Winter tyres

MarkoC

robtri wrote: »

got a fecking puncture this morning, had to drive 5 miles before i could get off the main road to a safe spot on my tyre... fecked it up completely...

Dropped down to a friend of mine who has a local tyre shop, got a pair of part worn winter tyres (he imports them in from germany winter and summer tyres).... (€50 for a pair)

jesus the difference they mak is unreal.... the grip is so much better....

its the way to go lads....

Wheres that guy ?

Cheers

--Kaiser--

Matt Simis wrote: »

I would pick them over Summers obviously but compared to Winters, they are rubbish in Winter. Compared to Summer Tyres in Summer they dont really offer anything. So their sweet spot appears to be entirely situated in late August.
.

Well, that's where I disagree, I drove all over Ireland on my All Seasons (Toyo Proxes 4) last winter and had very little difficulty when cars around me were sliding and careening all over the place. Also, All-Seasons are much better than Summers in the wet.

Of course, if the weather gets much worse I will certainly buy a set of winters.

Matt Simis

--Kaiser-- wrote: »

Well, that's where I disagree, I drove all over Ireland on my All Seasons (Toyo Proxes 4) last winter and had very little difficulty when cars around me were sliding and careening all over the place. Also, All-Seasons are much better than Summers in the wet.

Of course, if the weather gets much worse I will certainly buy a set of winters.

Well fair enough, by comparison they do seem a noticeably better than Summers (and perhaps the ones I had were crap, they were the Allroad OEM tyres), but I found Winters to be a leap above them again.

MarkoC

--Kaiser-- wrote: »

Well, that's where I disagree, I drove all over Ireland on my All Seasons (Toyo Proxes 4) last winter and had very little difficulty when cars around me were sliding and careening all over the place. Also, All-Seasons are much better than Summers in the wet.

Of course, if the weather gets much worse I will certainly buy a set of winters.

I agree with Matt Smiths, i have all season tyres and tell me know what you think about them ?
If that is OK in winter ... I dunno what to say ... Hope you didnt make a joke here ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhq_r4OkHLk

--Kaiser--

MarkoC wrote: »

If that is OK in winter ... I dunno what to say ... Hope you didnt make a joke here ...

Maybe you see 2 feet of snow everywhere you go, most I see is a bit of frost and maybe some slush. Ireland doesn't normally get proper winters.

Anan1

Matt Simis wrote: »

Well fair enough, by comparison they do seem a noticeably better than Summers (and perhaps the ones I had were crap, they were the Allroad OEM tyres), but I found Winters to be a leap above them again.

Me too. I've just replaced the OEM Yokahama Geolandar all weather tyres on my Forester with Michelan Alpin A4 winters, and the difference on snow & ice is night and day. They're maybe a little bit squidgier above 140km/h in the dry, but that's probably down to their being 16" instead of 17".

Matt Simis

--Kaiser-- wrote: »

Maybe you see 2 feet of snow everywhere you go, most I see is a bit of frost and maybe some slush. Ireland doesn't normally get proper winters.

They point we are trying to make is Winter is a temperature, not a depth of snow.

freestyla

Winter = snow, low temperatures, ice, slush, ice, snow, cold... get winter tyres because the difference is REALLY like night and day compared to both summer and all-season. Not need for studded ones ofcourse. Not to talk about technical and gripping stuff now because its obvious but You feel more confident and more relaxed also - motoring is not supposed to be agonizing right?

Here in Ireland.. you buy winter tires.. what.. some 400eur for a good set (DO NOT BUY CHINESE STUFF!) and you mount them for 1-2 months a year.. I think they will last 10yrs!

well I m driving on good summer tires now, with RWD car, its not that relaxed belive me.. and I m a bit poor to buy them winter tires now.. but hey I m from scandinavia so few centimetres of snow and -5 C is not scary but actually its fun

P.s. remember to clean all your windows before going on the road and let the car run for 10mins so engine gets hot but not clod and jumpy on the first icy braking junction- prepare your car for a battle, makes life easier

keithclancy

You guys are losers ...

http://www.mattracks.com/html/products.htm

Get them .. perfect for the M50

tossy

Fitted 4 winter tyres to the car a few weeks ago long before the current really cold spell we are experiencing,when i fitted them we only had relatively mild temps of 0 - 2 degrees,lots of rain and wet roads even then the difference was noticeable.I reckon i'll keep them on the car till mid/late march depending on how the weather is,at this rate i should get 4/5 years out of them,which in turn means i'll get 4 years or so out of my 'summer' tyres' Goodyear F1s (of course )

Over the weekend i did a lot of driving and i ignored the AA's advice and opted to travel back roads in favor of the main routes,i have to say i was blown away by how sure footed a good winter tyre is on compacted snow and ice. Acceleration and braking performance is also very good.

I have to say that having done it for this winter it is something i will continue to do for the rest of my motoring life,and my family's motoring life.

Its a no brainer.

TestTransmission

tossy wrote: »

Fitted 4 winter tyres to the car a few weeks ago long before the current really cold spell we are experiencing,when i fitted them we only had relatively mild temps of 0 - 2 degrees,lots of rain and wet roads even then the difference was noticeable.I reckon i'll keep them on the car till mid/late march depending on how the weather is,at this rate i should get 4/5 years out of them,which in turn means i'll get 4 years or so out of my 'summer' tyres' Goodyear F1s (of course )

Over the weekend i did a lot of driving and i ignored the AA's advice and opted to travel back roads in favor of the main routes,i have to say i was blown away by how sure footed a good winter tyre is on compacted snow and ice. Acceleration and braking performance is also very good.

I have to say that having done it for this winter it is something i will continue to do for the rest of my motoring life,and my family's motoring life.

Its a no brainer.

I'd say the quattro helps though

Manic Moran

TestTransmission wrote: »

I'd say the quattro helps though

It has its uses... Came over Donner Pass last month, chains were mandatory for all vehicles except AWD/4x4 with snow tyres. There's a CalTrans inspection checkpoint where they verify. The Audi convertible that drove right on through without stopping raised an eyebrow or two. I can't wait to see a Lambo Gallardo try it...

I wonder if there isn't a different definition of 'all-season' to 'snow', however, between nations. CalTrans' definition of 'snow tyres' is one which is marked on the sidewall with a snowflake, or 'S' or 'M&S/M+S' (Mud and snow). I replaced the 'issue' Pilotsport PS2s on my car with Pilot Sport A/S (All Season) Plus which have the M+S marking. Granted, these things aren't cheap, at $250 a tyre, but they provide plenty of grip in the California summer. Not as much as the PS2s, but enough that you still need to throw the car around enough to make the passenger uncomfortable in order to get squealing and, of course, they proved quite capable of getting me through the Tahoe area in winter. I see no reason to change between tyre types between winter and summer at this time, and it is very nice not to have to get out of the car in the snow to put chains on.

NTM

TouchingVirus

Has anybody got the name of a tyre dealer I could ring? Everybody I've tried have told me they don't do Winters and I'm looking for a set of Goodyear Ultragrip 7+

Anan1

TouchingVirus wrote: »

Has anybody got the name of a tyre dealer I could ring? Everybody I've tried have told me they don't do Winters and I'm looking for a set of Goodyear Ultragrip 7+

I'm pretty sure you'll need to order them online. You may also have to be a little flexible WRT the exact tyre - I wanted either Continental 830Ps or the Ultragrip 7+ but ended up taking Michelin Alpin A4s.

TouchingVirus

Cheers Anan1, I wasn't insistent on the tyre model but the basic response was "We stock all-weather tyres, not winter tyres". I even asked FastFit if they would order some in on special for me and they said their supplier doesn't stock winters either.

TheBazman

Fitted winter tyres to the wife's 5 series a few weeks ago and am delighted with how they perform - have been travelling fine with them (obviously you have to be conscious of the conditions). Sat into my own and the car wouldn't move in the drive on regular tyres.

BostonB

Where did you get the winter tyres from?

slimjimmc

Interesting article on the snow flake symbol and M+S marking.
http://www.snowtyres.com.au/severe-service-emblem

TheBazman

Healys in Naas. They had some Dunlops left from last year and got them at a very good price.

Manic Moran

slimjimmc wrote: »

Interesting article on the snow flake symbol and M+S marking.
http://www.snowtyres.com.au/severe-service-emblem

I have one or two concerns on that...

Firstly, it's a sales pitch. The website only seems to sell one kind of tyre, the 'peak snowflakes' by the one Finnish company. Of course they're going to say everything else is rubbish.

Secondly, CalTrans doesn't seem convinced by the argument anyway. The website doesn't say anything about the grip requirement, they purely are concerned by the tread, which is the one thing that the site acknowledges.

The California vehicle code section 558 defines a snow-tread tire as follows, " A 'Snow-tread tire' is a tire which has a relatively deep and aggressive tread pattern compared with conventional passenger tread pattern".

It's good enough for government work, as it were.

http://www.caltrans.ca.gov/hq/roadinfo/chcontrl.htm

It is worth noting, however, that there are three levels of chain control in California, as per the site. For levels 1 and 2, snow tread tyres alone are sufficient. Level 3 requires something better like chains or studs, even with the snow tread. I don't recall ever seeing anything like California Level 3 snow in Ireland, more often than not even California just closes the road instead of allowing traffic at those levels. From this, I would surmise that I wouldn't be too worried about only having the M/S marking vs the peak snowflake in Ireland: M/S is going to likely do the job: It certainly got me over the mountain at 7,200 feet with the ski slopes open about 500 yards away. I doubt Irish snow is ever going to be much worse.

NTM

superhooper

Thought this IT article was interesting

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/motors/2010/0106/1224261723511.html

"Winter tyres differ from regular versions in the tread patterns and the compound of the rubber. According to Colm Conyngham of Bridgestone Ireland, once road temperatures rise above freezing, the grip is inferior to regular tyres.

“These tyres don’t perform as well as regular tyres once temperatures return to positive figures and on wet roads. Practically speaking most people would need a few weeks advanced notice of a cold spell to get a chance to get their tyres changed at a garage and would need to change them back once the weather improved. It would be pretty expensive for most motorists, given that they’d probably only get a few days use out of the winter tyres over a year,” he says. “Also, many tyre outlets don’t stock winter tyres as there is not really a market for them.”

tossy

superhooper wrote: »

Thought this IT article was interesting

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/motors/2010/0106/1224261723511.html

"Winter tyres differ from regular versions in the tread patterns and the compound of the rubber. According to Colm Conyngham of Bridgestone Ireland, once road temperatures rise above freezing, the grip is inferior to regular tyres.

“These tyres don’t perform as well as regular tyres once temperatures return to positive figures and on wet roads. Practically speaking most people would need a few weeks advanced notice of a cold spell to get a chance to get their tyres changed at a garage and would need to change them back once the weather improved. It would be pretty expensive for most motorists, given that they’d probably only get a few days use out of the winter tyres over a year,” he says. “Also, many tyre outlets don’t stock winter tyres as there is not really a market for them.”

Typical Irish journalistic article if you ask me,poorly researched and ill informed.

Most winter tyres come into their own when the temp drops under 7 degrees.in Ireland that realistically means you can run winter tyres from mid/late October to feb/March

Also most people running winter tyres will have their tyres fitted to a second set of wheels thus eliminating the need to go to a garage to get them changed over.so realistically (based on average driving) you should get 4 maybe 5 winters out of your winter tyres and as a knock on you should also get much longer out of your summer tyres,of course all this will vary on mileage and tyre size.The only 'extra' expense is forking out for a second set of wheels but you can get cheap oem alloys and steel wheels for good money on done deal etc.

A-Trak

I've picked up a well kept of alloys for buttons that I was after for ages.
I'm looking to put winters on them and use them for the cold months.

As cash is at a premium, I can buy and fit 2 now and 2 in the new year.

What are the pros/cons to fitting 2 winters onto the driving wheels leaving summers on the rear, or am I better off waiting to get all four at the same time?

NewApproach

I need to replace the front tyres on my car soon, and I don't know whether to get summer or winter tyres.

I don't plan to go down the route of changing the tyres over in March/October each year, so whatever tyre I put on now will have to do me about 12 months.

Bearing this in mind, should I go for a regular summer tyre, or get winter ones fitted instead? Would winter tyres be crap in summer? The car is FWD FWIW.

tossy

NewApproach wrote: »

Would winter tyres be crap in summer? The car is FWD FWIW.

Not only would the be crap the would also wear at a crazy rate,can you imagine the heat generated in a tyre travelling at 125kph on a motorway on a (rare) 25 or 26 degree June day,now imagine that heat in a soft compound tyre designed to work at 7 degrees and below!

No scientific data to back this up but i would wager if you fitted tyres now and drove till may and we got our traditional 2/3 weeks of scorching weather in May the tyres would be done for at the end of it.

Redisle

A-Trak wrote: »

What are the pros/cons to fitting 2 winters onto the driving wheels leaving summers on the rear, or am I better off waiting to get all four at the same time?

Judging by the video in this post it's probably not a great idea to have 2 winters. If you had winters on the front and summers on the back you would have a massive difference in grip front-rear and you easily lose the back end. Guess you would find it easier to traverse hills with winters on the driving wheels but then very dodgy going into corners.. then again the lads in the video are going a good bit faster than one normally would in these conditions just to push the tyres..

freestyla

I said too early "Not need for studded ones".. well this morning took backroads because thought theres more snow than ice and its better with my summer tires but its wrong because theres was all ice under snow :eek:

Studded ones perform MUCH more better on the icy roads, theres no better tires for icy conditions. The thing is just that using them on melted roads, slush and tarmac will destroy them after, probably two winters.

Sooo... if you use icy roads, get studded. if using main routes which are maintained by salt and sand/rock, get normal winter tires.

..and all 4 tires should be the same, not just 2 wheels otherwise you are crosswise and sideways in emergency situation.

samsemtex

bbk wrote: »

I think that when you have conditions like we had last Winter and if you have a crash and are found with Summer rated tyres your insurance company should slate you.

Anyone who drives on a Summer rated tyre in the conditions we are having this weekend and stand by those tyres are, in my opinion ignorant of what could happen when they need to stop.

Well considering the cheapest set of winter tyres i can find for my car are €710 + fitting its not always that easy. I cant afford to buy them at that price. Summer tyres wouldnt even cost half of that.

JJJJNR

This is why I need "winter tires"



P.S. Its still snowing..

keithclancy

tossy wrote: »

Typical Irish journalistic article if you ask me,poorly researched and ill informed.

Most winter tyres come into their own when the temp drops under 7 degrees.in Ireland that realistically means you can run winter tyres from mid/late October to feb/March

Also most people running winter tyres will have their tyres fitted to a second set of wheels thus eliminating the need to go to a garage to get them changed over.so realistically (based on average driving) you should get 4 maybe 5 winters out of your winter tyres and as a knock on you should also get much longer out of your summer tyres,of course all this will vary on mileage and tyre size.The only 'extra' expense is forking out for a second set of wheels but you can get cheap oem alloys and steel wheels for good money on done deal etc.

From Personal experience, my All Year Continentals are far better than my Vredestein Snowtracs when its around 0, also the Vredesteins are rubbish on corners and in the wet in comparison.

When you get to about -10 to -15 the Winter tyres are a little better. The Tread depth only really makes a difference if theres an inch or so of snow, when it turns into slush the Winters become rubbish.

I drive 126 KM of road each way to work every day and every km is ploughed at salted.

Germany you have to have them when it drops below -4 if your involved in an accident its automatically your fault otherwise.