After much deliberation we've gone for Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF3 on the original alloys.  So it'll be even more diligent washing off of salt than usual! Cost £744 fully fitted.

 

It looks like we're due for a dusting of snow next week and the temperature is already below 7 degrees average daytime ambient, so right for use of winter rubber compounds.

 

If the winter turns out to be really nasty, we can always rely on the Subaru shod with Michelin Pilot Alpin 5 SUV - excellent over the last two winters. 

 

Now we have to decide what to do with the nearly brand new Goodyear Eagle F1s that came with the car and have less than 700 miles or so on them. 

1 hour ago, Ooopnorth said:

After much deliberation we've gone for Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF3 on the original alloys.  So it'll be even more diligent washing off of salt than usual! Cost £744 fully fitted.

 

In my view you made the best possible choice from what's currently available -- though they may not be available long: the SF3s are going out of stock fast in many sizes. Perhaps that's a result of them winning Jonathan Benson's test.  Which tyre retailer did you use, by the way?

 

1 hour ago, Ooopnorth said:

Now we have to decide what to do with the nearly brand new Goodyear Eagle F1s that came with the car and have less than 700 miles or so on them. 

 

As for selling the tyres you have taken off, I have succeeded several times  in the last year by using Facebook Marketplace, though sometimes with a long wait for a buyer.

11 minutes ago, mumpsim said:

 

In my view you made the best possible choice from what's currently available -- though they may not be available long: the SF3s are going out of stock fast in many sizes. Perhaps that's a result of them winning Jonathan Benson's test.  Which tyre retailer did you use, by the way?

 

 

As for selling the tyres you have taken off, I have succeeded several times  in the last year by using Facebook Marketplace, though sometimes with a long wait for a buyer.

We used New Bridgegate Tyres in Barnard Castle.    https://www.newbridgegatetyres.co.uk/about-us    I've been buying tyres there for many years after previously sourcing tyres from MyTyres.  They seem reasonably competitive on tyre prices, fitting, etc. and while they are Hi-Q affiliated I've also on a couple of occasions found Asda Tyres can also be bought and fitted there too.  However, this year Asda were only selling the older, discontinued, version: Pirelli Cinturato All Season Plus 225/50R18 PIRELLI CINTURATO A/S+ 99W XL at £159.

 

What I appreciate about NBG tyres is that they are friendly, appear conscientious and they have never (as I've heard other retailers try on) tried to 'sell' other services they've 'noticed' we need, such as when my partner has visited on her own.   They have an excellent reputation locally.  They'll happily chalk up tyre positions to aid rotations, such as on the Subaru, and fit tyres in place accordingly.

ALL SEASON

 

Once the tyres have worn in and you have had time to get used to them, please let us know what you think of the SF3s.

We bought our car with 4 brand new Goodyear Vector 4 seasons on. It’ll be interesting to see how the vehicle behaves in the snow/winter conditions with them on, but with it being a 2wd i never expect miracles 😆

 

But they’re certainly a safer bet and they’re highly rated in the tyre tests.

On 16/11/2024 at 18:04, Ooopnorth said:

Now we have to decide what to do with the nearly brand new Goodyear Eagle F1s that came with the car and have less than 700 miles or so on them. 

 

My summer tyres are being kept for when the car finishes it's PCP.

@Ooopnorth have you tried Autoglym wheel protector spray polish? I started using it on my previous car and carried on with the Karoq. It makes it very easy to rinse off road dirt etc. Usually do an autumn and spring application. Probably the other car polish makers have similar products.

34 minutes ago, thamestrader said:

@Ooopnorth have you tried Autoglym wheel protector spray polish? I started using it on my previous car and carried on with the Karoq. It makes it very easy to rinse off road dirt etc. Usually do an autumn and spring application. Probably the other car polish makers have similar products.

Funnily enough I was looking at Autoglym's Advanced All Wheel Cleaner yesterday evening and I've already bought PoorBoys Wheel Sealant, but thanks for the heads up too. 

On 04/11/2024 at 13:58, Ooopnorth said:

I've noticed that some of the genuine Skoda winter wheel/tyre combos come in 215 width...

 

Out of the 18" tyre sizes, the Karoq front wheel drive uses the 215/50R18 tyre size, whereas the Karoq 4x4 uses the bigger 225/50R18 tyre size. One of the owner's manuals lists 215/60R16 for use with snow chains but it doesn't make any mention of whether that's for just the Karoq front wheel drive or includes the Karoq 4x4. However, it's best to check the car's CoC (Certificate of Conformity) to see all the tyre sizes that Skoda approves for any particular car.

 

Karoq front wheel drive tyre sizes

215/60R16

215/55R17

215/50R18

225/40R19

235/40R19

 

Karoq 4x4 tyre sizes

225/60R16

225/55R17

225/50R18

225/45R19

245/40R19

 

Edited 18 November, 20241 yr by Carlston

14 hours ago, Ooopnorth said:

Funnily enough I was looking at Autoglym's Advanced All Wheel Cleaner yesterday evening and I've already bought PoorBoys Wheel Sealant, but thanks for the heads up too. 

I previously used Autoglym Alloy wheel cleaner, switched to Magna and found it more effective. Haven’t tried the advanced wheel cleaner yet.

I use this wheel cleaner and am pleased with how it performs

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07JK54KZ3

I dislike Michelin tyres. Any I have had have found to be very poor wet grip. I've just removed two cross climate from my karoq and put on the original wheels shod with vredstein winters. The other wheels which were on have two kormoran suv summer tyres at about 6mm and the cross climates were on the front with about 4mm. They both have very noticeable perishing after 3 years use, approx 20k on two different cars and recently are pathetic in the wet, wheelspinning all over the place and understeering too. There will be two new tyres fitted before that wheels get fitted in the spring. I will probably fit uniroyal rain expert or vredestien summers, the new on the back and the kormoran sun on the front. .

Blimey - CrossClimate's bad in the wet?  I don't think I've ever seen anyone say that before.

On 17/11/2024 at 06:33, disco-barry said:

We bought our car with 4 brand new Goodyear Vector 4 seasons on. It’ll be interesting to see how the vehicle behaves in the snow/winter conditions with them on, but with it being a 2wd i never expect miracles 😆

 

But they’re certainly a safer bet and they’re highly rated in the tyre tests.

I’ve had Goodyear Vector All Seasons on a previous 2wd (front) and the grip in snow, slush and ice was very good. About 10 years ago I saw a tyre test video on an indoor ski slope, the All Season shod front wheel drive got further than the summer tyre shod 4x4 version of the same car. That convinced me of the merit of All Season tyres.

Deleted

Edited 1 December, 20241 yr by Viffer800
Edit

It would be interesting (but I suspect not practical, given the vast number of variables) to see how, or if, these quoted tyre performance dynamics vary, and by how much, over the lifespan of these tyres, both compared to when they're 'just off the mould, so to speak, but also comparing across different brands for consistency.  Which retain their performance, and which do not (if any)?  Perhaps there's a gradual and linear deterioration, but I suspect not!

 

Back in 2008/9, when we had weeks of snow and ice in my region and plummeting temps., I had no end of trouble on a set of Michelin Alpins on my Octy 1.8T 4x4 estate.  These tyres were about 3 winters old, but still had what appeared to be a decent tread depth remaining.  I've bought Michelin winter tyres since without issue, although I suspect winter tyres performance and research have improved markedly since then.

 

Similarly, I'd be interested to see how these tyres perform regarding the M (mud) side of their 3 peaks M&S endorsements.  I've got a particular interest in this as while I fit the Subaru with full winter tyres, come April the summers are back on.  Yet Spring is often the time I'm driving on and off fields as I start to visit agricultural shows and sundry horsey events.  Not enough of an issue for me to want to invest in a set of specific mud/off road tyres, albeit that I'm tempted, but enough for me to want to reduce the chance of getting bogged down (and embarrassed) in some event's entry/exit gateway  .  It'll also be informative to see how the Karoq's all-season tyres fair in this respect - potentially better than the Subaru on its current summer Bridgestone Duelers, I'm sure.

 

 

Edited 1 December, 20241 yr by Ooopnorth

6 hours ago, Ooopnorth said:

I'd be interested to see how these tyres perform regarding the M (mud) side of their 3 peaks M&S endorsements. 

 

Bear in mind that 3PMSF stands for 3 Peak Mountain Snow Flake -- it's not M&S (mud and snow). As you probably know, 3PMSF tyres are certified after snow testing, whereas the M&S label is not subject to any standard at all, and a manufacturer can put it on any tyre they wish. 

 

I don't think anyone is testing for mud ability per se of car road tyres, but I think that ability is probably similar to their tested performance in snow or ice traction. One or two of Benson's tests include ice. (One or two also include comments on performance degradation when part-worn, but he has so much material on his site I'd struggle to find it.) 

 

One of Michelin's most surprising claims in recent years has been that their tyres retain their performance all the way down to the UK legal limit of 1.6mm depth. They thus recommend ignoring the widespread advice to change tyres at 3mm or so, and say this sets them apart from other tyre manufacturers and makes Michelins better value than you might think from their high price. Can this really be true? I'm not aware it has been tested.  A summer tyre that is near worn-out might well have full grip under heavy braking or cornering -- indeed it will have more grip in the dry the closer it gets to slick -- but it is hard to believe that also applies to AS or winter tyres on snow, where sipes and depth are everything.

Edited 1 December, 20241 yr by mumpsim

12 minutes ago, mumpsim said:

Bear in mind that 3PMSF stands for 3 Peak Mountain Snow Flake -- it's not M&S (mud and snow). As you probably know, 3PMSF tyres are certified after snow testing, whereas the M&S label is not subject to any standard at all, and a manufacturer can put it on any tyre they wish. 

 

I don't think anyone is testing for mud ability per se of car road tyres, but I think that ability is probably similar to their tested performance in snow or ice traction. One or two of Benson's tests include ice. (One or two also include comments on performance degradation when part-worn, but he has so much material on his site I'd struggle to find it.) 

Ooops! Yes, you’re correct and it’s M+S ( mud and snow) not M&S. Obviously I was subconsciously thinking of the well known high street retailer, although I’m sure that if they did decide to manufacture and sell tyres they’d not just be tyres but premium designed, lavishly bespoke,  handcrafted tyres 😀

 

 

 

 

 

Auto Bilt did test All season tyres to see about advice about changing tyres at 4mm.     So regardless of anyone being aware or not maybe try a search like.  Can all seasons be used to lower tread depth.    As far as driving on actual snow and driving not just a few hours, days, or miles you might hope people have the common sense to know if the car has crap tyres or crap tread and are lacking grip, traction, safety.  But then many might not even adjust pressures.     There is a video out showing various pressures and All seasons.  Again just search.    What is the best tyre pressure snow YouTube. 

Edited 2 December, 20241 yr by Ootohere

7 hours ago, Ooopnorth said:

Ooops! Yes, you’re correct and it’s M+S ( mud and snow) not M&S. Obviously I was subconsciously thinking of the well known high street retailer, although I’m sure that if they did decide to manufacture and sell tyres they’d not just be tyres but premium designed, lavishly bespoke,  handcrafted tyres 😀

 

 

 

 

 

 

Personally, I'd hold out until Carlsberg started making them 😁

If M&S made tyres they would always be out of stock in one's size.  (As are the SF3s now, and the tyre trade is not expecting more till the new year.)

 

 

On 04/11/2024 at 09:12, Monkhai said:

Not that size but a 19” on a different vehicle. They’re very good.

 

Had full winters/summers and cc2 on an Octavia and not as good in deep stuff/ice but much much much better than summers.

 

Both the wife and myself run them now as we don’t currently get the snow load to justify two sets of wheels /sensors /storage.

I can echo this - used to swap over to winter tyres (every end November to March) but not enough really bad weather to justify. Have 19" wheels, now fitted with Cross Climate 2 and they are excellent and also wear well.

So good in fact, that I invested in a set for my wife's Corsa as she hates driving in icy/snow conditions!

I suspect the answer is change all 4...

 

But I'll ask anyway. My front tyres need replacing after 13k miles, tracking is off despite the car being only a year old. Back tyres still have 5mm+ of tread on. 

 

Can I just put cross climates on the front? Then change the rears in future? 

 

I'm happy to stick to either "summer" or change all 4 but hate the idea of taking off perfectly good tyres for no reason

43 minutes ago, Jmagee said:

I suspect the answer is change all 4...

 

But I'll ask anyway. My front tyres need replacing after 13k miles, tracking is off despite the car being only a year old. Back tyres still have 5mm+ of tread on. 

 

Can I just put cross climates on the front? Then change the rears in future? 

 

I'm happy to stick to either "summer" or change all 4 but hate the idea of taking off perfectly good tyres for no reason

My understanding, is that if your vehicle is a permanent 4x4, then you need to ensure that the tread depths, tyre make and models, are very closely aligned on all four tyres, or it can cause all sorts of problems with the transmission eventually (according to Subaru, for example).

 

For a part-time/on demand 4x4, such as with the Skoda haldex system, I also think Skoda recommend this too, if I recall from my old Yeti's handbook.  However, I haven't read that section yet in my partner's newish Karoq 4x4.  Certainly at least having the same/closely matched tread depth on the tyres on the same axle (and presumedly the same tyre brand and model) would seem prudent.  Of course sometimes after several years, a particular brand/model of tyre may not be available as a replacement to match the originals

 

On a 2x4, this is less of an issue.  But, from what I've read, I've seen mixed advice on whether the 'best' tyres, depth wise, should be on the front axle or the rear, for a front wheel drive vehicle.  In the case of a 2x4 I think it's less essential that all tyres match as there less chance of transmission issues. 

 

Years ago, before I knew better, my partner's Fabia had to have a new tyre fitted (Offside Front) and we simply put a new tyre on.  Several thousand miles down the road we had all sorts of problems with the braking system on that side, which I think might have been attributed to the ABS and other electronic gizmos not liking the asymmetry across the axle, with different rotating speeds/tyre diameters.

 

However, I think this is one of those topic where there's a considerable variance of opinion (watch this space  ).