4 hours ago, SurreyJohn said:

 

Also modern summer tyres tend to have 3 or 4 grooves to displace water, and some narrow lateral grooves.  OK for rain

 

 

 

Based on today's experience ID disagree.  My current Swift is on the OE tyres which are exactly that tread type and in the rain today on the M18 and around Doncaster it was nowhere near as stable as I'd like and as other current an previous cars have been with a proper directional V tread pattern or a more 'blocky' pattern.

 

Which in some ways is comforting as it has reinforced my previous experience and thoughts and will again inform my next purchase for it!

1 hour ago, skomaz said:

 

Based on today's experience ID disagree.  My current Swift is on the OE tyres which are exactly that tread type and in the rain today on the M18 and around Doncaster it was nowhere near as stable as I'd like and as other current an previous cars have been with a proper directional V tread pattern or a more 'blocky' pattern.

 

Which in some ways is comforting as it has reinforced my previous experience and thoughts and will again inform my next purchase for it!

195/45R17 will turn a lightweight car like the Swift into a water ski in heavy rain. Best to choose something narrow like a 175/65R15 or even a 165/65R15 for driving in heavy rain. More mpg and lots more comfort due to the 1" higher sidewalls.

 

Here's some 15" steel rims that will fit the latest Swift.

 

https://www.oponeo.co.uk/steel-wheel/alcar-kfz-4035#20971558

 

Specification of the rims is 5Jx15 ET40 4x100 54.1

 

5" wide rims is an ideal width for 165/65 and 175/65 tyres. The Fiat 500 uses 5.5" wide rims for their 175/65 option, but they are going for sharper handling over comfort and hence the extra 0.5" rim width.

Edited 15 November, 20196 yr by Carlston

As you say...

 

Modern summer tyres are actually a hazard to other road users in the snow/ice and slush.

13 hours ago, Carlston said:

195/45R17 will turn a lightweight car like the Swift into a water ski in heavy rain. Best to choose something narrow like a 175/65R15 or even a 165/65R15 for driving in heavy rain. More mpg and lots more comfort due to the 1" higher sidewalls.

 

Here's some 15" steel rims that will fit the latest Swift.

 

https://www.oponeo.co.uk/steel-wheel/alcar-kfz-4035#20971558

 

Specification of the rims is 5Jx15 ET40 4x100 54.1

 

5" wide rims is an ideal width for 165/65 and 175/65 tyres. The Fiat 500 uses 5.5" wide rims for their 175/65 option, but they are going for sharper handling over comfort and hence the extra 0.5" rim width.

 

Cheers - I've got 185/55/R16 83V at the moment which seem to be a slightly odd size - the Vredestein Quatracs are looking promising though...

12 hours ago, skomaz said:

 

Cheers - I've got 185/55/R16 83V at the moment which seem to be a slightly odd size - the Vredestein Quatracs are looking promising though...

185/55R16 is an expensive size, about £90 for Vredestein Quatrac. 185/60R15 is about £60.

 

Outside diameter of 185/55R16 is 1.1% more than a 185/60R15, so are interchangeable.

 

5.5Jx15 ET45 4x100 54.1 (from the Suzuki Swift 2005-2017) would be an ideal size rim for the 185/60R15 tyre on the Suzuki Swift.

 

 https://www.oponeo.co.uk/steel-wheel/magnetto-wheels-mw-r1-1595#20982242

 

185/55R16 are normally fitted to 5.5Jx16 ET45 on the Suzuki Swift...at least according to wheel-size.com

 

https://www.wheel-size.com/

 

 

Edited 16 November, 20196 yr by Carlston

 

In the 1980s I attempted to get from Dundee to Buxton. On summer tyres, like almost everyone was. I'd to get to work the next day. Got hit by heavy snow, was stuck twice until the ploughs cleared the roads. Listening to encouraging traffic reports on radio. Eventually the traffic got heavier and slower and stopped on A74 near Lockerbie. Hours more of encouraging radio reports. Eventually they gave up trying to clear the road. An emergency food distribution  and shelter scheme started up with offers of phone calls. After a cold night in the car a junction was cleared and cars were freed. I had plenty of traction to move. 1000 vehicles stuck there according to news report.

A one off freak journey for me and better tyres would not have helped then. Carried warm clothing , food and a blanket as well.

Lesson learned, stay put in similar weather condition, even with my all seasons tyres.

^^^Yes as someone commented else where on this subject. The problem with all season and winter tyres is people who don't use them. All it needs is a couple of people to get into difficulty and main roads/motorways grind to a hault. 

However staying at home evertime there is a touch of frost or a few flakes of snow is not exactly viable either. 

Several years ago i attempted to drive from Derby to Manchester. I had winter tyres so when the snow hit the A50 I thought I would be safe. A lorry jackknifed further up and closed the road. We sat in our cars for ages, so you could say my tyres were useless.....except when the police eventually turned us around and sent us back up (the wrong way) the A50 the snow was deep enough large numbers of cars were well and truly stuck by them. As I threaded through the carnage and headed back to derby, I made a call to a hotel and booked myself in. Many were not so lucky and spent a night in their cars. The following day my job was canceled and I celebrated in a giant empty carpark (Derby City FC) and easily drove home.

 

Two things of note. Firstly winter tyres were significantly better than summer tyres and secondly, in the half an hour of hooning about in the car park I managed to blow the sports diff on my Audi   (It didn't reveal itself to be broken for a further couple of days)

It just doesn't snow that often down here.  

I used to live in a flat, which had a narrow driveway (well, it was wide, but people parked up one side of it) and my biggest stumbling block on the occasions that it snowed was getting from the car park to the main road.  Everything between the road and my work is gritted and never really posed an issue.

 

I since bought a house that's on a bus route.  I have to cross all of 1.5m from my driveway to the gritted road....  and they're gritted all the way to my work and within about 50m of all close family.  I can handle that....

 

I did once have to drive from Plymouth to Pompey in a hire car, on summer tyres (as all hire cars are), and get back to work.  My entire work has been sent home due to the excessive snow building.   It wasn't an issue, the various A roads were all gritted, so it was just scenic drive though various now covered lands.  I did go A303 route though, i suspect it would have a much different story if I'd gone the coast route.  But that would have been stupid.

We got to work, dug my colleagues car out the empty car park and both drive home.

 

TBH though on those occasions when it really has snowed heavily I generally get the train instead and drive less.   I find the most dangerous thing is people who have a 4x4 (on knobbly tyres) driving faster than normal people would in the height of summer.    It's like they've garaged their cars for 3 years waiting for the one snowy day.  They then drive like complete idiots to show off.  I don't really fancy being on the road with them as ultimately they'll have an accident.

 

 

It's not just about snow!

 

Many years ago in the aforementioned Audi. I was following an Audi A6 Quattro cross country late at night. It was just starting to snow, but the roads were pretty clear, it was however well below freezing. At the top of a very long hill I stopped and waited for the A6 to descend and clear a corner at the bottom of the hill. The descent was probably over half a mile long! Anyhoo, once I saw the tail lights disappear I set off and it was pretty obvious the road had ice on it. Eventually I rounded the corner at the bottom and felt my steering go light (I was travelling very slowly too) and to compound matters there was an A6 broadside across the road. I applied the brakes and even though the ABS had a field day, I eventually stopped short of the crashed Audi. Every panel on it was smashed as he had spun and bounced off anything solid. He too had been going slowly.

 

The difference was I had Winter's on and he didn't. 

If every car in winter was in either all seasons or summers, there would be fewer problems, probably fewer accidents and a minuscule chance of reduced insurance claims and so premiums 😂😂😂😂😂

 

you might get going on summers, but evasive manoeuvres, emergency stops or even going around a corner are a lot less likely to end well.

The fact that 95% of UK cars run on summer tyres is why we grind to a halt in a few flakes of snow, so the inevitable loss of grip at the front of the queue then prevents all those other summer tyre users from getting past but they can't then get into bother at least. Damn inconvenient mind!

@NJRJ

Maybe is some parts of the country, in others it is because HGV's do, then Light Commercials, then cars with wider summer tyres, even AWD / SUV's & 4x4's.

Often the City Cars on narrower summer tyres with older drivers would do just fine.

But then they spent many winters getting about just fine with no electric aids, crappish tyres that were not as crap as Eco tyres.

1 hour ago, Roottootemoot said:

@NJRJ

Maybe is some parts of the country, in others it is because HGV's do, then Light Commercials, then cars with wider summer tyres, even AWD / SUV's & 4x4's.

Often the City Cars on narrower summer tyres with older drivers would do just fine.

But then they spent many winters getting about just fine with no electric aids, crappish tyres that were not as crap as Eco tyres.

I agree with your order of vehicles that struggle, but sadly we have lots more numpties in AWD/SUV (than Heavies), also agree that older drivers will be used to getting around in poorer weather from past experience (winters really bad back in the day 😉), and narrower tyres do bite through snow much better - you'll never see a Fiat Panda stuck, nor a Morris 1000 stuck, narrow tyres and not enough power to get into trouble!