Snow tyres

shenton24 said:

Thanks for the info thats very useful. So i take it you use winter tyres for this time of year. Then change to summer tyre later on or is there a suitable all year tyre to do the job in winter aswell but obvious not the best?

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Well imo there are tyres that claim to be all-year-round ones, but they are a compromise - mediocre in summer and winter.

I have two sets of wheels, one for summer and the other for winter. And yes you guessed it, one shod with summer tyres and one shod with winter ones.

I cannot stress enough the night-and-day difference of driving in all conditions at low temps, with Winter tyres. They just grip and grip.

Now some will argue they can't afford two sets of tyres. OK yes there is an initial extra outlay. My 4 extra alloy wheels cost about £50 from memory and off course I've had to buy a set (4) of winter tyres in addition to my 'normal' ones. But think about it this way, I do roughly 20,000kms pa; probably 15,000 on summer tyres and 5,000 on winter ones. I've had my winter tyres for maybe 4 years and they look almost brand new - partially I suspect because I drive very lightly in winter.

So my summer tyres last for ages and my winter tyres last forever !!! So no overall extra cost except for the extra set of wheels - £50; plus my effort of changing them over and back every year.

Really there's no solid argument against having winter tyres except the background in the UK of not being used to them.

Once you've driven a car on ice with good winter tyres, you'll never go back. They are that good !

Cheers

Dave

We've run with Nexen Roadian A/T M+S 255/65R16's now for two years or so and they have been good in all conditions.

Doesn't matter what tyres you have on, if you're on ice, only studs are going to be any good if you get out of shape, especially if there is snow over ice.

Ice-rated tyres are mandatory in some countries but only if the conditions require it.

Studs are also mandatory in some of the Scandinavian countries, but I've been over there with regular tyres in winter and had no problems, legally or driving.

If you drive to suit the conditions, and you have sufficient tread depth, almost any tyre will work in winter.

Peter

johnboy6 said:

I was thinking along the same lines of getting a set on rims, but due to lack of storage, I did away with the Pirelli's that were getting to the end of their life and fitted some Cooper STT's instead. I am surprised at how quiet they are for an aggressive tyre and also not much difference in fuel usage. I got them from Silverline Tyres.
One of the reasons I went with them is that I have to go off-road at shows and Steam & Vintage Rallies with a double axle trailer loaded to 3.5tons gross.

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We do the same with our 6-wheeler trailer, the Nexen Roadian tyres work fine on grass and compacted soil:



Ground was quite sticky from the previous week as you can see from the trailer tyres, and we had to drive up a long slope to get to the top of the hill where we were parked for 4 days.

Had it been really bad we would have asked for a tractor to pull the trailer on, but we managed fine.

This was the previous week at Barleylands, our two engines:



Peter

the conditions in the uk are temp above 0, there isn't that many days when we get arctic temps or 6ft of snow, so the euro conditions are not like here, we get more rain than anything else, so in my opinion al you really want is a good make and a general pattern to suit your most driving conditions, ie on road or off road! as lister says if it's too bad doesnt matter what you have you will get stuck, clay is different to sandy soil, gravelly soil is not the same as peaty/boggy ground, so if you think you are going to get 6ft of snow permanent for 6 weeks your not! besides uk comes to a halt if we get 2"! mine on the tyres it came to me on, last year got up kirkstone pass with 12"- 18" no problem, had to turn around as could not and was not going to try on the 4ft drifts or no bumper left! you want a good tyre that performs well in wet weather in my opinion, as we are more wet than 2-3 days of snow! besides a lot of it is the driver not the car, just cos a disco is 4 x4 doesn't make it go any where, ive spread lime years ago with an MF168 2wd, weighted right it would nearly go vertical!

listerdiesel said:

We've run with Nexen Roadian A/T M+S 255/65R16's now for two years or so and they have been good in all conditions.

Doesn't matter what tyres you have on, if you're on ice, only studs are going to be any good if you get out of shape, especially if there is snow over ice.

Ice-rated tyres are mandatory in some countries but only if the conditions require it.

Studs are also mandatory in some of the Scandinavian countries, but I've been over there with regular tyres in winter and had no problems, legally or driving.

If you drive to suit the conditions, and you have sufficient tread depth, almost any tyre will work in winter.

Peter

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true about the studs............... but they on dry roads you slide as them studs ride on the road surface preventing/decreasing rubber contact and traction

Use to get 6ft drifts and lasting 6 weeks every year but for me the last time was 1986-87 winter when RR and Shoguns were getting stuck although I saw a series one running around doing deliveries with supplies from the helicopter drop point., the good old days.
My TVR didn't move for four weeks in the snow of that winter so in Sept 1987 I went out and bought a RR and sods law I didn't see more than one days snow until the winter 2010-11 when the disco which I now have was at times the only vehicle on the road, excellent!

Winter of 2012-13 went by with the snow for me lasting just a week so the disco didn't need to move.

Bottom line is: I have stayed with the tyre that LR fitted in the factory which is an M+S tyre so never had any issues in winter, although the disco's Goodyear tyres (now on my second set) are very 'sticky' so no slipping or sliding on a wet roads, so the only time I have the ABS activating is on a frosty/snowy road surface.. but they only last 24k miles max better than my company car which the fronts are replaced at around 8k so that is every year.

So bottom line +1 the tyres u purchase are the tyres that suit your needs, as I never venture off-road standard tyres suits u, sir.

thebiglad said:

So my summer tyres last for ages and my winter tyres last forever !!! So no overall extra cost except for the extra set of wheels - £50; plus my effort of changing them over and back every year.

Really there's no solid argument against having winter tyres except the background in the UK of not being used to them.

Once you've driven a car on ice with good winter tyres, you'll never go back. They are that good !

Cheers

Dave

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If you compare that price with keeping just the tyres and getting them changed over when the seasons change, most places will charge about 12 quid for fitting to the rims and balancing - for each wheel, so after say 3 changes you're in profit.

So keeping a set of shod wheels which you can change yourself at the time is a reasonable idea and the way to go IMO.

It's not the go anywhere traction argument of the 4x4 I'm interested in, it's the ability to control two and a quarter tons of metal under braking which concerns me.

I agree with those that say in most parts of the UK we don't get conditions that really require snow or winter tyres, except perhaps for at most a fortnight. If you've got a good set of AT tyres on, then as a rule, they'll do. Even in that fortnight, in a Disco with AT tyres on, you'll still be getting around quite happily while most cars are stuck. I did consider a separate set of wheels/tyres as I have to drive up fell roads in Cumbria in all weathers for feeding purposes, but I found that I was coping well. So think hard about your use and if they'll really be needed. If you find you'll only use them sparingly, buying them will be a false economy and even with them, changing four wheels in the dead of winter is never appealing.

brian47 said:

If you compare that price with keeping just the tyres and getting them changed over when the seasons change, most places will charge about 12 quid for fitting to the rims and balancing - for each wheel, so after say 3 changes you're in profit.

So keeping a set of shod wheels which you can change yourself at the time is a reasonable idea and the way to go IMO.

It's not the go anywhere traction argument of the 4x4 I'm interested in, it's the ability to control two and a quarter tons of metal under braking which concerns me.

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Couldn't have said it better myself !!!!!

Winter tyres come into there own below 7°C, so t doesn't have to be ice or snow, it doesn't even have to be rain !!

Non winter tyres go harder the lower the temp, so they just grip less in all circumstances, at lower temps.

One of the reasons that the UK grinds to a halt in winter is because you're all slipping around like Torville & Dean - Winter tyres would just stop that dead.

But I can see I'm wasting my time with most of you.....................................

FWIW I run my RRC on M/T's all year round and it is fine. My other car, a large german saloon, rear wheel drive, auto etc etc will have it's winter tyres on any time now. As has already been said, winter tyres are not for snow!! They are for best grip and control in low temperatures although I can confirm they do really work - the difference in traction on snow/slush etc is like night and day.

As for cost well it depends what you buy and how many miles you do. This will be the fourth year for my winter tyres and overall I don't think it is significantly more expensive running summer tyres and winter tyres. Either way I do know that having experienced what a difference winter tyres make as soon as the average daytime temperature drops below 7 degrees winter rubber is going on.

classic kev said:

FWIW I run my RRC on M/T's all year round and it is fine. My other car, a large german saloon, rear wheel drive, auto etc etc will have it's winter tyres on any time now. As has already been said, winter tyres are not for snow!! They are for best grip and control in low temperatures although I can confirm they do really work - the difference in traction on snow/slush etc is like night and day.

As for cost well it depends what you buy and how many miles you do. This will be the fourth year for my winter tyres and overall I don't think it is significantly more expensive running summer tyres and winter tyres. Either way I do know that having experienced what a difference winter tyres make as soon as the average daytime temperature drops below 7 degrees winter rubber is going on.

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I completely agree with you Kev, but try telling the others.......................Closed minds is all you'll find.

I run 2 sets and you are a knob if you don't, bollocks it doesn't warrant it in the UK. Your talking ****, it goes below 7 degrees for a substantial Part of winter.

never used winter tyres till I had a high powered RWD and after asking a lad I worked with how he didnt keep spinning his wheels driving about at work and he leant me his tyres to try on mine. What a difference dont have any.winters for disco atm but will do as soon as i source the funds. a set of wheels take up such a small amount of space.

Reading this thread, I am tempted to say that there seems to be some confusion regarding tread pattern and tyre compound.

AT tyres are all terrain not all temperature, and just because they have a nice chunky big tread doesn't mean they're going to perform properly at low temperatures; 7 degrees celsius (not minus 7 degrees). They might be an improvement on ordinary road tyres in snow, but the compound; the recipe of the rubber will start hardening at low temperatures so the tread won't flex and grip as it is designed to do, resulting in reduced grip. The tread pattern and compound of winter tyres are designed as a package to use the snow to aid the grip.

Mud is mud and quite slippery, but snow is something totally different, so a set of something like "Cooper Discoverers M+S winter tyres" would seem to be the best of both worlds, a low temerature compound coupled with a slightly more aggressive tread pattern.

For those who hark back to what Land Rover put on the vehicle for all terrain work, I don't know how much they are, but I don't fancy trying to buy a set of Rangers, even then they aren't really suitable for lower temperatures.

As I said earlier, I'm not bothered about the better traction, it's the stopping capability I'm interested in.

So, thebiglad, Kev and I would seem to be of one mind, bite the bullet and fit winter tyres.

Here in the Rockies Cooper A/T tires have more than proven that they are up to the task of severe winter driving. I've run all types, including studded snows, and the all terrains measure up quite well, even at -20 degrees Merkin.

If peeps want to look at the winter section of this article they will see that there are significant areas of the UK that have winters in the minus ° C for most of the winter. So perfect justification if it were needed for fitting winter tyres.


Climate of the United Kingdom - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Dave

thebiglad said:

But I can see I'm wasting my time with most of you.....................................

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Those of us that don't 'need' winter tyres aren't going to be interested, Dave.

If you can cope without them, then it's a bit of a no-brainer.

It would be different if I was in the Pyrenees in the winter for more than a few days, I would probably look at something better.

Peter

listerdiesel said:

Those of us that don't 'need' winter tyres aren't going to be interested, Dave.

If you can cope without them, then it's a bit of a no-brainer.

It would be different if I was in the Pyrenees in the winter for more than a few days, I would probably look at something better.

Peter

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I've never "needed" winter tyres but using them is better. For example it is possible to dig with your hands but I'd damn sure use a shovel to dig my landy. Would you consider it "cool" or matcho to dig yourself out a pit with your bare hands. I assume you don't have break down or a spare wheel.

I like the reminder in this link on not forgetting to get a winter tyre for the spare.


Winter tyres - Car tyres - Driving your car - Which? Car

discool said:

I like the reminder in this link on not forgetting to get a winter tyre for the spare.


Winter tyres - Car tyres - Driving your car - Which? Car

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good find