Hello,

Yet another tyre question I need to replace the original Contis on my VRS TDI on 18inch rims. Would it be worth stumping up for Winter tyres (and if so which ones) or just going for a standard performance tyre currently favouring either the Toyo TR1 or the Falkens, Comfort and noise are the most important considerations.By the way have got nearly 20k out of the Contis mainly motorway driving

Where in the world are you?

Southern UK then probably not, elsewhere in the UK or out in the sticks maybe and anywhere cold then probably.

It also depends how hard you are going to push it in the winter as the winter tyres grip better when cold.

I remember reading in Auto Express last winter that winter tyres out perform standard tyres (in terms of grip) when the temperature is below 7 degC. So it doesn't have to be icy to benefit from winter tyres - they just wear faster and make more noise.

I've seen mention of summer and winter tyres on a number of the online tyre supplier websites, but I don't think may people in the UK bother to have two sets.

There is of course the added expense of having either a second set of wheels, or the cost of changing them over every 6 months or so.

I've got 17" Falken 452s on my Octy II Tdi Elegance at the moment. I seem to remember you are in the Bury / Ramsbottom area, so if you want me to take you for a quick spin to see what the noise is like you are more than welcome - drop me a PM.

I would say the 452 are quiet

Comfort and noise are the most important considerations.

Strange, the most important consideration for me is how well the tyre grips the road.

I've just ordered 4 Vredestein Ultrac Sessantas for mine, £99 a corner, bargain.

I choose tyres by how much the tread pattern reminds me of elephants.

Strange, the most important consideration for me is how well the tyre grips the road.

I've just ordered 4 Vredestein Ultrac Sessantas for mine, £99 a corner, bargain.

Good choice; didn't they come 2nd in Evo's 2007 Tyre Test?

I had a look at them on Vredestein's website and for curiosity went through to the page for tyre pressures. For the Octy vRS TFSI running 18s they recommend 3.0bar front and 3.5bar rear as opposed to Skoda's 2.0/2.1. Seems really high to me and must have an effect on the ride at least.

Whose's right though Vredestein or Skoda? :confused:

Generally though, for UK, unless you are in a particularly chilly/snowy part of the country I would stick to straight 'summer' tyres and drive with due care when it is cold.

Good choice; didn't they come 2nd in Evo's 2007 Tyre Test?

I had a look at them on Vredestein's website and for curiosity went through to the page for tyre pressures. For the Octy vRS TFSI running 18s they recommend 3.0bar front and 3.5bar rear as opposed to Skoda's 2.0/2.1. Seems really high to me and must have an effect on the ride at least.

Whose's right though Vredestein or Skoda? :confused:

Generally though, for UK, unless you are in a particularly chilly/snowy part of the country I would stick to straight 'summer' tyres and drive with due care when it is cold.

Yep that's right, 2nd in the Evo test after the Goodyear Eagle Asymetrics.

I hadn't even considered that there may be conflicting recommendations for tyre presures between the tyre manufacturer and Skoda. Will have to do some more research.

In Germany, without winter tyres and you have an accident, then your insurance may not cover the accident or you will be considered liable even if not your fault because winter tyres may of avoided the accident. Even before the rules changed, I lived in Dusseldorf for a while and everyone changed their tyres. And it Dusseldorf it hardly ever snows (maybe 2 weeks a year). Essentially the rubber compound is softer at lower temperatures so you get more grip. In fact it is very common in Holland now to also have winter tyres. Did it with my previous Leon and the tyre centre stored my tyres for me. Yes it does mean you need 2 sets but it also means less wear on each one so over the long term it offsets the price slightly. Of course you need to decide on whether to get new alloys or use the rs alloys and move the rubber over. I'm currently looking for new winter tyres for the rs. The Dutch and German version of the AA did a small test. The results are here:

http://www.anwb.nl/published/anwbcms/content/binaire-bestanden/pdfs/auto/tests/bandentest/w07-resultaten-205-1346245.pdf

The column headers are Price, Dry, wet, snow, ice, noise, consumption (petrol), wear, usage of toxic chemicals in compound, Comment and end-result respectively.

++ is excellent

+/++ is good to very good

+ good

Ø average

-/Ø moderate to average

- moderate

--/- bad to moderate

-- bad

Note that in our climes the most important thing is the wet grip seeing that snow does not happen that often. Having over one car length difference with an emergency stop from 120km/h is a big difference. I am still looking for other reviews for winter tyres since this is not a big selection. Anyone know of any?

Of course global warming may make the whole topic irrelevant:blow_up:

BTW. The Sessantas are not winter tyres.

David

I am still looking for other reviews for winter tyres since this is not a big selection. Anyone know of any?

Have a look at TyreTest.com - Consumer tyre test reports.

Its not particularly user friendly, but it does have quite a lot of data.

The Sessantas are not winter tyres.

I know, but I've managed without winter tyres in 14 years of driving. I think a good set of all round tyres like the Vredesteins and driving to the conditions is the way forward.

Didn't mean to insinuate that you were driving dangerorusly. You hit the nail on the head about the driving according to the conditions. I think the point is that winter tyres allow you to drive differently to the way you would drive with the summer tyres in cold conditions. Of course over confidence can be a dangerous thing .

Didn't mean to insinuate that you were driving dangerorusly.

don't worry I didn't take it that way