from New Zealand so definitely not an expert. I didn't even know winter tyres existed until I moved here :-)

 

 A couple or so of years ago Nokian got caught out cheating in the winter tyre tests. Submitting special tyres I think. They came clean and promised not to do it again.

 

Can't remember the details so you'll have to google it 

 

On 13/12/2018 at 20:53, DBT85 said:

 

 

19s are nice but they do make getting winters more of an issue!

 

The Conti 860S are £250 a tyre. Bugger me sideways.  Only £170 for the 850Ps which were winning awards until last year so maybe I'll get those. How much were you stung for changing yours? my local place took £18 a  wheel for swapping the wifes 17s over.

I must admit it was the price that attracted me to these ones:

Vredestein

 

I should have said, £14.50 a tyre to change.

 

On 14/12/2018 at 12:36, penguin17 said:

I know you're looking at specific Winters but have you considered all-seasons?

A bit of a bugger finding them for the 235/40 R19's (well a choice of two!) but I opted for the Vredestein Quatrac 5's and they've been amazing so far.  No issues in deep snow and none in almost 30 degrees and everything in between.    I thought the 276 ponies in the Superb may have overwhelmed them but they've been great, even on stints of 'spirited' driving across the moors and dales.   As it stands I'll be getting another set when these ones wear out.    

 

Having previously had a 2nd set of Winter tyres/alloys I can't actually think of a single draw back of switching to the Quatrac 5's; just the benefit of freeing up some space in my garage and not having to spend £40 swapping them over every 6 months.  

 

I honestly can't say I have. I did go through a couple of tests that were for winters that also included a set of summers and a set of all seasons, though which they used was not disclosed. I'll have a further look tonight. I do about 20,000 miles a year right now, though that should be dropping to about 15,000 next year.

 

Realistically it doesn't snow that often here and while if I can't work I don't get paid, if its that bad then I'll just have to suck it up. I'd rather have at least something on the car just in case I'm half way up the M40 when the temps have dropped and the stock P7s are giving up anyway.

 

Something else to consider is that a 225/40 is perfectly fine on 8j x 19 wheels even though it comes with 235 out of the factory. 225 is a damned sight easier to find a range of tyres for and a damned sight cheaper too. Multi test winning Conti TS 860S are a whopping £105 cheaper in 225 vs 235 (£145 vs £250),  That's even less than the 850P I was looking at by £22 per and the 860S is better for cold wet but not quite as good in snow (which is fine as we have less snow).

 

 

 

The concern for me is that for 8 months of the year its either dry or wet but not especially cold, so for example from this 2018 all season test in dry braking the reference summer (not disclosed) stopped in 39m, the Cross Climate Plus stopped in 40.8m and the Quatrac 5 stopped in 43.9m. Do I want to give up a car length in stopping distance in the dry for 8 months in case it snows for 5 days? When you consider that most speed is bled off later in the braking phase (yay physics) 5m at car length might not sound like much but the speed you'd be travelling at while the summers has stopped is actually higher than you'd think.

 

In wet braking, the reference summer stopped in 41.4m, while the Cross Climate Plus did it in 48.1m and the Quatrac 5 in 48.6m. A car and a bits difference. The reference winter did it in 53.4, 12m longer than summers! 

 

For aquaplaning the CCP was 78.5kph, Ref winter at 78.1kph, 75.7kph, Q5 at 72.7kph. Differences are fairly small here. Though a Conti all season Contact did 85.2kph.

 

Then you read another test and see different results putting even more questions in your mind. The joys. 

 

 

On 14/12/2018 at 16:46, Groaver said:

I must admit it was the price that attracted me to these ones:

Vredestein

 

They are a good tyre by most accounts, recently superseded I believe by the Pro as they were starting to lose ground to the newer options on offer from the big 6.

 

I've ended up going for the 225/40/19 Conti TS 860S tyres, £597 posted from Camskill.

 

Rather interestingly I received a reply from a local garage about a price for fitting. they wanted info on what car it would be going on what load rating it would be, what tread pattern etc.

 

A little odd as as far as I can see, the tyres I asked for a quote for literlaly are only made in one load and speed rating at that size since its a "performance" tyre.

 

 

 

They are probably just covering their arses, by making sure the tyres are an approved size for your car.

 

Which they are not:

 

 

On 14/12/2018 at 20:53, DBT85 said:

 

 

The concern for me is that for 8 months of the year its either dry or wet but not especially cold, so for example from this 2018 all season test in dry braking the reference summer (not disclosed) stopped in 39m, the Cross Climate Plus stopped in 40.8m and the Quatrac 5 stopped in 43.9m. Do I want to give up a car length in stopping distance in the dry for 8 months in case it snows for 5 days? When you consider that most speed is bled off later in the braking phase (yay physics) 5m at car length might not sound like much but the speed you'd be travelling at while the summers has stopped is actually higher than you'd think.

 

In wet braking, the reference summer stopped in 41.4m, while the Cross Climate Plus did it in 48.1m and the Quatrac 5 in 48.6m. A car and a bits difference. The reference winter did it in 53.4, 12m longer than summers! 

 

For aquaplaning the CCP was 78.5kph, Ref winter at 78.1kph, 75.7kph, Q5 at 72.7kph. Differences are fairly small here. Though a Conti all season Contact did 85.2kph.

 

Then you read another test and see different results putting even more questions in your mind. The joys. 

 

I spent hours reading reviews and test results and found them all conflicting. It turned my head into a washing machine. The points you raise about the braking tests are all valid. The way Im looking at it now and the reason i think i will get the Quatrac 5 fitted next week is that 15 years ago i was driving a Hot hatch that did not have ABS and had drums on the back. Tyre technology wasnt as good. I have convinced myself that im in a much safer car, with better tyres and potentially on top of that i might be able to safely get home in bad weather should it happen.  Hopefully I don`t have to change my mind again, I cant face the dilemma again.

 

On 15/12/2018 at 11:54, Macsamillion said:

I spent hours reading reviews and test results and found them all conflicting. It turned my head into a washing machine. The points you raise about the braking tests are all valid. The way Im looking at it now and the reason i think i will get the Quatrac 5 fitted next week is that 15 years ago i was driving a Hot hatch that did not have ABS and had drums on the back. Tyre technology wasnt as good. I have convinced myself that im in a much safer car, with better tyres and potentially on top of that i might be able to safely get home in bad weather should it happen.  Hopefully I don`t have to change my mind again, I cant face the dilemma again.

 

Exactly right Max. Realistically you're probably going to be just fine with any of the well established tyres on your car. We aren't driving a racing speeds and we are hopefully leaving a safe gap to whichever moron happens to be in front! 

 

I do think it's good that the new Vredstien (sp) and conti are pushing more into the dry and wet performance and a little less on snow. We do get less snow here and if you're sensible literally any winter will work a whole lot better than any summer and any all season. I believe the new Conti TS860 and Vredstien Pro are heading more into the all season window too. I think the dude on tyrereviews suggested that as the dry and wet braking is so good on them.

 

On 14/12/2018 at 20:53, DBT85 said:

 

I honestly can't say I have. I did go through a couple of tests that were for winters that also included a set of summers and a set of all seasons, though which they used was not disclosed. I'll have a further look tonight. I do about 20,000 miles a year right now, though that should be dropping to about 15,000 next year.

 

Realistically it doesn't snow that often here and while if I can't work I don't get paid, if its that bad then I'll just have to suck it up. I'd rather have at least something on the car just in case I'm half way up the M40 when the temps have dropped and the stock P7s are giving up anyway.

 

Something else to consider is that a 225/40 is perfectly fine on 8j x 19 wheels even though it comes with 235 out of the factory. 225 is a damned sight easier to find a range of tyres for and a damned sight cheaper too. Multi test winning Conti TS 860S are a whopping £105 cheaper in 225 vs 235 (£145 vs £250),  That's even less than the 850P I was looking at by £22 per and the 860S is better for cold wet but not quite as good in snow (which is fine as we have less snow).

 

 

 

The concern for me is that for 8 months of the year its either dry or wet but not especially cold, so for example from this 2018 all season test in dry braking the reference summer (not disclosed) stopped in 39m, the Cross Climate Plus stopped in 40.8m and the Quatrac 5 stopped in 43.9m. Do I want to give up a car length in stopping distance in the dry for 8 months in case it snows for 5 days? When you consider that most speed is bled off later in the braking phase (yay physics) 5m at car length might not sound like much but the speed you'd be travelling at while the summers has stopped is actually higher than you'd think.

 

In wet braking, the reference summer stopped in 41.4m, while the Cross Climate Plus did it in 48.1m and the Quatrac 5 in 48.6m. A car and a bits difference. The reference winter did it in 53.4, 12m longer than summers! 

 

For aquaplaning the CCP was 78.5kph, Ref winter at 78.1kph, 75.7kph, Q5 at 72.7kph. Differences are fairly small here. Though a Conti all season Contact did 85.2kph.

 

Then you read another test and see different results putting even more questions in your mind. The joys. 

 

 

 

They are a good tyre by most accounts, recently superseded I believe by the Pro as they were starting to lose ground to the newer options on offer from the big 6.

I bet those reference tyres weren't P7s

Edited 16 December, 2018 by Gizmo

[DBT85]

ahh well this is all easy to read.

[Gizmo]

Yes I cocked it up when I merged from the original thread, feel free to repost or quote your own posts from above.