Disco 3 (LR3) Winter tyres

Hi.

I have recently relocated to Cumbria and in the next fortnight should be moving up to my new home in the snowy N Pennines AONB.
My Discovery 3 is at the point where I need to buy new tyres. What I wanted to know was whether putting winter tyres on it would improve performance on snow and ice, or whether it will make little difference?
Thanks

As many on this forum will no doubt tell you, I am a supporter of proper winter tyres, not just tyres with "M+S" stamped on them. They must carry the "3 peaks and snow flake" logo.


Winter, or cold climate tyres start to come into their own below +7 degrees celsius (NOT minus 7 as many people think).
The trouble with winter tyres is that their performance can be adversely affected in warmer weather which means that they might not be any good during the warmer months, so the ideal, but expensive solution is two sets of tyres, or wheels.
Some of the better tyre specialists will store your other set of tyres, for a price. I'm fortunate in that I can afford to keep two sets of wheels suitably shod and I change them over in November and April/May.
The advantages of winter tyres come from the compound which they're made from and the tread pattern which is more suitable for the expected conditions. The compound remains softer and pliable at much lower temperatures which can really affect the grip, especially during cornering and braking, after all you have two and a half tons or so of metal to stop.
There are one or two tyre manufacturers which claim to produce an "all seasons" or "Cross-Climate" tyre, whether they are that good in cold conditions, or just another marketing ploy I can't say, but if they are as good as the claims say then they might be worth a look at.
There are now a number of winter tyres threads on the forum, and if you run aGoogle search on the subject you should be set up with at least a weekend's reading. here are a couple to start you off:

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/motoring/winter-tyres-are-they-worth-it-a7422531.html

http://www.which.co.uk/reviews/cars/article/winter-tyres-and-snow-socks/should-i-buy-winter-tyres

Depends what tyre you comparing then with, a high performance rubber band summer tyre a tyre, which I found with my car the wheels just spin in snow or a deep tread tyre and suitable for a Land Rover .
Winter tyres come with a deeper tread which will make it more suitable, but an all weather tyre suits most needs and they have the symbols on the tyre wall.
My disco was factory fitted with Goodyear GT+4 tyres which were called all seasons, all four were replace two years ago with Wrangler HP, according to Goodyear, "its is the true all-weather, high performance 4x4 tyre, and its secret is our unique weather reactive technology". That will do for me. I haven't seen much snow since these tyres were fitted so I can't say much about them.

By the way, if its a problem, the all season tyres I had didn't last long, 20k miles for the front 25k miles for the rear, but then I don't hang around when driving

M+S tires are not much good in the snow. The tread patterns are completely different. A mud tread is more spaced to allow the mud to be thrown off with the motion of the wheel. Snow treads are more tight. To give a better grip in slippery conditions and expel the water/snow and still be able to bite into the snow for grip. Also the quality of the snow tires makes a big difference. Cheap ones I have found are ok'ish in the snow but useless in normal conditions. The car I bought last year had cheap snow tires on. I ended up dumping them as I found them dangerous in the wet. I have now fitted Good Year 4 seasons tire which mean I can run them all year round. And what a difference. Here in The French
Rhone Alps we switch to snow tires when the temperature starts to drop below +9C Above that because of the rubber compound being softer they tend to wear out quicker. This is the first year I have run 4 seasons tires so I don't know how long they will last, but reading other reviews they appear to last almost as good as normal tires. If I was in your situation and don't do any off roading I would look at 4 season tires. If you off road I would imagine they would wear out quicker than a M&S tire. Even a 4x4 with lousy tires will still get stuck and loose grip. A good snow tire will keep you going much further. The Postmen round here run Renault Kangoo's with snow tires on in the winter. They go anywhere a 4x4 will go. In fact the previous owner of my Defender told me he slide into a ditch one cold winters morning. He had normal M&S tires on. The postman in his Kangoo offered to tow him out.
Final conclusion is a good snow tire will keep you going much better in the snow than a M&S tire. I live here in the French Rhone Alps where the temperature can drop down to -18C so we do know a little about snow tires. I run my Defender on General grabber AT2's which are a mud and snow tire. They are ok but don't grip as well as a snow tire. I have on occasions put a steering lock on only to find myself still travelling in a straight line. Never had that in my car with snow tires on.. It all really comes down to what you can afford.

On our Freelander we run winter tyres in the winter and once they get to half worn run them in the summer to get the use out of them. This car does school run on A roads and needs to be 100%

On my Disco I just run road tyres and if it's snowing take the tractor or stay at home.

A second set of ebay (etc) rims is soon paid for rather than paying to swap tyres in spring and autumn.

Mine will work hard, as my nearest supermarket will be down the Hartside Pass, which is a beautiful road. Sometimes it will be closed, but if last night it is just passable with care, I would like to make it as safe as possible to get down.

Sounds like to replace with winter tyres will be the right option and knowing the right logo will be helpful.

may i ask how do u guys rate the cooper at3 tyres please , just had some fitted to the fronts and later was going to get them also fitted on the backs

how would u rate them in snow conditions please

useto have bridgestone duellers on my hippo and admits they were very good in the snow

don't know how these will perform

thks guys

gstuart said:

may i ask how do u guys rate the cooper at3 tyres please , just had some fitted to the fronts and later was going to get them also fitted on the backs
how would u rate them in snow conditions please
useto have bridgestone duellers on my hippo and admits they were very good in the snow
don't know how these will perform
thks guys

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C'mon now Gary, I or any other member shouldn't get drawn into a discussion on which tyre, by name is better or worse than any other, not without personal experience at least.
It depends on so many other things not least personal preference and what you intend using them for, and in fact how you do end up using them in real life.
So far as any other makes or brands of tyres are concerned, all I can say is that they're round, usually black, made of a rubber compound and has some nice patterns, grooves and knobbly bits on the outside.
All I was answering was a request for information about winter or cold temperature tyres and I hope the OP found the answer informative.