20 minutes ago, Gaz said:

And confirmed they couldn't match their own online price 🤔

 

Something like:- Head office run the website and set prices for both the website and at branch level.

Many company's have a web price and an in store price these days.

 

Thanks, AG Falco

Oh I certainly get that completely.  Had the same with ECP over a new battery for my Superb, 5+ years ago.  The branch wouldn't match their own online price, so I stayed in my place at the front of the queue, ordered the battery on my phone and they went and got undoubtedly the same battery, simply wasting my time, theirs, and the customers behind me.  But why miss the opportunity of taking £52 off me - for every one of me there's probably several who pay up.  What I don't get is when I tell them the price they are going to sell them to me for, why not save the farting about and just get on with it.  Computer says no.  Another nail in the branch's coffin.

 

Gaz

You can find that ATS Euromaster if you call in to a branch might be able to get in Michelin tyres that you want and fit them and beat a Price you get online from Black Circles to have supplied and fitted at ATS Euromaster or another fitting centre.

Michelin own ATS Euromaster & BlackCircle..

16 hours ago, Gaz said:

The GTI has now done 16.5k miles and it's definitely time to change the fronts.  

 

I've decided to go for Crossclimate+ and am having all four changed on Tuesday.  

 

I really don't get some tyre places.  I've bought them from local independent, who are now part of a chain.  They quoted me £13 more per tyre than they're online price, with the same date, time and place.  And confirmed they couldn't match their own online price 🤔 So I ordered them online, on their own website, and am not giving them £52 for no apparent reason.

 

Gaz

Which online site did you book through?

17 hours ago, Gaz said:

The GTI has now done 16.5k miles and it's definitely time to change the fronts.  

 

I've decided to go for Crossclimate+ and am having all four changed on Tuesday.  

 

I really don't get some tyre places.  I've bought them from local independent, who are now part of a chain.  They quoted me £13 more per tyre than they're online price, with the same date, time and place.  And confirmed they couldn't match their own online price 🤔 So I ordered them online, on their own website, and am not giving them £52 for no apparent reason.

 

Gaz

CrossClimate+ have been superseded by crossclimate2

Why buy the older version ?

 

There is a comparison here

https://www.tyrereviews.com/Article/Michelin-CrossClimate-2-VS-Michelin-CrossClimate.htm
 

 

 

 

4 hours ago, EnterName said:

Which online site did you book through?

 

https://www.tyrecity.co.uk

 

3 hours ago, SurreyJohn said:

Why buy the older version ?

 

Stupidity 🙄

 

Order amended to Crossclimate 2's 😁

 

Gaz

 

19 hours ago, e-Roottoot said:

You can find that ATS Euromaster if you call in to a branch might be able to get in Michelin tyres that you want and fit them and beat a Price you get online from Black Circles to have supplied and fitted at ATS Euromaster or another fitting centre.

Michelin own ATS Euromaster & BlackCircle..

 

Thanks George, I remembered you mentioning this before.  I did check ATS as well as many others. And to be fair, had I used them I could have saved myself a penny a tyre.  But I've decided to be frivolous!

 

Gaz

@Gazthe ATS Euromaster website / booking even a call to the local centre can show or get a price totally different from that you might get standing at the Reception Desk and the person checking their screen, calling to see if actually available and when, and the Fitted Price they give.

Car now shod with my first ever set of:

 

 

Gaz

 

Edited 10 September, 20214 yr by Gaz

An update, nine months in, one South East UK winter, and 5k miles later.

 

Are they a good tyre? - yes they most certainly are 

 

Will I have them again? - no, I will not.

 

Another mild winter. No snow of any note.

 

I have a GTI, and I like to enjoy having a GTI.

 

My Wife's Polo GTI is on PS4's.  Those tyres have outshone the CC2's throughout the entirety of our 'Winter'. 

 

Had we had any duff weather, I'd have wanted to be on the CC2's.  But we didn't.

 

Better weather has been here for three months, and Summer is most certainly here now.  The PS4's now outperform the CC2's quite noticeably.  I get that's not the point.

 

The limited time I might need cross climate tyres, I don't think warrants having them.  I'm not wasteful, so I'll stick with them, as overall they're a very good tyre indeed.

 

Glad I tried them.  Here and now, other tyres suit my needs better.  PS4's or PS5's (or similar) for me next.

 

Gaz

 

18 hours ago, Gaz said:

An update, nine months in, one South East UK winter, and 5k miles later.

 

Are they a good tyre? - yes they most certainly are 

 

Will I have them again? - no, I will not.

 

Another mild winter. No snow of any note.

 

I have a GTI, and I like to enjoy having a GTI.

 

My Wife's Polo GTI is on PS4's.  Those tyres have outshone the CC2's throughout the entirety of our 'Winter'. 

 

Had we had any duff weather, I'd have wanted to be on the CC2's.  But we didn't.

 

Better weather has been here for three months, and Summer is most certainly here now.  The PS4's now outperform the CC2's quite noticeably.  I get that's not the point.

 

The limited time I might need cross climate tyres, I don't think warrants having them.  I'm not wasteful, so I'll stick with them, as overall they're a very good tyre indeed.

 

Glad I tried them.  Here and now, other tyres suit my needs better.  PS4's or PS5's (or similar) for me next.

 

Gaz

 

 

Above 0 degrees Centigrade, the Vredestein Quatracs work better than the Michelin CrossClimate 2 tyres.

 

For tyre sizes such as 225/45R17 and 225/40R18, the Vredestein Quatrac Pros are still available, which work better in the summer than most all-season tyres.

 

If you're using summer tyres all year round, it will be easy to get caught out in the winter as summer tyres don't have the 3PMSF symbol.

 

In the summer fitting UHP summer tyres may give you 10% more grip. However, come winter it will be easy to lose 50% of your grip with the wrong tyres. This means that you can gain a little in the summer, but lose a lot in the winter.

 

If you use summer tyres in the summer, change to winter or all-season tyres in the winter. In the winter you really do need that 3PMSF symbol, as you never know when it might snow.

 

Edited 23 June, 20223 yr by Carlston

But you know where you live or are driving and you know if you need to use your car.  You know if the postie, the busses, the home delivery vans and snow ploughs and gritters are out and about and probably 80 % or more vehicles are on the tyres they have on all year.  So location location location and each to their own.   If the roads  / snow gates are closed then they are closed and when they are open then the traffic will drive on.   This is generally the UK I am talking about.     Check the weather forecast before venturing out in London you might need public transport or Uber. 

Exactly so George.

 

I think a lot of it is semantics (for me).  Yes of course I could get caught out, but it's proving so infrequent as to make it a minor factor.

 

I live right down South, in a town that nestles, and is protected by the South Downs.  The last time we had a reasonable amount of snow was when I had the Superb, so many years ago.  I got the Superb because I wrote my previous Saab 9-5 off (with very good tyres on it) when I ran out of skill on ice, with an adverse camber, clumped a kerb and took my NSF wheel off.  Before the Saab I had a '99 B5 Passat on very ordinary Dunlop's (195's I think) and I couldn't get it stuck if I wanted to.  Might've been around 2009, when we did have a dump of snow (6" iirc), I was 30 minutes late for work (six storey office block with 500+ staff) only to find I couldn't get in because the place was still locked up and I was the first person there.

 

Time and place.  Good tyres and bad tyres.  I get what John said in the other thread about tyre compound formulation.  But I don't think I need worry about what if, and when, we might next get snow or really bad weather.  If it's that bad, I'll just stay in and wait it out.  I'd quite like to try out my mobility scooter in the snow.

 

Gaz

I have had on my winter tyres for over 20,000 miles in the past 18 months and they are as good at 25 *oC ambient and much hotter road temp as they have been at -10*C and on snow and ice or in the rain.

No wear on them and they will likely stay on for the next 14 months until the car goes back with the original ditch finders back on. 

The best driving roads are 60 mph speed limits anyway during the summer and winter and all season tyres are just fine IMO in Scottish Summers. 

 

 

Edited 25 June, 20223 yr by roottoot

I'm considering getting a couple of Michelin Cross Climate 2's on the front. I've had my Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons Gen 2 for 20k miles now and the fronts are down to 3.7mm. Slight cracks in the rubber around the edges. 

 

Shed loads of tread left on the rear tyres of course. 

 

I was going to order in October or does anyone think 3.7mm is too soon? I live in the Derbyshire Dales and encounter country roads a lot and we have family in the Peak District. 

Edited 2 August, 20223 yr by Doctor_Strange

22 minutes ago, Doctor_Strange said:

I'm considering getting a couple of Michelin Cross Climate 2's on the front. I've had my Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons Gen 2 for 20k miles now and the fronts are down to 3.7mm. Slight cracks in the rubber around the edges. 

 

Shed loads of tread left on the rear tyres of course. 

 

I was going to order in October or does anyone think 3.7mm is too soon? I live in the Derbyshire Dales and encounter country roads a lot and we have family in the Peak District. 

I can't see it being a bad decision, unless you're strapped for cash.

I've got 4-5mm on my Turanzas that came with the car, and I think they're going to fall apart before they wear out.

I've got a fair few cracks in them now, and despite the car sailing through an MOT with no advisories, the cracks bother me.

So I'm thinking about replacing them, despite them having loads of tread left on.

This cracking malarkey never used to happen with tyres on a 3 year-old car, so I'm not sure what's going on.

 

Cracking has always been an issue with tyres as long as there has been tyres.

Not always the same brand or tyre type and maybe not on identical cars that have the same tyres and get used in the same area or get parked in the same parking place.

 

Hit or miss really which tyres people might have that end up with cracking or shorter lives.

But then tyres are made all over the world by lots of different factories and that can even apply to tyres from the same Manufacturer. 

5 hours ago, Doctor_Strange said:

I'm considering getting a couple of Michelin Cross Climate 2's on the front. I've had my Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons Gen 2 for 20k miles now and the fronts are down to 3.7mm. Slight cracks in the rubber around the edges. 

 

Shed loads of tread left on the rear tyres of course. 

 

I was going to order in October or does anyone think 3.7mm is too soon? I live in the Derbyshire Dales and encounter country roads a lot and we have family in the Peak District. 

Why not swap them front-back

Unlikely to slide the back out with 3.7mm of tread

Might get another year out of all 4 that way

 

If you want to buy all seasons, I would suggest October is bit late to order them as prices always jump in Autumn.  Try and order by mid September (even if don’t get them fitted for 1-2 months)

 

 

30 minutes ago, SurreyJohn said:

Why not swap them front-back

Unlikely to slide the back out with 3.7mm of tread

Might get another year out of all 4 that way

 

If you want to buy all seasons, I would suggest October is bit late to order them as prices always jump in Autumn.  Try and order by mid September (even if don’t get them fitted for 1-2 months)

 

 

 

I asked this at a garage when my car had it's MOT and they said it wasn't doable due to the tyre pressure monitoring system. 

1 hour ago, Doctor_Strange said:

 

I asked this at a garage when my car had it's MOT and they said it wasn't doable due to the tyre pressure monitoring system. 

Change your garage then. Yes, you'd have to change the tyre pressure(s) and reset the TPMS, but that's all.

^^^
garage must be clueless to make a statement like that or are just plain lazy! Would suggest you go else where.

Or trying to generate a sale of new tyres...

 

Depending on the conditions I would say:

 

Summer = 2-3mm (Assuming you only use them in summer)

All season = 4mm (But if you're going into summer, I'd probably run them through the summer and replace for winter)

Winters = 4mm (unless they state they retain winter performance below 4mm, then down to the stated depth)

 

If the tyres are 4 years old I keep an extra eye out for hardening/damage and if they're 5 years old they are changed regardless.

 

I do not understand why cars in the UK are supplied with summer tyres, it's madness and shouldn't be permitted on a new car unless the customer has ticked the summer/winter option box.

 

Cracks happen, usually when tyres get lower miles so last over 4 years. I've had them on a few sets of a particular Nokian tyre, but all the other tyres from Nokian were just fine and didn't crack. Had them on other brands too and it appears to just be a thing at a certain age on some designs.

 

FWIW I have cross climates on the summer wheels as they were cheaper than summers and I wanted to see if I needed summer/winters or just all seasons. The CC are pretty good, not a patch on a full set of winters IMHO, however plenty good enough to get you home if you got caught out and enough that if you drive carefully you'll be just fine.

 

Full winters were a case of go out and drive just fine and you could even go past a gritter on the motorway in snow as you were getting covered in grit. That's not something I'd do on all seasons. Full winters are probably excessive for most people who drive locally in most parts of the UK mind.

 

 

Edited 4 August, 20223 yr by cheezemonkhai

They are not summer tyres, they are simply tyres (without a prefix) capable of all year round use (driving with respect to the weather and road conditions) as have been fitted to vehicles since the pneumatic tyre was invented.

 

There were always specialist snow tyres & off road M&S (mud & snow) tyres, then a company decided to market their new M&S tyres as "Winter Tyres" and since then Internet evangelists have been telling people living in warm Souther towns & Cities like London that unless they swap between summer & winter tyres or fit 4 season tyres then they are dangerous.

 

My answer to the thread title question is 1.6mm, my aim is to change all 4 tyres together, if I can do that when all 4 are at 1.6mm and evenly worn across the whole thread width then I have done my job well, anything less is wastage of a precious commodity.

Hmm. Wouldn’t be too keen on running the tread right down to legal limit in winter months (on any kind of tyre, no matter what part of the country). Shouldn’t be a problem in the summer months though. Even in the more temperate areas of the UK, there would still be plenty of opportunities to run into standing water (ie miserable wet winter weather). I’m not going to discuss the pro’s of using all season or winter tyres here as it’s such a bone of contention. Those of us who want to use them know the benefits but plenty out there happy without, horses for courses…

Edited 4 August, 20223 yr by Gmac983