Best Winter Tyres

[Llwyngwernog]

I am contemplating the purchase of some winter/four season tyres 

205 / 55 R17 

Any opinions or experience would be welcome 

Thanks in anticipation

[Carlston]

3 hours ago, Llwyngwernog said:

I am contemplating the purchase of some winter/four season tyres 

205 / 55 R17 

Any opinions or experience would be welcome 

 

Michelin winter tyres are one of the highest mileage winter tyres, as well as performing well.

 

Michelin Alpin 6 205/55R17 95H XL (Euro label C B 69dB) (3PMSF) (winter tyre)

https://www.camskill.co.uk/m97b0s1635p158261/Michelin_Tyres_Winter_Snow_Car_Michelin_Alpin6_Michelin_Alpin_6_205_55_R17_95H_XL_TL_Fuel_Eff_%3A_C_Wet_Grip%3A_B_NoiseClass%3A_A_Noise%3A_69dB

[SkOmk4]

https://www.tyrereviews.com/Article/2023-Tyre-Reviews-Winter-Tyre-Test.htm

 

Check the podium at the end of the above article/test for this year.
Last year I bought the Blizzak LM005 for the Octavia, this year I think I'll buy the same for the newly arrived Formentor... 
Each time I checked, the Alpin6 was at least 10% more expensive than the Blizzak - a price difference not justified by the scores in the tests I read so far.
The Hankook iCept is significantly cheaper than both the above, with pretty good performance in the test.

[inspectorman]

Another vote for the Alpin 6. A spare set of alloys - and somewhere to store them - and swapping them twice a year was my answer. If they were my only wheels I'd use the Cross Climates.

 

The swapping is not too onerous - Takes me just over an hour using a decent jack. Side benefit of being able to have a really good look at the brakes.

 

Cleaning the ones which have come off takes me longer. I almost bought steel wheels but found a set of alloys at the right price. Don't forget 16s will fit, too.

[SurreyJohn]

I have Goodyear ultragrip 9+ and they have been brilliant, works well at anything below about +20c, great in cold rain, brilliant in frost and snow too.

 

The 9+ is for mid size and smaller cars, but if latest version of ultragrip is as good (it's ultragrip performance 3 for 205/55 R17) then should be on your shortlist too

 

 

A friend of mine has Continental TS870, haven't used them personally, but he rates them highly.  Probably another for your shortlist.

 

Edited 17 October, 2023 by SurreyJohn

[inspectorman]

Three (maybe four) recommendations here. Maybe the message is that any winter tyre from a decent manufacturer will be a big improvement from a summer tyre once the temperature starts to dip below 10.  Personally, I've been over the Hartside pass in Cumbria (576m) in a blizzard with no drama ten minutes before they shut it.

[Simon667]

I'd seriously consider some Michelin Cross Climates - you can sometimes get them on offer under £100 per corner

 

offer great dry, wet and cold weather grip for 30k miles on top of the pennines

Edited 18 October, 2023 by Simon667

[SurreyJohn]

Tyre reviews have published the Auto Bild (German) winter tyre test results.

 

https://www.tyrereviews.com/Article/2023-Auto-Bild-Winter-Tyre-Test.htm
 

The ones already recommended have come top

1) Michelin Pilot Alpin 5

2) Goodyear Ultragrip performance 3

3) Continental winter contact TS870P

 

 

[SkOmk4]

The Auto Bild test you mention is dated October 18th, please have a look at the Tyre Review winter tyre test published October 2nd:

https://www.tyrereviews.com/Article/2023-Tyre-Reviews-Winter-Tyre-Test.htm

 

Could anyone explain how is it possible that the winner of the latter test is positioned 10th in the Auto Bild test? There's even the same tyre size, so factors such as width or radius don't come into play... (in case they ever would)
WTH??? I'm fully against conspiracy theories, but in this case: who's paying who for those tests???

[Edela]

I am happy with Blizzak LM005 which I bought at dealership, went on a winter road trip across Europe to the north and all was great both on rainy autobahns and roads covered in snow. Plus the price they asked was very good imo, and they are much more quiet than stock summer Goodyear.

Edited 20 October, 2023 by Edela

[SkOmk4]

Yep, I had the Blizzak on Octavia last winter; no problems and they were obviously quieter than the Factory (noisy) GoodYear.
 

[mccririck]

On 20/10/2023 at 07:27, SkOmk4 said:

The Auto Bild test you mention is dated October 18th, please have a look at the Tyre Review winter tyre test published October 2nd:

https://www.tyrereviews.com/Article/2023-Tyre-Reviews-Winter-Tyre-Test.htm

 

Could anyone explain how is it possible that the winner of the latter test is positioned 10th in the Auto Bild test? There's even the same tyre size, so factors such as width or radius don't come into play... (in case they ever would)
WTH??? I'm fully against conspiracy theories, but in this case: who's paying who for those tests???

I personally don't see the point in winter tyres in the UK. Just be careful when you're driving in freezing conditions. Summer tyres outperform or equal winter tyres down to about 4⁰C.

[SurreyJohn]

12 hours ago, mccririck said:

I personally don't see the point in winter tyres in the UK. Just be careful when you're driving in freezing conditions. Summer tyres outperform or equal winter tyres down to about 4⁰C.

Not true, the tyres the cars are delivered with are Eco biased tyres optimised for WTLP test temperatures (about +23c), much warmer than UK average.  Generally in the wet the winter tyres will outperform the summer tyres below about +10c (yes might be nearer +4c in complete dry), but in UK get rain below about +10c more like 6-8 months a year.  We don't get warm tropical rain.

[mccririck]

15 minutes ago, SurreyJohn said:

Not true, the tyres the cars are delivered with are Eco biased tyres optimised for WTLP test temperatures (about +23c), much warmer than UK average.  Generally in the wet the winter tyres will outperform the summer tyres below about +10c (yes might be nearer +4c in complete dry), but in UK get rain below about +10c more like 6-8 months a year.  We don't get warm tropical rain.

I'd be very surprised if they specified non-UK spec tyres. Do you have evidence of that?

[SurreyJohn]

1 hour ago, mccririck said:

I'd be very surprised if they specified non-UK spec tyres. Do you have evidence of that?

Yes for some, as that is on the data sheets that tyre manufacturers produce. Sometimes these are on manufacturers websites, or if not gives more general (non scientific) description which says similar.

 

There is no such thing as a UK spec tyre, the specs are in world regions, and we get European spec.  Virtually all the UK tyre factories have closed so not likely to be UK tyre either.

 

In Europe there is basically now 4 specs of road tyre (excluding specialist types and off road etc).  Summer, All season, Winter, Nordic.  The first is what factory fits, it is seasonal (not all year), not optimised for use in colder months November-March.  The one for all year use is the all season (clue in the name), winter is self explanatory, suitable for when temperatures are generally below about +12c, and Nordic (which aren't on sale in UK) for Scandinavia and North Eastern European winters where lying snow and temperatures below -15c regularly occur.   The exact temperature thresholds vary by brand and formulation.

 

 

 

[mccririck]

2 minutes ago, SurreyJohn said:

Yes for some, as that is on the data sheets that tyre manufacturers produce. Sometimes these are on manufacturers websites, or if not gives more general (non scientific) description which says similar.

 

There is no such thing as a UK spec tyre, the specs are in world regions, and we get European spec.  Virtually all the UK tyre factories have closed so not likely to be UK tyre either.

 

In Europe there is basically now 4 specs of road tyre (excluding specialist types and off road etc).  Summer, All season, Winter, Nordic.  The first is what factory fits, it is seasonal (not all year), not optimised for use in colder months November-March.  The one for all year use is the all season (clue in the name), winter is self explanatory, suitable for when temperatures are generally below about +12c, and Nordic (which aren't on sale in UK) for Scandinavia and North Eastern European winters where lying snow and temperatures below -15c regularly occur.   The exact temperature thresholds vary by brand and formulation.

 

 

 

ok so you have really contradicted your original post somewhat. Additionally I believe I have read in the past countries like Italy, Greece and Spain get a different formulation to the one we get in Northern Europe. The spec we tend to get in UK can compete with winter tyres down to about 4 degrees C.

[SkOmk4]

I don't know about you guys, but on my recently arrived Formentor they fitted Continental Eco Contact, which is a LRR (low rolling resistance). If you sneeze behind the wheel, those tyres will lose grip... if you try to take off a bit faster (NOT sporty) they lose grip; if you brake a little harder (non-emergency brake) God forbid it would be a bit wet - they will lose grip.
At this point I'm betting anyone that a premium all-season tyre or a premium winter tyre will outperform the Eco-Contact in most cases. For sure under 15-20 deg Celsius on any kind of surface, dry or wet...

 

So before you take a decision concerning the winter tyre I suggest you have a good look at those comparative tests - you'll get a pretty good idea, assuming the tests are objective.

[Ootohere]

The tests are so so.

For the UK it is the driver that needs to be thinking of where and when they drive and their weather.

 

Floods with Storm Ciaran this week for some in the South and the winter might or might not have frosts / ice / Snow, or the roads always get treated.

 

Parts of the North snow through into Thursday following torrential rain and between now and April their might be a heat wave or at least some time of cracking weather. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 29 October, 2023 by Rooted

[mccririck]

The problem is if you're going to change tyres for the winter you either need two sets of wheels with somewhere to store the spare set or use the winter tyres all year round which isn't ideal the rest of the year. If you live somewhere where you often get bad snow and ice and it's not always gritted then sure but for most people I think it's better just to drive more carefully in poor weather.

[Schtum]

8 minutes ago, mccririck said:

The problem is if you're going to change tyres for the winter you either need two sets of wheels with somewhere to store the spare set or use the winter tyres all year round which isn't ideal the rest of the year. If you live somewhere where you often get bad snow and ice and it's not always gritted then sure but for most people I think it's better just to drive more carefully in poor weather.

 

It's not just snow and ice that's the issue.  Setting aside the issue of the 'Eco' low rolling resistance tyres which have very poor grip in most conditions, any 'summer' tyre will lose its performance under 7 deg C.   

 

I've been using Dunlop D5 Winter Sport on several previous Tiguans and our current Karoq.  With AWD and winter tyres, they're pretty much unstoppable, unless you want them to be, in anything less than snow deeper than the underside of the car.

On the Yeti, for the first time ever, I've been using Michelin CrossClimate.  I can't recommend those enough.   They've been great in all conditions, even for an old hooligan like me. 

[PetrolDave]

1 hour ago, SkOmk4 said:

I don't know about you guys, but on my recently arrived Formentor they fitted Continental Eco Contact, which is a LRR (low rolling resistance).

Low Rolling Resistance is achieved by a harder compound which has less grip.

 

Personally I studiously avoid any tyre labelled as "eco" because I'd rather have grip and protect my life and property.

[Ootohere]

The problem is a muppet that would drive to Scotland to test tyres on the Snow Roads to the Ski Resorts and not first just look at the Webcams at Glenshee, Cairngorm or Lecht and see what things were like.  & remember Covid at that time. 

[J.R.]

5 hours ago, SurreyJohn said:

In Europe there is basically now 4 specs of road tyre (excluding specialist types and off road etc).  Summer, All season, Winter, Nordic.  The first is what factory fits, it is seasonal (not all year),

 

Yeah right! Manufacturers fitting tyres that can not be used all year round 🙄

 

Show me one manufacturer that refers to any of their tyres as "Summer Tyres", there is no such animal, it's just a phrase coined by people with an interest in selling winter or all season tyres and taken up by so many on the internet that it is accepted by many as fact.

[SkOmk4]

1 hour ago, PetrolDave said:

Personally I studiously avoid any tyre labelled as "eco" because I'd rather have grip and protect my life and property.

Agreed, that's why I'll soon replace them with Cross Climate 2. I was planning to have a second set - winter dedicated, but since the Factory fitted is so poor, I would have changed them next spring too. I'll give it a go with all-season, the best I could find...
On the other hand winters no longer seem to be what they used to, especially in the region where I live. And if I plan a trip into the mountains from time to time it's not too painful to watch out for bad weather warnings in winter. Anyway, CC2 seem to have a great score on snow, compared to some premium winter tyres.

[Jos888]

I switched to Dunlop winter tires（Dunlop Winter Sport 5） three weeks ago. The noise is much less than Goodyear summer tires（Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance）, and the fuel consumption is about the same.

Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance

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Dunlop Winter Sport 5