Author Topic: Winter tyres- general discussion  (Read 38758 times)

sgould

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Winter tyres- general discussion
« on: 05 July 2011, 03:10:45 PM »
The BBC have a news item saying that winters will get worse in the UK

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14029995

So, maybe, people who have managed to get by with summer tyres will have more trouble in future.  A lot of snow will mean that missing the odd day at work, working from home, etc. would no longer be an option if it is a frequent occurence.
« Last Edit: 08 February 2012, 05:13:09 PM by phoenix »
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john

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Quote
Using the Central England Temperature (CET) record, the world's longest instrumental data series that stretches back to 1659,

Wow, CET records go right back to tea time ;D

Kev_Mc

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Got my Nokians I bought last winter in the garage  8) Should do me at least another winter  ;D

fos4usfree

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Hi all, just a thought I located a w-site for tyre performance profiles (???) and found Avon Rainsport 2 tyres provided super grip in wet weather as well as good winter performance. But...

When the snow hit last year I noted the behaviour of drivers, stopping, starting, wheel spinning and hitting the ruts and slush without a care. Until they stopped the traffic.  Slow cooperative and constant movement is beyond us

When will advanced driving techniques become obligatory for drivers?  When will external temp gauges and ESP become standard equipment? Summer licenses, Winter licenses?

Audax

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When will advanced driving techniques become obligatory for drivers?  When will external temp gauges and ESP become standard equipment? Summer licenses, Winter licenses?

Stability program will be mandated in the EU for all new car models from 2012 onwards and all new cars must have it from 2014 onward :)

Anyhow, yes, the problem last winter was no longer not having any grip. I had no problem at all in the snow/ice but it was the other drivers who didn't have winter tyres that were worrying me.

Alan

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When will advanced driving techniques become obligatory for drivers?  When will external temp gauges and ESP become standard equipment? Summer licenses, Winter licenses?
I thought that would help until a few days ago when chatting to the neighbours lad ( who wrote off his car last winter ). He is going to have  session on a skid pan next month so that he can drive faster in the snow. 
If everyone used winter or all season tyres we wouldn't have to close motorways etc to keep them safe.
I was held up for 6 hrs on the motorway last winter, 2 hrs for them to move the HGV and 4 hrs waiting for a gritter to clear the 1 to 2 inches of snow that had built up. They wouldn't even let the 4X4's through as it was " too dangerous " .

jmblack

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Over last few years I've become a total convert to winter tyres. Have also run my wife's car a couple of years on all-season tyres with snowflake symbol. These have been an excellent compromise and I do wonder why in this counry the default is to run summer tyres all year round when it's not summer all year round!

I guess that a standard tyre 20 years ago was more like an all-season and, combined with thinner tyres, we tended to get round better in the winter.

The development of standard summer tyres is great for "performance" but in reality most of us use cars to get places most of the time and never get anywhere near the limits of performance. All-weather the way to go. Trying out HAnkook 4S for first time this year..........

Petemate

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Winter tyres are great. I have a spare set of wheels with winters on, used them from last Nov to this March. Brilliant not only in the snow, but also in wet conditions where during those months, the temperature of normal tyres would not give anywhere near the same grip. I got the tyres from my lad who fitted some new Vredesteins to his Evo. They had done him for a season, they did me for last season, and they still have at least one season left in them. However, he will be getting some 18" wheels for the Evo for when he has his new bigger brakes, and I have been promised the Vredesteins. MMmmm. Hacking through roundabouts on the slippery stuff -  easy with winters.

Max Headroom

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Pete - you say you have winter tyres fitted but not what type.

This is of huge interest to me at the moment as living in the Cotswolds we can almost get cut off when it snows. Roads can be passable but only just - so winter tyres may give me greater peace-of-mind.

(Can't beat studded tyres - I drove in Norway on studded tyres - its almost like normal driving! Don't think these are legal in the UK tho  :-\)

Petemate

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Pete - you say you have winter tyres fitted but not what type.

The winters I have on my spare set of wheels are Kumho I'ZENXW. The grip in snow, on ice, and on the wet is brilliant. When they were on my lad's Evo, he could drive round from Milton Park through the interchange up on to the A34 flat out on snow. I am now looking forward to inheriting his Vredesteins.
The only problems with winters are firstly, one has to either get a spare set of wheels and then it it is just a matter of swapping them over, or pay out each time to have the tyres swapped with the attendant fitting/balancing costs. Over a period I think it is more economical to get some wheels. (I was lucky - picked up a set identical to mine from the Bay for £195 the lot, good nick, and worth the £35 in diesel to go up to Notts to collect them) Secondly, where others get stuck in front. EG - last winter my lad went to Henley in the snow. The road was blocked with cars all stuck getting up the hill into Nuneham Coutenay and he just drove past the lot in the Evo with the Vredesteins. Some jobswoth MOP stopped him and said "you can't go up there" So he said thanks, but I am going anyway; all it was, was a queue of cars that could not move. The road was not closed, but partly blocked with stranded vehicles including several 4 X 4s. Nuff said.
Pete

Max Headroom

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Well! That is impressive! Many thanks for that info.

Winter tyres are something I have thought about but never actually done anything about, but these last two winters have got me seriously considering the winter tyre option, and my midwife neighbour is talking about getting an old Suzuki Jimny just for the winter lanes and farm tracks (Her Pug 207CC is hopeless in snow and she wants to save it from a situation where someone else collides with her).
I certainly think I would try to pick up a matching pair of wheels for winter use rather than pay 'corkage' to keep swapping them over.

The Kumho brand you mention I have not heard of before  ::).

Petemate

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Well! That is impressive! Many thanks for that info.

Winter tyres are something I have thought about but never actually done anything about, but these last two winters have got me seriously considering the winter tyre option, and my midwife neighbour is talking about getting an old Suzuki Jimny just for the winter lanes and farm tracks (Her Pug 207CC is hopeless in snow and she wants to save it from a situation where someone else collides with her).
I certainly think I would try to pick up a matching pair of wheels for winter use rather than pay 'corkage' to keep swapping them over.

The Kumho brand you mention I have not heard of before  ::).

My pleasure. If you access the Pistonheads forum and do a search for Kumho there are many people using them. Also there are quite a few threads running on winter tyres.
HTH
Pete

PS - not wise to just get 2 - you could easily end up swapping ends. Always best to fit them in sets of 4.

Max Headroom

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 not wise to just get 2 - you could easily end up swapping ends. Always best to fit them in sets of 4.

Woah! You can read minds! I was about to reply with that very question! Thank you again Peter

BOF

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Living near Beaconsfield and working at Heathrow, I've not had too many problems in the last few years with snow. My Aero estate (on Conti SC2s at the moment) has been OK driven sensibly and with anticipation (no sudden inputs to throttle, brakes or steering, and keepng the speed down) in fresh snow, and the A40/M40/M4 are well-salted, so usually just dirty and slushy. My only problem comes with the (not too steep) hill to get up to the A40, which is unsalted and quickly turns to packed, polished snow with scarcely more grip than ice (I take another route when that happens). Do winter tyres, or indeed full M&S tyres, help in that situation?

BOF

sgould

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M & S tyres are not necessarily winter tyres!!  The only requirement for a tyre to carry the M & S marking is that the tread is open and has more than 30% of space in the tread.

Winter tyres are wrongly named.  The ones sold in the Uk and Europe are really "Cold Weather Tyres".  They are designed to get more grip below 7 deg C and with a tread that has a measure of grip in snow.  The rubber compound is also different.  It stays softer and grippier on ice for longer as the temperature drops.  But, that said,  if the ice is melting there will be little grip whatever the tyre on wet ice.  But in slush and compacted snow the"cold weather tyres" are a lot better.  I have driven up the hill in snow and ice and gone straight past 4 x4's on the normal issue tyres that were stuck with all four wheels spinning.

The other sort of winter tyre is the "Nordic" which is used in Scandinavia etc.  It's designed to takes studs if necessary, but it's also designed to run on packed snow all the time and will wear out  fairly quickly on tarmac.  Really only for the countries that do not salt roads in winter, but just sand them and leave the road as packed snow.  Very difficult to find in the UK and not really suitable anyway.

In fact the AA recommendation now is that if you only use one tyre all year round, it should be a winter/cold weather tyre.   These tyres will carry this symbol:




There's a full article here (American, but still valid in UK): http://www.tirerack.com/winter/tech/techpage.jsp?techid=120&currentpage=125
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